Library Instruction West 2020

The session will include an overview of Universal Design for Learning (UDL).  Central to UDL are the choices instructors make to ensure a lack of barriers to achieving learning objectives.  UDL focuses on flexibility in information presentation and interaction, along with accessible assessment and infusion of methods to pique and sustain interest.  The facilitators will provide background context about Washington State University’s Roots of Contemporary Issues (RCI, HIST 105/305) program and the accompanying LibGuide, which was identified by the facilitators as an important tool that required updating.  This LibGuide serves as valuable curricular material to thousands of students, supplemental to the main assignment prompts, and as the location of the UDL interventions central to this session.  Digital learning objects create opportunities for meeting UDL’s goals extending beyond the baseline obligation to meet standard accessibility guidelines. The presenters will illustrate, through a side-by-side comparison, how the UDL elements were added to the LibGuide and accessibility compliance was achieved.  In addition to using basic web analytics to explain changes in LibGuide use before and after the introduction of UDL features, the educators will also offer usability study results, focused on how students with barriers are impacted.  The session will include ample time for participants to ask questions about any/all facets of UDL and discuss potential opportunities for inclusion in their own instructional settings.