Research

The following articles and websites demonstrate the importance of using universal design for learning techniques when creating online instructional resources. Among the websites are also helpful technology tools that can be used to create online instructional resources as well as informational websites and examples of well designed, accessible online instructional resources.

Articles

Catalano, Amy. (2014). Improving distance education for students with special needs: A qualitative study of students' experiences with an online library research course. Journal of Library & Information Services in Distance Learning, 8(1-2), 17-31. doi:10.1080/1533290X.2014.902416

In this study, seven students with diverse disabilities took a one-credit online library course. The library course was redesigned based on universal design techniques and a review of the literature. Librarians included alt-text, captions, transcripts, large san-sarif font, multiple examples in multiple formats, and among other course redesign techniques. After participating in the course, the students were interviewed via a questionnaire. Student learning preferences varied and providing choices in the type of final project to complete helped meet their needs and provided them with more motivation. The author shared helpful suggestions for improving distance education, such as providing a tutorial on how to use technologies in the class, add voices to all tutorials and PowerPoints, include rubrics, expectations, and a video introduction of the professor, and provide choices for assessments and assignments. Catalano strongly recommended providing guidelines for making all online courses accessible.

Chodock, T., & Dolinger, E. (2009). Applying universal design to information literacy: Teaching students who learn differently at Landmark College. Reference & User Services Quarterly, 49(1), 24-32.

Librarians at Landmark College developed Universal Design for Information Literacy (UDIL) based on UDL, Universal Design for Instruction principles, and active learning practices. While the UDIL is based on traditional, face to face library instruction sessions, some of the principles are applicable to online instruction as well. Some of the UDIL applications most important to online instructional resources include: creating web-based course guides and using san-sarif font, stress usability features in databases and websites, present information in multiple formats, and use citation-making software, print icons, and other shortcuts. A similar set of principles could be developed specifically for creating online instructional resources.

Clossen, A. S. (2014). Beyond the letter of the law. Pennsylvania Libraries: Research & Practice, 2(1), 27-37. doi:10.5195/palrap.2014.43

Clossen demonstrates how universal design can be applied to creating library video tutorials. Since one of the most popular online instructional resources to create is a video tutorial, this is an important study to read. Many articles focus on screencasts, but this study discussed techniques for all types of video tutorials, including stop-motion white-board animation, sock puppets, and other types of videos. Clossen discussed teh importance of the video player working with keyboard strokes alone, rather than relying on a mouse. The importance of video captions are highlighted as well as the context of the narrative and focus for the video. Finally, to avoid creating barriers in the video design, the author recommends asking the question, "Who might have trouble with this design choice?"

Hoover, J., Nall, C., & Willis, C. (2013). Designing library instruction for students with learning disabilities. North Carolina Libraries, 71(2), 27-31.

The librarians at East Carolina University considered the principles of Universal Design for Learning and how they can be applied in library instruction. To assist students with learning disabilities, the authors recommend using repetition and slower pacing with library instruction. Multimedia presentations should be used to emphasize instructional content. The librarians included a list of pre- and post- test questions used to assess student learning. While this study focused on traditional library instruction, the same principles and recommendations can be applied to online instructional resources as well.

Moorefield-Lang, H., Copeland, C. A., & Haynes, A. (2016). Accessing abilities: Creating innovative accessible online learning environments and putting quality into practice. Education for Information, 32(1), 27-33. doi:10.3233/EFI-150966

The faculty at the School of Library and Information Science at the University of South Carolina discussed online instruction standards and instructional techniques for distance education or online students that are differently-able. A series of captioned Tech 15 videos were developed to teach people about technology tools that can be used for instruction. These videos can be viewed by librarians that create online instructional resources. The authors include a list of best practices for online and distance education courses, including applying UDL, offering consistency and repetition, multiple formats, captioning, and other UDL techniques. These will be particularly helpful for librarians creating online instructional resources.

Rogers-Shaw, C., Carr-Chellman, D. J., & Choi, J. (2018). Universal design for learning: Guidelines for accessible online instruction. Adult Learning, 29(1), 20-31. doi:10.1177/1045159517735530

This study provides guidelines for creating online instruction that is accessible. The authors focus on using principles of UDL to improve an existing online course taught to adult learners. The focus of this article on UDL and online adult learners will be especially helpful for academic librarians creating online instructional resources for college and university students. UDL guided the course redesign to include multiple means of representation, engagement, and expression as well as involving content relevance, authenticity, and flexibility. The authors mention that UDL helps adult online learners particularly well with the inclusion of visual and auditory content in addition to text-based content. This shows the importance of including multimodal content, such as a combination of images, video audio, and text. UDL designed online courses meet the needs of a diverse population of adult learners. By incorporating flexibility and choice in the course, the authors demonstrated how to use UDL principles, which can also be adopted by academic librarians. The authors also share syllabus design that includes UDL techniques. It will be helpful for librarians to read about implementing UDL from an educator's perspective in this study.

Webb, K. K., & Hoover, J. (2015). Universal design for learning (UDL) in the academic library: A methodology for mapping multiple means of representation in library tutorials. College & Research Libraries, 76(4), 537-553. doi:10.5860/crl.76.4.537

The librarians at East Carolina University also discussed how they used UDL to revise a LibGuide (library guide to support a course). There is a particularly helpful literature review section that can be mined for additional helpful, related articles. The authors discussed how they created multiple modules using images, audio, text, and tutorials to add to the LibGuide as part of the UDL principles. They used a UDL mapping method to show the multiple means of representation included in the updated LibGuide/tutorial. The librarians tracked the number of times each type of learning mode was used in the tutorial. Students completed a usability test of the LibGuide to assess effectiveness of the updated guide and tutorial. The UDL mapping method can be a helpful tool for academic librarians to use when creating online instructional resources to make them more inclusive for all students. Additionally, the usability testing questions were included in an appendix that can be adapted by other librarians completing a usability test of online instructional resources.

Zhong, Y. (2012). Universal design for learning (UDL) in library instruction. College & Undergraduate Libraries, 19(1), 33-45. doi:10.1080/10691316.2012.652549

The librarians at California State University-Bakersfield explored how UDL principles could be applied to library instruction. This study provided a general lesson plan that incorporated UDL and could be adopted and adapted by other academic librarians. Additionally, a case study of using UDL for teaching students about Boolean logic was discussed. When teaching about Boolean logic and other search strategies, UDL techniques should be used by including images, auditory explanations, and hands-on or kinesthetic activities to explain the search strategies. Zhong discussed the importance of including an accessible PowerPoint presentation, ADA accessible documents, and captions with videos as well as a variety of assessment formats, such as quizzes, discussion boards, or assignments. The author surveyed students and found that only a small portion of her students self-identified as having a disability, but most of her students said that the UDL techniques implemented improved the library instruction session.

Websites

ACRL Instruction Section. (2018, February 23). Instructional technologies tips and trends. Retrieved March 1, 2018.

The Association of College and Research Libraries Instruction Section produces three to four Tips and Trends issues per year that "discusses new, emerging, or even familiar technology which can be applied in the library instruction setting." The most recent issue involves accessibility and universal design. This issue will be helpful for academic librarians to review. It provides best practices when creating instructional resources based on universal design and accessibility. It also links to accessibility verifiers and universal design support tools. Other Tips and Trends will also be helpful in creating online instructional resources that are created with UDL in mind, such as graphic design tools, animations, and more.

Canva. (2018). Retrieved March 1, 2018.

Canva is a web-based graphic design tool. It was launched in August of 2013 and had rapidly grown in popularity since then. Many librarians use Canva to create image based documents. There are many templates to choose from, such as book covers, certificates, flyers, infographics, lesson plans, web banners, and worksheets. Canva provides a user-friendly way for librarians to create professional looking content. It is important to remember to add alt-text for images created in Canva when using them on the library website or as an online instructional resource. There is a free version available. Canva also offers tutorials, a color palette generator, and a quick photo editing tool.

DO-IT Center. (2017). Equal access: Universal design of libraries. Retrieved March 1, 2018.

The DO-IT (Disabilities, Opportunities, Internetworking, and Technology) Center produced a web page about universal design in libraries. DO-IT mission is "empowering people with disabilities through technology and education." This page lists ways of making libraries more welcoming, accessible, and usable to all patrons. While it was created with K-12 students in mind, the checklist has applications for higher education libraries as well. The section on information resources and technology are particularly helpful. Additionally, the 20 Tips for Teaching an Accessible Online Course by DO-IT will also be beneficial to review. They also provide related videos to assist librarians and educators with universal design and accessibility.

Padlet. (2018). Retrieved March 1, 2018.

Padlet is a free, online bulletin board, collaboration tool. This is a user-friendly tool that can be used to encourage student collaboration or group work in the online realm. Some libraries use Padlet to have students respond to a particle question or share articles they find in a library database. Others share content with attendees for a conference presentation. Padlet has multiple applications for academic librarians and should be investigated. Padlet even provides a page about the accessibility of Padlet. Overall, the tool does meet accessibility guidelines, but librarians should still be conscious of including alt-text and captions when appropriate as well as making sure colors contrast enough for individuals with low-visibility and color blindness.

Powtoon. (2018). Retrieved March 1, 2018.

Powtoon is an animated video and presentation creation tool. There is a free account option as well as a free educators option, for which academic and school librarians can register. Engaging, animated videos can be created with PowToon to discuss a topic or explain something. This tool is not meant to create screencasts (like the next website does), but depending on the context, sometimes an animated video can be more engaging for students. PowToon takes a little more time to learn how to use, but once the layout is understood, it is a user-friendly tool that can produce professional looking animated videos. There are templates available to work from, and the layout is similar to PowerPoint with different slides representing different scenes in the video. Animated videos can be exported to YouTube.

Screencast-o-Matic. (2018). Retrieved March 1, 2018.

For librarians that do not have access to Camtasia or Adobe Captivate, Screencast-o-Matic is a helpful, free tool that can be used to create screencasts or record the screen to create a video demonstration. Jing is another free tool, but it is more limited in video length. Screencast-o-Matic allows for up to 15 minute long videos to be created (although shorter videos are usually preferred). Videos can be exported to YouTube after being created.

Springshare. (2018). LibGuides. Retrieved March 1, 2018.

LibGuides are a popular web publishing and content creation tool among academic librarians. A free trial can be used before subscribing to LibGuides. A number of libraries use LibGuides to create subject guides, course guides, A-Z lists of library databases, even entire library websites. LibGuides are a robust, technology tool that meet accessibility standards. The librarian creator must also follow accessibility guidelines and preferably, universal design for learning principles when creating a LibGuide, such as including alt-text for images or captions with embedded videos. Usage statistics for each LibGuide are kept and can be reviewed by librarians to see how big of an impact the guides are having on students. Many academic libraries are creating online instructional resources within LibGuides, making it an important tool to investigate.

Springshare. (2018). LibWizard. Retrieved March 1, 2018.

LibWizard is the newest Springshare product. It can be used to create forms, surveys, quizzes, and interactive tutorials. This is a wonderful tool that can be used by librarians to create online instructional resources. It is not a free tool, but is reasonably priced, like LibGuides, based on the number of students. LibWizard shows great potential for creating highly interactive, instructional modules, tutorials, and quizzes that can be embedded in LibGuides to support specific courses or groups of students. Moving into the future, this is an important tool to know about in academic libraries.

University of Iowa Libraries. (2017, August 4). ADA and universal design. Retrieved March 1, 2018.

This is an example of a LibGuide about ADA and universal design, created by a librarian at the University of Iowa Litchtenberger Engineering Library. This guide was created to teach students about universal design and ADA and the related links and resources may also help librarians learn about the topics. This is a helpful example of the type of information that can be shared on a LibGuide. It is important to note that while LibGuides themselves are accessible, user errors can cause accessibility issues in LibGuides if librarians are unaware of accessibility guidelines and universal design principles.

University of Michigan Academic Innovation. (2017). Accessibility and universal design: A Q&A with U-M experts. Retrieved March 1, 2018.

This interview answers questions related to accessibility and universal design by faculty members at the University of Michigan, including Stephanie Rosen, Associate Librarian and Accessibility Specialist at the University Library. The speakers shared insights about how to enhance course content for distance learners and on campus students. They discussed the importance of universal design and accessibility in higher education, including myths and misunderstandings. Speakers also discussed the University of Michigan Accessibility Quick Guide that would also be helpful for librarians to review. It can be helpful to see what one institution is doing to support universal design and accessibility on campus. Some librarians may be interested in helping create their own accessibility or universal design quick guide.

University of Oregon Libraries. (2018, January 23). Creating LibGuides at the University of Oregon libraries. Retrieved March 1, 2018.

The librarians at the University of Oregon Libraries created a LibGuide that highlights best practices in LibGuide design including information about universal design and accessibility in LibGuide creation. For librarians using LibGuides or LibWizard to create and share online instructional resources, this is an important site to review to ensure accessibility standards are followed when creating LibGuides and that universal design for learning techniques are incorporated. If a lot of librarians are creating LibGuides, it might be helpful to create an institutional template that demonstrates universal design principles and accessibility standards.

WebAIM. (2018). Color contrast checker. Retrieved March 1, 2018.

One important tool created by WebAIM is the color contrast checker. This tool compares two colors by RGB hexadecimal format or a color picker. A contrast ratio is provided along with an explanation for what contrast ratio is required for accessibility. This is helpful for librarians selecting a color palette to use on their website or online resource. It will help determine if patrons with low-vision or color-blindness will be able to view the resource. Keep in mind that the WAVE web accessibility evaluation tool does analyze the contrast ratios of all elements on the page, so the final colors chosen can be checked with WAVE. When making color selections, this color contrast checker can be helpful for librarians.

WebAIM. (2018). WAVE web accessibility evaluation tool. Retrieved March 1, 2018.

The WAVE web accessibility evaluation tool can help librarians determine the accessibility of a website or online resource. WAVE is powered by WebAIM, (Web Accessibility In Mind). WAVE was originally launched in 2001. It is a powerful tool that can check a website for accessibility issues. Once a URL is entered, WAVE creates an accessibility report that explains any accessibility issues with the website, such as missing alt-text or alerts like redundant links. Overall, this is a good tool to use to make sure there are no accessibility issues with a library website or online resource.

WebAIM. (2018). WebAIM web accessibility in mind. Retrieved March 1, 2018.

WebAIM stands for Web Accessibility in Mind and was created in 1999. The mission is to "empower organizations to make their web content accessible to people with disabilities." This is an important website for librarians to know about for finding resources about web accessibility and accessibility checklists. There are articles about disabilities as well as creating accessible HTML sites, PDFs, Word documents, PowerPoint, and more. If a librarian needs to learn how to make an online instructional resource accessible, this is the website to use.