Universal Design and Electronic Curb Cuts
Claims about literacies, and their lack, surround us, multiplying like metaphorical insects. Different observers see either an abundance of literacies forming foundations for flowing multimodalities, or a crisis rooted in the presumed absence or inadequacy of appropriate literacies threatening the foundations of our civilization and polity.
—Graff, Literacy Myths, p. 111
As we learn the specific ways in which literacy practices break down through a disability lens, principles of universal design can help us to create a literacy that is more encompassing. Universal Design aims to create environments and products that are “accessible, adaptable, and universal” (Center for Universal Design). Universal design is intended to be better for everyone; for example, universal design principles would recommend door levers instead of doorknobs. While levers allow easier access for individuals with a range of mobility impairments, the simple adaptation is helpful for anyone: imagine someone carrying home several bags of groceries and awkwardly trying to open the door. With a doorknob, bags would have to be adjusted and contents would likely spill; with a lever, an elbow could be used to open the door more easily. The solution responds directly to the needs of the disabled, but it is potentially better for everyone. Dolmage describes Universal Design as “a form of hope, of forethought, recognizing that the needs of any community change and that the environment must be responsive to all” (p. 181).
Similarly, in terms of educational practices, advocates of Universal Design for Learning (UDL) argue that “innovations in curriculum design, teaching strategies, and policies should be driven by the needs of students ‘at the margin,’ those for whom present technologies are least effective—most prominently students with disabilities” (Rose and Meyer). By centering disability, we are able to challenge our assumptions about what literacy is and should be. The “curb-cut effect” is a frequently-used term for the positive impact that accessible and universal design can have on the environment. Sidewalk cuts intended to aid individuals in wheel chairs or with other mobility impairments provide better access for individuals on bicycles, parents with strollers, and so on. Similarly, there is an electronic curb-cut effect, where “telecommunications and computing products and services with accessibility in mind” also benefit users of all abilities (Jacobs, 1999). Within the context of blindness and audio technology, the long-playing record (LP) and optical character recognition were both designed with accessibility in mind. Further, multiple modes of literacy are increasingly available for sighted readers; for instance, Wikipedia has begun a spoken articles project, e-readers increasingly incorporate text-to-speech capabilities, audio options are available in research databases such as EbscoHost, and of course smartphones offer voice assistance.
Allowing innovations in literacy technologies to be driven from the margins not only redefines our notions of disability, but also provides more meaning and relevance to our uses of digital media. Blind and low vision individuals have expertise about how to listen. Observing and understanding how blind and low vision users employ listening skills (such as “speed listening” or aural scanning) with similar technologies can provide insight into the intersections of aurality and literacy in multiple contexts. These new media, innovative technologies and the practices they afford offer “a much broader palette for literacy. . . one that extends beyond reading and writing to include aural (and oral) literacy as well as visual literacies” (Learning Ally, 2011, n.p.). In moving beyond the discourse of literacy crisis, we find a rich interplay of technologies and literacies that challenge and expand our understanding of what literacy can be. The use of sound as a literacy medium by blind and low vision individuals offers a unique opportunity to explore and understand audio as a mode of meaning-making. Through understanding how literacy practices are adapted by individuals with sensory, motor, and cognitive impairments we can learn about options for literacy and move toward a more universal model of literacy, one that is better for everyone.
Of course, the ideal of “better for everyone” is difficult to achieve and perhaps not even desirable given universal design's tendency to negate individual differences. As an example, the curb-cut effect described previously is assumed to provide benefits to everyone regardless of ability. However, curb cuts are not necessarily beneficial to individuals who are blind who may rely on curbs to distinguish a roadway from a sidewalk. The addition of tactile paving to curb cuts provides a detectable surface change for someone who is using a white cane to navigate. Universal design as Yergeau et al. (2013) explain "is a process, a means rather than an end." A universally designed product, text, or environment may not be achievable but the conversation about universal design introduces opportunities for innovation.