Today, May 16, is Global Accessibility Awareness Day. The Office of Online Learning at UGA believes that creating accessible educational opportunities is critical to student and institutional success. Amy Ingalls is an Instructional Designer in UGA’s Office of Online Learning and spoke on the importance of designing with accessible learning in the forefront.

How does UGA make learning online accessible?

The Office of Online Learning uses a Universal Design for Learning (UDL) framework. UDL emphasizes creating content to be flexible in terms of materials, mode of presentation, and ways of responding to learning tasks. This helps create an inclusive learning experience for all people, not just specific disabilities.

We think about the broadest spectrum of students when we are designing because online learning draws in people who couldn’t or wouldn’t come to a campus. This helps us look at the spectrum and think about the potential barriers to learning and how can we overcome those barriers.

What does accessibility mean in terms of learning?

Think about universal design and architecture such as ramps rather than stairs. Creating a learning experience for marginalized students ends up benefiting everyone in the class. For instance, all the videos we produce are also closed captioned. Closed captions allow captions to be turned on or off by the students’ choice which is a benefit to everyone. We also help to create graphics that are easily understood by those with certain visual impairments such as color blindness which also helps everyone by providing visual information that can be interpreted more quickly.

Are there specific standards that we follow to maintain accessibility?

Yes, we have federal and state requirement – Section 508 of the ADA and because UGA receives federal money there is USG and UGA policy that requires we adhere to those standards. We have to stay current on our abilities as employees of the University to ensure that tools used for online for learning are accessible to all students and can continue to elevate everyone’s education through inclusive design.

How do we support faculty in maintaining accessibility?

We provide support by helping them design a course that is already fully accessible, to the extent which is possible. We also remind faculty to make courses accessible from the beginning so that they do not have to redo designing the course. This way they don’t hit technical or curriculum based roadblocks. We provide specific ways that courses can be inclusive.

We help faculty change learning materials to be more inclusive. For instance, we redesign powerpoints and presentations into html pages that screen readers can read. We help faculty maintain the goals of the curriculum while assisting them to make the learning process accessible. Other changes can include presenting content in smaller pieces or spreading out assignments over time in smaller lower stakes assessments. It ends up benefiting everyone.

Are there accessibility advantages when it comes to learning online?

I think this quote from Benetech, a platform that promotes socially equitable technology, sums up the importance of accessibility with digital tools. “If content is ‘born digital,’ it can—and should—be ‘born accessible.’ Accessible content must be a priority. This could truly be a golden age of access to books and information for people with print disabilities—such as people who are blind or are dyslexic.”

What does creating inclusive learning mean to you?

Inclusive learning means being aware of the different types of students that may take a course. Students with families, students with physical disabilities, non-native english speakers, and military students. Each category has different needs.

What are the challenges associated with creating accessible online courses?

One, you are online which means you are using software that may not be accessible. You could use a tool that goes along with a textbook, but it isn’t accessible. Balancing new tools online that are engaging with the fact that it has to be accessible for all students can be complicated. It is always a challenge to make new technology accessible.

A second challenge is that most faculty can make assumptions that students are digital natives and have access to those technologies, but that is not always the case. Think about how you design best for those challenges. Technology develops quickly but the newest tools are not always built with accessibility to access or ease of use in mind.

How can the education system continue to increase accessibility in the future?

Global accessibility awareness day is important. For instructional designers, staying knowledgeable is important. Faculty need to shift their mindset to think about all kinds of learners. For online, you could offer more chances for faculty to hear from students on how they can make their classes more accessible. We need to work on changing the culture and expanding mindsets on diversity and inclusion. We should continue to expand and promote what is defined as being accessible.