Relevant Laws

An essential act in Ontario is The Education Act on Special Education & Accessibilities for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA) which requires a barrier free environment for students with disabilities. By using technology school districts in Ontario are able to easier fulfill the requirements of AODA.

The AODA’s goal for 2025 is to be barrier free in regards to disabilities. Therefore all types of communication has to be made accessible to everyone and should reflect several core principles. These include dignity, independence, Integration, and Equal Opportunity.

It is the Commission’s policy position, as outlined in the Disability Policy, that “when constructing new buildings, undertaking renovations, purchasing new computer systems, launching new Web sites, [or] setting up new policies and procedures... design choices should be made that do not create barriers for persons with disabilities (Accessibility Ontario).

Copyright is the protection of numerous types of works including literary, musical, artistic and dramatic. Copyright law protects the creators of works who have the right to make a profit or to control the adoption of their works. In Canada, it is protected through the Copyright Act. However, there are fair use or fair dealing guidelines for those operating within non-profit K-12 schools, and postsecondary institutions. These guidelines are put in place with safeguards for the creators (Canadian Association of University Teachers, 2013).

The fair use guidelines include policies involving demonstrations, broadcasts, and displays. Educators can use technological devices to show the students in their classrooms images, information, displays etc. from the internet as long as it is in accordance with the fair use guidelines (Council of Ministers of Education).