Microsoft in Education |

Accessibility in the classroom

Technology can help make your educational environment more accessible to students, teachers, and staff with special needs.

Accessibility: A guide for educators

Learn how accessibility features in Microsoft products can be used in the classroom. Download guide

Use this teacher's guide to help you with assistive technologies in the classroom and to support students using the accessibility features found in Microsoft technologies. This downloadable guide includes:

An overview of accessibility and its effect in the classroom.
Definitions of impairment types and technology solutions for each.
An assistive technology overview and decision tree.
Links and references for more information.

Accessibility features

You can make your computer easier and more comfortable to use by taking advantage of the many accessibility features built into Microsoft products:

The Windows operating system

Windows Internet Explorer

Microsoft Office

Assistive technology

Assistive technology for Windows

Reference

Teacher training workshop

Use this Accessibility in education workshop (8.32 MB, Microsoft PowerPoint presentation) to teach others about accessibility technology options for students with disabilities and special needs who are using computers.

Curriculum resources

Personalizing technology to support students with learning style differences and disabilities.

Curriculum Resources for Special Education for Windows 7 and Office 2010 (Word document 19.3 MB)

Customer successes

See how schools are using accessibility technologies in classrooms.

More information

Microsoft builds accessibility features into our products to help ensure that all students have access to assistive technologies in the classroom—whether it is to see the screen more clearly or to have better control of the mouse. In addition, Microsoft provides a broad range of additional resources, including: