Challenge C: Substantive Post 2

Viewing accessibility through a Universal Design for Learning (UDL) lens means designing for human variability from the beginning rather than treating accessibility as a technical add-on. UDL shifts the focus from “fixing the learner” to adjusting the environment so that more people can participate meaningfully. This aligns with Kat Holmes’s (2019) idea that disability is often a mismatch between a person and their environment.

From this perspective, accessibility becomes the foundation of inclusion. A learner may be present in a course yet still excluded if materials rely on only one way of seeing, hearing, or interacting. Providing captions, transcripts, alt-text, and adjustable pacing creates multiple pathways for understanding and reduces cognitive load, which benefits far more people than the original “target group”. This reflects Holmes’s principle of “solve for one, extend to many”. Captioning, for example, supports learners with hearing impairments but also helps multilingual learners, people studying in noisy environments, and those who process text better than audio.

On the other hand, UDL also emphasizes continuous improvement. Holmes’s guideline of “learn from diversity” highlights that learners who already adapt to inaccessible environments offer valuable insight. Their strategies can guide us in redesigning multimedia activities so that barriers are removed, not simply compensated for.

Reflecting on this week’s materials, I realized accessibility is not just a technical checklist but a mindset. It shaped how I now approach multimedia design: instead of trying to fix issues later, I have learned to anticipate variability from the start. This shift has helped me see accessibility as a creative design opportunity rather than a constraint.

Overall, designing with accessibility in mind from the start leads to multimedia learning environments that are clearer, more flexible, and more equitable for everyone.