UDL Strategies for Higher Ed Classrooms: A Shortlist

Learning and applying accessibility solutions starts with small steps. This resource presents some ways you can practice implementing the principles of UDL using your current Canvas skills and knowledge. Making these flexible adaptations can improve accessibility and address learner variability. The strategies are organized by the correlating principle of UDL.

This is not a comprehensive list of strategies but rather a starting point to get you thinking about how to apply UDL in your course. For all of the UDL principles, making your Canvas course accessible and easy to access for all students is an important starting point. We'll get to that next!

State the learning objectives and topics for each week and/or module so that students come to class prepared to engage with that context. This can be done in Announcements or Modules. To help students stay organized and focused, provide them with a version of your PowerPoint slides that allows them to take notes for each slide, either digitally or by printing them. Check whether students could access all materials for each week or module in an optional three-question anonymous survey using the Quizzes tool. List all resources for that week and have students check off any that presented difficulties. The second question is short answer and asks why this happened. The third question asks what they need as an alternative. This strategy informs you of any issues but protects students who may not want to state so publicly. If you want to give students the option of declaring themselves, you can add an optional question to put their name. Apply the 8 strategies in this course!	Acknowledge at the start of the course that there may be students in the classroom who have accessibility needs and that you are supportive of them and will ensure their full access and participation. Have students complete a short reflection on their learning every week to identify successes to acknowledge and pain points to address. This can be an ungraded or complete/incomplete Assignment. Solicit regular feedback about class sessions in a short anonymous survey asking whether students understood the concepts and whether they struggled with any specific parts. Apply the 8 strategies in this course!	As you plan your course, think of as many ways to adapt assignments you've designed as you can. Assignment Example: Students will create a 3-5 minute video using Canvas Studio discussing their reaction to a class reading. Adaptations: Alternatively, students can write their reaction as a short 500-word essay or blog post, record audio only, or create a diagram/chart/infographic of their responses. Turn project-based learning assignments into group assignments to give students more opportunity to contribute with their personal strengths. Have students complete all in-class work in small groups. Apply the 8 strategies in this course!