Create Inclusive Classrooms with iPad

Inclusion in education means ensuring every child, regardless of their individual needs or learning barriers, has equal access to learning and the same opportunities to succeed.  It’s not just about providing extra support for children with special educational needs; it’s about creating a learning environment that works for all pupils. This includes those with disabilities, English as an additional language learners, members of minority communities and anyone facing other challenges.  As educators, we must constantly consider how to design learning experiences that support all our learners’ success.

In our Apple Professional Learning Live session we explored some activities that you can use to support accessible learning and teaching with iPad.

Focus Learning with Background Sounds

For this activity we explored how built in features like Background Sounds can support focus and attention in the classroom. Background sound can minimise everyday sounds that might be distracting or overwhelming. Balanced, bright, or dark noise and ocean, rain or stream sounds continuously play in the background to help you focus, relax, or rest.

Step 1

Open Control Centre. Select +, then Background Sounds (tip: you can use the search tool to find this)

Step 2

Close Control Centre and open a project you'd like to focus on.

Step 3

Open Control Center. Tap to enable Background Sounds

Step 4

Press and hold the Background Sounds button to adjust volume and personalise your sound.

Step 5

Tap Background Sounds button to stop sound.

Supporting Resources

Use and Customize Control Center on iPad

Play Background Sounds on iPad

Listen to Text with Spoken Content

If you prefer to hear what you're reading or writing, features like Speak Screen, Speak Selection and Typing Feedback can help by adding an auditory component to text.

Step 1

In Settings › Accessibility, select Spoken Content. Turn on Speak Selection and Speak Screen.

Step 2

Open a note, document, or web page with text.

Step 3

Double-tap and drag to select 
a sentence. Select Speak.

Step 4

In Settings, explore voices, Speaking Rate, and Highlight Content.

Step 5

Return to the text from Step 2 to test your adjustments.

Supporting Links

Hear iPad speak the screen, selected text, and typing feedback

Get a Closer Look with Magnifier

For this activity we explored how Magnifier works like a digital magnifying glass, using the camera on your iPad to increase the size of anything you point it at — from a pinboard poster to a classroom whiteboard.

There are some really exciting features within Magnifier including Detection mode which combines input from the camera, LiDARE Scanner, and on-device machine learning to enable People Detection, Door Detection, Text Detection and Point and Speak.

Step 1

Swipe to open Control Center. Select + to add a Control.

Step 2

Under Capture, select Magnifier. Tap away from Control Center.

Step 3

Find an object in your environment to magnify.

Step 4

Swipe to open Control Center. Select Magnifier.

Step 5

Adjust Settings. Explore Activities and Capture.

Supporting Links

Customise Controls in Magnifier on iPad

Stay Connected with Live Captions

With Live Captions on iPad, you can get a real-time transcription of spoken audio. In this activity we explored how Live Captions can enable students to stay connected with real-time, on-device-generated transcriptions of audio and video, including live conversations in the classroom.

Note: Live Captions is available on supported models in supported languages.

Step 1

Open Settings, Select Accessibility, then Live Captions.

Step 2

Turn on Live Captions. In Appearance, adjust the style.

Step 3

Select the Live Captions window, then select microphone.

Step 4

Transcribe a conversation - talk to someone nearby.

Step 5

To transcribe a vido or audio file, select iPad Audio, then play the file.

Supporting Links

Get Live Captions of Spoken Audio on iPad

Support Understanding with Content Descriptions

You can add descriptions to objects (including images) in your document so that people using assistive technology can better understand your document. For example, you can add a description to an image in a learning journal so that aa student who is blind or has low vision can hear a description of the image read aloud.

Step 1

Open Camera and take a photo. Then, find the image in Photos.

Step 2

On the image, select the Information button.

Step 3

Tap Add a Caption. Type or Dictate a caption for the photo.

Step 4

Create a document in Pages, Numbers, or Keynote.

Step 5

Add an image, video, or audio file to your document. Select Format, then add a description.

Supporting Links

Add accessibility descriptions to media

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