Universal Design for Learning

Universal Design for Learning (UDL) is a framework to improve and optimize teaching and learning for all people based on scientific insights into how humans learn. UDL allows more learners to access and interact with materials and information by providing multiple options or formats.

Painted numbers on a set of elevator buttons work for many people, but braille numbers will also allow people with vision impairment to also use the buttons.  The braille numbers do not hinder those who do not need them, but they extend accessibility to those who do.  A similar approach is useful for teaching and can be applied in everything from the way your material is organized in your learning management system (Canvas, Moodle, or Blackboard) to the ways that you invite your students to share their thoughts or questions in your classroom.

Some examples of ways to apply the principals of UDL in your own teaching include:

  • Use an online course site in Canvas, Moodle or Blackboard to post course materials, lecture recordings, assignments, and resources. 
  • If you are using Zoom for any meetings or classes, turn on captioning when you begin the meeting. You can do this by clicking More ...  Captions ... Turn on Captions. Some versions of the Zoom application have a Show Captions CC icon instead. You can always review and edit the transcript of recorded Zoom sessions. 
  • For in-person presentations turn on the automatic captioning feature in PowerPoint or Google slides.  
  • If you are using Echo360 you should enable Automatic Speech Recognition (ASR) in your course and then you will be able to add and edit transcripts in Echo360.
  • If you are selecting videos to use in your course, use ones that are appropriately captioned (rather than autogenerated). If you use YouTube videos you can actually use a filter to search for captioned videos. 
  • Include information in the “alt text” field of any image in an online environment so that text-to-speech software can provide a description of the image to a learner with a visual impairment.  
  • Consider the accessibility of your course content. Use the Office365 Accessibility Checker to assess your Microsoft Word and PowerPoint files or visit Google’s accessibility site to learn accessible approaches for Google Docs and Slides.
  • Label control buttons on scientific equipment with intuitive icons in addition to words.
  • Ensure that a laboratory, field station or maker space can accommodate left- or right-handed people, or people who need to either stand or sit while they work.

Because UDL is about providing multiple modalities to accommodate more people, the principles apply to all aspects of course design and delivery.  For example, in addition to considering the varied needs of people with diverse physical abilities, there are also a variety of supports that learners may need related to neurodiversity. Some examples for addressing such needs include:

  • When you assign reading, guided reading questions can help students who may feel overwhelmed by the level or amount of reading material.  This can also be something that you do through a discussion board in your course site in Canvas, Moodle, or Blackboard. 
  • Consider providing skeletal note-taking outlines for students in order to support their ability to pay attention and stay on track with lecture material. 
  • Recordings of your class can help students by providing them with a way to review the content afterwards. 
  • Whenever possible (and it is possible quite often with a bit of creativity), offer different formats for students to be assessed – written, verbal, creating video or artwork, etc.  This enables students with different expression skills to demonstrate what they know rather than their ability to master a particular format of performance.

Invite students to meet with you to discuss ways that will support their access of the learning materials and ways for them to demonstrate their learning.

The Center for Teaching and Learning has an excellent set of resources about UDL. 

And, be sure to also visit the Assistive Technology Center (ATC)  in person or online to learn about the various assistive technologies and tools available for you and your students.