Universal Design "meets the needs of the community of learners
while focusing on access for many individual learners." (Rose, et al. 2008)

Who are your learners? This is an important question to keep in mind while designing your Canvas course. HSU students come to us from a variety of ethnic, cultural and economic backgrounds, and possess different levels of knowledge and skills that prepare them or limit them in the college environment. Students come to us with different strengths, abilities, and needs that require varying levels of support for learning. These include different learning style preferences and may also include physical, psychological or learning disabilities that may require accommodations in the classroom.

In a web-based environment such as Canvas, utilizing accessible technology enables all users to interact with course content equally and effectively. Universal Design principles allow instructors to employ technology in ways that can maximize student engagement, build community, and lead to successful learning. If you design your course upfront with Universal Design principles in mind, you will optimize accessibility for all learners.

Key principles of Universal Design include:

Multiple means of representation: variety of ways for students to gain information and knowledge;
Multiple means of expression: alternative ways of demonstrating what students know;
Multiple means of engagement: challenging learners in different ways (CAST, 2011).

To learn more, watch this short video from the Center for Applied Special Technology (CAST): UDL At a Glance

The following resources will help you design your course for optimal access and engagement:

Center for Universal Design in Education - Instruction
CAST UDL Guidelines 2.0 Checklist [pdf]
CAST Universal Design for Learning (UDL) Guidelines
Seven Principles of Universal Design (Sonoma State University)
CSU Accessibility checklists by file type
CSU Tutorials to create accessible documents and multimedia
CSU Accessible Technology Initiative (ATI)

Make your documents accessible:

All instructional materials must be accessible to support the success of students. Here are a few resources:

HSU Document Converter - self-service solution that converts documents into a range of accessible formats
CSU Professional Development Accessible Instructional Materials website - a great resource for helping you make your documents accessible.
HSU Accessible Instructional Materials service, Laurie Takao, x4200

Caption your videos:

Video captioning: Videos: Create, Caption and Add to your Canvas Course

HSU Accessible Syllabus Template

Download the HSU Accessible Syllabus Template, and revise for your course
References:

CAST (Center for Applied Special Technology). (2011). Universal Design for Learning Guidelines version 2.0. Wakefield, MA.

Rose, D., Harbour, W., Johnston, C., Daley, S., & Abardanell, L. (2008). Universal design for learning in postsecondary education: Reflections on principles and their application. In S. E. Burgstahler & R. C. Cory (Eds.), Universal design in higher education: From principles to practice (pp.45-59). Cambridge, MA: Harvard Education Press.