Universal DesignOnline, On Campus, and In The Classroom

Rachel Cox, Ralph McFarland, Jennifer Weir TAMU-CC Disability Services, CCH 116

01/10/2012

TAMUCC Students with Disabilities Include Those With

• Learning• ADHD• Physical• Visual• Mobility• Psychological• Deaf/Hard of Hearing• Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI)• Health• Asperger’s Syndrome

What is Universal Design?

• It is "the design of products and environments to be usable by all people, to the greatest extent possible, without the need for adaptation or specialized design.“

(Ron Mace, Architect who used a wheelchair and experienced building inaccessibility first-hand)

Classic Examples of UD in Physical Accessibility is the Curb Cut

•People who have difficulty walking•People riding bicycles•People who use wheelchairs•People pushing a baby carriage

Universal Design of Facilities

The Process of Universal DesignSheryl Burgstahler, 2007SS

Sheryl Burgstahler, University of Washington, 2007

The principles of universal design can be employed to the development and delivery of any course curricula, classroom activity, or student assessment. To apply universal design, the instructor can take the following steps:

•Identify the course. Describe the course, its learning objectives, and its overall content. •Define the universe. Describe the overall population of the students eligible to enroll in the course and then consider their potential diverse characteristics (e.g., with respect to gender; age; ethnicity and race; naive language; learning style; and abilities to see, hear, manipulate objects, read, and communicate).•Involve students. Consider perspectives of students with diverse characteristics in the development of the course. If they are not available directly from students, gain student perspectives through diversity programs such as the campus disability services office. •Adopt instructional strategies. Adopt overall learning and teaching philosophies and methods. Integrate these practices with universal design guidelines or strategies for learning or instruction. •Apply instructional strategies. Apply universal design strategies in concert with good instructional practices to the overall choice of course teaching methods, curricula, and assessments. Then apply universal design to all lectures, classroom discussions, group work, handouts, web-based content, labs, fieldwork, assessment instruments, and other academic activities and materials to maximize the learning of students with a wide variety of characteristics. •Plan for accommodations. Learn campus procedures for addressing accommodation requests (e.g., arranging for sign language interpreters) from specific students for whom the course design does not automatically provide full access.•Evaluate. Monitor the effectiveness of instruction through observation and feedback from students with a diverse set of characteristics, assess learning, and modify the course On an ongoing basis, monitor effectiveness of the instruction by gathering feedback from student participation and learning and make modifications based on this feedback. Also include universal design issues in the course evaluation and make course modifications based on this feedback.

In the Classroom…What is Universal Design in Instruction?

• Universal design is an approach to the designed instruction, that takes into consideration the variety of abilities, disabilities, racial/ethnic backgrounds, reading abilities, ages, and other characteristics of the student body.

Universal Design: 3 Essential Qualities

• Multiple means of representation • Multiple means of engagement

• Multiple means of expression  

Sources: Center for Applied Special Technology (CAST) Curriculum Transformation and Disability (CTAD)

Multiple Means of Representation

Provide various ways of acquiring information and knowledge to students such as:•Chalkboard /Whiteboard•Powerpoint presentations•Overhead transparencies•Models •Simulations •MORE…

Multiple Means of Representation cont.

• Assignments in written form and posted on course website

• Accessible electronic materials

• Lecture outlines or notes distributed in class and/or posted on course website

• Study guides

• Summary of major concepts 

Multiple Means of Engagement

Tap into learners’ interests to offer appropriate challenges and to increase motivation including:

• Variety of assignments (e.g., readings, group projects)

• Tutorials, web searches • Small group discussions • Whole-class discussions • Lectures, etc. • Teaching of explicit strategies to learn the material

Multiple Means of Expression

The instruction provides learners alternatives for demonstrating what they know:

• Variety of graded exercises (e.g., papers, examinations, homework, presentations)

• Multiple formats on examinations (e.g., essay, short answer, oral)

• Choices in graded exercises (e.g., final exam or final paper)

• Sufficient time on examinations. • Use of word processing, spell check, and grammar

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Provide learners alternatives for demonstrating what they know

• Considers practical needs for a vast array of ages, cultures and lifestyles

• Recognizes development, growth and change in people who use designs, services and information

• Everyone benefits from people-centered inclusive design

• People-centered and honors human diversity

Universal Design of Technologies

Universal Design has good style and is easy to use

Online Teaching

Blackboard is accessible, to start, but it can become inaccessible when instructors upload inaccessible content, including:

•Inaccessible PDFs, Graphics, Pictures•Uncaptioned Video or Audio•Links to Inaccessible Websites

By making courses accessible to students who are sight or hearing impaired, you are also making the same course accessible to students with a wide range of other disabilities.

What Makes A PDF Accessible?

Microsoft Word is More Accessible than a PDF. When possible, save and upload a document as Word instead of PDF.

•“Real Text” (You can highlight and copy the text)

– You can produce Real Text when you type into Adobe Acrobat, or “Save A Document as PDF” from Word.

– Graphics of Text are NOT Accessible. This happens when you use a scanner to scan a document into a PDF without using OCR software.

Captioning Video or Audio

• If you cannot caption your video due to the software used, you must provide a transcript of the video.

• YouTube videos can use Google Captions (free) for a rough translation using voice recognition technology

It’s The Law! Compliant Websites

• Section 508 compliance required by the Texas Administrative Code

• Easy fixes include:– Alt Tags on All Graphics– Simple Navigation– Avoid Use of Flash– No blinking or flashing!– Design your page for Mobile Users

Image courtesy of Joshua Johnson, Tips for Designing for Colorblind Users, http://designshack.net/articles/accessibility/tips-for-designing-for-colorblind-users

Identification of systemic, physical and attitudinal barriers

What can you identify in your…

• Office

• Department

• Campus

• Classroom

• On-Line Course

…as potential and real systemic, physical, or attitudinal barriers?

TAMUCC Disability Services website – http://disabilityservices.tamucc.edu

ADA Checklist for Readily Achievable Barrier Removal http://www.adachecklist.org/checklist.html

DOIT (Disabilities, Opportunities, Internetworking, Technology) Universal Design of Instruction http://www.washington.edu/doit/Faculty/Strategies/Universal/

World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) http://www.w3.org/

DO-IT Distance Learning http://www.washington.edu/doit/Faculty/Strategies/Academic/Distancelearning/

Resources