For my next blog post I wanted to start with my thoughts on the recent lectures/ reading material. I find it very interesting as discussed in the youtube video “What is Universal Design for learning?” (Columbia, Centre for Teaching and Learning. 2019) , they mention making things more accessible by recording lectures and encouraging university/ college educators to add closed captions etc. Yet some say that there are no students with disabilities in their class because no one filed a form disclosing. In this case, I 100% agree with this video in that fact that students should NOT have to disclose that they have a disability or need specific accommodation unless they choose, to make a class more accessible for students. I also agree that all lectures should be recorded or lectures have closed captions and that staff/ profs should know how to do this to make their classes more accessible. I have still experienced profs that refuse to record lectures or add closed captions under the assumption that because no one submitted a form through the learning center disclosing a disability, that no one needs that accommodation. Universal design should be taught to professors and educators, and they should be provided with resources to help them make their lectures/ classes more accessible to students. If universal design was taught to educators, maybe they will be more familiar and comfortable using this more inclusive teaching method.
What did you find when you ran the WAVE accessibility report on your blog post(s)? What did you expect and what was surprising? Is there anything you will do differently going forward?
After running the WAVE accessibility report on my first blog post, I learned that I don’t add image captions describing the image or purpose of the image. I also noticed alot of red boxes indicating that the font should be darker in some areas. I added a screenshot below showcasing my experience using WAVE for the first time!
Have you used Text to Speech tools before? Did you find it useful?
Throughout my years in University I haven’t used the Text to Speech tool, although I have used the speech to text tool! I do find the text to speech tool useful as sometimes when I read I tend to get carried off track. This tool will increase inclusivity for those who might be auditory learners, and using this tool could allow me to turn my notes into almost like a podcast! I included a short screencast showing the Text to Speech tool with my 1st blog post!
What does inclusive design mean to you?
Inclusive design to me means, accessibility to all and accommodation for students. It means when students ask for lectures or classes to be recorded or closed captions to be added to the lectures because the prof might be speaking to quickly, the educators are accommodating as possible. Inclusive design is engagement, representation (CAST. 2018) and means not just accommodating to one but to all!
For week 5 I decided to make an infographic in Canva! I am currently working towards my scuba certification and have decided to incorporate what I have learned prior to entering the water! Below is a brief infographic on the final safety check needed for scuba before entering the water.
Which design principles did you use to create your infographic in Canva? Which elements of a ‘good infographic’ were you able to incorporate? What other principles did you consider?
When designing my infographic I wanted to try to keep things easy to read and visually appealing! I also wanted to keep a focus on the underwater theme as it is a scuba diving infographic. Luckily Canva had pre-made ocean themed templates which I modified as needed. Some elements of a good infographic which I included are; consistent style and color choices as I kept to 2-3 shades of blue, 1-2 text fonts, leaving space between the main points, and I tried to keep the imagery as simple as possible. Another design choice I wanted to incorporate is the main title. I made the acronym for the safety check (BWRAF) as clear as possible so the audience would know to remember it.
Graphic design is inherently visual – what additions or modifications could you make to ensure that learners with visual impairments have access to the same information in an online setting?
I believe the best way to make graphics accessible to everyone in an online setting would be to include a recorded component to explain the image. The text to speech tool is an amazing web application that can be added to any website, and I think would be beneficial for someone interested in reviewing a powerpoint or infographic. If it is possible to get a web program that described images or design, that would be 10000% better. A tool that describes the graphic image would give a learner with visual impairments the opportunity to imagine what the graphic looks like.
Throwing it back to high school, I remember some of the first presentations I had to make were, give or take, interesting….. I liked to include lots of colors and pictures and of course animations. After making lots of presentations you soon start to realize that animations are only needed sometimes and not on every single slide, and that it is best to stick to a consistent color pallet to keep things neat and organized for the audience. Throughout the last 4 years of university, I can honestly say that my powerpoint presentation design skills have improved. In biology courses we learn to create simple and to-the-point presentations when presenting experiment results, findings, etc. When presenting graphs, I have also learned the best way to show the audience what the graph is telling us by using animations in powerpoint to highlight important information.
Overall, I continue to grow my skills in making successful powerpoints everyday! By incorporating more shapes and simple contrast into my presentations and infographics, I hope to create an engaging presentation that highlights the main points to the audience, and keeps them entertained.
References:
CAST. (2018). Universal Design for Learning Guidelines version 2.2. Retrieved from http://udlguidelines.cast.org
Columbia, Centre for Teaching and Learning. 2019. Universal Design for Learning. An introduction to UDL and its use in the classroom. Youtube.
Denny, M. (2023). The proper dive Buddy Check – How Do You Say BWRAF? The Proper Dive Buddy Check – How Do You Say BWRAF? Retrieved February 18, 2023, from https://blog.padi.com/how-do-you-say-bwraf/
Johnson, D. (2021). Design and Layout with Canva [Mp4]. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g3pdyid7BjU
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