Universal Design for Learning for Course Video in 2026: A Guideline by Guideline How To

To apply Universal Design for Learning to course video in 2026, work through CAST's current UDL Guidelines 3.0 one guideline at a time: give students choices and feedback inside the video (engagement), make the content perceivable and navigable with captions, transcripts and chapters (representation), and let them respond in text, audio or video and organize their own notes (action and expression). Below is a practical, guideline by guideline how to with a checklist. For the broader argument for why accessibility and engagement are the same goal, see our earlier piece, Accessibility is engagement.

What changed in the UDL Guidelines 3.0?

CAST released Guidelines 3.0 in July 2024, after an update process launched in 2020. Version 2.2 is still downloadable, but 3.0 is the current version. The three principles remain engagement, representation, and action and expression, with nine guidelines underneath. What shifted is the framing. CAST now states that "The goal of UDL is learner agency," and 3.0 adds learners' intersecting identities as a dimension of variability, names barriers at individual, institutional and system levels, and gives more weight to belonging, collective learning and a wider range of communication forms.

For video, that means captions and transcripts are the floor, not the finish line. The questions become: can every student choose how to move through the video, how to respond to it, and how to connect it to who they are and what they already know?

How do you apply the engagement guidelines to course video?

Guideline 7: Welcoming Interests and Identities

Consideration 7.1, optimize choice and autonomy, is summarized by CAST as helping learners develop agency in the learning process. In video, that looks like:

• Offering two or three short videos on the same concept (a worked example, a real world case, a conceptual walkthrough) and letting students pick.
• Opening with a prompt that asks students where this topic shows up in their own field or community, so relevance comes from them (7.2).
• Keeping examples and speakers varied so more students see themselves in the material.

Guideline 8: Sustaining Effort and Persistence

The guideline 8 page pairs challenging goals with adjustable support (8.2) and asks for feedback aimed at effort and process (8.5). Practical moves:

• State the purpose of the video in the first 30 seconds and in the LMS description (8.1).
• Add optional, ungraded check questions at natural breaks, with an explanation for each answer, so students can test themselves without risk. Our post on in video quizzes and active recall covers placement.
• Use a time stamped discussion on the video itself so questions and peer answers sit next to the moment they concern (8.3 and 8.4, collaboration and belonging).

Guideline 9: Emotional Capacity

Consideration 9.3 asks for individual and collective reflection. A closing prompt such as "What was the muddiest point for you?" invites reflection, and letting students post it privately or to the class respects different comfort levels with public participation.

How do you apply the representation guidelines to course video?

Guideline 1: Perception

Under Perception, CAST asks you to support customizing the display (1.1) and to share information in more ways than images and text alone (1.2). For video:

• Captions: accurate, synchronized, and edited after automatic generation. Captions are not only for deaf and hard of hearing students. Morton Ann Gernsbacher's review in Policy Insights from the Behavioral and Brain Sciences summarizes more than 100 studies showing captions improve comprehension, attention and memory for viewers broadly (Gernsbacher, 2015).
• Transcripts: a downloadable or searchable transcript lets students skim, search, translate, or use a screen reader.
• Described visuals: say aloud what is on a slide or whiteboard ("the curve shifts right") so the audio alone carries the meaning.
• Player controls: playback speed, caption size and keyboard operability.

Guideline 2: Language and Symbols

The Language and Symbols page covers clarifying vocabulary (2.1) and illustrating through multiple media (2.5). Put key terms on screen when you say them, link a short glossary, write equations out in the transcript as well as on the slide, and pair a diagram with a spoken explanation instead of relying on either one.

Guideline 3: Building Knowledge

Consideration 3.2 asks you to accentuate important information and its link to the learning goal. Chapters are the simplest tool here: a list of named sections turns a 40 minute lecture into a navigable outline, shows the structure of the argument, and lets students return to one idea without scrubbing. Open with a quick prompt that activates prior knowledge (3.1) and close with an example in a new context (3.4).

How do you apply the action and expression guidelines to course video?

Guideline 4: Interaction

Guideline 4 asks you to vary and honor methods for response and navigation (4.1) and to make sure materials work with assistive technologies (4.2). Check that every interactive element in the player, including questions, comment boxes and chapter links, works by keyboard and with a screen reader, and avoid timed questions unless timing is the skill being assessed.

Guideline 5: Expression and Communication

CAST notes on the Expression and Communication page that "There is no medium of expression that is equally suited for all learners." So:

• Accept text, audio or video comments on the same prompt.
• For video assignments, allow recording or uploading, and accept slides with narration where the outcome allows it.
• Build fluency with low stakes practice before a graded performance (5.3).

Guideline 6: Strategy Development

Under Strategy Development, 6.3 covers organizing information and 6.4 covers monitoring progress. Private, time stamped notes help students build their own study guide from the video, and feedback on practice questions shows them where they stand before an exam.

Moving students from watching to noting, answering and discussing also maps onto the ICAP framework from Chi and Wylie (2014), which predicts deeper learning as engagement moves from passive to active, constructive and interactive.

Does the ADA Title II rule affect course video?

For public colleges and universities in the United States, yes. The Department of Justice fact sheet lists public universities among covered entities and sets WCAG 2.1 Level AA as the standard, which includes captions for video. An April 2026 interim final rule moved compliance to April 26, 2027 for governments with a population of 50,000 or more, and April 26, 2028 for smaller ones. Our ADA Title II video guide covers the details.

What should a UDL video checklist include?

• Purpose of the video stated at the start and in the LMS (8.1).
• Accurate, edited captions and a searchable transcript (1.2).
• Visual content described aloud; key terms and equations shown and written out (2.1).
• Named chapters for any video longer than a few minutes (3.2).
• Player, questions and comments operable by keyboard and screen reader (4.2).
• Optional practice questions with explanations, separate from graded ones (8.2, 8.5).
• At least two ways to respond: text plus audio or video (5.1).
• A space for private notes and a reflection prompt (6.3, 9.3).
• Time stamped discussion for questions and peer help (8.3, 8.4).
• Some choice of example, path or format where the outcome allows it (7.1).

Where does Annoto fit?

Many of these items depend on the video player and LMS you already use, and a well configured native player may cover captions, transcripts and chapters. Annoto adds the interaction layer: in video quizzes that can be optional or required and practice or graded, with per answer explanations; time stamped discussion with text, voice or webcam replies; private notes; and video assignments with rubric based peer review. It can host video itself or run over your existing host, so captions and transcripts from that host stay in place, inside Canvas, Moodle, Blackboard and Brightspace.

Key takeaways

• CAST's UDL Guidelines 3.0, released July 2024, is the current version, with learner agency as the stated goal.
• Representation for video starts with edited captions, transcripts, described visuals and chapters.
• Action and expression means more than one way to respond: text, audio or video, plus private notes.
• Engagement comes from choice, optional practice with feedback, and discussion anchored to the moment.
• Public institutions should align caption and keyboard work with the ADA Title II dates.

Frequently asked questions

What is the current version of the UDL Guidelines?

Version 3.0, released by CAST in July 2024. Version 2.2 remains available for download on the CAST site.

Are captions enough to make a video UDL aligned?

No. Captions address part of Guideline 1. UDL also asks for choice, multiple ways to respond, structure such as chapters, and feedback.

Do optional quizzes fit UDL?

Yes. Ungraded practice with explanations supports challenge with adjustable support and process focused feedback under Guideline 8.

Where should I start this term?

Pick your most watched video, fix its captions, add chapters, and offer one optional check question and one response prompt that accepts text or audio.

If you are weighing tools for multimodal responses, see how Annoto compares in Annoto vs VoiceThread, which covers text, voice and video commenting on the timeline.