Every student has the right to quality education (UNESCO, 2021) and substantial progress has been witnessed in terms of access and equity within online learning spaces. This research examines lecturers’ perspectives on whether a University’s commitment to student inclusion translates to the teaching environment. In particular, it questions whether the experience of lecturing staff within current delivery spaces reflects an inclusive environment to encourage engagement in learning activities and opportunities to all students. Participation in this context refers to an equal educational experience within physical and virtual learning spaces, which has contributed to a change in the role of the lecturer. The question this research posits is whether the University’s commitment of student inclusion translates to the teaching environment. In particular, it questions if the experience of teaching staff within current online delivery space reflects an inclusive environment to encourage engagement in learning activities and opportunities across under-represented groups. Participation in this context refers to an equal educational experience within virtual learning spaces.

This research design serves to answer the study’s central research questions:

• Do teachers experience challenges in terms of inclusion when teaching students online?
• What have teachers learned in terms of inclusion when teaching students online?

This presentation explores essential design principles for developing digital learning content using authoring tools like Rise 360 and Genially. In the post-COVID educational landscape, these tools have gained popularity among educators and training professionals. However, concerns remain about the pedagogical quality and accessibility of the content created. To ensure effective learning experiences, instructional design must be grounded in inclusive, research-based frameworks.

The session will highlight Universal Design for Learning (UDL) as a key framework that supports accessibility and pedagogical rigor. UDL’s three principles—multiple means of Representation, Engagement, and Action & Expression—help address learner variability. Its latest version (3.0) reinforces its flexibility across diverse educational contexts, making it suitable not only for content design but also for program-wide application.

The presentation will also examine Gagné’s Nine Events of Instruction, offering a systematic approach to designing digital experiences—from gaining learner attention to evaluating outcomes. Examples in Rise 360 and Genially will show how Gagné’s model supports engagement and knowledge retention.

Attendees will gain actionable strategies and best practices for creating inclusive, engaging, and pedagogically sound digital content, with real-world examples from higher and further education settings.

This presentation reports on the development of an innovative, data-driven assessment toolkit designed to support scalable, competency-based learning in STEM education. Developed with grant funding under QQI's anniversary funding call, the REAL assessment toolkit empowers educators to deliver precise, standards-aligned evaluations while providing students with personalised, error-specific feedback that builds confidence, fosters mastery, and supports progression across NFQ levels.

The project comprised four parts - mapping and consultation, toolkit development, evaluation, and dissemination. The toolkit created develops a range of quiz questions within the Moodle platform which expand the normal capabilities of online questions and investigate their suitability for a range of scenarios at NFQ levels 6-8. We also demonstrate how highly effective feedback can be embedded into question design. In addition, a wizard and repository were developed which allows for the development of new questions with a significantly reduced learning curve for new users.

The evaluation of the questions developed allowed for the creation of unique insights into the behaviour of students. Examples include student practice in laboratory classes, how students deal with their laboratory data and examining how students’ online engagement can affect success in passing a module.

In this session, Brickfield will help you rate your accessibility skills and knowledge against the shortened version of our AccessibilityPractice Rubric based on our Accessibility Tip Cube. The Tip Zine and Cube breakdown entry level behaviours into six domains: Layout, Image, Text, Tables, Links and Media, with each of the six domains having three skills with one behaviour for each. We will take attendees through a breathless self-assessment reflecting on their accessibility practice through this lens.The self-assessment tool will provide guidance where the next steps are to improve your skills and ultimately, increase the quality and reach of your digital communications.