2021 IEEE International Professional Communication Conference (ProComm)

Universal Design for Learning in Blended and

Fully Online Courses
2021 IEEE International Professional Communication Conference (ProComm) | 978-1-6654-4327-2/21/$31.00 ©2021 IEEE | DOI: 10.1109/ProComm52174.2021.00009

Darina M. Slattery
University of Limerick
darina.slattery@ul.ie

Abstract – The Universal Design for Learning framework
comprises three principles that aim to accommodate all
learners, regardless of their abilities, backgrounds, or
learning preferences. The three principles—multiple
means of engagement, multiple means of representation,
and multiple means of expression—comprise practical
guidelines that instructors can employ when designing
their courses. When used in conjunction with principles
from information design, instructional design, and web
accessibility, instructors are more likely to develop
courses that are inclusive, instructive, and usable. This
paper outlines a case study of strategies and techniques
that the author employed in a graduate course, and some
challenges she encountered when implementing them.
Index Terms – Accessibility, information design,
instructional design, online learning, Universal Design
for Learning
INTRODUCTION
In March 2020, the global pandemic necessitated a swift
move online for higher education instructions. Instructors
had to revise their course materials, and learn how to use
new technology, with very little time to upskill. In the early
months of the pandemic, there was a lot of debate about the
differences between emergency remote teaching and
quality online teaching [1, 2], which subsequently caused
institutions to focus more on quality online teaching when
planning for fall 2020.
For online instructors, it can be challenging to develop
courses that will appeal to learners with varying
requirements, learning preferences, and access to
technology. Ideally, instructors should have at least a basic
understanding of accessibility, information design,
instructional design, user experience, and Universal
Design for Learning (UDL), to ensure they know how to
design appealing, instructive, and accessible courses.
In this paper, the author will outline how she applies
relevant design principles to a course that is usually taught
to on-campus and online groups comprising a mix of
traditional and non-traditional learners. The author will
outline how her courses are instructionally designed and
how content is presented synchronously and
asynchronously and in different formats. The author will
also elaborate on the challenges she has encountered when
creating a UDL environment, particularly in terms of
offering multiple forms of content, timely feedback, and
alternative assignments.
THE COURSE
Before the pandemic began, the author taught an annual
graduate course about instructional design to a mixed
group of online and on-campus learners, many of whom
had little subject-matter expertise. The author designed the
course so all students, regardless of their backgrounds,
could successfully complete it. Online and on-campus
students attended (or listened to) the same lectures,
undertook the same activities and assignments, and
participated in the same discussion forums.
Once the pandemic began in 2020, all students moved
online. Around that time, the author was undertaking a
course on Universal Design for Learning (UDL), so she
decided to implement some UDL principles in the fall 2020
course, with a view to evaluating and documenting her
experiences. The next section presents an outline of how
the author typically delivers the course, followed by an
outline of recent UDL enhancements and the challenges
she encountered.
INSTRUCTONAL DESIGN AND INFORMATION DESIGN
As the author teaches instructional design and
information design, the principles and strategies
underpinning these disciplines need to be embedded in her
day-to-day practice. The remainder of this section will
outline some of the principles and strategies she typically
employs.
The author uses Gagne’s nine events of instruction to
structure the course [3]. These external events can be
arranged to suit the internal events (within the learner) and
can apply to all types of learning outcomes.
The first event of instruction—gaining attention—can
be difficult to achieve in a fully online course, because

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DOI 10.1109/ProComm52174.2021.00009

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students are separated from their instructors by technology.
However, carefully designed Learning Management
System (LMS) sites that present welcome messages and
signpost relevant resources, are more likely to capture the
attention of their learners.
The second event—informing learners of the
objective—is critical. While it is common for instructors to
present course objectives (or learning outcomes) in a
course outline at the start of term, the author has observed
that many instructors do not present objectives at a granular
level. In addition to outlining the course objectives, the
author presents objectives for every lecture and activity, to
help students understand how they relate to the overall
course objectives.
The third event—stimulating recall of prior learning—
is essential to ensure students can recall prior knowledge
and skills. Simple cross-references to previous lectures is
often sufficient to remind students of what they already
know, and where to go if they need to revise that content.
Appropriate information design is essential when
presenting course materials (event four). To ensure
consistency, the author uses a template for her slide decks
and sets the type style and size to ensure they are
sufficiently legible [4]. In addition, each slide deck
comprises a syllabus overview, a lecture overview, lecture
objectives, instructional content, a lecture summary, a brief
outline of what will be covered in the next lecture, and a
list of recommended and additional readings. This level of
consistency means students quickly become familiar with
the structure of the course and know what to expect.
Where figures and tables are used, the author ensures
they are sufficiently clear and that informative captions are
provided [4]. If she is unsure about color choices, she uses
a contrast checker such as WebAim [5].
Information design applies not only to slide decks and
other handouts, but also to the design and layout of the
LMS, which should be consistently presented and easy to
navigate. Content should ideally be grouped or chunked
into weekly folders or themes, to facilitate orientation,
navigation, and comprehension [6].
Guidance is another essential event of instruction. At
the start of term, the author gives her students a detailed
course outline, which tells them how the course will be
delivered, which texts they will need to consult, and how
they will be assessed. The assessment information includes
percentage weightings, whether the assessments will be
individual or collaborative, and when the various
components will be due. The author gives students details
about important policies and guidelines for assignment
submissions, grading and feedback, and disciplinary
procedures. Students are also informed that course supports
comprise a mix of live online chat (one hour per week, in
the LMS chat room), asynchronous forum support (every
weekday, via the LMS forum), and face-to-face office
hours for students who choose to travel to the campus. This
blend of supports ensures students can interact with the
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instructor at a time and pace that suits them and they are
not obliged to be online at any particular time. Students
have access to the live chat sessions and forums for the full
semester, so that information is always readily available.
The next event—elicit learner performance—takes
place when students really start engaging with the content,
their peers, and the instructor. The author uses regular e-
tivities, which are structured forum-based activities, to
engage students and facilitate peer interaction [7]. These e-
tivities are aligned with the learning outcomes and feed
into the final assessment, which is typically worth a
substantial amount of marks. While it is always a challenge
to provide feedback (event seven) during a busy teaching
semester, students receive personalized feedback on all
coursework before the next assessment is due. The final
assessment (event eight) is always project- or problem-
based, in line with the author’s constructivist approach to
teaching [8].
Finally, students sometimes comment that they find it
difficult to see how course content relates to the ‘real
world’, so it is essential that instructors facilitate retention
and transfer (event nine) by citing real world examples and
giving students real world problems to solve.
WEB ACCESSIBILITY
When talking about information design, we mentioned
the importance of consistency and clarity in course
materials. When presenting materials online, instructors
also need to think about how learners will interact with
those materials and whether the materials will display as
intended. The Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI) seeks to
ensure the full range of core Web technologies are
accessible to everyone, including people with visual,
hearing, physical, cognitive, or neurological disabilities, as
well as people in lower income brackets, without access to
suitable technology, and without sufficient knowledge to
use that technology [9]
The WAI has developed several sets of guidelines to
help content developers, tools developers, and others to
develop accessible Web content. One set of guidelines—
the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG)—is
particularly relevant to online instructors [10]. The WCAG
comprise four principles with various guidelines under
each principle.
The first WCAG principle states that web content
should be perceivable. Simple strategies that many
instructors already employ include providing text
alternatives for any non-text content (e.g. alternative text
for images and figures) and providing alternatives for any
time-based media (e.g. uploading recordings of live
lectures to facilitate those who cannot attend). Instructors
are encouraged to create content that can be presented in
different ways without losing information or structure, and
to make it easier for users (in this case, learners) to see and
hear content, by separating foreground content from
background content. The ability to turn off background
audio, for example, is a helpful feature.
The second principle asks instructors to make all
content operable. Those of us who are already familiar
with information design appreciate the importance of
giving learners enough time to read and use content, which
is why incorporating pause and rewind controls into online
presentations is a useful strategy. Instructors should also
avoid embedding flashing banners and images on the
screen, as these can cause seizures. Other ways to make
content operable include providing ways to help users find
content and determine where they are. Enabling clickable
breadcrumb trails such as ‘Week 1 > Tutorials’ and
organizing LMS folders are some simple strategies that can
be employed.
The third principle requires content to be
understandable, which very much aligns with good
information design principles. Content needs to be readable
and understandable and Web pages need to appear and
operate in predictable ways. Another way to make content
understandable is to help learners avoid making mistakes.
Where mistakes cannot be avoided, learners should be
advised how to correct those mistakes. The use of built-in
heading styles in Microsoft Word documents helps users
scan and work out the hierarchy of the document, but they
also help assistive technologies communicate that
hierarchy to the user. In addition, the use of accessible links
with informative text (rather than the full URL) makes
those links more understandable to users of assistive
technologies.
The final principle—robust—is more technically
oriented, in that it encourages content developers to
maximize compatibility with current and future
technologies, including assistive technologies. One way
for instructors to do this is to ensure they adhere to the
latest standards when preparing content e.g. by using
HTML markup correctly and designing reusable learning
objects that conform to the SCORM standard [11].
UNIVERSAL DESIGN FOR LEARNING
Universal Design for Learning (UDL) is a course design
framework comprising three principles that aims to
accommodate all learners, regardless of their abilities,
backgrounds, or learning preferences [12]. As readers will
learn, UDL encompasses many principles and guidelines
that overlap with instructional design, information design,
accessibility, and user experience, but UDL also includes
other considerations.
I. UDL principles and guidelines
The first UDL principle—multiple means of
engagement—recommends designing a learning
environment that stimulates, interests, and motivates
learners. Techniques for increasing engagement can
include offering real-world assignments, encouraging
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active learning, and providing regular feedback. Many of
the UDL engagement guidelines are aligned with
constructivist teaching principles [8].
The second principle—multiple means of
representation—encourages teachers to present content in
a variety of ways, for example using slides, graphics, and
video. Another useful strategy is to summarize key points
during lectures and tie them into the course learning
outcomes, as outlined earlier. Representation guidelines
very much align with best practices in information design
and instructional design. Tools like Blackboard Ally [13]
can enable instructors to convert Word documents to other
formats, including podcasts.
The final principle—multiple means of expression—
recommends a learning environment where learners can
express their understanding in multiple ways [12, 14].
Sample strategies for this final principle include using
discussion forums and blogs to encourage reflection and
collaboration on tasks; another strategy is to offer
assessment choice, which can appeal to learners with
different skills and learning preferences. Even though
learning styles are frequently critiqued [15], the principle
behind them—namely to cater for as many learners as
possible—should always be kept in mind.
II. UDL implementation case study
As outlined earlier, the author employs a variety of
techniques and strategies in the day-to-day design of her
courses, which adhere to good practice in information
design, instructional design, and accessibility. Some of
these practices also very much align with UDL principles.
The remainder of this section will highlight specific
strategies that she employed in fall 2020 and some
challenges she encountered while doing so.
The first new strategy the author employed was to
ensure she undertook accessibility checks for every
Microsoft Word and PowerPoint document she shared
with her students. Using the built-in accessibility
checkers, the author was able to see when alternative text
was missing for images and figures, when captions were
required, and when the reading order of the slide could be
problematic for students using screen readers. This latter
issue, in particular, was a revelation, as the author was
unaware that the various text boxes on her slides (e.g. for
the title, main text, and images) would not necessarily be
read out in the order she intended. Fortunately, once she
became aware of this issue, she was able to drag and drop
the text boxes into the correct order, within the
accessibility checker. For instructors reusing slide decks,
this can be time consuming to do, but it is essential for
accessibility reasons.
Because the author sometimes includes screenshots of
software applications in her slide decks, and adds shapes
to those screenshots to highlight specific features, her
slide decks were not sufficiently accessible. The
accessibility checker highlighted how each of these
shapes needed alternative text. Without alternative text,
students using screen readers would simply hear the name
of each shape being read out e.g. ‘AutoShape 1’,
‘AutoShape 2’, and so on, which would not make any
sense. After some research and reflection, the author
identified two possible solutions:
1. Type ‘decorative’ in the ‘Alt Text’ box for
each shape, so screen readers will tell users
that the shapes are simply decorative features.
2. Recapture the image so all the shapes are
‘flattened’ onto the background image, before
reinserting that flattened image and adding
suitable alt text.
While the second solution might seem preferable,
unless the instructor elaborates on what was highlighted
in the image (via the alt text description), students using
screen readers will not receive this information. In the
author’s case, time constraints meant she had to use the
first approach, but going forward, she will design images
so they will only require one alt text description.
Once the documents had been checked for
accessibility, the author converted them to PDF to retain
the formatting. The other advantage of PDF format is that
it is universally accepted and can be opened in browsers.
Furthermore, if instructors have access to Adobe Acrobat,
they can perform additional accessibility checks before
publishing the PDF files.
In the summer of 2020, the author’s institution made
Panopto available to instructors. Panopto enables
instructors to upload slide decks and record their lectures,
while also enabling a number of other output formats
[16]. Another advantage of Panopto is that it enables
instructors to generate captions, which can be read by
screen readers, thereby making the lecture presentation
even more accessible. While captions are essential for
accessibility reasons, the author found caption editing to
be very time consuming and tedious, so she recommends
considering carefully what level of editing is required and
acceptable to students.
By availing of various Panopto features, the author
was able to make the following resources available to her
students each week:
• Slide deck presentations with audio (Panopto
file, accessible from within the LMS)
• Captions (for students using screen readers
and anyone who has difficulty
comprehending the instructor)
• Podcasts (for those who like to listen to the
audio e.g. while travelling)
• Slide decks (PowerPoint file)
• Slide decks (PDF file, for those without
access to PowerPoint)
One final UDL strategy that the author employed was
to incorporate a draft assignment before the final
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assignment was due. In previous years, students had
reported that because the final assignment was worth so
many marks, they would have appreciated a chance to get
some feedback before submitting the final version. While
it proved challenging to incorporate an additional
assignment into a relatively short semester, it paid off in
terms of the quality of students’ final submissions. In
addition, 95% of students surveyed said they found the
draft assignment beneficial, so the author will maintain the
draft assignment going forward.
CONCLUSIONS
This paper outlines information design, instructional
design, accessibility, and Universal Design for Learning
(UDL) principles and guidelines that instructors might like
to consider, when designing blended and fully online
courses. This paper also outlines practical strategies that
the author employed, in a recent UDL implementation
project, and the challenges she encountered while doing so.
While some of these strategies have become more
commonplace in recent years (such as the need for
alternative text for images and figures), instructors might
not realize that some of their materials are still inaccessible
to some learners. An awareness of the various principles
and guidelines enables instructors to design more inclusive
and usable materials.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The author would like to acknowledge the financial
support of the UL Faculty of Arts, Humanities and Social
Sciences Faculty Research Committee, who supported the
publication of this paper.
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[6] Nielsen Norman Group, “How Chunking Helps Content ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Processing”. [Online]. Available:
https://www.nngroup.com/articles/chunking/ Darina M. Slattery is a Senior Lecturer in
E-Learning, Instructional Design, and
[7] G. Salmon, E-tivities: The Key to Active Online Learning. 2nd Technical Communication at the
edition. New York: Routledge. 2013. University of Limerick. Her research
interests include e-learning, the
[8] D. Jonassen, “Designing constructivist learning professional development of online
environments,” in Instructional-Design Theories and Models: A
teachers, and virtual teams. Her co-
New Paradigm of Instructional Theory, Volume II, C. M.
Reigeluth, Ed. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Inc.,
authored book ‘Virtual Teams in Higher Education: A
1999, pp. 215-239. Handbook for Students and Teachers’ was published in
2016. She is a recent alumna of the Institute for Emerging
[9] W3C, “Making the Web Accessible”. [Online]. Available: Leadership in Online Learning (2019) and the MIT
https://www.w3.org/WAI/ Leadership and Innovation programme (2021). Darina is
the current President of the IEEE Professional
[10] W3C, “WCAG 2.1 At a Glance”. [Online]. Available: Communication Society.
https://www.w3.org/WAI/standards-guidelines/wcag/glance/

[11] Advanced Distributed Learning Initiative, “Sharable Content

Object Reference Model (SCORM)”. [Online]. Available:
https://adlnet.gov/projects/scorm/

[12] CAST, Inc., “About Universal Design for Learning”.

[Online]. Available: http://www.cast.org/our-work/about-
udl.html.

[13] Blackboard, “Blackboard Ally for LMS”. [Online].

Available: https://tinyurl.com/2ct57drm

[14] D. Gordon et al., Universal Design for Learning: Theory and

Practice. Wakefield, United States: Cast Professional Publishing,
2016.

[15] F. Coffield et al., “Learning Styles and Pedagogy in Post-16

Learning: A Systematic and Critical Review,” The Learning and
Skills Research Centre. [Online]. Available:
http://www.leerbeleving.nl/wp-
content/uploads/2011/09/learning-styles.pdf

[16] Panopto, “Stop Typing, Start Recording”. [Online].

Available: https://www.panopto.com/

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