What is Universal Design for Learning (UDL)?

Universal Design for Learning (UDL) is a way of teaching that provides for flexible environments for learning for all students. This concept is built on three key principles: Creating multiple ways of engagement, presentation, and expression. UDL is an inclusive learning experience, allowing students to have the learning experience in their way, based on their own ways of accessing, understanding and expressing learning. To use an example, in a science class, rather than having everyone have to write a traditional research paper, students might be allowed to make a poster, record a podcast, or design a slideshow of their findings. One of my high school teachers let us choose how we presented our final history project; video documentaries, essays, and even diorams. With this type of flexibility, not only did it make learning more enjoyable, it actually forced students to use their strengths. In a digital classroom, having all types of learners supported under UDL can include using different types of media—video tutorials, audio recordings, interactive quizzes—to name a few. For instance, some learn best from video explanations, while others are more comfortable reading through detailed notes, or listening to podcasts on the subject.

Satisfying the need for accessibility in online settings.

Today, particularly with more courses moving to the digital, it’s important for education to make online learning available to all students. Accessibility isn’t just about providing tools but also about providing ways for it to be easy to use, even for people who have disabilities or technological limitations. For example, an accessible interface with intuitive navigation and alt text for images and closed captions on videos can pull a significant amount for Visual Impairment or Hard Of Hearing students. Something I’ve used as a specific strategy in my learning experience, is using zoom programs with integrated captioned service. This is a great feature for students who may not be able to process auditory activity. For example, another offering is providing text alternatives for multimedia presentations so that students who cannot access the video can grasp what they’re missing. Furthermore, professors who provide early drafts of course materials to be reviewed by students who identify accessibility needs – that they may not have thought about – have been contributing to making learning accessible for everyone. Anonymized surveys about accessibility have let me vocalize my accessibility frustration around digital resources, which have, in turn, helped instructors tailor their tools to meet the needs of their class.

Ethical Challenges of EdTech

There are many benefits afforded to the classroom from Educational technology (EdTech) including interactive learning tools and more accessible resources. It however raises ethical issues not the least being privacy, equity and data security. The problem is that there isn’t equal access to technology for all students. To that point, in rural areas or low-income households, a student may be hampered by an unstable internet connection or a outdated device, leaving them in the back of an online class. This disparity needs to be looked at in schools and educators need to think about ways to manage it, like loaning devices or making offline versions of learning materials. A second potential ethical element is what happens if there is a data breach. Educational platforms that collect massive amounts of data about students through can be a lucrative target to cybercriminals if the data isn’t well protected. With use of secure platforms, educators can minimize this risk by limiting the amount of personal data they’re collecting. There are examples of educators in my own field who can’t be trusted with platforms that do collect sensitive information, like Google Classroom with limited information or password protected class websites. Yet, without harming students’ privacy that the benefits of digital learning tools may be obtained.

Digital Interactions with Ethical Considerations

Likely in educational and social spaces, it’s important to acknowledge that digital spaces engender ethics when you are inside of them. The most important relates to dealing fairly, respectfully, and empathically in online interactions. Communicating through a screen is easy. But it’s easy to forget there’s a real person on the other end, and this can be bad, even harmful, behavior. For example I have seen groups working on online projects where some people write off the contribution of someone else because they aren’t physically present, creating an uncomfortable or hostile learning environment. However, healthy digital spaces require that respectful communication — similar to the way you’d communicate face to face — happens. Personal privacy is the other ethical aspect. When we see others sharing personal information without consent, it’s something we should ask ourselves as users, to the extent that we should refrain from sharing what they provide us with. This might mean in an online learning environment not putting classmates’ names or comments out publicly without their permission. Our last tip is to be mindful of our digital footprint, because every single thing we post on-line can be traced back to us. One time I saw a student post part of a group project they had made onto the internet and they didn’t ask other students if they could. The result of that was tension in the group that made us think of the importance of consent and privacy in the digital spaces.

UDL and Accessibility Principles applied

And I get to see firsthand in my university courses just how heavily the UDL and accessibility principles can impact students’ learning experiences. In one of my literature classes my instructor enabled us to choose various methods from which to deliver our final project. Students also produced detailed essays, podcasts, video summaries or digital art interpretation of the texts. The flexibility in this allowed each student to participate in a manner that built upon their strengths while taking up their areas of interest. I have also seen the importance of making the classroom accessible to all types of needs in terms of accessibility. For example, one professor was so sure that all the lecture was available as a video AND audio, with transcriptions for anyone who didn’t want to watch. They gave students who might not have been able to attend the live sessions or learn best by interacting with the material in different ways options to learn as enjoyed without having to come back to it within a set period of time. But we could have probably improved accessibility to external readings. However, some of these assigned materials were not in a format that would make accessing them for students using screen readers easy, and could have been improved by using better formatting or offering alternative reading.