This session will tell the story of how a series of accessible open education resources were developed and how the project helped inform ways educators practice inclusion and accessibility. In 2024-2025, the English Language Arts Network of Ontario (ELAN) developed a series of over 30 resources to support teachers in implementing the Grades 1 to 9 English Language Arts curriculum in Ontario, Canada. This story will be told by classroom teachers, curriculum leaders, resource developers, designers, and accessibility specialists. The session will trace the project from its inception to the use of the resources in the classroom. Presenters will share critical points in the process as well as the “spaces” in between that helped reshape and reposition previously held ideas about learning resources.
Attendees of this session will be able to:- Describe the accessibility features built into a set of resources (Accessible authoring practices).
- Understand how to make OERs more inclusive and accessible for both educators and learners.
- Access to a website containing a library of downloadable ELAN Ontario OERs that support the provincial curriculum. OERs include lesson plans and monographs authored to be accessible for a diversity of educators and learners.
- Gain insights into how decisions at each stage may impact accessibility and inclusion downstream.
- Understand how teachers are using the resources to support student learning and professional learning.
