Seven Special Elements of Inclusive and Accessible Course Content

Presented by:

• Dr. Alice Dieli, Ph.D, Faculty Instructional Development Coordinator, American River College
• Leslie Reeves, M.Ed., Faculty Universal Design for Learning Coordinator, American River College

Speaker Bio:

• Alice is the Instructional Development Faculty Coordinator at American River College. She has over 30 years of experience in education as teacher, trainer, and administrator. She supports faculty using technology in innovative ways to engage students in the online learning environment and provide learning settings where the technology disappears, and the content and interaction come through to facilitate learning and let every student shine. Her degrees include a MS Ed in Instructional Technology, a MPhil in Education, and a PhD in Learning, Instruction, and Innovation.
• Leslie has been an American River College educator for twenty years working to support staff and students in the online teaching and learning process. She became the Faculty Universal Design for Learning Coordinator in 2017 and through training and one-on-one meetings, advocates for creating curriculum that includes Universal Design for Learning principles, equitable instructional design, and campus-wide accessibility for online learning resources. She is also a Lead CVC-OEI Course Reviewer. Leslie holds a MEd degree in Educational Technology, a BS degree in Business Administration, both from CSU Sacramento, and an AS degree in Networking Management from American River College.

Session Info:

Courses that are designed using Universal Design for Learning (UDL) principles, are inherently equitable, inclusive, and sometimes accessible. By paying attention to accessibility, we can reduce many of the barriers to learning for students in the digital environment. In this session, we will provide an overview of UDL and basic accessibility concepts, and how UDL and digital inclusion are interconnected. Participants will experience the use of a step-by-step process in action, using the seven special elements with different tools and checkers to check for and improve accessibility in various types of course content. The human accessibility checker will also be demonstrated. Participants will leave with access to an accessible resources checklist and a curated list of free tutorials and links to guide teachers and content creators to design accessible learning materials.

Session Outcomes:

• Gain a better understanding of how the implementation of UDL principles combined with the use of accessible course content reduces barriers to learning.
• Identify the seven elements of accessible content and how to utilize them.
• Implement strategies for applying tools to check and improve accessibility of learning content.

Session Resources:

• Seven Special Elements of Inclusive DIELI
• Seven Special Elements DIELI Chapter 1- Introduction to Child Development Example-Good formatting and accessible (2)

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