Inclusive Instructional Design

- We all have our own learning stories, right? Let me share a very pivotal one from me. When I was 10 years old in the fifth grade, I had to stay back a year because it was discovered I'm dyslexic. In order to compensate, I had to figure out how to fit into a learning system that wasn't built for me. Instead of learning phonics, I memorized the way words looked with corresponding sounds. So I overcame, but I still felt like an outsider in school. The thing is for a variety of reasons, many learners feel the same way early on or at any point in our learning career. Hi, I'm Samantha Calamari. I've dedicated my career to discovering and developing instructional design solutions to help learners specifically with digital tools and online learning. A few years ago, I started to realize that a revolutionary learning potential exists within the online space. We can now reach communities that might not otherwise have access to education. But like my fifth grade classroom, we're not necessarily considering and designing for all the learners who come into this space. And that's what I'll tackle in this course. I'm so excited to share my research, findings, and ideas with you. So let's jump in.