Principle of Representation - Guideline 1 - Criterion 1

Universal Design for Learning

Principle of Representation - Guideline 1 - Criterion 1

When developing a course using the first principle of Universal Design for Learning, there are three specific guidelines to assist us.  The first, Perception in many ways overlaps with creating accessible content.

Criterion 1 of this guideline advocates that we provide options to customize the display of information.

Digital material offers great benefits over printed material in that it is not fixed.  Accessible material allows for customization.  You may notice that browsers allow for the resizing of text.  The ePub format is a superior option to PDFs if one has a reader, because it allows for customization of font, color and contrast. Unfortunately you require certain mobile devices for ePubs, and the ubiquity of PDF readers makes this a useful format.  By providing malleable content options in digital format that is accessible, you will be increasing the clarity and salience of information for a wide range of learners. Some of the things to consider displaying information so that the following features are not fixed:

• The size of the text, images, graphs, or other visual content
• The contrast
• Emphasis is strictly based on color (to accommodate color blindness)
• The volume or speed of the presentation (a pause feature is helpful)

By following these suggestions, your course will assist students communicating and expressing their knowledge, as well as being in line the Principle of Representation in the Theory of Universal Design for Learning.

Importing a Course File (Package) into Blackboard

 

Let’s say you want to transfer content from someone else’s course or use the SUNY Schenectady Course Model to help develop your course.  First you will get the file (called a package) that you want to import.  For this example, let’s pretend you want the course model, found conveniently at:  https://tinyurl.com/CourseModel.  

To save this file:

1. Go to the URL
2.  Select the button to download the file.
3. Save the ZIP file in a location you can find.
4. DO NOT unzip this file – just save it!

Now that you have the file, you are ready to import it.

 Importing the File (Package)

Go to the course you want to content to be imported and:

1. Select the Packages and Utilities option on the menu
2. Select Import Package (Do NOT chose Import Course Cartridge)
3. Select Import Package (the gray button that looks like a label on the bar – thanks Blackboard for making that obvious!)
4. Select the file from your computer (remember where you kept it and remember to not unzip it)
5. Select All - to get everything (A common mistake is not selecting any content and importing nothing).
6. Select Submit

Wait about a minute and your content will be imported.  With most systems, Blackboard will mail you when the process is complete.  When it is complete, you may notice the tool bar needs some tidying, but everything is there.

Using the Import Package, as well as the Export Package, is a great way to share content with fellow educators when you do not have access to their course content in Blackboard.

 Now let’s start importing content.