3 Creating Accessible and Engaging Content

Designing Accessible Content and Inclusive Design Principles

Online courses often reflect the cultural context in which they are developed; icons, symbols, and strategies for organizing and distributing information are not universal and can create an additional layer of unfamiliarity for some learners (Hannon & D’Netto, 2007). Additionally, multilingual learners may feel intimidated by the high demands for written communication in English, experiencing anxiety over correctness in forum posts and email exchanges (Day et al., 2021). How can faculty reduce these barriers for online learners from diverse backgrounds? Throughout this chapter, strategies will be shared that faculty can use to create a more inclusive, accessible, and engaging online learning environment.

Many online faculty are not knowledgeable in instructional design and inclusive design principles. At many institutions, online faculty do not need to be experts in these areas because there are development teams who specialize in these topics and can offer faculty guidance. However, faculty teaching online should have a general knowledge of how to design accessible content and be familiar with inclusive design principles, such as Universal Design for Learning (UDL). Although this book focuses on intercultural teaching, creating accessible content is essential for all learners, regardless of their ethnicity. The Special Education Technology Center provides a checklist that faculty can use when creating content to ensure greater accessibility for all learners.

Culturally Responsive Instructional Design

The instructional design of online courses significantly influences the success, satisfaction, and motivation of international learners. According to Wang and Reeves (2007), instructional design holds greater importance than the technology used because of the impact it has on cultural issues. Just as faculty require cultural awareness about their learners, instructional designers also need this knowledge (Kung, 2017). Research indicates that a lack of diversity in the design of online courses can put international learners at a disadvantage compared to their American peers (Liu et al., 2010). However, there are strategies that faculty and instructional designers can use to create culturally responsive online courses that effectively motivate and engage learners from diverse backgrounds. These strategies will be shared in the following section of this chapter.

it is important to note that instructional design should always be created for the intended learner. Therefore, it is important that faculty and instructional designers understand the diverse backgrounds of the learners who will be participating in the online course. Strategies for creating culturally inclusive online courses involve using multiple assessments, diverse cultural pedagogies, a mix of synchronous and asynchronous methods, appreciation for various cultures, incorporating American and global resources, and integrating audio and video aids (Liu et al., 2010). Research also indicates that the navigation of online courses is equally as important as the content of the course. A student in a study by Karkar Esperat (2018) shared how their difficulty with navigating their online course almost caused them to give up. Thus, effective organization in online courses significantly influences student motivation and progress. In the same study, all participants preferred module to module navigation, finding it less overwhelming.

The instructional design of online courses is an important factor in international student success and satisfaction in online courses. Instructional designers and faculty should incorporate both U.S. and international content and create courses that are easy to navigate. As Sadykova and Meskill (2019), shares, “when online courses are well designed and orchestrated, they can foster dynamic, socially, and culturally situated communities that study in multimodal ways that include forms of interaction distinctly different from live, face-to-face classes” (p. 5). By not employing these strategies, international learners may be put at a disadvantage and have struggles in their learning of course outcomes.

Engaging Content

Online learning requires significant motivation and self-discipline; however, students report that it can also reduce their feelings of motivation to persist with coursework (Aristovnik et al., 2020; Day, 2021). Not only is it important to create accessible content in online education, but it is also essential for student learning that educators create courses that are engaging and motivating. There are many ideas and strategies that could be shared on the topic of engaging and motivating online learners. However, this section will focus on big picture strategies and skills that online faculty can use to motivate and engage their learners, ultimately leading to improved student learning outcomes. However, additional strategies and resources will be shared for faculty who wish to deepen their knowledge on this topic.

Engagement Strategies

To create a motivating and inclusive online learning environment, faculty need to provide learners with personalization, flexibility, and autonomy. To do this, faculty should try to understand the unique motivators of their online learners. What are the learners in your class hoping to achieve upon completion of the course? Once faculty have a better understanding of these unique motivators, they are able to adapt their teaching strategies to meet the unique needs of their learners.

According to Bonk and Khoo’s (2014) TEC-VARIETY framework, offering learners autonomy and choice plays an important role in increasing learner motivation. To provide learner’s more autonomy over their learning, faculty can allow flexibility whenever possible. This will allow learners to progress through the course at their own pace, meeting the needs of their busy schedules. 

Khoo and Bonk (2022), reiterate the need for learner autonomy in their book Motivating and Supporting Online Learners. Another way to provide learner autonomy is to provide options for assignments. For example, to meet the learning outcomes of the course, you might allow learners to select from a variety of assessment that meet these outcomes. Could an essay, video, or other interactive assessment all demonstrate mastery? This allows learners to choose their own learning path and gives learners control over their learning journey. At the same time, this can provide faculty with more creative and varied assessments, making the grading process more enjoyable. 

These types of approaches align with self-determination theory, which highlights the need for autonomy in creating intrinsic motivation (Bonk & Khoo, 2014). Learners are more likely to be engage and motivated in a course when they feel they have control over their learning and can pursue topics of relevance or interest to them.

Another strategy to promote learner autonomy is scaffolding (Bonk & Khoo, 2014). When faculty can break down complex topics into smaller, simpler steps, it can help build confidence. This is especially true for learners who may feel overwhelmed by the coursework. When faculty can provide learners with incremental steps towards mastery of a topic or learning outcomes, they are providing structure, but also allowing flexibility for learners are varying levels leading to higher success.

The books Motivating and Supporting Online Learners and Adding Some Tec-Variety are just a few resources that online faculty can use to incorporate engaging and motivating strategies into their online courses. By providing learners with personalization, flexibility, and autonomy, faculty can help meet the needs of their learners helping the to succeed.