Course Design

Good course planning is critical for creating a structured and effective learning environment that fosters student success. Backward Design provides a framework to structure your course and ensure all key learning components are aligned.

Once you have planned your course structure, use the Universal Design for Learning (UDL) framework to build an engaging, inclusive learning experience. Based on cognitive science, UDL optimizes instruction to support diverse learning needs and help all students successfully demonstrate their learning.

The CFE provides instructors with resources and tools to facilitate course development and accessibility in Canvas:

• Course design templates: Ready-to-use templates tailored for both face-to-face and online courses.
• DesignPLUS: A suite of Canvas-integrated tools for adding enhanced visual design and interactive elements.
• UDOIT is a tool that helps instructors identify and address accessibility barriers in their courses. It can even help turn scanned/inaccessible PDFs into Canvas pages.
• Equatio is an equation editor for accessible math that runs on multiple platforms and within Canvas. It can take equations formatted in LaTeX and produce alternative outputs (such as MathML) that are accessible to screen readers.

Consultations with the CFE are also available if you would like one-on-one assistance with any stage of course development.