Teacher
Pedagogical practices and strategies for adapting methods, mediating knowledge and creating an inclusive, empathetic learning environment.
Recommendation
It is recommended to establish with every student, including those with a visual impairment, a continuous and reciprocal effort towards understanding and collaboration, and towards recognising and understanding the student’s individual characteristics, through communication.
The recommendations were formulated in Brazilian Portuguese. This is a faithful working translation; the Portuguese version is the canonical one. Read the original in Portuguese
Responsibility
Every teacher, tutor and student.
- Teacher
- Tutor
- Student
Opportunity
Every teacher has the opportunity to observe and analyse the profile of the class, during the academic term, holding conversations and interactive activities that make it easier to exchange information and get to know each student.
Applicability
Do
Set up digital, asynchronous communication channels (such as forums in the virtual learning environment, or structured emails) where students can use their assistive technologies at their own pace to interact and ask questions.
Don’t
Concentrate essential announcements on physical noticeboards in the classroom, or in messages contained inside images (screenshots posted in messaging groups), creating communication barriers.
Examples
An example of an accessible forum post or email. The inverted contrast (dark background, light letters) reduces visual fatigue, while the use of logical blocks lets the student’s screen reader convey the announcement perfectly.
An example simulating a "sticky note". The cursive face and the combination of red text on a yellow background create visual vibration for low vision and colour blindness, making the communication ineffective.