Living for equity and inclusion: Justin Wylie
Equity and inclusion are core values for Justin Wylie – which is helpful, because they’re also key to his role at Central Queensland University (CQU) as a learning designer.
He’s worked closely with the Accessibility and Inclusion team there across online accessibility, assistive technology, inclusive practice, and Universal Design for Learning (UDL). He also trains VET and higher education staff in accessibility, inclusion and UDL.
Working with the Accessibility and Inclusion team has given him insights into the sorts of barriers that students with disability face in higher education, pushing him to be proactive in addressing those barriers through better design standards and providing targeted resources for teaching staff.
“I’ve been privileged to hear personal insights and lived experiences from diverse perspectives and now have a much richer understanding of the barriers students with disability face in online learning. But I’m still and always will be learning –there’s no single perspective and so much to learn!” he said.
Justin's background is diverse: he has experience in animation production, multimedia development, web design, marketing, and education, all of which have contributed to his understanding of his role at CQU.
“My experiences working in low SES schools gave me an understanding of the enormous diversity in learners' lives, their abilities, and their individual learning needs. This is also true for higher education, and as a learning designer, I can ensure the learning content I create is accessible and inclusive. This can directly impact students' learning success – especially for students with disability or diverse learning needs,” he said.
Understanding UDL
A major part of Justin's role is to implement UDL training across the university. This all began with a HEPPP-funded project to implement a LMS template at CQU that was informed by UDL principles. He upskilled in preparation for this by attending professional development sessions and conferences, and joining Communities of Practice like the one offered by ADCET, in partnership with TAFESA. He also accessed ADCET’s Introduction to UDL resource.
Once he had formed his own knowledge and understanding of the issue, he began offering UDL and basic accessibility sessions for colleagues, including some of the education staff. He used feedback from participants – and Thomas Tobin’s Plus One model – to tweak and improve the sessions, reminding participants that “UDL strategies need to be sustainable and manageable to be effective.” The effectiveness of UDL was a big focus – Justin recognized that educators often don’t have the time to play around with materials and resources because of their workloads, so anything he developed needed to be well-designed. And, in order to bring staff along on the UDL journey, he needed to promote the benefits of accessibility in a way that would resonate with the university’s leadership team.
His own experience as a classroom teacher meant that he understood the opportunities that UDL offers for improving student outcomes and removing barriers to learning.
Justin's dedication has paid off, as now he offers monthly UDL in Moodle workshops as well as training for teams and individual support for educators. He’s also working on new resources around UDL, accessibility, and inclusion for all university staff.
CQU is currently developing a new Teaching and Learning strategy and already has a Retention Equity project underway. Justin believes momentum around accessibility and inclusion at the senior level is building.
UDL is central to some of the other projects he is currently working on too.
“We are in the process of consolidating and building a Moodle resource for educators and staff to support the ongoing UDL training we provide. I’m currently working on a UDL & accessibility minimum standard framework to guide best practice in developing unit and course content,” he explained.
Incorporating lived experience
Highlighting real-life stories of the importance of UDL has been effective in encouraging professional staff and educators to get involved in accessibility projects and training, he said.
Lived experience can be a powerful motivator, and sharing the barriers that staff and students with disability face has been “transformative,” he said – including for himself.
“Hearing directly from current and past students about the extra time, cognitive load, and pressures they experience when faced with inaccessible or inflexible resources triggered my equity alarm. These students pay the same money for their education as anyone else,” he said.
He has also found that demonstrating how UDL can benefit teachers themselves has helped encourage them to take a closer look. A UDL-informed approach to teaching means “less reactive resource updating for reasonable adjustments, less student questions because of well-scaffolded tasks, deeper and more effective learning by providing multiple means of representation, and increased engagement because of flexible and inclusive resources,” according to him. This can help reduce teachers’ hectic workloads.
Another important project underway at CQU is a co-design project which is relying on the lived experience of a team of casually employed students living with disability, to get input and feedback on video and audio resources which focus on how technology can be used for flexibility and inclusion in learning.
For Justin, it all comes back to creating an equitable environment for students to learn in – especially in the online space.
“While digital learning can open up opportunities for many, we must be very mindful and considerate of the issues that impact its effectiveness. Accessible, inclusive, and UDL-informed learning experiences make digital learning more equitable,” he said.
“I also believe knowledge is empowering and should be shared equitably- this is key to my work with accessibility, UDL, and inclusive design. Being involved in improving the experience that students have in their education is very fulfilling.”
Written by: Danielle Kutchel
December 2024