The University of Vermont

The Center on Disability and Community Inclusion (CDCI)

Universal Design for Learning

Welcome To UDL@UVM

If you've never heard of Universal Design (UD) before, you're not alone. If you have, you may know that it is an emerging concept that has direct application for higher education that can launch college and university students into 21st century learning experiences. Coined by architect Ron Mace, UD is defined "the design of products and environments to be usable by all people, to the greatest extent possible, without the need for adaptation or specialized design (The Center for Universal Design, North Carolina University, www.design.ncsu.edu/cud/about_us/usronmace.htm)". Simply stated, it is the idea of creating, designing, or developing so that there are multiple ways to accomplish the same tasks, multiple strategies to get to the same outcome, or alternate paths to the same destination with fewer barriers for everyone!

Curb cuts and captioning are everyday examples of universal design that we encounter in many public places in the US. City and town planners recognized that cuts in sidewalk curbs at key locations could benefit many different kinds of uses such as strollers, shopping carts, rolling luggage, bicycles, and wheelchairs. Similarly, closed captioning in televisions have become familiar supports for viewers who watch in noisy airports, sports bars or fitness centers.  In fact, it has been reported that the most common users of captioned television are in private homes where individual viewers don't want to disturb their housemates. So if you think UD is about designing for people with disabilities, you are only partly correct. UD benefits people with disabilities, but UD actually benefits everyone!

Last modified November 20 2009 03:18 PM

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