My son knows more about dinosaurs than most adults. He hopes to become a paleontologist, but reading is a challenge for him, and he needs more time than most to absorb and store information. Today, the path into a university program in Alberta relies heavily on readings, writing, and traditional assessments. For learners like him, the roadblocks can be high and wide.
In my 2035, learners with unique learning needs can follow their passions and demonstrate what they know in different ways. A future paleontology student might gain admission through a digital portfolio, an oral interview, or a demonstration of expertise, and show learning through presentations, multimedia projects, or written work.
I am optimistic but realistic. The full picture may arrive well after 2035, and not every initiative labelled “inclusion” will reduce barriers. Still, I see three reasons for hope. The past few decade’s focus on inclusion has built real momentum. Inclusive practices already exist; they are simply unevenly distributed (singh & Maughan, 2014). And Universal Design for Learning already offers a practical framework for multiple ways of engaging with and demonstrating learning (Brand et al., 2012), so the real question is whether institutions adopt it. Crip futurisms remind us that people with disabilities have long reshaped systems to meet their own needs (Hamraie & Fritsch, 2019, as cited in Veletasianos et al., 2024), and hopeful futures must address present injustices and be shaped by the communities they affect (Veletsianos et al., 2024). In this future, inclusion is not an accommodation added afterward but a principle built into education from the start.
What barriers have you seen for learners who learn differently, and how might education better recognize their strengths?
References
Brand, S. T., Favazza, A. E., & Dalton, E. M. (2012). Universal design for learning: A blueprint for success for all learners. Kappa Delta Pi Record, 48(3), 134-139. https://doi.org/10.1080/00228958.2012.707506
singh, s. s., & Maughan, T. (2014, June 18). The future of ed tech is here, it’s just not evenly distributed. Medium. https://medium.com/futures-exchange/the-future-of-ed-tech-is-here-its-just-not-evenly-distributed-210778a423d7
Veletsianos, G., Houlden, S Ross, J., Alhadad, S., & Dickson-Deane, C. (2024). Higher education futures at the intersection of justice, hope, and educational technology. International Journal of Educational Technology in Higher Education, 21, Article 43. https://doi.org/10.1186/s41239-024-00475-0
14 October 2026 at 7:37 pm
Kelly, opening with your son and the dinosaurs made the whole argument real. A kid who knows more about his subject than most adults could still get screened out by how we test.
I think your strongest point is that UDL isn’t something we’re waiting to invent. Brand et al. (2012) laid it out more than a decade ago, so the gap is adoption, not technology. That fits singh and Maughan’s (2014) “unevenly distributed” idea.
In my world the barrier is often timed, text-heavy gatekeeping that measures reading speed more than understanding. Your portfolio and oral-interview ideas would test what the program actually cares about.
15 October 2026 at 8:48 am
Thanks so much for this Chris. I am glad the dinosaur story landed. He really is the perfect example. Ask him about the Cretaceous period and he will talk and teach you for an hour, but put a timed written test in front of him and you will never know what he knows.
You put the adoption point better than I did. Brand et al. laid out the framework in 2012, so we aren’t waiting on a breakthrough, we are waiting on institutions to choose it. That’s exactly where singh & Maughan’s “unevenly distributed” idea fits: the future is already here for some learners and not for others.
Your point about timed, text-heavy gatekeeping really resonates. I see the same thing in some safety training, where a written quiz can end up measuring someone’s reading speed or English level rather than whether they actually know how to work safely. I am curious what that gatekeeping looks like in your setting, and whether you have seen any alternatives get traction?