Producing Inclusive Digital Learning Materials: A Study On Prospective Teachers

During the COVID-19 pandemic, the need for digitalized teaching and learning materials became prominent, especially in simpler forms of asynchronous teaching (Daniel, 2020), generating inequalities in opportunities for access (Jæger & Blaabæk, 2020) as well as organizational issues at various levels (Kerres, 2020).
The production of inclusive, digital learning materials became a priority for many teachers, who had to upgrade their digital skills. As a possible way to lower barriers to this process, we propose a simple technique to create “augmented PDF files”. This technique is based on very low technological requirements (i.e., free software that most people already have on their computers) and requires very low levels of multimedia production skills (i.e., it is possible to incorporate various types of content in the same document in a very intuitive way). The teacher can hence concentrate on content selection and teaching strategy (Mangiatordi, 2019).
Initial testing of this technique with a group of in-service teachers (N=114) showed that it was perceived as compatible with a wide array of digital literacy levels, making the application of UDL guidelines and checkpoints (Meyer & Hall, 2006; Rose & Meyer, 2002) easier and more sustainable. Using again the UDL framework, we evaluated the learning materials produced in the context of a university course about educational technology for prospective teachers (N=99) after a specific class about possible inclusive uses
of augmented PDF files.
By observing the digital learning materials produced by participants and the short descriptions of their intended use, we were able to confirm that also users with lower levels of perceived self-efficacy in technology use could take advantage of this technique to comply with major UDL principles. The main principle that participants could invest in was that of “providing multiple means of representation”, but also the areas of “engagement” and “action and expression” could be empowered. The main issue we observed, requiring immediate attention especially in distant learning scenarios generated by the pandemic, is the high risk of cognitive overload that could derive from excessive or not focused use of this kind of learning materials.
References
Daniel, S. J. (2020). Education and the COVID-19 pandemic. PROSPECTS, 49(1–2), 91–96. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11125-020-09464-3
Jæger, M. M., & Blaabæk, E. H. (2020). Inequality in learning opportunities during Covid-19: Evidence from library takeout.
Research in Social Stratification and Mobility, 68, 100524. https://doi.org/10.1016/J.RSSM.2020.100524
Kerres, M. (2020). Against All Odds: Education in Germany Coping with Covid-19. Postdigital Science and Education, 2(3), 690–694. https://doi.org/10.1007/s42438-020-00130-7
Mangiatordi, A. (2019). Costruire inclusione. Progettazione universale e risorse digitali per la didattica. Milano: Guerini.
Meyer, A., & Hall, T. E. (2006). Applying universal design for learning in the classroom. New York: The Guilford Press. Retrieved from http://scholar.google.com/scholar?hl=en&btnG=Search&q=intitle:Universal+Design+for+Learning+in+the+Classroom#8
Rose, D., & Meyer, A. (2002). Teaching Every Student in the Digital Age: Universal Design for Learning. Alexandria, VA: ASCD.