Previous module:
Next module:

What is universal design?

Universal design calls for:

The design of products and environments to be usable by all people, to the greatest extent possible, without the need for adaptation or specialized design (The Center for Universal Design - NC State University, 1997).

When designing for learners, this means that learning experiences and materials benefit ALL students when learning materials are accessible, diverse and inclusive.

For a brief overview of the concept of Universal Design check out this interactive reader:
Notebook iconWith your team: Experiences with (and without) Universal Design

Exploring Universal Design for Learning

With your team, explore the diversity of learners, their experiences, and their different approaches to learning by discussing the following questions and completing the follow activities together:

  • Have you ever had a learning experience that you felt just wasn't designed for you? How will this impact your team's design approach?
  • Next, choose a website that your team frequently uses, and explore it using WAVE - the Web Accessibility Evaluation Tool: http://wave.webaim.org/. This tool gives you a chance to take a behind the scenes look at the accessibility of a website and identify both best practices and areas of improvement.
  • What did you notice about the website you visited? In what ways is it accessible? How could it be improved?

Additional questions to discuss if you have time:

  • Imagine there were a tool like webaim for physical spaces, products, or services (in other words things that aren't online). How would it work? What factors would it consider?
  • What roles do universal design and accessibility play in designs outside of the web? Can you think of a non-digital product or service that seems to have been created with universal design and accessibility in mind? What about the opposite?
Improve this page
Previous section:
Next section: