Three Approaches to Teaching Accessibility and Universal Design at the University of Illinois

Handouts Media

Presented at 3:30pm in Westminster IV on Wednesday, November 20, 2019.

#31491

Speaker(s)

  • Marc Thompson, Assistant Director of Teaching & Learning Experiences, Program Director Information Accessibility Design & Policy, University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign
  • Hadi Rangin, IT Accessibility Specialist, University of Washington

Session Details

  • Length of Session: 1-hr
  • Format: Lecture
  • Expertise Level: Beginner
  • Type of session: General Conference

Summary

This presentation examines the different teaching approaches in 3 programs at University of Illinois: the Badging Program of the Accessible Information Technology Group; the Coursera for Illinois MOOC, “An Introduction to Accessibility & Inclusive Design,” and the 24-week professional certificate program in Information Accessibility Design & Policy

Abstract

What can different teaching approaches to accessibility and universal design tell us about effective instructional design practice and our ability to address the growing diversity of accessibility needs and interests in higher ed and industry? This presentation examines the different teaching approaches in 3 programs at University of Illinois: the Badging Program of the Accessible Information Technology Group; the Coursera for Illinois MOOC, “An Introduction to Accessibility & Inclusive Design,” and the 24-week professional certificate program in Information Accessibility Design & Policy. Looking at these 3 programs, we will consider how different course designs and instructional methods can be tailored to meet learners’ needs across a wide variety of skill levels in occupations and disciplines from computer science and engineering students, federal/state employees, UX designers, web developers, instructional designers, and administrators.

Keypoints

  1. What are some of the different approaches to teaching accessibility and universal design in higher ed?
  2. How can course design and teaching be tailored to learners’ different skill levels and professional interests?
  3. How do different teaching methods for accessibility and universal design impact students' learning outcomes?

Disability Areas

All Areas

Topic Areas

Accessible Course Design, Accessible Educational Materials, Teaching about Accessibility in Curriculum, Uncategorized

Speaker Bio(s)

Marc Thompson

Dr. Thompson is the Assistant Director of Teaching & Learning Experiences, and Director of the Information Accessibility Design & Policy program at the University of Illinois in Urbana-Champaign. He has taught at the university level for over 30 years and has 20 years of experience teaching online courses and providing online teaching instruction. In addition to his teaching experience, he has a background in web design, instructional media, and web-based learning platforms. He is the accessibility liaison for the Center for Innovation in Teaching & Learning at the University of Illinois and has presented at a number of workshops and conferences on topics related to the creation of accessible course content and the accessibility of web conferencing systems and learning management systems.

Hadi Rangin

Hadi Rangin's primary job is helping on-campus developers and content creators produce more universally accessible and usable applications and content. Hadi also works with many vendors to help them incorporate accessibility in their design, implementation, and quality assurance processes. Hadi's educational background is in Computer Science with a focus on Network Management and Human-Computer Interfaces. He is blind and has experienced accessibility as a student, faculty member, software developer, trainer, and most recently as an accessibility advocate with multiple hats.

Handout(s)

Presentation Slides: Three Approaches to Teaching Accessibility and Universal Design at the University of Illinois