KEYNOTE SPEAKER

Keynote: From Optional to Essential: Accessibility Without Deniability

In a world where knowledge should have no limits, accessibility in education remains a critical frontier. This keynote explores how inclusive design and technology can transform learning experiences for all students, regardless of ability. Through real-world stories, innovative strategies, and a call to action, we’ll uncover how educators, technologists, and institutions can break barriers and create truly equitable learning environments. Join us in imagining education where access is not an afterthought, but the foundation of success. This keynote has direct application to the corresponding workshop that will follow:

Workshop: Universal Design for Learning in Practice (A Micro Sprint for Inclusive Educational Redesign)

Join us for a collaborative workshop on Universal Design for Learning (UDL). All are welcome, regardless of prior UDL experience, to share their input and ideas.

This dynamic event is structured as a Micro Sprint, a focused burst of collaborative work. Participants will quickly prototype, brainstorm, and share ideas, compressing the concept of a traditional product design sprint into a single session.

Our core challenge is to redesign an everyday learning experience to support the widest range of learners. Using UDL principles, we will focus on engaging learners, offering choices, and removing barriers. Examples include project instructions, interactive lessons, and assignment feedback.

The sprint includes phases for framing a challenge, ideation, rapid prototyping (building simple drafts/sketches of solutions), and sharing for quick feedback.

We will be guided by the three UDL Principles: Engagement (The Why of Learning), Representation (The What of Learning), and Action & Expression (The How of Learning). We will also utilize resources like UDL Evaluation Tools and the UDL Guidelines v. 3.0. Let’s create together!

Keynote: Learning that Empowers Students and Inspires Curiosity

Most conversations about accessibility focus on compliance, such as providing captions, ensuring contrast, and including alt text. But true inclusion begins long before those steps, in the way we design learning itself. Universal Design for Learning (UDL) is more than just a checklist of accessibility practices. It is a philosophy that invites educators to see every student as capable, curious, and creative.

In this keynote, Dr. Sean Nufer will explore how Universal Design can become truly transformative when we infuse it with joy, play, and autonomy. Drawing on classroom experiences and emerging research, he’ll share how small design choices can reignite the human connection that makes learning meaningful. His philosophy is that when students find the curriculum meaningful and make those personal connections, they become intrinsically motivated to take ownership of their learning and become capable contributors within the classroom rather than passive participants. 

We live in an era when artificially generated resources can create the illusion of learning. Educators today have a renewed opportunity to awaken curiosity and guide learners to see the transformation that can occur when we move from what is required to what is possible. Student-centered learning can help us recognize students for their individuality so that they can feel safe to take risks as they are supported in their choices. When learning environments honor a sense of safety and agency, then our students can develop the confidence to think critically and explore ideas more fully. They will see themselves as true thinkers and creators.

This session reframes UDL not as a constraint but as an opportunity to design learning experiences that are both purposeful and uniquely human. We will explore student-centered learning as a way to empower students to take ownership of their educational experiences and rediscover the delight of discovery and application. By the end, you’ll see how designing for joy doesn’t compete with rigor - it strengthens it. Because when students feel safe, seen, and free to explore, they not only learn better but connect more meaningfully with the world around them.

Workshop: Building Learning Experiences that Inspire Choice

This workshop invites participants to step into the creative process of course design and experience Universal Design for Learning in action. Together, we will examine how assignments can have the potential to cultivate student autonomy and engagement, and ultimately inspire a sense of ownership. Participants will work in small groups to design multiple assignment options that students can choose from to demonstrate their learning, ensuring alignment with learning outcomes and connecting them to broader course goals.

Through this collaborative design process, we will explore the value of student-centered learning and the power of choice as a catalyst for curiosity and motivation. Rather than discussing UDL in theory, this session emphasizes the active practice of building, iterating, and reflecting together. By the end, participants will have created tangible course materials as we discover how designing for autonomy and flexibility can transform the learning experience for both students and educators.