Hardware
ISTELive 26: Accessible by Design: How K–12 Districts Are Building AI and UDL Into Every Classroom
Accessibility has always been a legal obligation. But leaders in the K–12 space are expanding that conversation to include how it could be more than that: a design principle that creates an improved learning experience for every student, not just the ones with IEPs.
At ISTELive 26, Tara Nattrass, chief innovation strategist for education at Lenovo, broke down what hybrid AI means at the device level and why it matters for students who rely on accessibility tools. Nattrass helped lead seven sessions at the conference, including “Strengthening Accessibility and Inclusivity with Hybrid AI.” The former educator, who also serves as the managing director of innovation strategy at ISTE+ASCD, explained why the key question is not which tool to buy, but rather where the data lives.
“When we’re talking about hybrid AI, we’re talking about personal, enterprise and public AI,” said the former assistant superintendent of teaching and learning for Arlington Public Schools in Virginia. “That raises three questions every district needs to answer before deploying: what data is being collected, where is it stored and who has access. AI PCs allow tools like Cephable on devices, keeping the most sensitive student data local.”
DISCOVER: Ensure that your school is ADA Title II web compliant.
Christine Fox of CAST, the organization behind the Universal Design for Learning framework, brought the systems view. The CAST chief growth officer talked about how advances in artificial intelligence can extend the principles of UDL in her session, “Accessible by Design: Leveraging AI for Inclusive Learning.”
“We want access to student tools to be seamless, regardless of which device a student has or what accommodations they need, because it was built that way from the start,” said Fox, who also serves as the co-project director for CAST’s Center on Inclusive Technology & Education Systems.
Participants
Tara Nattrass, Chief Innovation Strategist for Education at Lenovo
Christine Fox, Chief Growth Officer, CAST
Video Highlights
- Building an accessible system means making tools available and usable for every learner by default, not just reserving them for students with documented disabilities. Those same tools that support students with IEPs often benefit every student in the room.
- AI PCs enable accessibility tools to run entirely on-device, keeping sensitive student data such as voice and video local and protected without sacrificing functionality.
- Hybrid AI in school means understanding where the data lives — whether on the device, within the organization or in public school systems — and matching the tool to the right environment based on what data it collects.
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