Invisible ramps: Universal Design for Learning in virtual spaces

When we walk into a public building, we are no longer surprised to find a ramp next to the stairs, a lift or a door that opens by itself. We have learned to see physical barriers and to expect that someone has thought about them in advance. Yet we spend more and more of our class time in a different kind of building: the virtual campus. And there, barriers are invisible. A video without captions, a course where it is unclear where to begin or an exam that allows only one way of answering can leave some students out, even if nobody notices.

From architecture to the classroom

The idea of designing for everyone was born in architecture. Architect Ron Mace proposed designing spaces so that they could be used by all people, to the greatest extent possible, without the need for later adaptation. Years later, this perspective reached education through Universal Design for Learning (UDL), which proposes anticipating learner diversity rather than reacting to it (Rao et al., 2014).
UDL is organised around three questions: why we learn (engagement), what we learn (representation) and how we show what we know (action and expression) (CAST, 2024). Research supports its potential, with moderate positive effects on achievement (King-Sears et al., 2023), but it also warns of a risk: reducing UDL to a list of tools. UDL is not about offering many options, but meaningful options that serve the same learning goal.

A walk through the virtual campus

Let us walk through the virtual campus as if it were a building, stopping at some of its spaces (see Figure 1).

The entrance. If, on entering, students find a clear structure, a getting-started guide and an organisation that is repeated from one unit to the next, they know where they are and what is expected of them. The challenge here is a shared one: on many campuses each course is organised differently, and students have to relearn the "building" every time. Agreeing on a common structure across a degree programme is one of the simplest measures and, at the same time, one of the least applied.

The classroom. Captions are the best example of a measure designed for a few that ends up benefiting almost everyone. In a study of more than 2,000 university students, 71% of those without hearing difficulties used captions at least some of the time (Linder, 2016), and the evidence points to gains in comprehension and recall for any viewer (Gernsbacher, 2015). Platforms now generate captions automatically, but they should be checked: a technical term transcribed incorrectly becomes a new barrier.

The library. Offering the same content in different formats (a text, a short video, a diagram, an audio clip) opens more doors to the same knowledge. But format does not guarantee access: a scanned PDF cannot be read by a screen reader or easily enlarged. In Spain, regulations already require public universities to make their websites and apps accessible (Royal Decree 1112/2018); UDL goes one step further and seeks to provide different ways of understanding.

The hallways and the café. On a physical campus, much learning happens outside the classroom. Online, these spaces have to be created on purpose, and this is one of the greatest challenges: a forum does not create community on its own, and many end up empty or turned into notice boards. Research on communities of inquiry shows that social presence has to be cultivated (Garrison et al., 2000): open questions, teacher replies that invite further conversation and spaces with a clear purpose.

Assessment. We do not all show what we know in the same way. Letting students choose between a written text, a recorded presentation or a concept map, with the same criteria, helps to measure learning rather than skill with a single format. This flexibility has added value today: in the face of generative artificial intelligence, combining formats, such as a short oral defence or a process portfolio, makes assessment more inclusive and also more authentic. A common rubric for all options keeps the marking workload from multiplying.

Designing from the start

The key to UDL in virtual environments lies not in the tools but in the moment decisions are made: designing for everyone from the outset, instead of adapting later for a few. As the saying goes, with UDL teachers do not do more; they do better. And they do not have to do it alone: the most effective decisions, such as a common structure or shared criteria, are made as a team.

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