Accessible Technology Course Design Practices for Inclusivity in Nursing Education

Area of Science:

• Nursing Education
• Educational Technology
• Higher Education

Background:

• Nursing students exhibit diverse learning needs, necessitating inclusive pedagogical approaches.
• Universal Design for Learning (UDL) provides a framework for accommodating varied learning styles.
• Accessibility tools are crucial for evaluating the effectiveness of faculty in creating accessible nursing curricula.

Purpose of the Study:

• To assess the impact of accessibility software in measuring faculty-led improvements in nursing courses.
• To evaluate changes in student engagement within nursing courses over two academic semesters.
• To analyze the correlation between enhanced course accessibility and student participation.

Main Methods:

• A quantitative analysis of 100 nursing courses was conducted.
• Accessibility metrics were measured for each course one year apart.
• Faculty efforts to improve course accessibility were documented.

Main Results:

• Significant year-over-year increases in course accessibility scores were observed across most nursing courses.
• Student utilization of course materials and resources showed a significant upward trend.
• Qualitative insights and lessons learned from faculty implementation are detailed.

Conclusions:

• Implementing accessibility improvements in nursing programs is highly beneficial.
• Enhanced course accessibility correlates with increased student engagement.
• These findings underscore the value of UDL principles in nursing education for fostering inclusivity.