UDL – Center for Teaching and Learning

Webinar Recording: Quick Fixes to Provide Alternate Formats for All Learners

Anne Fensie — Wed, 04 Mar 2026 20:42:35 +0000

The Universal Design for Learning research suggests that providing multiple modalities of content will improve student learning outcomes, but it can be time-consuming to develop multiple formats of your course content. The new Ally tool will do this for you if you content meets basic accessibility requirements.

In this webinar, you will learn about the Ally Alternate Formats tool available to your students, as well as how to make quick edits to your content to ensure that students can choose their preferred format for engaging with the content. If you type content into a page in Brightspace, upload PowerPoint slides, or upload a reading in a pdf file, your students will have the option to read the content directly in Brightspace as usual, or download an mp3 version to listen to while they read or go for a walk or download an immersive reader version that helps them more deeply engage with the reading improving comprehension.

Join us to learn about some quick fixes you can make to your Brightspace content to take advantage of the Ally Alternate Formats tool to improve the learning experience for all of your students.

Instructive Alt Text

Anne Fensie — Wed, 25 Feb 2026 22:09:17 +0000

All images in your files need to have alternate text that describes the purpose and important information for those who cannot see the image. While we used to just consider this as an accessibility issue for people who use screen readers, there are additional uses for alt text: people with low internet bandwidth may turn off images to speed up page loads, descriptions of images will display if the image does not load because of broken links or technical issues, and these verbal descriptions will be included for those using the MP3 audio file created by Ally Alternate Formats. The fundamental purpose of Universal Design for Learning is to design for learner variability which then benefits more learners in ways that you may not have considered.

So, how can you make your alt text instructive? When you craft alt text for pictures, charts, and illustrations, consider the purpose of the image. Why did you select this visual? What do you want learners to take away from the image? What is important about it in relation to your learning outcomes? Include this in the alt text rather than just a detailed description of what is on the screen.

If you need help brainstorming alt text in this way, you can try the that will create variations of alt text for an image you upload. See this in action with an example from a biology journal article:

Worked Examples

Anne Fensie — Wed, 28 Jan 2026 18:09:51 +0000

When students are provided with practice or application assignments after learning new content, they often use incorrect strategies because they do not fully understand the underlying concepts. You can prevent this ineffective struggle by providing students with worked examples when introducing a new skill or process. It is most beneficial to provide multiple examples that illustrate the same underlying concept or skill with different surface features, as well as correct and incorrect examples where students are asked to identify the differences. Providing worked examples during initial instruction reduces cognitive load, but they are not effective when students already understand the underlying concept.

Ideally, provide detailed worked examples when introducing a new topic, narrating your thought process in live classes or annotating a document in an online class, then gradually provide less detail while students complete more of the steps on their own, fading support over time until they are proficient independently. To boost effectiveness, encourage students to self-explain as they read through a worked example, telling themselves why each step was taken.

What does this look like in practice?

��biology, you could provide diagrams demonstrating various metabolic responses, each with labels explaining what happens with each component and why, then provide some practice problems of similar models that are only partially completed, asking students to complete them and provide explanations.
In a writing lesson, students could be provided with two essays of different quality with various components highlighted and annotated. After students study the two examples, they could fill in missing pieces of another partially completed essay, such as writing their own effective transition sentences or developing an appropriate thesis statement.
��business management, detailed case studies are effective worked examples that illustrate course concepts such as financial ratios, market data, or leadership theories. Students could then be provided with a case study that includes analysis of some components while the learner completes the rest.
��history, an annotated or think-aloud analysis of a primary source document demonstrates to learners how experts approach these resources. Examples may include thoughts such as, “I notice the date is 1861, which tells me the author’s bias is likely influenced by the start of the Civil War…”. Students could then complete their own annotations or think-aloud on a similar primary source document.

From Learner-Centered to Learner Agency: Updates in UDL 3.0

Anne Fensie — Wed, 29 Oct 2025 19:00:26 +0000

Most of you are familiar with Universal Design for Learning, but did you know that it got a makeover last year? This webinar provides an overview of these changes to make the recommendations easier for you to use and move beyond learner-centered to learner agency. After all, we really want our learners to take what we are teaching and own it so they can use it and continue to learn after our course ends. You will see this in strategies for addressing identity, bias, and collective learning with a goal of developing purposive & reflective, resourceful & authentic, and strategic & action-oriented learners. Find the latest version of the guidelines here: .