Universal design for learning helps all students connect with course w88 casino games login to become expert learners
March is disability awareness month and two experts from the Office of Digital w88 casino games login discuss digital accessibility, universal design for w88 casino games login and how we can make strides toward a better educational environment for all
The University&w88 casino games login;s w88 online casino of Digital Learning provides training and assistance to professors and instructors regarding course design, digital w88 casino games login, WebCampus and more. Two experts, Don Massie and Sushma Alphonsa, discuss why digital accessibility matters and how the concepts in Universal Design for Learning (UDL) can help instructors best connect their course w88 casino games login with all learners.
Don Massie is a senior instructional designer who has been at the University for five years. His background is in instructional design, and he&w88 casino games login;s been in his current role since November 2022. His main focus is helping instructors, especially with WebCampus and online instruction related issues. He offers advice and support for all instructional needs, including teaching workshops and trainings regarding both UDL and instructional video.
Sushma Alphonsa is an instructional technologist focusing on accessibility. In November 2022, Sushma took over teaching four accessibility trainings offered by the University including Basic Web Accessibility, PDF remediation, accessible Microsoft 365 and WebCampus (Ally) accessibility and provides accessibility support for instructional w88 casino games login. Sushma also helps with accessibility needs for video and audio captioning for instructional content.
What is w88 casino games login?
In simple terms, UDL is Universal Design for w88 casino games login. Universal Design is a broader concept that applies to buildings and structures, too. It may be best understood with an example. The curb cuts that are put into concrete on sidewalks and walkways not only help people with wheelchairs but also help people pushing strollers, people who ride bikes, delivery workers – all sorts of folks who benefit from the curb cuts to help them more easily maneuver.
The same thing applies to w88 casino games login – UDL is intentional design for w88 casino games login that will accommodate various users and needs. The Center for Applied Social Technology is the organization that originally popularized UDL. They created a framework for designing curriculum that enables all individuals to gain knowledge, skills and enthusiasm for w88 casino games login.
UDL focuses on different ways for students to gain knowledge, demonstrate what they know and have a greater sense of agency over their learning. This includes inclusion and accessibility in higher education to optimize instruction for adult w88 casino games login.
“In terms of inclusion, we’re looking for ways to accommodate various abilities, diverse demographic factors and societal identities, social economic statuses including first generation w88 casino games login, different world views … really it’s geared toward fostering a sense of belonging and highlighting the benefits of diversity and multiple points of view,” said Massie.
There’s research that adult w88 casino games login learn better when the content is relevant, solves real world problems and draws upon their prior experience and learning. A big emphasis of UDL is the D – the design, and more so, the intentional design. Instructional content is more impactful when it is designed toward reaching all students and aims for a successful experience for everyone rather than just the average student. Ultimately, with UDL the goal is to create expert w88 casino games login.
What are the main principles behind w88 casino games login?
The basic tenets of UDL are creating multiple means of engagement (the “why” of w88 casino games login) multiple means of representation (the “what” of w88 casino games login) and multiple means of action and expression (the “how” of w88 casino games login).
Engagement – the “why” of learning. The multiple means of engagement concept taps into w88 casino games login’ interests and provides challenges that motivate and engage them. To do this, one can allow options for different context and approaches that let w88 casino games login see the relevance of what they’re learning and personalize that with real world activities and promote a positive culture and climate, which ties back to inclusion. Here, one can tap into self-assessment and reflection so that people understand why they’re learning the material and why they’re progressing as they move through the course.
Representation – the “what” of learning. Providing multiple means of representation of course w88 casino games login provide various ways for learners to perceive and comprehend information. One of those means is the accessibility of the w88 casino games login and ways to convert the w88 casino games login the students acquire into knowledge. For example, instead of just offering a lecture on the material, mix in activities for problem solving and assign projects that engage the students in learning the w88 casino games login. Activate prior learning the students have achieved by scaffolding learning to have it build upon itself and demonstrate the relevance to students. Another goal is to help to transfer that knowledge into different contexts so the students can relate it to real world problem solving.
Action and expression – the “how” of learning. Here, the multiple means of action and expression for w88 casino games login is geared toward helping w88 casino games login be active, strategic and self-directed toward achieving their educational goals. As an instructor, you can provide opportunities so the w88 casino games login can interact and acquire the information in different ways. For example, one can provide multiple ways to demonstrate what they’re learning as a student in different ways. People could have similar learning outcomes with different approaches – allow flexibility so students can demonstrate what they’ve learned in ways that work for them. This also involves collaborative goal setting in learning, breaking the material students will learn down into manageable pieces and instead of a trial and error approach, focus instead on strategic planning so the students can become more effective w88 casino games login.
Why does creating accessible content w88 casino games login start matter?
Digital accessibility isn&w88 casino games login;t just a requirement in the United States and beyond, it&w88 casino games login;s the right thing to do. “Accessibility matters because it benefits everyone, regardless of their abilities or disabilities,” said Alphonsa. “When we have accessibility in mind, we create an inclusive society where we show that we value diversity and equal opportunity. It is powerful when we make someone feel included and when we have taken out barriers that hinder their quality of life. It is the right thing to do!”
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, up to 26% of U.S. adults have some type of disability. Many folks don’t wish to share with others the fact that they have some sort of disability and instead will do their best to get by with whatever w88 casino games login are given to them. By creating accessible content from the start, instructors can help make sure everyone has an equitable experience with learning w88 casino games login and no one feels the need to have to disclose their disability if they do not feel comfortable doing so.
“When you create accessible content from the get go, you don&w88 casino games login;t create a barrier for someone to have to come and explain their needs – the content is just inclusive and available for anyone all the time,” said Alphonsa.
The w88 casino games login has seen an uptick in the percentage of people who identify as having a disability and accessible content supports everyone.
How does UDL tie into digital w88 casino games login?
Digital content that is intentionally designed to reach as many learners in as many ways as possible, including making sure it is accessible, can help make sure that w88 casino games login don’t require accommodations.
Accessible w88 casino games login can almost make certain disabilities disappear and help reach as many learners as possible. For example, for someone who doesn’t hear or doesn’t hear well, providing a properly captioned video from the start (without anyone sending in a request for a video to become captioned and having to wait to have it captioned after many other students have already received the material) can help that person get the same dialogue and experience from the video learning material as a hearing person would. Accessibility is the one-sized-fits-all approach, which is usually easier for instructors as well, since they won’t need to have multiple sets of files to maintain.
w88 casino games login resources are available for more information?
Learning about accessibility and universal design for learning is the best place to start. The more tips and tricks you learn, the easier and unintimidating it is to create course w88 casino games login that will best reach all learners.
Accessibility training sessions with Sushma and universal design for w88 casino games login trainings with Don are offered regularly to University faculty and staff through the Office of Digital w88 casino games login’s Workshops and faculty w88 sports betting app.
Don encourages people to attend a training for UDL and to come talk to him, “Eventually we’d love to have a community of practitioners where people can share what has worked for them and what hasn’t. The best thing to do is to learn about it and try it out. One big concept with UDL is to just try one thing and see how it works. If it doesn’t work, adapt it. There are different ways to approach everything. Involve your students. Ask them and they’ll tell you if what you’re doing is working. Eventually you’ll create a great repertoire of activities that activate and stimulate w88 casino games login.”
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