Hello, I'm Celine, and I work with the Bloomberg School of Public Health in their Center for Teaching and Learning as senior instructional technologist.

While part of my role includes the responsibilities of an instructional designer, my focus is on helping lead others toward innovative and accessible solutions in online learning

In the fall of 2018 I was named Hopkins Universal Design for Learning or HUDL ambassador for the Bloomberg School  with the goal of assisting faculty in understanding and incorporating the principles of universal design for learning or UDL into the curriculum and course facilitation.

This HUDL roll seamlessly blends my knowledge and experiences assisting with course design and faculty training focused specifically on technology integration solutions with an emphasis on accessibility considerations.

Before I get any further, first let me introduce you to the Universal Design for Learning or UDL.

This is a scientifically recognized way to approach designing and facilitating education for everyone, where the ultimate goal is to develop expert learners. These are learners who are purposeful and motivated, resourceful and knowledgeable, as well as strategic and goal directed.

The UDL framework was developed by CAST the Center for Applied special technology. Its original focus was on computer technologies, helping individuals with learning disabilities but soon CAST went on to perform and study research targeting brain studies that focused on how everyone learns

So UDL is scientifically based on how we learn through the effective, strategic and recognition neural networks of our brains. In other words, it's based on the why, the what and the how of learning.

And in doing so, it is also based on the idea that learning environments should be accessible for all ensuring that every student has an opportunity to succeed.

UDL enhances the learning experience for all of us by breaking down barriers to learning and building flexibility into the curriculum from the outset. No matter the curriculum, no matter the student.

And the premise of UDL is provide opportunity for all students in any context, including but not limited to those students with documented accommodations. The UDL framework has a clearly defined set of principles with guidelines and checkpoints to which learning activities and environments can be measured.

The principles of UDL include providing multiple means for engagement, multiple means of representation, and multiple means of action and expression.

Several of the UDL guidelines align with universally recognized standards for accessible content such as providing options for perception and comprehension, which fall under the principle of providing multiple means of representation.

The set of universally recognized access to the set of universally recognized accessibility standards that I'm referring to are the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines, or WCAG.

You may have heard about the university-wide requirement that all new course materials created after January 1 2021 must be accessible aligning with WCAG version 2.1 level AA criteria.

The WCAG success criteria are put forth by the World Wide Web Consortium or W3C. These guidelines state that all content must be Perceivable -- made available to the senses. WCAG success criteria for this requirement include but are not limited to alternatives to time based media, for example, videos; alternative text for any non text content; and never relying on color alone to distinguish something.

It also means making sure there's a logical reading order set for any document. For instance, the reading order is maintained when a screen reader or other assistive technology reads it. So it is read exactly in the way it was intended to be presented. 

WCAG also means all content must be operable, meaning all content should be able to be easily navigated. Success criteria for this requirement include but are not limited to only having meaningful hyperlinks where the purpose of each hyperlink can be determined by the text alone. In other words, only typed out full URLs. When that is the meaningful hyperlink, such as in a citation. It also means that any timed media, such as video and audio files, should allow the user enough time to read and use the content.

In addition, all documents that have a table of contents should have it automatically updated and linked based on the document's headings, allowing users and technologies to easily get to the point they want to in the resource.

In addition, all content must be understandable, which would include spelling out or expanding acronyms and abbreviations the first time they are used in a resource. The understandable guideline also means that there is clarity and consistency whether is a vocabulary, for instance, always using same terminology to refer to an assignment type, or of the layout of course site.


Lastly, all content must be robust, meaning that the content can be used by a wide variety of programs, platforms, and technologies. For instance, when we make an accessible PDF file, it is robust and can be opened by programs, other than Adobe Reader, including Microsoft Word. And read by screen readers, other than those built into the Adobe products.

You can see, especially through the principle of multiple means of representation, how embracing UDL puts us in good shape for meeting the WCAG success criteria. Certainly distributing a resource that aligns with the WCAG criteria does not mean you are embracing UDL.

Nor does embracing the UDL framework mean you are meeting all the WCAG criteria. However, by putting forth best practices in making your resources accessible. You are embracing several UDL guidelines and checkpoints, as well as measurable WCAG success criteria.

While we can't expect everyone to know every single WCAG success criteria, nor how to achieve it, there are a set of best practices that Johns Hopkins is asking all faculty to embrace as the initial steps toward creating universally accessible materials aligning with UDL.

Use templates. Whenever possible, use Word and PowerPoint accessible templates designed in such a way to promote the use of recommended contrast ratios, alternative text for images, accessible fonts headings and logical reading orders. In addition to the accessible templates offered by the school Microsoft Office has several available accessible templates.

Use built in tools including styles to maintain structure and formatting. Use tools that are built into your software, such as PowerPoint and Word, for formatting such as heading levels, bulleted and numbered lists, paragraph spacing and alignment.

Consider color contrast ratios and never rely on color alone. When you use color and your documents, for instance text written across a solid color or image of a slide background.

Be mindful of the contrast ratio of overlapping objects and whether you are emphasizing text in a paragraph, working in a table cell, or editing a chart or other visual do not use only color to identify an object. 

Provide alternative text for images. For any image or other non text element that isn't purely decorative, provide appropriate alternative text that is succinct and conveys the purpose or meaning of the non text elements in context to the rest of the document including using appropriate terminology for the intended audience.

Use accessibility checkers. Use the accessibility checkers that are built into your software such as Microsoft office's tool and Adobe Acrobat Pro's feature whenever they're available.

Provide captions and alternative accessible formats for video and audio. Video should include catching or interactive time based transcripts. For both video and audio content share alternative accessible format of the media. This includes transcripts and accessible versions of any slide presentations.

When possible use self recording tools with built in captioning or interactive transcripts. For example Panopto's automatic speech recognition or ASR and Zoom's audio transcription for cloud recordings. This should be done for all synchronous and asynchronous video production.

Become familiar with university resources. Look for upcoming training and take a few minutes to review the Office of Institutional Equity's Electronic and Information Technologies accessibility site. This site links to a checklist for making accessible Microsoft Office documents and PDFs.

There is a tiny URL to get to this site: tiny URL dot com slash J H U E I T Start.

In summary, here's a checklist for initial steps you, as faculty, can take to create your accessible instructional content.

Use accessible templates adhering to placeholders and maintaining reading order.

Use built in tools for structure and formatting, such as styles - heading one, heading two, etcetera - and bullets, numbering, and paragraph spacing.

Provide alternative text. Succinct alternative descriptions for images and complex non text elements.

Avoid using color as the only means of distinguishing information.


Be mindful of color contrast ratios of text against a background and when objects overlap, such as on a map.

Make your hyperlinks meaningful by only linking text that indicates the linked resource or destination. Only use full web addresses, or URLs, when that is the meaningful text such as in a citation.

Use tables for organizing data and never for layout. Make sure that tables have header rows and visible borders for a start.

Use only accessible, tagged PDFs and never scanned documents. Accessible PDFs are usually created using iAdobe Acrobat Pro with an accessible text, spreadsheet, or presentation file to start with.

Use the built in accessibility checkers in programs such as Microsoft Office and Adobe Acrobat.

For video and audio files provide alternative forms of the content, including transcripts and captioning.

To learn more, feel free to reach out to me; CTL Help; or the Office of Institutional Equity

So that about concludes today. I want to thank you for viewing this video. 

Everyone plays a part in building and fostering a learning environment, both physical and virtual, to accommodate all students by committing to equal opportunity; by recognizing Johns Hopkins University's responsibilities and resources; by employing the UDL framework including accessibility considerations.

This is a community effort. Thank you for doing your part.