Intermediate
60 mins
Teacher/Student led
+80 XP
Pupils work through this independently

Universal Design Principles

Learn how Universal Design helps create presentations that work for the widest audience from the beginning. Connect the seven principles to digital choices and apply two to your VET interview presentation.

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    1 - Introduction ~5 mins

    The seven Universal Design principles

    Today you will

    • learn the seven principles of Universal Design
    • match presentation choices to each principle
    • pick two principles for your VET presentation

    Universal Design means making something that works for as many people as possible, right from the start.

    Warm-up

    Think of a slideshow you watched from the back of a room. Was it easy or hard to follow, and why?

    2 - Key Concepts ~6 mins

    Later you will pick two of these four principles.

    • Equitable use: everyone gets the same useful message.
    • Simple and intuitive use: it is easy to follow.
    • Perceptible information: the message reaches more than one sense.
    • Size and space for approach and use: things are big enough to use.

    You will also match cards to these three.

    • Flexibility in use: people can use it in more than one way.
    • Tolerance for error: a mistake is easy to undo.
    • Low physical effort: it is not tiring to use.

    3 - Match Design Choices to Universal Design Principles ~15 mins

    As a class, match each presentation choice to the Universal Design principle it shows best. First you will talk about every card together. Then you will place the cards on the board and check them.

    Match the design choice to the principle

    4 - Common Issues ~4 mins

    Common issues

    • If you mix up equitable use and perceptible information, remember this. Equitable means everyone gets the same message, and perceptible means it reaches more than one sense.
    • If every principle seems to fit, pick the two that would help your examiner most.
    • If you wrote "make it accessible", name a real change instead, like bigger text or captions.

    5 - Independent Practice ~20 mins

    Independent Practice

    Your goal: Choose two Universal Design principles for your VET presentation and say how you will use each one.
    Time: ~20 minutes
    Task:
    1. Open the planning notes for your project. If you can't find them, use a Work Experience interview of 5 to 8 minutes, with the examiner at a table.
    2. Open {{code:Project_Portfolio}}, then {{code:09_specialism/sm2/}}.
    3. Make a new document called {{code:sm2_universal_design_check}}.
    4. Pick two principles from the list in the box below.
    5. Copy the sentence and fill it in twice, once for each principle.

    Pick two:

    • Equitable use
    • Simple and intuitive use
    • Perceptible information
    • Size and space for approach and use

    Principle: ___.
    How it shows in my format: I will ___ (font size / captions / slide count / export / alt text on ___ / other concrete control) so the examiner can ___.

    Success criteria:
    • {{code:sm2_universal_design_check}} is saved in {{code:09_specialism/sm2/}}.
    • I chose two principles from the list, with their names spelled exactly.
    • Each one names a real change, like bigger text or captions.
    • Both lines link to my VET presentation.
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