Blog Post #3: Universal Design for Learning, Accessibility, Ethical Challenges and Considerations

Key Terms:

Definitions to keep in mind as you read:

Universal Design for Learning (UDL): a framework for learning that aims to offer accessible and equitable education through increasing the means of engagement, representation, action and expression

Intrinsic Motivation: the motivation to engage in behavior due to the satisfaction of an activity, not due to external forces

Face-to-Face Learning: education that takes place face-to-face in a classroom setting

Online learning: learning that transpires in digital spaces through the use of the internet and technology.

Accessibility: is ensuring that information, services and spaces are able to be used by people of varying abilities.

The digital divide is the gap between individuals who have access to reliable internet and digital resources and those who do not.

Ethics: is behaving responsibly and respecting others online

Digital Citizenship: the ability to use technology and navigate online spaces responsibly and respectfully.

The Universal Design for Learning (UDL):

As an educator, it is important to consider how you can make your curriculum and coursework readily accessible to all learners. The Universal Design for Learning is a framework of education that highlights the accessibility, equity and inclusion of all learners. The Universal Design for Learning is composed of three main principles namely, multiple means of engagement, representation, action and expression.

The three principles of UDL

1. MULTIPLE MEANS OF ENGAGEMENT: give students the opportunity to engage with the course content, activities and assessments in numerous ways. This includes creating different opportunities for students to develop intrinsic motivation for the material and reflect on their own learning
   • Examples: allow students to choose their own topic for the project.
2. MULTIPLE MEANS OF REPRESENTATION: provide learners with numerous ways to access information and course content.
   • Examples: offer course content in numerous formats such as videos, podcasts, readings or lectures.
3. MULTIPLE MEANS OF ACTION AND EXPRESSION: allow your students to show their learning in numerous ways. Students all have different strengths and allowing them to showcase their learning in a fashion that aligns with their strengths and interests will allow them to succeed.
   • Examples: allowing students to choose between essays, exams or creative projects for their assessment.

This framework encourages educators to be flexible and offer numerous opportunities to present the material and allow students to showcase their learning through different forms of assessment. I like to think about UDL through the example of ramps. Ramps are a great accessibility tool for individuals in wheelchairs, but it also makes schools and public facilities more accessible for others as well. Ramps are useful for individuals who have strollers, small children, are on crutches or have mobility issues or ride a bike to work and need to bring it inside. UDL works under the same premise, by reducing barriers and creating accessible learning environments and curricula, we can help all students succeed in their educational journey.

How to Apply the Universal Design for Learning in Educational Settings

Face-to-face classroom environment:

UDL is an incredibly broad framework and can be applied to create accessible learning in countless ways. Each student is diverse and have different needs that will influence how UDL will be applied. Below is just a few ways that the three main principles can be used to foster equitable education for students in a face-to-face classroom setting.

• Offer multiple pathways to learn: a simple way to implement UDL is to offer students numerous ways to engage and learn the material. This includes giving visual representations such as videos, audio versions such as podcasts or text versions. For example, if you are teaching using a video, you may consider turning on the captions and offering students a written transcription of the video to follow and/or read to get the information.
  • Possible pathways for learning:
    • Videos
    • Readings
    • Demonstrations
    • Infographics, charts and graphics
    • Podcasts
    • Textbooks
• Provide opportunities for feedback and reflection: teachers can offer students feedback on a regular basis. This allows the students who require feedback to benefit from the additional supervision, but also allow the students who prefer independence to work towards goals on their own.
  • Some ways to offer feedback
    • Do Quizlets, Google forms, IClicker or Kahoots in class for immediate feedback
    • Have marking schedules
    • Have weekly reflection opportunities for them to assess their own learning
    • Offer forms to recieve feedback on the instructors teaching
• Opportunities for assessment: teachers can offer their students different ways to engage with the material that fosters intrinsic motivation. To do this, instructors can offer numerous forms of assessment throughout the course to allow them to showcase their learning in a fashion that aligns with their interests and strengths.
  • Below are a few ideas for assessments:
    • Exams
    • Essays
    • Oral Presentation
    • Posters
    • PowerPoints
    • Podcasts
    • Videos
    • Art projects ( songs, painting, drawings, dances)

Online learning environments:

Online learning can be greatly enhanced by applying UDL principles. Online learning is marked by many barriers such as unequal access to technology, location, time differences, familial obligation, attention difficulties, fine motor skill difficulties and auditory or visual difficulties. UDL can be used to try and reduce those barriers to accessing open and online education.

Below are some ways to utilize UDL to create an accessible online course

Clear Fonts: ensure the fonts are legible and easily identifiable to make it more accessible for individuals with visual difficulties, attention difficulties or learning dissabilities

Text Color: ensure the coloring of the text on the website is easily identifiable and contrasts with the website.

Auditory and Visual Content: if possible, try to offer content and curriculum in auditory formats, such as videos or podcasts and visuals, such as written transcripts.

Consistent Navigation: try to keep the website that the course is offered on the same throughout the course. This ensures that students are able to continuously find the material and the resources throughout the duration of the course

Offer Numerous ways to Navigate: some students may struggle with fine motor skills, and by using platforms that allow students to scroll with a mouse and use the keys to work through the website they will better be able to succeed.

Accessible Document Formats: if offering assignment details, homework or reading materials, offer them in multiple formats such as PDF, Word or Google Docs.

Subtitles for Images and Videos: when using videos and images in the curriculum, ensure that there is captions to offer relevant information, especially when Text-to-speech or caption options are unavailable.

Applying UDL and Accessibility Principles:

Through this course, I have developed a deeper understanding of the importance of inclusivity and accessibility in learning environments, and believe that I can recognize the ways that different courses and instructors in my past have failed to emphasize equity in their curriculum. The first thing that comes to mind when I think about the accessibility of courses in my past, is my English course that shifted to online during the peak of Covid-19. This course was not executed in a fashion that aligned with the UDL principles. The teacher sent out one email at the start of March outlining our responsibilities–that being to buy Pride and Prejudice, read it, and submit four essays on a topic of our choosing before the end of June. He offered no resources regarding course content, he had no website, he did not send us a PDF of the book nor did he offer office hours or rubrics for the papers we were to submit. With reflection now, I see how this course may have been heavily inaccessible for students with learning disabilities, family obligations, financial struggles, lack of familial support or simply require additional direction or supervision. Below are a list of a few ways I believe the course could have been improved to aid students as they navigated the material and created a more equitable learning environment

6 Ways to Apply UDL to Improve the Accessibility of the Course:

Create a clear and simplistic course website or page: by creating a page or site that outlines the expectations, assignments, teacher information and rubric students would be able to have clearer understanding of what is expected of them for the course. When a course is entirely online and asynchronous, it is essential that the course materials speak for themself and efficaciously explain how to work through the material.

Offer clear rubrics and a course schedule: The instructor should offer a clear rubric outlining the expectations for the assessment namely how they will be marked, the word/page count and what they are each worth. This will allow the students to start their paper with an understanding of how to be successful and succeed in the assessment. Additionally, creating a course schedule will ensure that they are staying on track to complete the material by the end of the term.

Offer digital resources for the novel: if a course has required readings, it would be beneficial for instructors to offer the learners a list of resources to find the readings. This could include access to a digital PDF, a link to a paper copy and a link to an audiobook.

Offer multiple ways to demonstrate learning: this course asks students to solely submit essays which proves to be more difficult for individuals who have learning disabilities such as dyslexia or whose strengths do not lie in creating papers. To better showcase their learning, the instructor could allow the students some leeway regarding assessment. They could ask students to submit two as essays and allow the other two to be creative submissions such as podcasts, PowerPoint presentations or videos. This would allow students to showcase their learning in a way that aligns with their interests and strengths.

Weekly or Bi-weekly class hours: this course could have been strengthened if they had the opportunity to drop in and discuss the material with their teacher or other students. This would also offer a form of peer and instructor interaction to increase social connectivity within the classroom environment.

Offer additional curricula and coursework: this course could have been enhanced by offering the students additional support and resources to aid them as they read Pride and Prejudice. For example, including YouTube videos explaining significant sections or offering readings that delve further into sections of the book would allow students to have a more nuanced understanding of the book.

Ensure Accessibility in Online Settings:

With the shift towards online learning, it is important to be mindful of how accessibility can be greatly influenced by individuals’ access to digital resources. The digital divide is the gap between individuals who have access to reliable internet and digital resources and those who do not. This divide greatly influences an individual’s ability to access digital resources when in education. As instructors, it is important to take the means to recognize how we can try to overcome these boundaries and aid students in their learning. For example, I taught an online course on coaching one summer that relied predominately on Zoom meetings and virtual communication. The students were from all over North America and some experienced difficulties with internet connection and access to the online platforms required for the course. To overcome this, I sent out recordings of the Zoom calls, the PowerPoint slides and transcriptions of the video to ensure all students were able to access the resources. That is just one example of how instructors can use alternative strategies to ensure students have access to digital resources.

Some ways to ensure that learners have adequate access to digital resources and reduce the digital divide:

1. Use Affordable or Connected Resources: a way to increase access to digital resources is to make use of digital resources available through the university or the school district. For example, many school districts and universities utilize Microsoft 365 to complete homework assignments and distribute course material. Utilizing the resources made available to you, will allow students to readily have access to the material
2. 1:1 Take-Home Technology: many districts and communities support technology access programs such as splitting the price or reducing the price of inexpensive devices such as chrome books. As an instructor, finding opportunities within your community that reduce the price of technology increases students’ ability to access resources.
3. Offer Suggestions to students for places with High-speed internet: many individuals may not have reliable access to internet in their own homes, but may be able to walk, bus or drive to locations with better internet access within their community. By sending students a broad list of locations that could be in their community such as schools, libraries, community centers and coffee shops that have high speed internet, it may allow them to find locations within their community to complete their coursework.
4. Offer Alternatives for Engagement: when possible, instructors can offer their students resources, course materials and homework in multiple formats such as PDF’s, Word Documents, Google Docs and other platforms. Many courses rely on online textbooks and sites, by offering resources that can be used without internet, such as PDF’s students will still be able to complete the work without high-speed internet.

Ethical Considerations in Digital Interactions:

Maintaining ethics and digital citizenship is a huge part of interacting in online settings. Ethics in digital spaces include acting responsibly online, maintaining morals, and values, and involves considerations of fairness, respect, and security when interacting with others. Ethical behavior is important when in social settings such as Instagram, Snapchat and Facebook or when in educational environments such as discussion forums or course sites. As an individual who engages in digital interactions, it is essential to be mindful of your responsibilities when interacting with others. Personally, I take ownership of my online interactions by trying to think of the possible impact of my actions before I post by questioning how I would react if someone else acted similarly. That is just one way of realizing your ethical responsability online.

Below are five additional responsibilities to maintain ethics when interacting online.

Respect Data Ownership: Just because you can open something, does not mean you own it. It is important to receive consent from the owner before using other people’s stories, work or images. Additionally, ensure you cite work you have borrowed from other people to ensure they are receiving adequate recognition. Here is a link to learn how to properly cite other people’s work.

Maintain your Digital Footprint: be mindful of the image of yourself you are creating online. Your digital footprint, the trail of information you leave every time you use the internet, can have lasting impacts on your personal and professional endeavors.

Keep Data Safe: Take measures to protect your privacy such as utilizing VPN’s, strong passwords, and double-authorization.

Be Kind and Respectful: it is important to be kind, fair and respectful towards others when interacting online. Treat others the way you would like to be treated!

Key Takeaways

• The Universal design for Learning is a framework that encourages equitable and accessible learning for all students
• Teachers can ensure equitable access to online and digital resources by using affordable resources, finding community technology access programs and offering their students numerous ways to engage with the material
• When interacting online, users have the ethical responsability to be kind, compassionate, and respect information ownership.