Accessible Playgrounds

Case Study presentations 

I really enjoyed the last class with two peer case study presentations and then launching into the discussion and research around Accessible Playgrounds from a UDL perspective. 

I took so much from Angela's presentation and created my own tracking sheets for my students who use Proloquo. This is something I think is so valuable as a tracking tool and it really helped my EPA's see the progress and power of P2G. I love being able to see what others are doing in their own classrooms and learning centre environments through this course. There have been so many good ideas throughout this course and the resources shared have been an invaluable part of the experience!

Amanda's presentation about the student with the reverse progress with "Read & Write" was very interesting to see what can happen when a student (and family) are reluctant to utilize technology to their advantage. It creates an interesting discussion around the use of technology and how there needs to be a real shift in assessment practices and the value placed on what technology can do for people who may not learn in a typical way. 

UDL Playgrounds

I think this is such an important field of study and I can't believe how many playgrounds and children's play spaces are not accessible. I find it surprising how new spaces are designed or new buildings are constructed that are not built accessibility. 

Making the checklist and researching about some of the aspects of accessibility that are considered in the design and construction of these spaces was really interesting. 

Our checklist for determining accessibility:

Accessibility Playground Checklist

Accessibility Feature	Yes	No	N/A
Play area access?
Play equipment access?
Is the play surface material accessible? (soft ground matting, turf, rubber)
Are their signs with icons, words and braille?
Are their multiple access points?
Are the paths wide and smooth to navigate easily?
Routes to ground level-are there hills? Access points?
Swings --accessible swing? Hammock swing?
Wheelchair Slide
Height considerations of who can access equipment
Proper drainage and slip resistant surfaces
Visual barriers and defined spaces for people with visual impairments
Shaded areas and sun protection
Fencing around the whole space to provide safety
Accessible washrooms, fountains, seating, eating areas

Extension:

I've visited Westmount Playground in Halifax numerous times over the past few years with my own children. It is such a nice space and is a great example of an accessible playground clearly designed with many types of children in various stages of development in mind. 















Assessment of my school's playground: 


The playground at my current school is not accessible. We do have a wheelchair swing that was installed when we had a student who was a wheelchair user, however it is currently in storage as we don't service this student anymore. This doesn't make much sense of course, as there could be many other children who would visit the playground and members of the public who could still utilize this swing. Something to consider perhaps reinstalling? Located at the bottom of a hill, all of our play areas are filled with pea gravel rocks and are set in raised wooden beds. The paths are gravel and not very wide. We have 2 benches to sit and a basketball court. 

If I was to complete the checklist we created using my current school as the test, it would fair as follows: 

Accessibility Playground Checklist

Accessibility Feature	Yes	No	N/A
Play area access?		X
Play equipment access?		X
Is the play surface material accessible? (soft ground matting, turf, rubber)		X
Are their signs with icons, words and braille?	X
Are their multiple access points?		X
Are the paths wide and smooth to navigate easily?		X
Routes to ground level-are there hills? Access points?		X
Swings --accessible swing? Hammock swing?		X
Wheelchair Slide		X
Height considerations of who can access equipment		X
Proper drainage and slip resistant surfaces		X
Visual barriers and defined spaces for people with visual impairments		X
Shaded areas and sun protection	X
Fencing around the whole space to provide safety	X
Accessible washrooms, fountains, seating, eating areas	X-Benches only

Obviously from looking into this, I can easily see that our playground needs a lot of work to become accessible to all. Very interesting topic to look into and makes me view things in a new light!