Designing for Perception (Guideline 1)
Learners cannot engage with material they cannot perceive. When information is presented in only one format—whether visual, auditory, or framed in narrow cultural ways—it can create barriers and limit participation. Designing for perception means offering flexible ways to access key information and representing diverse perspectives so all learners can connect and make meaning.
Strategy Library: Designing for Perception
This strategy library focuses on designing for perception, with three key areas that reduce barriers and support learner variability. Each strategy comes from the UDL Guidelines 3.0 and is paired with practical approaches you can apply right away using U of T’s Academic Toolbox.
Support opportunities to customize the display of information (1.1)
CAST 1.1 definition: Digital materials allow flexibility and customization of information display—font size, spacing, background colour, layout, volume, playback speed—while print materials are fixed. Accessibility depends not only on format but on whether accessibility features are built in during development.
Examples using U of T's Academic Toolbox
- Microsoft Accessibility Checker: Check Word, Excel, and PowerPoint files for accessibility issues before uploading to Quercus.
- Microsoft Immersive Reader (available in Quercus and Microsoft apps): Adjust text size, spacing, font, background and text colours, line focus, or have text read aloud.
- Microsoft OneNote: Format fonts, line spacing, and background/page colours for personalized note-taking.
- Microsoft Outlook: Add alt text to images so they are accessible to screen readers and display when images are turned off in email clients.
- Microsoft Stream, Microsoft Teams, and Zoom: Customize caption display (size, style, and position) and adjust playback speed in recorded videos, and access downloadable transcripts.
- Quercus Accessibility Checker: Identify accessibility issues with headings, image alt text, colour contrast, and tables to support assistive technology use.
- Quercus Dashboard: Reorder courses, switch between card and list view, and favourite/unfavourite courses to personalize what displays.
- Quercus Home Page Recent Announcements: Display recent announcements to help learners quickly access key information.
- Quercus Mobile App: Switch between light and dark themes (instructors should check readability when designing for dark mode).
- Quercus Notifications: Choose how to receive updates (email and/or push notifications) for course activities, discussions, conversations, scheduling, groups, and alerts.
- Quercus User Settings Feature Options: Enable options such as auto-show closed captions, high-contrast UI, underlined links, and dyslexia-friendly font.
Support multiple ways to perceive information (1.2)
CAST 1.2 definition: Students access information in different ways; when content is limited to only one modality (visual or auditory), some learners are excluded. Alternatives, such as captions, descriptions, transcripts, or tactile formats, allow learners to perceive content through more than one modality.
Examples using U of T's Academic Toolbox
- Hypothesis: Annotate collaboratively by highlighting text and adding written or audio comments (supports multiple modalities for interaction).
- Microsoft Outlook: Add alt text to images so they are accessible to screen readers and display when images are turned off in email clients.
- Microsoft PowerPoint (Live Captions): Display automatic, real-time captions during presentations.
- Microsoft Stream and Clipchamp: Create, edit, and share videos with built-in captioning, transcripts, and adjustable playback to support multiple modes of access.
- Microsoft Teams and Zoom: Enable captions and transcripts during meetings and recordings.
- MyMedia: Upload captions for recorded lectures and presentations.
- Quercus Rich Content Editor: Add alt text and long descriptions to images, charts, and embedded media.
- Quercus SpeedGrader: Provide feedback in text, audio, or video formats when appropriate, so students can access comments in multiple ways.
- Snagit: Capture screenshots or short recordings, often paired with narration and captions (can be auto-generated later in Stream).
Represent a diversity of perspectives and identities in authentic ways (1.3)
CAST 1.3 definition: Learners need to see themselves and others authentically represented in curriculum, media, and resources. Excluding perspectives leads to invisibility, while diverse portrayals foster validation, affirmation, and belonging.
Examples using U of T's Academic Toolbox
- Hypothesis: Enable collaborative annotation of readings to surface diverse student and scholarly perspectives.
- Library Reading List: Integrate authors, cultures, and scholarly sources that represent a wide range of voices, and review selections regularly to ensure representation stays current and relevant.
- Microsoft Forms: Collect student perspectives, feedback, or suggestions for additional readings and resources.
- Microsoft Teams and Zoom: Invite guest speakers, alumni, or community partners to share diverse lived experiences directly with students.
- Microsoft Word, Excel, and PowerPoint Online: Facilitate collaborative authoring where students contribute different viewpoints in real time.
- Quercus Announcements: Share diverse events, examples, or media to affirm multiple perspectives.
- Quercus Course Card Image: Use course card visuals that spark interest and reflect diverse themes or contexts.
- Quercus Discussions: Create forums for dialogue across different identities, lived experiences, and contexts.
- Quercus Groups: Support group projects where students bring disciplinary and community perspectives.
- Quercus Modules: Curate units that integrate diverse readings, multimedia, and activities representing a range of voices and contexts.
- Quercus Profile Settings: Encourage learners to update their display first name and profile picture to reflect their identity.
- Quercus Rich Content Editor: Embed videos, podcasts, and images from diverse communities and creators.
Try One Thing
UDL doesn’t mean redesigning everything at once. Start small: pick one strategy from the lists above and try it out in your teaching or staff-facing context. Even a single simplification, added option, or reduced barrier can have meaningful impact.
Need support? CTSI offers consultations to help you adapt strategies for your context. Reach out to us to start a conversation.
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