Not all individuals can equally access the same products, environments, and building structures. Some face challenges related to age, pregnancy, disability, and other conditions. Over the years, although a substantial body of legislation has been passed to address issues of accessibility in society, the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA) was especially instrumental in protecting the rights of disabled individuals by prohibiting their discrimination in employment and increasing their access to public accommodations, services, programs, telecommunications, and transportation. The law further helped to remove many of the barriers impeding the access of individuals with disabilities or other challenges and brought about new ways of designing products, environments, and buildings that are more accessible to everyone.
The term '"universal design" was coined in the field
of architecture. It is the process of designing products, environments, and
buildings so that they are easily accessed or used by all individuals,
irrespective of age, ability, disability, or other personal
circumstances. There are seven principles of universal design typically
implemented in the design of products and environments today:
- Equitable use
- Flexibility in use
- Simple and intuitive
- Perceptible information
- Tolerance for error
- Low physical effort
- Size and space for approach and use
Equitable Use
Design should provide the same means
of use for everyone and be marketable to everyone.
Flexibility in Use
Design should accommodate a wide spectrum of
needs, preferences, and abilities.
Simple and Intuitive
Design should be easy to
comprehend, irrespective of users' knowledge, skills, and experiences.
Perceptible Information
Design should provide information
to users through different sensory modalities (e.g., pictures, verbal cues, or tactile accommodations).
Tolerance for Error
Design should reduce the occurrence
of mistakes and accidents, provide warnings, and include safety features.
Low Physical Effort
Design should facilitate easy use and minimal effort.
Size and Space for Approach and
Use
Design should provide
appropriate size and space for access and utilization by all.
The Ed Roberts Campus at the University of California, Berkeley is an example of universal design in action.
In the learning environment, universal design is called universal design for learning (UDL) and specifically influences the development of learning experiences that accommodate the needs of all students and can be accessed from anywhere and at any time. It provides multiple means of:
- Engagement: using different strategies to pique interest, encourage
persistence, and enhance motivation
- Representation: using different sensory modalities;
alternative forms of representation (e.g., text, video); adjustable formats
(e.g., enlargeable text) to support the acquisition of knowledge
- Action and expression: using assistive
technologies, alternate modes of expression, and varied strategies to
demonstrate mastery of knowledge
Learn more about universal design for learning.
References
ada.gov. Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, as amended.
Retrieved from https://www.ada.gov/pubs/ada.htm
CAST. (2015). UDL Principles. [Digital image]. Retrieved
from http://udlguidelines.cast.org/binaries/content/gallery/udlguidelines/udlg_go_principles.jpg.
Maloy, R., Verock-O'Loughlin, R., Edwards, S., & Park Woolf, B. (2017). Transforming learning with new technologies (3rd ed.). Boston: Pearson.
Teachings in Education. (2019). Universal design for learning:
UDL. [Video file]. Retrieved from https://youtu.be/gmGgplQkrVw
The CIL.(2019). The 7 principles of universal design: Ed Roberts
Campus. [Video file]. Retrieved from https://youtu.be/G-tHuD7R8cs
Information from this post may be used provided credit is given to Dominique Charlotteaux
