The Learners

Summary

When an online course is designed with the learner at the centre, the learner will be more likely to have their needs met in the course. Yet, that isn’t enough. learners must also feel equitably included in the learning experience despite differences of background, ability, or intelligences. The Universal Design for Learning (UDL) framework provides a useful approach for ensuring that all learners are included. Finally, it is important to work to reduce hidden learning curves to support learners in building digital literacy and online learning skills.

For this step in the course planning process, your Action Items are…

• Think about who your learners are and what they need.
• Download or print the Accessibility Tips handout (PDF), and save it to refer to when you are writing your course content.
• Get familiar with the “big idea” of UDL, and think about how you will use it to make your course inclusive to all. Bring this knowledge with you to the next steps, as you begin to plan your course.
• Remember the tips for minimizing hidden learning curves. You will need to use these when you are building your course in Blackboard.

Once these actions are complete, please proceed to the next module.