The push for extensive online teaching and learning had begun well before the COVID pandemic and the online pivot, but the last three years have dramatically intensified the reflection around what Education 4.0 might look like in the post-secondary. Consensus appears to privilege hybrid and blended learning as the format which is most likely to optimally meet the needs of learners in coming decades. Lessons from the three years of pandemic disruption have been rich and nuanced in this respect. Within this phenomenal momentum of pedagogical creativity and innovation, however, the situation in relation to accessibility and full inclusion of all diverse learners has been ambivalent, and the experiences of diverse students have been contradictory. This session showcases the qualitative analysis of phenomenological data collected among accessibility and inclusion specialists within higher education – faculty and support staff - regarding the challenges and opportunities encountered during these transformative three years. The theoretical paradigm within which this data is showcased and analyzed is interpretivist, but the work also acknowledges preoccupations of critical theory/ critical pedagogy. The discussion that emerges from these findings will focus on the ways these pandemic lessons on inclusive teaching and learning can now serve as an exceptional window to proactively frame smart pedagogies of the future that leave out no stakeholders. The final section of the session examines ways to integrate these pandemic lessons to generate sustainable best practices for accessibility and inclusion in transformative blended learning spaces, that succeed in going beyond ad hoc interventions and retrofitting.

1. Examiningthe practicalitiesof accessibilityand inclusionin
post-pandemichybridpost-secondaryteachingand learning
Emergingbestpracticesfor fullyinclusiveblendedteachingandlearning
Sixteenth International Conference on e-Learning & Innovative
Pedagogies
April 14th, 2023 – University of Malta, Valetta Campus

2. Land Acknowledgement
• Thompson Rivers University
campuses are on the traditional
lands of the Tk'emlúps te
Secwépemc (Kamloops campus)
and the T’exelc (Williams Lake
campus) within
Secwépemc'ulucw, the
traditional and unceded
territory of the Secwépemc. The
region TRU serves also extends
into the territories of the
St’át’imc, Nlaka’pamux,
Tŝilhqot'in, Nuxalk, and Dakelh

3. Interactive Google document for online participants
• If you are following the session
online, here is a link to a Google
drive where you can interact
with me both after and before
the presentation.
• https://docs.google.com/docum
ent/d/1ITroNQRk3iRKXXnuco2p
hPh2Ml_5FCHZ/edit?usp=sharin
g&ouid=1145134491154907501
02&rtpof=true&sd=true

4. Objectives of the Session
• Briefly take a look at the historical relationship between the accessibility scholarship
and the online/ blended Teaching and Learning momentum pre-COVID
• Examine what has changed in the awareness around accessibility and inclusion in
online and blended environments during the pandemic.
• Gauge the post-pandemic situation and lessons learnt
• Consider the complexity of management of change in relation to accessibility and
inclusion in online and bllended environments, post-contigency/emergency pivot

5. Format of Session
• Obviously I have a desire to be fully inclusive and accessible when offering
this session which is available to online participants
• Desire to ‘do as we preach’, and in my case incorporate Universal Design for
Learning principles into the format of the session.
• It is always difficult to be fully interactive when online for a brief session. It
can also be challenging to be entirely UDL in short presentations.
• I have nevertheless tried to incorporate as many inclusive features as
possible:
• Have shared with participants an interactive Google doc (incorporated in the
online media) to gauge the interests of the virtual attendees
• Will also be monitoring the conference hashtag through the session and for
the rest of the day (@Ffovet)

6. Format of Workshop (contd.)
• We will also have approximately 15
minutes at the end of the session
for questions to all presenters.
• Happy to engage with all
participants one on one beyond
the session via email or social
media.
• The slides of the presentation will
be available on SlideShare
immediately after the workshop
(and appear on my LinkedIn and
Twitter accounts).

7. Personal lens
• Unique positioning as a scholar: have
been both an Accessibility Services
manager and a faculty member
• Was involved in large scale UDL
implementation from 2011 to 2016 across
a campus – experienced this process in its
full complexity
• Have also been Academic Lead/ Program
Head at UPEI and RRU, and have needed
to guide contract faculty around inclusive
teaching and the use of UDL.
• Act as a UDL consultant with colleges and
universities in Canada.
• My research and scholarship also focuses
on UDL
• I will be drawing from these multiple and
varied perspectives

8. Methodological stance
• This session showcases the qualitative analysis of phenomenological data collected among
accessibility and inclusion specialists within higher education – faculty and support staff -
regarding the challenges and opportunities encountered during these transformative three
years.
• Brings together data analysis from two different projects: one on UDL growth across
institutions, and one on the impact of learning design on student mental health. Both
projects unexpectedly ran through the COVID years and ended up documenting the issues
related to accessibility during the pivot
• There is also qualitative triangulation that occurred during many large-scale polling and
discussions within multiple online pandemic events focused on accessibility and UDL, during
which I was able to interact and poll sizeable groups of stakeholders about accessibility
during the pandemic years.
• The theoretical paradigm within which this data is showcased and analyzed is interpretivist,
but the work also acknowledges preoccupations of critical theory/ critical pedagogy.

9. Section1: Brieflytakealookatthehistoricalrelationshipbetweenthe
accessibilityscholarshipandtheonline/blendedTeachingand
Learningmomentumpre-COVID
• It is sometimes challenging to
remember clearly what the
issues in online and blended
learning environments pre-
pandemic.

10. The need to lookbackhistorically:Encouraginggrowthof
inclusiveand accessiblepracticesin higher education
• In my eyes, the most evident ways of tracking this reflection is to examine the growth of
Universal Design for Learning (UDL) in higher education
• Growing but sporadic interest around Universal Design for Learning across the post-
secondary sector in most jurisdictions over the last decade.
• Particular early hubs of activity in Norway, Ireland, Belgium, Canada and the US
• Encouraging energy
• No doubt that the notion that inclusion must be achieved through proactive inclusive design
rather than through retrofitting and accommodations is finally gaining in popularity and
visibility
• Accommodation and retrofitting models are cracking at the seams. Represents an approach
to equity and access to earning that remain grounded in deficit model views of diverse
learners.
• Accommodation and retrofitting model is also expensive and unsustainable.
• Differentiation is problematic in higher education – as the only viable alternative
• This conjuncture offers UDL a strong role as optimal framework for inclusion in the tertiary
sector and for the implementation of recent EDI policies.

11. Ambivalentrelationshipof the UDLand inclusivescholarship
withthe literature and practicerelated to online and blended
learning
• UDL work, however, has long entertained an ambivalent and complex relationship with the rest of the
scholarship on technology, blended learning and online learning.
• Overlap between the UDL literature and these other bodies of practice is prima facie obvious & rich, but in
the field it has been difficult strategically to get buy-in for UDL from practitioners and researchers traditionally
involved in technology rich pedagogy.
• Accessibility, Inclusion and Learner Diversity have often been dismissed by e-learning scholars and
practitioners, with a focus instead on open practices, social constructivism in action, or experiential models.
• Perhaps too much euphoria around the potential of technology as tool to emancipate marginalized learners
and to amplify their voices?
• Took the emergence of critical digital pedagogy before the field accepted the double edged potential of
technology: as both liberator and tool of stigmatization
• The result is that a fair body of literature on e-learning, until recently, ignores accessibility and learner
diversity altogether.
• No natural allegiance between UDL advocates and e-learning researchers (journals, conferences, research
collaborations, etc.)

12. Section 2: And then came COVID…

13. If I had time to poll you today…
• But time is limited…
• I would ask you to tell me
whether your experiences
where that the online pivot:
(1) made accessibility and the
inclusion of divers learners more
challenging
(2) had improved accessibility and
inclusion for diverse learners

14. Outcomes have always been the same when I polled
crowds
• Irrespective of numbers,
location, or professional
perspective
• The crowd ends up being evenly
split between people who feel
things improved during the
pandemic and people who feel
they worsened dramatically
• This chasm in people’s lived
experience is characteristic of a
reality which is also evenly split
and dichotomous

15. Newdimensionsemerginginthewayaccessibilityandinclusionare
perceivedonlineduringtheCOVIDpandemicpivot
• Opportunities
• The COVID pandemic/pivot to online
teaching and learning have shaken status
quo
• Much more awareness about diversity
and accessibility
• Instructors globally acknowledging and
embracing their role as designers of the
learning experience.
• They are increasingly aware of the impact
of bad design on student experience
• They are more receptive than ever to the
relevance of inclusive design
• This has offered unprecedented
opportunities to demonstrate and
showcase the relevance of UDL when it
comes to systemically addressing learner
diversity in online and blended pedagogy.
• Challenges
• The design discourse is more diluted and
less easy to identify
• Some confusion between design
strategies and simple technology
integration
• The reflection around inclusive design is
perhaps not as systematic as it can be –
engagement in particularly has generally
been ignored during the pandemic. Focus
has been on representation and student
agency
• There have not always been adequate
points of contact for faculty seeking to
adopt inclusive and accessible strategies

16. Newdimensionsemerginginthewayaccessibilityandinclusionare
perceivedonlineduringtheCOVIDpandemicpivot (contd.)
• To an extent more student voices being
heard
• Noticeably growing international dialogue
around inclusive design. Ironically, there
has been less travel but more
opportunities for the global sharing of
knowledge (e.g. launch of the ADCET
platform in Australia)
• Widespread understanding that many of
the lessons learnt during the COVID
pandemic in relation to inclusive need
integrated into f2f teaching in the post-
pandemic landscape
• The pivot has improved accessibility for
many diverse learners (chronic medical
conditions, severe disabilities, life long
learners with responsibilities, etc.)
• Most key stakeholders have been over-
solicited and exhausted
• Instructors themselves are more
receptive to inclusion and access but also
burnt out and less open to innovation.
COVID exhaustion is real.
• Many students feel that despite some
growing inclusion efforts, there have also
been significant accessibility issues
(proctoring practices for example).

17. Take-aways
• A period of unprecedented opportunity
for reflection on accessibility in online
and blended learning spaces
• A process of empowerment of faculty
with regards to accessibility and inclusion
• A rich and powerful osmosis between
UDL and other teaching philosophies
(constructivism, social-constructivism,
experiential learning, active learning,
critical pedagogy, etc.)
• An exponential growth of resources, PD
material and scholarship on this topic.

18. So… does this mean things are looking up
for accessibility and inclusion in blended
and online learning?

19. Section 3: Not so fast! Gauging the post-
pandemic situation and lessons learnt
• The pandemic, however, has also further muddied the waters, and disrupted many
of the relationships between stakeholders in academia.
• Instructors are having to make design decisions on their own, often overnight, with
few precedents as to what is accessible or not in terms of classroom practices.
• A lot of innovation has occurred but often without the conventional forms of support
• Instructors have been increasingly working from home with few opportunities for
mentorship, dialogue, and modelling around inclusion.
• The relationship between accessibility services personnel and instructors has never
been so distant, slim, almost elusive.
• Most key stakeholders have been over-solicited and exhausted
• Instructors themselves are more receptive to inclusion and access but also burnt out
and less open to innovation. COVID exhaustion is real.
• Many students feel that despite some growing inclusion efforts, there have also been
significant accessibility issues (proctoring practices for example).

20. Not so fast!
• Accessibility services personnel themselves are often these days confronted with
innovative practices they have never had the opportunity to assess for accessibility.;
lack of precedents and pressing need for overnight advice (products, Apps, new
platforms, etc. that are APA compatible but not been integrated in an accessible
way).
• Waves of panic in public opinion have led to knee jerk reactions for fear of the
‘floodgate argument’: e.g. cameras compulsorily on, virtual exam proctoring, etc.
These decisions have had little to do with pedagogy or inclusion.
• It is important to stress the dangerous emergence of the use of ‘undue hardship’
clause in the Canadian context (and more widely around the world, though framed in
other constitutional terms), allowing campuses to temporarily ignore their legal
responsibilities with regards to Human Rights legislation.

21. New areas of friction
• UDL implementation had reached a stage in many institutions where interesting and
challenging case studies were emerging, requiring a subtle and nuance UDL
response.
• There has been, for example increasing concerns about what UDL might look like in
the science lab, in the visual art studio, in the language lab, in the outdoor
classroom, in the field placement, and in the graduate classroom.
• The rapid shift to online and blended learning has further muddied the waters by
requiring an overnight remodelling of these pedagogical spaces for online delivery,
before UDL/ inclusion scholars and practitioners had time to develop UDL best
practices in these areas (example of the flipped classroom).

22. A pendulum swing towards the ‘’old way”
• Industrial psychology indicates institutions have a tendency to return to status quo,
post-disruption, however unhealthy that status quo is.
• Systemic theory argues that this is the case for most human units/ groups or
communities.
• In this case, the return to the ‘old way’ is problematic as the need for change pre-
covid was pressing in relation to accessibility and inclusion in online spaces.
• How do we prevent our campuses from reverting to processes that were faulty?
• Call to action for all session participants, in your respective institutions.
• If best practices for accessibility and inclusion in online and blended environments

23. A pendulum swing towards the ‘’old way”
• Industrial psychology indicates institutions
have a tendency to return to status quo, post-
disruption, however unhealthy that status quo
is.
• Systemic theory argues that this is the case for
most human units/ groups or communities.
• In this case, the return to the ‘old way’ is
problematic as the need for change pre-covid
was pressing in relation to accessibility and
inclusion in online spaces.
• How do we prevent our campuses from
reverting to processes that were faulty?
• Call to action for all session participants, in
your respective institutions.
• If best practices for accessibility and inclusion
in online and blended environments are to
emerged and be crystalized, these strategic
reflection around management of change
must first occur.

24. Not just about accessibility or impairment
• Inclusion - and UDL – is not just about impairment. It seeks to address the needs of all
diverse learners.
• Sadly the COVID pandemic has been the setting for numerous push backs in terms of equity,
and for the progressive erosion of many basic rights.
• Despite the strength of the #MeToo movement, of the Black Lives Matter movement, and of
the Truth and Reconciliation momentum, racialized, culturally diverse, Indigenous, and
female students have been further marginalized during the pandemic.
• Loss of services, loss of voice, decreased visibility, increased hardship in meeting outcomes,
penalization in online assessment, decreased funding.
• The use of UDL in online and blended learning must go much further than just secure
accessibility for students with impairment. It must demonstrate its ability and use as a
framework to ensure the engagement of all diverse learners.
• The growth of the EDI agenda across our campuses has created much hope concerning
accessibility and inclusion but the discourse remains conceptual or focused on campus life
rather than the design for teaching and learning.

25. Section4:Remainingstrategicchallengesaroundtheimplementationofan
accessible/inclusivemindsetacrossorganizationsinonlineandblended
learningenvironments
• There are specific organizational
and strategic issues that remain to
be tackled
• These existed before the pandemic
and have been exacerbated by the
online pivot

26. Institutional challenges to the reflection on
accessibility and inclusion have been perpetuated
• This is not just an issue of pedagogical best practices
• An adequate focus on accessibility and inclusion in online and blended learning
spaces can only occur when there is institutional strategic planning in existence
• An example of this is the way UDL projects often stall and disintegrate for lack of
resources and institutional support.
• Before COVID there was great confusion as to which stakeholder(s) should be the
driver of change: accessibility services, all services supporting learner diversity,
teaching and learning units, instructional designers, senior administration?
• These dilemmas have not been solved and continue to plague large-scale cross-
campus efforts to embed best practices in relation to accessibility or inclusion.
• To some extent the pandemic has further exacerbated this tension as entire systems
are currently seen as suffering from chronic post-pandemic exhaustion in terms of
forward strategic planning.

27. Need for an ecological lens on UDL
implementation across institutions
Fovet (2021)

28. Questions

29. References & Resources
Black, R. D., Weinberg, L. A., & Brodwin, M. G. (2015). Universal design for learning and instruction:
Perspectives of students with disabilities in higher education. Exceptionality Education
International, 25(2), 1-16
Boothe, K., Lohmann, M., Donnell, K., & Hall, D. (2018) Applying the Principles of Universal Design
for Learning (UDL) in the College Classroom. Journal of Special Education Apprenticeship, 7(3).
Burgstahler, S.E. (2015) Universal Design in Higher Education: From Principles to Practice. Harvard
Education Press, MA
Capp, M. (2018) Teacher confidence to implement the principles, guidelines, and checkpoints of
universal design for learning. International Journal of Inclusive Education
Cook, S. C., & Rao, K. (2018). Systematically Applying UDL to Effective Practices for Students with
Learning Disabilities. Learning Disability Quarterly, 41(3), 179–191
Dalton, E. M., Lyner-Cleophas, M., Ferguson, B. T., & McKenzie, J. (2019). Inclusion, universal design
and universal design for learning in higher education: South Africa and the United States. African
Journal of Disability, 8, 519
Dean, T., Lee-Post, A., & Hapke, H. (2017). Universal design for learning in teaching large lecture
classes. Journal of Marketing Education, 39(1), 5-16
Fovet, F. (2021) Developing an Ecological Approach to Strategic UDL Implementation in Higher
Education. Journal of Education and Learning, 10(4).

30. References & Resources (contd.)
Fovet, F. (Ed.) (2021) Handbook of Research on Applying Universal Design for Learning Across Disciplines:
Concepts, Case Studies, and Practical Implementation. IGI Global
Fovet, F. (2020) Universal Design for Learning as a Tool for Inclusion in the Higher Education Classroom: Tips for
the Next Decade of Implementation. Education Journal. Special Issue: Effective Teaching Practices for Addressing
Diverse Students’ Needs for Academic Success in Universities, 9(6), 163-172.
http://www.sciencepublishinggroup.com/journal/paperinfo?journalid=196&doi=10.11648/j.edu.20200906.13
Griful-Freixenet, J., Struyven, K., Verstichele, M., & Andries, C. (2017) Higher education students with disabilities
speaking out: perceived barriers and opportunities of the Universal Design for Learning framework. Disability &
Society, 32, 10
James, K. (2018) Universal Design for Learning (UDL) as a Structure for Culturally Responsive Practice. Northwest
Journal of Teacher Education, 13(1), Article 4.
Kennette, L., & Wilson, N. (2019) Universal Design for Learning: What is it and how do I implement it?
Transformative Dialogues: Teaching & Learning, 12(1)
Nieminen, J.H., & Pesonen, H.V. (2020) Taking Universal Design back to its roots: Perspectives on accessibility and
identity in Undergraduate Mathematics. Education Sciences, 10(1). 2020, 10(1), 12
Novak, K. & Bracken, S. (Eds.) Transforming Higher Education through Universal Design for Learning: An
International Perspective. Routledge

31. Contact details
• Frederic Fovet (PhD.)
• Associate Professor, School of Education and Technology, Royal Roads
University
• Frederic.fovet@royalroads.ca
• @Ffovet
• www.implementudl.com