Amanda Coolidge; Sue Doner; Tara Robertson; and Josie Gray
About the “Redesign or Accommodation” activity
We have grounded the “Redesign or Accommodation?” activity in student-centred Universal Design for Learning (UDL)—a framework that recognizes that we cannot design learning experiences for a specific type of student.
“Redesign or Accommodation?” also incorporates the humanizing element of student Personas, some who you will recognize from this accessibility toolkit. Each participant adopts a Persona and advocates from that student’s perspective when presented with a Scenario that is based on common or recurring components of course delivery.
In facilitated discussions, participants identify potential barriers that the Scenario presents for their Persona-selves, consider what accommodations to address the barrier would look like—and if their Persona would even qualify to receive one, and then determine if the barrier/s could be avoided entirely by applying a UDL-based redesign to the course components in question.
We have created several Scenarios for this activity, but we also recommend you try running Scenarios arising from your own practice and within your own institution against your Persona-based selves; it may help to proactively identify and address barriers before they affect your students.
Below are assorted “Redesign or Accommodation?” activity materials.
- Redesign or Accommodation Activity Guidelines [PDF file]
- Redesign or Accommodation Scenarios [PDF file]
Personas
- Redesign or Accommodation Persona Cards (Detailed) [PDF file]
- Persona Cards for Printing [PDF file]
- Additional Personas for Course Design by OSU Ecampus [PDF file]
Attributions
Thank you to the University of Prince Edward Island (Alex, Khaleed, Maridee, and Natalie) for developing and contributing four new persona to the “Redesign or Accommodation?” activity, a collaborative effort between UPEI’s Accessibility Services and the E-Learning Office. And thank you to Elisabeth McBrien and Heather Garcia of Oregon State University for creating an additional set of personas to facilitate accessible and inclusive course design.
