I was having a conversation with my mom the other day who is a substitute teacher for K-12 students. We got into the discussion of how students with disabilities are at a disadvantage in the education system. She mentioned that not all teachers are able to account for the numerous difficulties each individual child may have. They do their best to use visuals, audio, and other methods when possible. There have been improvements and efforts in this realm, such as building individual plans, but there’s still immense pressure on educators to make sure their students don’t get left behind.
Technology companies have been integrating more features into their products to ensure that they are accessible to all. Microsoft, one of the largest technology companies in the world, holds hackathons where their employees can innovate and develop software for passion projects. In 2015, the winning team came up with a solution that would improve the education of millions of students and teachers. After in-depth UX research and collaboration with educators, Immersive Reader, was designed. The tool aims to assist students with ‘learning differences.’ while also challenging the stigma revolving around learning disabilities. There was an emphasis on the idea that designing for accessibility benefits more than just those who are labeled as disabled.
As designers we are constantly practicing typography skills. Legibility, proper kerning, and tracking are even more essential when designing for literacy purposes. Here are just a few examples of research the company conducted which stresses the importance of using these design principles.
Font Spacing: “Findings point to a subtype of dyslexia involving elevated crowding and demonstrate that individuals benefit from interventions personalized to their specific impairments.”
Line Length: “27% increase in reading speed when using short line lengths”
Sitka Font: “During the typeface’s development, we tested how well people could read each of the letters in the typeface, and used the test results to inform design decisions”
Readers across the world (literally, they offer translation in 60 different languages) now have the ability to read outloud to themselves, change the color of the page, see syllable breaks, and so many other things that make it easier to read and write. Whether students have learning disabilities or not, the tool breaks many pre-existing barriers.
Overall, when actually building this literacy feature, Microsoft did a spectacular job of making sure that it was inclusive. They built it as an extension on their Office platform so that it can be fully integrated with all of their other applications, such as Word or Powerpoint. They also recognized that many schools primarily use Google and made sure that the extension would be compatible with Google accounts.
I felt that Immersive Reader was an example of how others can make design more accessible to all. It’s obviously not perfect, but it doesn’t try to fix the individual like many other products out there. Instead it attempts to increase comprehension for all students which greatly helps those who struggle with learning disabilities.
Of course, there’s always limitations. Designing these tools requires time, a lot of money, and a good amount of people. But, if companies like Microsoft, who have the resources to fund these projects continue to take a lead, our education systems have the potential to change and be more accessible to all.
Sources:
https://education.microsoft.com/en-us/resource/9786fb2a
https://news.microsoft.com/features/microsoft-hackathon-2015-winner-extends-onenote-to-improve-learning-outcomes-for-students/
