Estimated Time: 15 Minutes

Why Accessibility?

Designing with accessibility in mind is our job as educators. It is the right thing to do and it is the law. Watch one or more of the videos below to gain perspective on how essential this is for people with disabilities.

Accessibility in LMSs

Many Learning Management Systems (LMSs) have built-in accessibility checkers. You can also use one of the tools below to check the accessibility of a website.

• Siteimprove Has a Free Google Chrome Accessibility Checker

• wave.webaim.org is a web accessibility evaluation tool

When we use the term, accessibility, we are focussed on the learner's experience with content and interfaces, which is critical. Did the image have alt text? Did the videos have captions? However, we must also be very intentional in designing and delivering learning experiences to meet the needs of all learners which is what UDL is about.

Bob Dolan from Diverse Learners Consulting, explains, “There tends to be much confusion over accessibility vs. UDL. Most accessibility efforts focus on content and interfaces. While this level of accessibility is necessary to support learning, it is insufficient. We must also provide access to learning opportunities—which is far more nuanced—and which is what UDL is about.”

Design and Deliver Instruction to Create Access for ALL

The UDL Guidelines help educators design and deliver instruction that creates access for all students while teaching them how to become empowered, expert learners. These guidelines align to research from neuroscience on how the brain learns.

There are 3 principles of UDL:

• Engagement- the why of learning, supports the affective network of the brain

• Representation- the what of learning, supports the recognition network of the brain

• Action/Expression- the how of learning, supports the strategic network of the brain

UDL Choice Activity

Now that you have had a very quick overview of UDL, take a few minutes to go deeper and explore an area of interest.
Note: The activity that follows was originally designed by the CA MTSS team at Orange County Department of Education.

Choice #1: Do you think UDL is basically another word for differentiated instruction?

• Read this article on differentiated instruction & UDL by Dr. Katie Novak
  OR

• Look at this chart comparing them.

Choice #4: Are you interested in going deeper with the UDL Guidelines or have questions about lesson design?

• Visit CAST’s website and check out the interactive UDL Guidelines
  OR

• Explore this UDL Lesson Flow Chart.

Optional Additional Reading

10 Tips for Creating Accessible Course Content

CAST’s National Center on Accessible Educational Materials (AEM)