What is Accessible Reading Québec?

The Accessible Reading Project is an initiative of the Direction des services à la communauté Anglophone (DSCA) of the Ministère de l’Éducation et de l’Enseignement supérieur and the ALDI Initiative, on behalf of the English school boards in Québec.

Please see our infographic for a visual representation of the project.

The project strives to increase the availability and use of high-quality accessible digital e-books, resources and assistive technologies that support improved learning opportunities and outcomes for our students. Our three objectives are as follows:

1. Increase accessible digital e-books, resources and assistive technology

• Increase understanding of accessible digital resources (e-books, e-textbooks, accessible e-text) and their interaction with assistive technologies.
• Curation of accessible reading materials designated specifically for students with learning/reading disabilities.
• Connect teachers and students to accessible e-book platforms through their virtual libraries.
• Integration of digital accessible e-books and other resources into classroom and school libraries.
• Creation of a text-to-speech resource for our schools with a focus on application of TTS in the classroom as well as understanding its use for specific student learning profiles.

2.  Development within pilot schools (secondary focus for 2016-2017) 

• Establish a workable process for teachers to access accessible e-books on virtual libraries (specific to students with print disabilities)
• Determine the impact of accessible reading materials on student engagement (specific to students with print disabilities)
• Integrate accessible digital reading resources into the curriculum, specific to literacy frameworks within our schools (ex. Advanced 5, literature circles)

3. Research

• Connect to similar ministerial initiatives in Québec and other Canadian provinces working on the integration of alternate format materials.
• Curate current research and effective practices on use of text-to-speech (both within and external to our community) for the reading process and its impact on students with learning and reading disabilities.