Category: Learning about universal design

Plain Language Communication

A young woman with long curly hair has her hands to her face and looks stressed. It’s assumed that by the time students leave school they can read and write. However, even with remedial work, some students will leave school without a working level of these skills. More than 40% of Australians do not have the literacy skills for everyday living. Included in this group are people with English as a second language. This is why plain language communication is important – and good for everyone. It is a universal design approach to communication.

Governments now are producing Easy Read documents as adjuncts to their main documents. But other fields of endeavour are not catching up. In particular, academic writing has always been exclusive to those who can read at this level. The bottom line is, if you want your document and information read by as many people as possible, write in plain language. Alternatively, provide a plain language summary. But this is another skillset.

A short study on teaching plain language gives an example of how to go about the task. It is based on health and exercise information. Presented in a poster format, the paper explains how the study was done. The example of writing a participant consent form illustrates the task. After several iterations they reached 8th grade (US grading) reading level. The example is shown in the poster presentation. There is also a link to an explanatory video.

The title of the poster is, “Are Kinesiologists Ready to Communicate? Merits of a Practicum Course on Plain Language Communication”. There are links to the authors other work on the topic.  

Black and white logo for easy read, has a tick and a open bookWe are seeing more accessible formats for people who are blind/low vision and Deaf/hard of hearing. So, we need plain language and Easy Read too. 

Cathy Basterfield presented a paper on this topic at UD2021, and also see a previous post on plain language. 

Libraries need accessibility and universal design

A silhouette of a person between two rows of books on library shelves.While non-disabled designers and librarians do their best to make library experiences accessible, students with disability hold the key to success. The idea of co-design is not new in building design. However, libraries are both a building and a service. This is the issue tackled in a research study where students showed how to implement accessibility and universal design.

The level of accessibility for students with disability has improved, but it is still not enough. Restrictive rules, lack of adapted communications systems and unsuitable signage are part of the problem. Students with disability should be involved from the outset when a new product or system is introduced – it’s a universal design approach.

The article on the research study found three main ideas: communication, service and usage. The researchers said that if they learned one thing, it was the importance of giving a voice to students with disability. Also, mutual learning and knowledge sharing was found to build good relationships between staff and students.

The title of the article is, “Giving a Voice to Students with Disabilities to Design Library Experiences: An Ethnographic Study”, and is available in PDF or in text/html format. 

Abstract

Although librarians generally display an inclusive management style, barriers to students with disabilities remain widespread. Against this backdrop, a collaborative research project called Inclusive Library was launched in 2019 in Catalonia, Spain. This study empirically tests how involving students with disabilities in the experience design process can lead to new improvements in users’ library experience. A mix of qualitative techniques, namely focus groups, ethnographic techniques and post-experience surveys, were used to gain insights from the 20 libraries and 20 students with disabilities collaborating in the project. Based on the participants’ voices and follow-up experiences, the study makes several suggestions on how libraries can improve their accessibility. Results indicate that ensuring proper resource allocation for accessibility improves students with disabilities’ library experience. Recommendations for library managers are also provided.

 

How to make a Universal Design Toolkit

How do you universally design a universal design guide or toolkit? Living the message is a key factor – if designing something to be inclusive, the process and outputs must be inclusive too. If not, key sections of your intended audience could be missing out on your information. After all, learners come in all shapes and sizes and different frames of reference. 

When devising a customer engagement toolkit, the Centre for Excellence in Universal Design in Ireland also documented their process and lessons learned. The document is focused on tourism, but the method and principles are relevant to any field of practice.

The title of the report is Lessons from Good Practices to Guide Universal Design Toolkits. However, with the update of the website this document is not readily found. Nevertheless, some of the content is mentioned below. 

At 100 pages this is a lengthy document. You might want to skip the first part and go directly to the section on Guidelines to Toolkit Authors, which is at the end. Each of the headings and subheadings form a guide to developing and designing instructional toolkits and guidelines for practice.  

Key points

Here are some of the key points from this section about the structure of the toolkit:

Step 1: ‘Perception’, the ability to understand information regardless of the user’s ability to see, hear or touch
Step 2: ‘Discoverability’, providing flexibility in use so that the user can find the information they want
Step 3: ‘Understanding’, how easy it is for the customer to interpret and understands how to use the content; regardless of the user’s experience, knowledge, language skills, or current concentration level
Step 4: ‘Use’, the design prevents from accidental or inadvertent actions, forms, controls and navigation are usable and the customer decides on how to use and act on the content presented

Living the message is an important point in the universal design world. Anyone who writes, educates or speaks about universal design and inclusive practice should live the message. For example, a slideshow presentation about universal design with tiny font is contrary to the message. 

 

An occupational therapist’s view of UDL

A young woman is sitting with piles of books and is frowning. Special arrangements for university students who identify as having a disability is not an inclusive response. Hence many will try to manage without the assistance available to them. But taking a Universal Design for Learning (UDL) approach can provide both assistance and inclusion. A thoughtful article by Bethan Collins provides an occupational therapist’s view of UDL and the benefits for all. 

Collins writes from her experience as a disability officer with a university.  Students struggle for a variety of reasons such an inaccessibility of classrooms and reading material. The social aspects are essential for group work and discussion sessions but often disregarded. And of course, if one aspect of learning is a struggle it reflects on other aspects. 

Occupational therapists understand the importance of meaningful activity, not just doing the task. Collins makes the point that the three tenets of UDL are a good start, but the importance of the activities around learning are not discussed. 

UDL fits well with occupational therapy philosophy. Each client is treated as an individual with personal goals. Choice in how to do something is key. 

As a disabled student, occupational therapist and lecturer, Collins concludes with,

“… that there is a very important place for an inclusive curriculum (based on UDL) and also that we, occupational therapists, are in an excellent position to promote this approach.

The title of the short article is, Universal design for learning: What occupational therapy can contribute. The article shows how UDL and occupational therapy work hand in hand. The Universal Design for Learning section of this website has more on the topic. 

Plain Language Summaries: Good for everyone

A blank page of a spiral notebook and and fountain pen.What are Plain Language Summaries? These are an invaluable adjunct to abstracts in academic papers. They help more readers understand the content of the article, especially if the topic is unfamiliar. Beth Myers and Teukie Martin provide a good example when explaining why they use these summaries:

What are Plain Language Summaries (PLS)?

      • Plain language summaries are short summaries of research articles.
      • They communicate the main ideas of the article and are easy to understand.
      • PLS are also used by the government, doctors, and places like banks and utility companies. Some research journals use PLS, too.

Why are PLS important?

      •  Research articles can be hard to read and understand.
      • PLS make research accessible to many kinds of people.
      • Everyone should have access to information that impacts their lives. PLS help make that possible.

Why are PLS important for the Journal of Inclusive Postsecondary Education?

      • We want our work to be as accessible as possible to as many people as possible, including students with intellectual disability and all people who care about inclusive education.
      • We want to show other journals how to be more accessible.
      • We want to make the world a better and more accessible place.

Plain language writing is clear, succinct, and jargon-free, and is organized in a way that helps understanding. It is a reader-centered way of writing so that readers can access, comprehend, and utilise information. Plain language writing benefits all readers while ensuring crucial access for some. It’s universal design.

The title of the article is, Why Plain Language? Linguistic Accessibility in Inclusive Higher Education. The journal is clearly living the message of inclusion in writing up research. As such, this is a short document with all the key information without jargon. 

Example of a plain language summary

Plain Language Summaries are not quite the same as Easy Read or Easy English documents which use simplified language. The wording and pictures in these documents are carefully placed on the page as well. 

What’s the point of academic research if only other academics can understand it? Governments often fund research, so we should all have access to this new knowledge. But if you want to rise in the ranks of academia you need to follow the “rules” for publishing. You also need to show that you know the language and jargon. There is no need to change this. What we need are additional plain language summaries. The picture below shows an example. 

The front page of the academic article showing how the Accessible Summary is presented.

Academic papers begin with an abstract – an outline of what the paper or article is about. It usually says what the problem is, what they researched and what they found. A plain language summary of the abstract gives the same information but in less words. So what does a plain language summary look like? 

A good example is the article, Co-designing the Cabriotraining: A training for transdisciplinary teams. It begins with an “Accessible Summary” followed by the regular abstract.  This is how it reads:

Accessible summary

    • The research was conducted by a team of researchers. Some of the researchers have experience of living with a disability.
    • The researchers created training for other research teams that include experts by experience.
    • The training has six parts. To decide what happened in the training, the researchers read articles and asked the research teams they trained about what problems they had and what they wanted to know about.
    • The article tells why and how the training was made. It also says what training is needed for researchers with and without disabilities to learn and work together in a way that feels safe and useful.
    • In developing and providing the training, it was very crucial to search for a safe and welcome space for all people involved (Figure 8). As we don’t know what is “safe” for the other, this means we have to search together, in respect and with enough time to get to know each other.

Editor’s note: Great to see an academic paper translated into key points that many more people can understand. From my experience, writing succinctly and plainly is a rare skill in academia. I was delighted to see this example. It’s universal design!

 

Inclusive online meetings: Preparation is key

two laptops are open on a desk and one has several faces of people who are online.There’s been a few articles about working remotely and participating in online meetings. But there are a few nuances, little things, that need attention so that meetings are inclusive. An article from the Commons Library says it is not about the technical details. Rather, it’s about the culture and processes particularly for mixed face to face and online participation.

The article covers:
– Meeting preparation
– Collaboration tools
– Meeting process
– After the meeting

Some of this is basic, but the transitions in and out of lockdowns means more hybrid meetings – some face to face and some online participants. This is not easy for participants. Internet dropouts and other tech problems such as poor sound add to the mix of issues. This is where the chair’s role is very important because body language and facial expression are all helpful in making sure everyone gets to contribute.

Hosting hybrid online meetings is also covered by Blueprints for Change.  It has some Tips and Tricks.

For hybrid meetings, everyone in the room should be on camera. This can mean a rearrangement of the room and careful placement of the camera. 

“In a hybrid meeting environment people who are on screen should be assigned a buddy who is in the physical room. Their buddy regularly checks in with them, talks to them on breaks, makes sure they can see and hear at all times. Buddies might even bring them to break/snack conversations so they don’t miss the in-room side conversations.”

 

Local Government Universal Design Network

Header for the sign up form for joining the local government universal design network.Virginia Richardson has set up a new universal design interest group for local government staff. This new Local Government Universal Design Network enables like-minded people to share experiences and skills in universal design and inclusive practice.

Local government staff and others with an interest in local government are invited to join this new network. If you are interested in joining, Virginia asks that you complete the online form. 

The objectives of the Network are:

      • Greater understanding of how UD is being applied in a Local Government setting
      • Support for UD policies to be adopted by more Councils
      • Opportunities for shared professional development and capacity building
      • Potential for joint advocacy to improve State and Federal legislation

This is a great initiative by Virginia Richardson who works for the Mornington Peninsular Shire Council in Victoria. The acronym works too – LGUDN (elgood’n).

 

Co-design is another skill set

A page of tiles with faces of many different people.How can we get design educators and students to think beyond themselves? Considering other body shapes, sizes, ages and interests is essential for inclusive designs. But designing with users, or co-design, is another skill set. Fake personas, building codes and anthropometric data are a good start, but they lack the evidence of lived experience. Without inclusive designs, we cannot meet our commitment for the Sustainable Development Goals. 

The issue of teaching educators to look beyond the tried and true design methods is being tackled by a team from Queensland University of Technology. In their article, they take a critical look at current approaches to design education in architecture and interior design studios. They propose an “authentic learning approach” which includes engagement with real users. 

The title of the article is, Breaking Barriers: Educating Design Students about Inclusive Design through an Authentic Learning Framework.  You will need institutional access for a free read. Or you can contact Janice Rieger and ask for a copy.

Abstract

Current studies in design education suggest that students and educators base their designs on what they already know about themselves and their peers, or on stereotypical notions of others. This article presents a critical examination of a pedagogical approach employed in several architecture and interior design studios to determine how best to develop student understanding of how to design for real users and users with abilities different from themselves. This authentic learning approach with spatial design students and teachers from the School of Design, Queensland University of Technology, Australia and with people with differing abilities, used qualitative and quantitative questionnaires, student journals and design studio projects to create a multimodal data set. While there are no simple conclusions, or easy answers to unravel the complexity in creating inclusive designs, our findings point towards enabling new engagements and knowledge processes and scaffolding these activities around authentic learning, so that design students and educators can begin to understand the differing ways of designing for/with people with disabilities. The significance of this research is that it opens up new approaches for teaching design students about inclusive design beyond fake personas, building codes and anthropometric data, and provides evidence of the need for a more holistic, authentic and scaffolded approach.

The real lives of online learners

Maslow's pyramid diagram of needs: at the bottom are physical needs, then safety and security, then love and belonging, rising to self esteem and at the pinnacle is self-actulisation.Online learning will continue to be an important way of teaching and studying. But little is understood about unintended consequences for some learners. Some will be left behind. Ready access to a computer or device and the internet is just the start.

Anxiety about home backgrounds can prevent learners from turning on the camera. Lack of good housing and adequate food can also be an issue. If education systems are to be truly inclusive, the real lives of learners need to be factored into learning processes. 

Understanding the value of diversity, equity and inclusion is important for upcoming generations who will be tomorrow’s decision-makers. This is a key point made in an article from Arizona State University. The article discusses the issues within the context of changes brought about by the pandemic. There are interesting ideas that incorporate the real lives of learners and the diverse issues they have.

Using Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs, they remind us that food and shelter are not a given for all learners. Providing a place to sleep and eat is one example of assisting learners to complete their courses. Other examples are included in the article. 

The title of the article is, Inclusive Campus Environments: An Untapped Resource for Fostering Learner Success  It is part of a series, Shaping the Futures of Learning in the Digital Age. 

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to consider new possibilities for higher education, where the principles of Universal Design for Learning (UDL) provide a framework for creating digital and physical environments that honor every learner’s unique lived experiences and support the expectations of learners for their individual life goals. Each learner brings their own unique lived experience; multi-level intersectionality; and cognitive and social learning variabilities to their educational journey.

Many of these present obstacles to their realizing successful learning outcomes. Understanding the lived experiences in the learner’s journey and creating environments that remove barriers to learning requires a deep understanding of inclusion, which is central to the framework of UDL. How can we create a campus that promotes a sense of belonging, community, and well-being — a campus that has the potential to increase the number of learners who persist to completion? It begins with honoring the uniqueness of every learner.

 

Universal design and community-based design studios

A long room with a long table with students sitting both sides. They are working on a design project.What’s the best way to teach the concept of universal design to architecture students? Participatory and co-design methods are inherent in universal design. So this should be the way to do it. That means universally designing the learning experience about universal design. 

Hing-Wah Chau takes us on a journey with his post-grad students in his paper about community-based studios. This is a learning process where real life is brought into the design studio. That includes engaging with other stakeholders during the design process. Urban designers, local councils, other architects and community members all have a stake in a project.

Hing-Wah Chau concludes that problem-based learning, group work and industry engagement are essential elements for gaining a working understanding of universal design.  Site visits and engaging with industry partners allowed students to gain first hand experience.

An interesting paper that has a lot of detail about each design studio, their workshops, conference attendance and site visits. It was run over two semesters.

The title of the paper is Community-based studios for enhancing students’ awareness of universal design principles. 

Abstract: A series of community-based design studios were delivered at the University of Melbourne for postgraduate architectural students from 2017 to 2019 to arouse their awareness of universal design principles and the specific consideration of design for ageing. A design studio is a place of experimentation and exploration. Students are encouraged to propose solutions to respond to our community needs. Bringing real-world issues into design studios enables students to equip themselves with the capabilities to formulate corresponding design strategies for built environment, especially to cater for the specific needs of people with disability and older adults.

Through the engagement with various stakeholders, including practising architects, urban designers, not-for-profit organisations and local councils, students were required to assess the site context and carry out site analysis, prepare precedent case studies, participate in inclusive design workshops and prepare schematic design, leading to their detailed design and final presentations. In this paper, the course structure of these community-based studios is firstly introduced, followed by an analysis illustrating how students’ awareness of universal design principles can be enhanced. Potential areas of improvement are discussed and further guidance for replicating similar studios at other institutions are given.