The use of accessible materials and assistive and accessible technologies and tools strengthens opportunities for every learner to experience access, participation, and progress in the learning process. Increasingly accessible technologies are built into the devices many learners already own and use. Similarly, it has become more common for authoring tools to include options for creating accessible content at the point of need, rather than by acquiring them from a publisher or other external source.

Providing a learner with a tool is often not enough. We need to provide the support to use the tool effectively. Oftentimes, learners may need assistance in navigating through their environment (both in terms of physical space and the curriculum), and every learner should be given the opportunity to use tools that might help them meet the goal of full access and participation in the learning environment. However, significant numbers of learners with disabilities use assistive technologies for navigation, interaction, and composition on a regular basis. It is critical that instructional technologies and curricula are accessible and do not impose inadvertent barriers to the use of these assistive technologies. It is also important, however, to ensure that making a lesson physically accessible does not inadvertently reduce the challenge associated with the learning goal.

• Ensure navigation and interaction can be performed with a variety of tools, including keyboard, mouse, switch devices, and voice commands.
• Offer the ability to leverage alternate keyboard commands for mouse action.
• Use access to alternative keyboards (e.g., on-screen keyboards for touchscreens).
• Customize overlays for touch screens and keyboards.
• Select software that works seamlessly with keyboard alternatives.