Universal Design for Learning Meets Instructional Design

Universal Design for Learning Meets Instructional Design

I created this animation to explore ways that Universal Design for Learning (UDL) informs the Instructional Design process.

While the video is not perfect, largely as a result of the fact that the characters don't do anything but talk, I learned a lot through researching UDL and was able to apply it immediately.  One thing I learned was the importance of using headings, something that I have not been diligent about including in my blogs, docs, or sites.  I didn't know that aside from looking good, headings serve the additional function of aiding screen readers with navigation.

Before constructing the animation (made easy with Go Animate for Schools), I spent a couple of days researching and writing a script.  I then uploaded it directly to YouTube as a plain text document, allowing YouTube to automatically set the timing on the captions.  This is a different process than the one I tried the last time, and it took less time, because I didn't have to make any edits.

FLOG ALERT:
After producing this video the first time, I thought that I'd try editing it in Camtasia Studio to add supporting visuals to spice it up.  After several hours, I ended up with a hot mess and a headache. Since the original video had "Why Design" written on all of the background shots, efforts to replace that led to a sloppy, spotty presentation that looked like a bad spackling job.  I opted not to use that version, and instead tightened up the dialogue (really) and uploaded another version to You Tube.  It's not perfect, but it's about the process in this case!