Additional Resources
- The New Accessibility: Students With Disabilities and Access to Technology
Inside Higher Ed's latest compilation of incisive and practical articles (sponsored by D2L).
- NNLM Universal Design for Learning: Accessibility at the Library Webinar SeriesWant to learn more about UDL this summer? The National Network of Libraries of Medicine will be offering a 4 part webinar series over the course of the summer, addressing specific accessibility topics. Attend one or all of the sessions to increase your library's online digital access.
July 11 session: Universal Design for Learning (UDL) to Promote Framework Principles Adoption, Student Engagement and Active Learning
July 18 session: Promoting Accessible Document Creation
July 25 session: Building Accessible Websites
August 1 session: Accessibility in Procurement
Universal Design for Learning (UDL)
Universal design for learning (UDL) is a learner-centered framework that is applied to teaching and learning to create an equitable learning environment, regardless of learning preferences or constraints. The principles of UDL are based on the overarching goals of providing multiple means of representation (the ‘what’ of learning), providing multiple means of expression (the ‘how’ of learning), and providing multiple means of engagement (the ‘why’ of learning). The UDL framework means that all learning materials and content should be presented in a way that makes them accessible by all learners; for example, rather than making separate accommodations in a course management system for students with visual impairments, all materials in that course should be easy to access and use, no matter what types of learners are in the course. Providing multiple means of accessing course content is another way to create an equitable learning environment; for asynchronous lectures, including both transcripts and visual descriptions of lecture content (e.g. slide narration) in addition to a narrated video will allow students to engage with materials in a way that best meets their learning needs. Incorporating the principles of UDL will ensure a more inclusive and welcoming online learning environment.
More resources can be found at:
Building Access: Universal Design and the Politics of Disability by ISBN: 9781517901646Publication Date: 2017-11-01
- Universal Design GuidelinesThe UDL Guidelines are a tool used in the implementation of Universal Design for Learning, a framework to improve and optimize teaching and learning for all people based on scientific insights into how humans learn.
Accessibility & LibGuides
Accessibility Considerations (pre-work)
Review these resources prior to the Summer Series II session on July 9th.
- Creating accessible documentspresentation by Sarah Swanz
- Writing effective image alt-textpresentation by Sarah Swanz
- Adding captions to audio-visual contentpresentation by Sarah Swanz
Session Activity
Course Design: Accessibility Touchstones
Use these Universal Design guidelines as jumping-off points for discussing your session activity. Specifics that you may want to talk about: your syllabus or lesson plan; your technology, both in offering the course itself and the tools that would be used to supplement or enhance it; your social environment; your learning outcomes; your assessment design; and your expectations of what a successful course would be.
You may also want to take a look at the co-teaching template for considerations in designing instruction that is both accessible and inclusive.
