RHF Educator Inclusion & Accessibility E-Learning Course

The Rick Hansen Foundation (RHF) is dedicated to creating a world without barriers for the more than eight million Canadians who have a disability. As part of our commitment to championing accessibility and inclusion, OECTA’s Professional Development department has partnered with the RHF to offer a subsidy to Catholic teachers to take their Educator Inclusion & Accessibility E-Learning course for free. 

The Educator Inclusion & Accessibility E-Learning course is a self-directed, online professional development course designed to increase the confidence that teachers have in supporting their students in understanding the importance of disability inclusion in the classroom and community and offer solutions to barriers that youth with disabilities face in educational settings. 

Applauded as an engaging learning experience, the course offers modules that are a balance of written and video content, with three to four hours of learning time, and the ability to pause and re-start. The course is available in both English and French and  delivered through D2L/Brightspace, a Canadian-based learning management system (LMS) already familiar to most K-12 Ontario teacher. The course will be open till February 2025 and awards a certificate upon completion. 

This subsidy is available on a first-come basis for the first one hundred members who register. (This subsidy is not available to members who completed the free pilot of the Rick Hansen Foundation Educator Inclusion & Accessibility E-learning Course that took place from December 2023 to February 2024.)

The registration link has the RHF group registration code included so you can register at no cost. Click HERE to register!

Course highlights:

• Free with the subsidy
• Online and accessible from wherever you are
• Self-directed so you can start, pause, and finish the course on your timeline
• Approximately four hours of course material to complete by the end of February 2025
• Certificate awarded upon completion

What you will learn:

• Understanding of the diversity of experience within the physical disability community and the impact of accessibility and inclusion for youth with disabilities.
• Learning about the use of inclusive language and best practices in communication.
• Recognizing and reducing physical and attitudinal barriers to accessibility found in educational and community settings.
• Exploring equitable practices, advocacy, and allyship along with accommodations to increase meaningful accessibility and inclusion for students.