THE PROJECT
How do youth with blindness or sight loss interact with a web page that isn’t accessible? How can they grasp the concept of something “living forever” on the internet if they can’t actually see it? How can they meaningfully participate online independently and safely? These were questions that the team at the Canadian National Institute for the Blind (CNIB) wanted to address when developing their project funded by CIRA.
CNIB had identified a digital skills gap in youth experiencing blindness and sight loss. Knowing that disclosing a disability online raises issues that can impact a person’s employment, safety and social inclusion, CNIB piloted a first of its kind, scalable curriculum to teach young Canadians how to access and participate in online spaces safely. The curriculum contained engaging activities and games based on real-life scenarios, delivered in booklet form so it could be passed on widely. Topics included understanding internet vocabulary and online platforms, practicing online self-advocacy and safe internet use, exploring accessibility features within gaming and social media platforms and making mindful decisions about one’s online footprints. The project team held focus groups during the research period to gather perspectives from younger children, parents and grandparents to capture the needs and concerns of people with sight loss using the internet.
“We wanted children to have a strong sense of ownership and digital citizenship and promote children to take responsibility using the internet,” said Daniel Moore, Director, Corporate and Foundation Partnerships. “It gives them a sense of independence when their world is very controlled for them.”
COMMUNITY IMPACT
The curriculum was delivered both online and in Braille form to 58 children. One program facilitator noted that the participants were very engaged, and the activities sparked lively discussions about their own experiences using the internet and how they handled problems. In a survey, the majority of participants agreed that they took at least one new concept away from the games. “The problem-solving skills from the games can be used not just in childhood, but going forward in employment and education,” Daniel said.
The curriculum developed through this project has been shared with CNIB Children & Youth Program leads across the country; their summer camp for people with sight loss, CNIB Lake Joe; their national Learning Academy program; and the CNIB Come to Work employment program to help people learn to use accessible technology and achieve success. CNIB expects that as the curriculum continues to be used in their programming, it will evolve alongside technology so that the next generation can develop online connections, digital citizenship and self-advocacy skills for safe internet use in a fun and engaging way.
RELATED LINKS
- Check out CIRA’s blog, From Pixels to Braille: CIRA is helping to create a safer inclusive internet for youth with sight loss
- CNIB article about the project: https://www.cnib.ca/en/news/empowering-young-people-sight-loss-safely-access-and-participate-online-spaces?region=on
