UDL Express

UDL Express offers a quick, practical way to make course materials more accessible and inclusive. The series focuses on small, evidence-informed design choices that enhance digital course content and support a wide range of learners. Whether you’re creating materials in Word, PowerPoint, or Quercus, these short sessions emphasize changes that are easy to apply and meaningful in impact.

Explore current and past UDL Express series:

MOVE into Accessibility (2026): Meaning, Organization, Versatility, and Engagement.
SLIDE into Accessibility (2025): Styles, Links, Images, Design, and Evaluation.

MOVE into Accessibility Resources

The MOVE framework—Meaning, Organization, Versatility, and Engagement—was introduced through the Summer 2026 UDL Express series as a practical approach to reviewing and improving the accessibility of digital course content. Explore the session recordings, key takeaways, and slide decks below to discover small, intentional design choices that help make learning more accessible, inclusive, and usable.

Meaning

Explore practical strategies for making course content easier to understand and act on. Watch the Meaning highlight video (06:56) to learn how descriptive links, meaningful alt text, captions, transcripts, and clear labels can help learners understand the purpose of course content and what to do next. Download the Meaning slide deck (PDF) for future reference.

What ideas were explored?

Accessibility is not only about access to content; it is also about helping learners understand purpose and meaning.
Descriptive links, meaningful alt text, captions, and clear labels help learners understand what something is and what to do next.
Meaning is contextual. The same image, link, or resource may need different descriptions depending on its instructional purpose.
Meaningful file names, headings, labels, and module titles help learners understand the purpose of a resource before opening it.
Automated accessibility checkers can identify missing elements, but human judgment is needed to determine whether content is meaningful.

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Organization

Explore practical strategies for making course content easier to navigate and understand. Watch the Organization highlight video (05:30) to learn how headings, chunking, lists, white space, emphasis, and sequencing can help learners find information, understand relationships, and know what comes next. Download the Organization slide deck (PDF) for future reference.

What ideas were explored?

Less searching, more learning. Clear organization helps learners spend less time looking for information and more time engaging with learning.
Organization helps learners find information, understand relationships between ideas, and follow a sequence through learning materials and activities.
Headings, chunking, lists, white space, emphasis, and sequencing make the structure of information more visible.
Small design decisions can make materials easier to navigate and understand without adding additional content.
Organization extends beyond documents and webpages. Agenda slides, signposting, and roadmaps can help learners understand where they are and what comes next.

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Versatility

Explore practical strategies for designing course content that works across different devices, environments, and learning contexts. Watch the Versatility highlight video (07:17) to learn how flexible formats, alternative access points, captions, media choices, and small design decisions can help materials remain usable beyond ideal conditions. Download the Versatility slide deck (PDF) for future reference.

What ideas were explored?

Learners access materials differently. Students may engage with course content using different devices, environments, technologies, and conditions we do not always anticipate.
Access often needs options. Providing alternative formats, backup access points, or more than one way to engage with content can help reduce unnecessary barriers.
Small design decisions—such as reinforcing information beyond colour, offering flexible file formats, or providing direct links alongside embedded media—can make materials more flexible and usable.
Images, audio, and video may create additional access challenges. Captions, transcripts, playback controls, and direct links can help learners engage with media more flexibly.
Learning rarely happens under ideal conditions. Testing materials from the learner’s perspective can help identify barriers and ensure materials remain accessible across different contexts.

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Engagement

Explore practical strategies for designing learning experiences that invite participation, sustain motivation, and welcome learner variability. Watch the Engagement highlight video (forthcoming) to learn how language, purpose, choice, and participation can help learners connect with course content in meaningful ways. Download the Engagement slide deck (PDF) for future reference.

What ideas were explored?

Engagement emerges when motivation and active learning work together. Learners are more likely to participate when they understand why the learning matters and have meaningful opportunities to engage with it.
Engagement can be supported through the heart, mind, and hands: helping learners feel welcome, understand purpose, and participate actively.
Small design choices—such as using invitational language, explaining why learning matters, offering meaningful choices, and allowing time for reflection—can make learning more welcoming and meaningful.
There is no accessibility checker for engagement. Designing for engagement requires intentional decisions about language, relationships, participation, and learner experience.
Engagement looks different for different learners. Rather than assuming one activity will engage everyone, design multiple pathways that invite participation and welcome learner variability.

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