Universal Design for Learning Strategy Database

It is important to design materials and physical environments that support and value the interaction needs and preferences of every learner. Intentionally designed curricular materials provide a seamless interface with common assistive and accessible technologies through which everyone, including individuals with disabilities, can navigate and express what they know.

Are you working to:

• Support students in interacting with tools and environments that make learning physically accessible?
• Open doors to learning with accessible tools and devices?

Learners differ widely in the ways they navigate and move through the physical environment, information, and activities. To reduce barriers to learning, it is essential to embed flexibility in the means for response, navigation, and movement. And along with this flexibility comes the need to reflect on biases and assumptions regarding these different means; it is important to honor the multiplicity of ways to engage and embody the learning process.

Providing a learner with a tool is often not enough. We need to provide the support to use the tool effectively. Oftentimes, learners may need assistance in navigating through their environment (both in terms of physical space and the curriculum), and every learner should be given the opportunity to use tools that might help them meet the goal of full access and participation in the learning environment. However, significant numbers of learners with disabilities use assistive technologies for navigation, interaction, and composition on a regular basis. It is critical that instructional technologies and curricula are accessible and do not impose inadvertent barriers to the use of these assistive technologies. It is also important, however, to ensure that making a lesson physically accessible does not inadvertently reduce the challenge associated with the learning goal.