With my fellow group members in LRNT 526, we were tasked to explore a digital learning event or experience through our unique lens. Then, as teams see how we can use our individual scopes to test the limitations of these learning events. My team opted to participate in a course through Coursera called The Digital Divide, which focused on ways to support learners and hopefully lessen the digital divide within communities. This course by Goodwill Academy is easy to follow, includes different learning opportunities, and is self-paced, allowing learners to break the course into as many chunks as needed.
Based on my experience and education as a classroom and special education teacher, I chose to approach this course through the lenses of inclusive learning and universal design of learning (UDL). UDL is a design framework in education where learning outcomes and opportunities are designed to be accessible for all learners, not just those considered “typical”. (Lambert et al., 2021) Inclusive learning is focused on learners with exceptionalities and/or different learning needs, including those with English as an additional language. Using these two focuses when taking this course, I looked for:
– Is there an entry point for learning for all?
– What limitations are there?
– What accessibility tools are built into the program?
– What accessibility tools would need to be downloaded as a plug-in or app?
Although there have been many positive changes in online learning, designing with all learners in mind is still challenging. It is also not possible to successfully transfer all modifications and adaptations that work in a traditional classroom to an online setting. Since this course is accessible worldwide, it also would be difficult to make it 100% accessible to all learners around the world due to language and what access to technology is like.
Trying to integrate UDL and ensure inclusive learning is possible. But will this impact the usability and ease of access to this course? How can we make this happen if we want to allow all learners to access courses in their language? Is it possible to translate it into all languages, or are some protected? How might you approach including learning in online learning?
References
Lambert, R., Imm, K., Schuck, R., Choi, S., & McNiff, A. (2021). “UDL Is the What, Design Thinking Is the How:” Designing for Differentiation in Mathematics. Mathematics Teacher Education and Development, 23(3), 54–77. https://eric.ed.gov/?id=EJ1321118
17 April 2025 at 7:58 pm
Hi Lauren,
I really appreciated your focus on UDL and inclusive learning, it brought such an important perspective to the conversation around online education. Your questions about language accessibility and the challenges of transferring classroom adaptations to digital spaces really stood out to me. It’s true that while self-paced courses offer flexibility, they don’t always offer equitable access, especially for learners with exceptionalities or language barriers.
I also liked how you grounded your reflection in your teaching experience, it gave your insights real weight. You’ve definitely made me reflect more on how “universal” online learning actually is.
Thanks for sharing this perspective!
Alex
25 April 2025 at 12:56 pm
Hi Lauren,
Thanks for sharing your reflections on the Coursera course and the platform through the lens of UDL. First off I have to say that I love your choice of image – that’s a sketchnote by my friend Giulia Forsythe who works at Brock University in Ontario 😉 I’d encourage you to push your analysis a little further and think about what your experience with this course and the Coursera platform reveals about who the intended or imagined learner is? You’ve identified some missing elements and challenges in terms of embracing inclusion – so what is the impact of that? And how does that align with some of the marketing we see around platforms like Coursera? Consider some of the blurb on their own About page for example:
“And that’s why Coursera is here.
We partner with the best institutions
to bring the best learning
to every corner of the world.
So that anyone, anywhere has the power to
transform their lives through learning.”.
https://about.coursera.org/?_gl=1*1qquzgf*_gcl_au*MTU5NTA0ODUyLjE3NDU2MTA4NDk.
16 May 2025 at 12:47 pm
Hi Lauren,
Your post got me thinking about just how often accessibility is treated like a technical add-on instead of being part of the core design from the beginning. The way you framed UDL as both a lens and a challenge made that tension clear… especially in a course that’s meant to be global and self-paced. It’s such a practical goal, but so complex in execution.
Our team came at a similar problem from a different angle. We analyzed the English with Emma YouTube channel and quickly saw that, while it offers clear instruction and open access, it really assumes that the learner brings a lot to the table… motivation, language proficiency, even platform fluency. There are no built-in scaffolds or supports, and learners who need more structured feedback or interactivity might struggle with the format (Fawns, 2022).
You raised a tough question: how do we create digital learning that’s genuinely inclusive when the tools themselves weren’t built with all learners in mind? Sriprakash et al. (2024) speaks directly to this… they warn that even well-intentioned platforms often ignore the deeper systemic issues like linguistic marginalization or infrastructural inequity. UDL pushes us to design for variability, but platforms like Coursera or YouTube often default to one-size-fits-all.
I liked how your questions didn’t look for quick fixes but opened it up for deeper reflection… especially about the practical limits of inclusion when faced with global diversity.
References
Fawns, T. (2022). An entangled pedagogy: Looking beyond the pedagogy–technology dichotomy. Postdigital Science and Education, 4, 711–728. https://doi.org/10.1007/s42438-022-00302-7
Sriprakash, A., Williamson, B., Facer, K., Pykett, J., & Valladares Celis, C. (2024). Sociodigital futures of education: Reparations, sovereignty, care, and democratisation. Oxford Review of Education. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1080/03054985.2024.2348459