 It's designed for everybody in mind, so that there's a diversity of instructional strategies and play and assessment strategies, so that you have, so choice and options are built right in, and so that they can either be, you know, reading in text or watching a video or they can be listening to something and it's not necessarily just one element, but it's a diversity. Where possible, we try and break out of the standard essay format and we ask for them to consider different ways that they could get at that information to share it back and could they be flexible in the assessment, and sometimes they'll say, well, how do you grade something that's, you know, a podcast or a video, and so we look at different ways that that's possible. They should be able to come into a classroom and I think it's their right as a human to be taught in a way that they can understand and for them to not have to say there's something weird or different. Universal course design is actually really important because I think that online courses, they're the great equalizer. Anybody can be studying online and you don't know who anybody else is, you don't really have that preconceived notion of somebody else having a disability because everybody has equal footing. One of my favorite anecdotes about having universal design, the benefits of having that is from my own experience actually as a student a couple of years ago, I was working, I had a group project that I did for an entire semester and we were working together and for our final presentation that we had to do, I had to put together online, I suggested why don't we just have a Skype meeting and everybody get together. So I think there was four people in our group and one person said, no, I don't think I can do that. We were like, oh, okay, I'm sorry, why not? And I was like, well, I'm deaf actually so I can't actually, I don't actually like the sound of my voice and it's really hard for me to do. And we were all like, oh, we didn't understand, we were shocked because we had been working together fully online, asynchronously emailing, and I never had the slightest notion that there is something different about her. So that was just like an epiphany for me because I realized like, wow, you can really, really, anybody can benefit from doing this. So if you implement universal course design into something, that means that everybody has a chance. There's no, nobody's going to be held behind because they maybe can't hear in class or they can't see the notes or they need something, they need extra time because everybody's accounted for so that everybody's basically the same, they're on the same footing. When I'm thinking about my, the online components of my course, I try to think about, okay, well, what are the possible barriers that particular students may have to accessing the material? Am I delivering material only in written form? And will that be a problem for students who, you know, have difficulty with that form? Am I using only video and so will that be difficult for students who, you know, have difficulty hearing for instance or, you know, they don't respond well to a particular type of presentation? And once I identify the particular medium I'm using, I try and ensure that we have also available a backup for that so that if, is there a transcript available for a video? Is there an alternative way that a student can access something that is delivered only in writing for instance? And, you know, that's kind of part of it but then the other part also is, okay, do I have to rely on writing only or can I present it in multiple, through multiple media? There are strictly technical reasons why universal instructional designs should be considered when designing online courses and this has to do with enabling the use of technology such as screen readers or text-to-speech programs. There are various guidelines on the web on how to do this including the official WSC3 guidelines for accessibility of online information. Generally, universal instructional design models for online learning are not that different than let's say for other types of learning including traditional lectures. I actually prefer to again thinking back to a more learner-centered approach to instructional design. I like to refer to accessible learning as a way to approach the design of online courses and through this process the instructor really starts with asking the question why accessibility is important when it comes to learning. And what the issues are in terms of diversity of students or gaining familiarity with disability or cultural or ethnic issues. And then one of the critical steps in the process is to examine one's pathological values. We know that no matter how many guidelines, no matter how much we train faculty in designing courses they really need to first see true value in doing what we are asking them to do. So I think just going through that process of gaining insight into one's pathological orientation, values, beliefs and so on has great value in terms of teaching and course design. And lastly, there will always be students who require accommodations in courses. And approaching course design and teaching in a flexible way, providing options, is a proactive way to ensure that accommodations will be easily implemented once the need arises later in the course. So one of the main benefits that learning outcomes play in the course design process I think relate to a current and important emphasis that we're placing on universal design in the curriculum. So that's a design that focuses explicitly on ensuring that educational environments are designed to meet the needs and abilities of all learners within the classroom. And I think I come to this from a very personal standpoint that I have a daughter who has a reading disability and I'm becoming increasingly aware of how accommodations and supports can be provided in educational environments to ensure that all learners are provided with an opportunity to succeed. And I think that even when we talk, Ronald Mace talked about who was really the founder of universal design within architecture, he talked about the notion of that all learners being a bit threatening, that we will likely never achieve an environment in which we meet the needs of every single learner, but at least we can focus on meeting the needs of as many learners as possible. And I think if I were to advocate for one change in universal design processes, it would be to ensure that clearly, concisely articulated learning outcomes are provided throughout the course design process. And this is really critical for students who have learning disabilities, who might have psychiatric challenges, who might have ADHD, that really what it provides an opportunity for students to really focus and structure their own learning and take responsibility for their own learning.