Skip Navigation

Skip to main content

Text Resize:

A department within Student Affairs

Multiple Means of Representation of Course Content

Universal Design for Learning First Principle

Multiple means of representation of course content

This first principle of Universal Design for Learning (UDL) encourages you, the instructor, to give students a variety of ways to access what it is you want them to learn. This makes excellent sense from three distinct angles:

  1. An individual learner can typically take in information in a variety of ways, some of which are more effective, comfortable, or efficient for him/her than others.
  2. Cognitive research indicates that attending simultaneously to different sensory perceptions causes them to be “stored” by a corresponding function of working memory (i.e., for either visual-spatial elements or verbal/text elements). Overloading either one causes loss of working memory traces. Exposure to more than one mode (e.g., text with visuals, watching animations with narration, listening to lectures that use visual elements effectively) increases learning significantly in most contexts.
  3. Learners with a disability that limits their access to specific modalities (such as printed text and visual images for a blind person) will need to get access some other way.

In what follows, you will have a chance to consider many of the forms in which your students may encounter information in your courses. The discussion of each topic should help you understand:

  • Who will benefit from measures to make the given format as accessible as possible;
  • How to make the materials – or the information they contain – accessible to all your students; and
  • What resources exist to help you offer your students diverse and accessible sources of course content.

As you read, remember that universal design of your course(s) is an ongoing process; you can and should work on one issue at a time. To start, choose something you believe will have a significant impact on the inclusiveness of your course, and that you feel confident you can do. Once you feel comfortable with the result, move to another issue.

Top of page

Accessible Instructional Materials (AIM)

If we want our students to learn some skill or knowledge and be able to use it or build on it, we have to make sure they can get at the information they need – whether by reading or hearing it communicated in words, seeing it broken down and arranged schematically, perceiving it “happen” using any of their senses, or figuring it out themselves based on other available information. If, however, we offer the information only in a form some students can’t use – or can’t use efficiently enough in the time available – we unintentionally erect a barrier to their learning.

This is why varied and accessible means of representing course content are so crucial. It’s also why Temple University has a policy – consistent with federal law – requiring faculty to provide instructional materials in an alternative format for students with a relevant disability. To read the policy, go to Temple’s Policy on Alternative Format Materials on the Temple website.

By thinking ahead as you prepare your course materials, you can ensure that all your students – including those who have a disability – will have full access to your course content from the very beginning of the semester. And by providing a variety of modes of representation (visual, oral, textual, multimedia, tactile), you create conditions that favor high student interest and engagement, efficient processing, and robust learning.

For additional information on the general topic of accessibility, check out the two links below:

  • AccessIT Knowledge Base, a searchable collection of short articles on specific topics related to accessibility of technology and electronic resources;
  • Queens University (Ontario) maintains an Accessibility Toolkit, including a series of brief checklists related to accessibility of documents, media, and instructional design.

Top of page

Textbooks

If you decide that reading a textbook will help your students learn the skills and knowledge you want them to have by semester’s end, there are many UDL angles on choosing that textbook:

  • Is the book available in audio and/or digital format? If so, does your syllabus tell students about that?
  • Is the material presented in an organized, clear way?
  • Are there effective visual elements?
  • Are there helpful online resources connected with the text? Are those resources accessible to students who use assistive technologies for digital and multimedia resources? Did you build in instructional time to train your students in how to use those resources productively?
  • Are there sections of the textbook you will not use in your course? If so, does the publisher allow you to customize by including only the chapters you want at a reduced price?
  • Is there an open-source textbook that will serve the needs of the course? If so, does it make sense to offer it as an option for those who prefer a free, digital version of a textbook?

The following links to Word documents offer detailed information about students who are likely to benefit from a UDL approach to textbook choice, as well as sources of information related to alternate formats.

Top of page

Documents

Word format
 Word documents are the most common type created by many instructors. Making them as clear and accessible as possible to all students is a major step toward universally designed course materials. Although there are a number of issues to consider, most steps are easy to implement once you get in the habit of doing them.

You will find detailed information in Accessible Word Documents.

PDF format
The primary issues with PDF files are:

  1. PDFs created by scanning documents cannot be read using assistive technologies like screen readers and text-to-speech software; they also do not magnify clearly or conveniently for users with low vision. There is a process that will transform these image-based PDFs to text-based versions that are more accessible.
  2. PDFs created from Word documents are only as accessible as the original document. Therefore, it is important to include the features discussed in Accessible Word documents or to modify the PDF itself (more complicated).
  3. When you create a PDF, be sure its security settings allow it to interface with assistive software.

You will find detailed information in Accessible PDF files and the WebAIM article, “PDF Accessibility.”

Graphic organizers and concept maps
“Graphic organizer” refers to any arrangement of visual features – combined with text – that represents relationships among concepts, ideas, facts, events, steps, or other items. A concept map can be considered a type of graphic organizer that depicts relationships of connection among concepts related to a particular topic or question. A typical concept map uses shapes with words inside to denote main concepts, with other shapes representing subtopics or ideas. These are linked together using arrows or lines, often with labels.

Presenting information to students in the form of a concept map or other graphic framework can promote meaningful learning for many students. However, there are steps you should take to maximize the universally designed quality of these formats.

For a full discussion and recommendations for incorporating graphic organizers and concept maps into a universally designed learning environment, see Graphic Organizers/Concept Maps.

Top of page

Other media

PowerPoint
In recent years, PowerPoint has become ubiquitous in college instruction. Read about how to evaluate and use PowerPoint as a tool within a UDL framework, and learn how to make sure your PowerPoint presentations are as accessible as possible to all your students in Accessible PowerPoint.

For a detailed discussion of PowerPoint accessibility strategies, see the WebAIM article, “PowerPoint Accessibility.”

DVD/Video
Quality films, animations, and other audio-visual media can be the most effective and engaging means of conveying information or expanding students’ understanding. For a subset of students, however – namely those who are blind/low vision, deaf/hard of hearing, or not proficient in understanding spoken English – such media are inaccessible without compensatory measures. You can remove the barriers by ensuring two simple things:

  • That all sound elements that convey information in the DVD/video have a simultaneous textual version (i.e., captioned speech and descriptions of relevant sounds); and
  • That all sights and actions that contribute to the meaning of the product have simultaneous oral description.

Captions are essential for students who are deaf to get the same information that hearing audience members take in aurally. They also help English language learners to see what is being spoken in English in case they cannot understand it when they listen. When deciding on DVD/video resources for your course (including YouTube videos), ascertain whether the version you will use has a caption option. If it doesn’t, you will need to caption it or arrange for someone else to do so, especially if you have a student who is deaf or very hard of hearing.

The WebAIM website has a set of informative articles that explain the captioning process in several different multimedia programs. You can start with “Web Captioning Overview.”

Oral descriptions accomplish a similar purpose for blind viewers of DVD/video as captions do for deaf viewers. Such descriptions are only necessary if the essential information does not come through the words or sounds. “Web Captioning Overview” has a short section pertaining to oral descriptions, including an example in mp3 format.

Podcasts/Audio
The most obvious beneficiaries of transcripts of podcasts and other audio files you may use in your course are students who are deaf or hard of hearing. A transcript is the only way they can access those audio resources. However, a blind student who is accustomed to using a screen reader may prefer to listen to the transcript rather than to the original audio file, because s/he can set the reading speed to a higher rate than most people speak (or can understand). Other students who may choose to use the transcript, either alone or in tandem with the audio, are English language learners and students with a learning disability that interferes with processing the spoken word.

If you create your own training videos or podcasts, you probably first write a script so that your narration will be as clear and fluid as possible. The script will then serve as a transcript, and you can post it alongside the podcast or other file. If you want to create digital recordings of your class sessions, some digital recording systems will work with Dragon Naturally Speaking© voice-recognition software to transcribe your audio file.

Top of page

Websites

Increasing numbers of faculty members are creating web content to use in their courses; many also direct their students to websites created by others. It is the responsibility of each instructor to make sure that every student is able to utilize such web content. Unfortunately, there is plenty of material on the internet to which blind or deaf users, individuals with limited dexterity, or some with a learning disability have less than full access. Web Accessibility provides annotated links to a variety of sources of information for faculty who incorporate web resources into their teaching materials.

Top of page

Distance Learning

Faculty who teach online or hybrid courses confront accessibility issues that are very similar to those that arise in face-to-face courses. However, here are several online resources directed at online learning specifically:

Top of page

Endnotes

See the meta-analysis conducted and reported by Metiri Group, “Multimodal Learning Through Media: What the Research Says.” Cisco Systems, 2008, p. 13. Accessed June 6, 2011.

Top of page