This presentation was prepared for faculty professional development in developing online courses. Guided by Universal Design for Learning principles, instructor and instructional designer should work collaboratively to produce quality online courses that inspire learners' online learning experience.
Universal design for learning and course development in online education
1. Universal Design for Learning
(UDL) & Course Development in
Online Education
SIRUI WANG, PH.D.
COLORADO STATE UNIVERSITY ONLINE
2. We all have a 30 second elevator speech planned to explain what we do.
Sometimes I even default to, “I create online learning experiences. Have you ever heard
of Duolingo or Lynda.com? … Well sort of like that.”
Resource from: http://melslearninglab.com/2017/02/23/funny-gifs/
PDI 2018 | SIRUI WANG, PH.D. | CSU 2
3. Universal Design for Learning (UDL)
Articulated by the Center for Applied
Special Technology (CAST) in 1990s:
Research-based
Set of principles
o Representation
o Action and Expression
o Engagement
Accessible and effective learning
environments for all
Resource from: http://www.cast.org/
PDI 2018 | SIRUI WANG, PH.D. | CSU 3
12. Summary
Guided by UDL principles, instructional designers work
collaboratively with instructors/SMEs to design the high quality
courses by
Preparing proper content/materials that best fit the course context
Motivating students upon their learning interests
Delivering instructions in a various methods, and
Constructing unique learning experience/learning path
for every learners and students
PDI 2018 | SIRUI WANG, PH.D. | CSU 12
13. References
CAST (2011). Universal Design for Learning Guidelines version 2.0. Wakefield, MA: Author.
Dell, C. A., Dell, T. F., & Blackwell, T. L. (2015). Applying universal design for learning in
online courses: Pedagogical and practical considerations. The Journal of Educators Online,
13(2), 166–192.
Fidalgo, P., & Thormann, J. (2017). Reaching students in online courses using alternative
formats. The International Review of Research in Open and Distributed Learning [Accepted].
He, Y. (2014). Universal design for learning in on online teacher educational course:
Enhancing learners’ confidence to teach online. MERLOT Journal of Online Learning and
Teaching, 10(2), 283-298.
Orkwis, R, & McLane, K (1998). A curriculum every student can use: Design principles for
student access. ERIC/OSEP Topical Brief No. ED423654. Reston, VA: ERIC/OSEP
Special Project.
PDI 2018 | SIRUI WANG, PH.D. | CSU 13
Good morning, thank you so much for joining me in this session of UDL and Online Course Development.
My name is Sirui, and I am currently working as an instructional designer at CSU Online. If the term “Instructional Design” does not sound familiar to you, the next slide might be helpful for you to know a little bit about it.
Well, I do have to say that creating learning experiences and viewing Lynda.com are really part of my working.
In general, Instructional design supports instructors to present the course content in a proper way that can best fit the course context, and fulfill different learners’ learning needs, so that bring learners positive and energetic learning experience, and the most important, to enhance the learning opportunity to every learner/students.
Well, I guess knowing what an instructional designer is is not the reason why you want to be here with me.
So, now, let’s move on to the Universal Design for Learning principles and Online Course Development.
UDL as an educational framework, was first articulated by CAST (center for applied special technology) in the 1990s, Universal Design for Learning is a research-based set of principles to guide the design of learning environments that are accessible and effective for all.
It believes that individuals bring a huge variety of skills, needs, and interests to learning. So, UDL aims at improving and optimizing the teaching and learning for all people so that any individual would have the equal opportunities to learn.
*CAST: is an educational, not-for-profit organization that uses technology to expand opportunities for all people, especially those with disabilities. One of their initiative is to promote the concept of Universal Design for Learning (UDL).
The three main principles of UDL (Representation, Action & Expression, and Engagement) are based upon Neuroscience research. This chart provides the roots of each of the three principles.
When learning happens, (From top to bottom in this chart), three primary brain networks come into play:
the recognition networks require the learning content to be presented in different ways, (which leads to Principle I: Provide multiple means of Representation). Which is great for resourceful, knowledgeable learners.
the strategic networks differentiate the ways students can express and share what they learn, and monitor learning progress, and this is where the second Principle of UDL comes from: provide multiple means of Action & Expression. (Principle II), which is great for strategic, goal-directed learners.
the affective networks ask for the simulation of interest and motivation for learning, so that third Principle of UDL is to provide multiple means of Engagement (Principle III). Which is great for purposeful, motivated learners.
The three brain networks make each student unique, and UDL supports in making each unique learners’ learning experience unique. Think about this, In one class, we would have a diversity of students, such as different learning abilities, language background, learning styles, etc. So, designing a course by considering UDL would offer each individual the opportunity of building a learning journey that belongs to themselves.
In 2011 CAST published a newer version of the three principles guidelines (as in the slide), which includes detailed checkpoints for each principle and guideline. It is more intuitive for using the principles. There are also some universities adopted the guidelines as rubrics of examining whether UDL principles have been applied properly or not.
In order to produce high-quality and accessible online courses, considering UDL principles start from the very beginning: Preparing the learners. And are used combined.
When planning and preparing a course, among a long list of development components, content, assessment and technology are the three that would set the baseline of high-quality course.
Content: what are the information that we want to share with students, why students have to take their time consume those knowledge, and how the knowledge and information would be presented. A very often heard question from an instructor who needs to have the F2F class session converted into fully online session is “I have a three-hours lecture per week in my F2F class, do I have to prepare a three-hour video lecturing online too?” Well, It is about the content, not the time length.
Assessment: What are the possible assessment activities that we could ask students to perform and evaluate their own learning in one course? After setting the goals and objectives of learning, we need to decide how many activities are reasonable and what are the types of those activities? For instance, will a discussion work better than Submit an essay? Will working in a group more efficient than working individually? why they have to work on the assignments, and what are those content and materials that can actually benefit the students for their future career.
Technology can facilitate teaching and learning in terms of interactions and accessibility, but think about do I have to use technology and to what extend? We talk about technologies, especially “big” technologies a lot today. For instance, We are experimenting using VR in online education. But when implementing those technologies to a certain course, a science course is definitely different from an art class. We use technology because it could provide multiple ways of content presentation, offer learners’ various methods of expressions, and increase learning interest, but because everybody else is using it.
Now, I would bring several best practices and course examples with each principle, so that you would have a better recognition of using UDL in course development.
UDL Principle I provides multiple means of representation. So, offering the different display and access to the information will add the flexibility of learning.
Text is great for article reading, working sheet, and any readable resources; Image has the advantage in visualizing complicated concepts and ideas; audio and video formats are always used combined.
For the purpose of accessibility, images should be provided Alt-texts and audio/video should be with closed caption and be transcribed.
(Screen-capture needed for
Image: Smart Climate (infographics)
Interactive video: ART100
PDF: any course screen capture
Video: NSCI 620 – Video screen capture)
Principle II of UDL provides options for executive functions, such as appropriate goal-setting, facilitate managing information and resources.
A user-friendly navigation in online course would serve as a “prototype” of learning and is very important for students to manage and acquire the presented learning resources, set their study goals, and build their learning path. Especially when they reflect on the entire process, they will need to structure the content the way being presented. It is about the order of presenting the information, materials, and any content in a course.
The presentation of content should be organized by learning unit, maybe modules, lessons, weeks, objectives, etc. Every learning unit, content page, activity, and link in the course should have a proper name. The content should be categorized by reading, watch, or activity.
Using multiple media for communication is an important part in UDL.
How do you want to communicate with the students, how much is adequate, and how frequent the communications needs to be?
This is also the “Action & Expression” principle of UDL emphasized. Maybe at the very beginning of a class, either online or F2F, design a few warm-up activities, or using the on-site assessment/communication station if online, to welcome students and allows them to share their learning interest and intend of joining the course.
UDL principle II enables students express themselves in different ways, which is usually associated with the learning objectives and the assessment methods in a course.
Two formats of assessments are often used: formative and summative. Depending of the course content and learning objectives, instructors and I will need to work together to decide those assessment.
The third UDL principle is about Engagement, which includes but not limited to recruiting interest, sustaining effort and persistence, and self-regulation.
We want to bring more engagement to all the learners/students in the same course design; because in nature, even without the UDL guidance, we would know that no one wants to just sit there and finish a long list of articles and lectures.
The cubes are just some very commonly used ideas in designing course activities, which serve as the options of Principle III guidelines.
Self-paced learning path is the one that popular among instructors, because it customizes students’ learning; and External labs/tools will be more specific to certain courses or disciplinary. Such as the IOLab is for a physics class; if our CS instructors has any tools like that, we can discuss about how to embed into the class or connect with LMS. One thing that we do need to take into consideration is the accessibility of those activities, if it cannot fulfill the accessible purpose, is there any alternatives just in case?