Using UDL to redesign face-to-face, large class modules for the online, asynchronous environment.

Following an initial emergency response to the Covid-19 crisis in March 2020, the higher education sector commenced planning for an extended period of remote teaching for the academic year 2020/2021. Such planning in Dublin City University (DCU) included the development of guidelines for hybrid learning, providing professional development opportunities for academic staff and redesigning programmes for hybrid and online learning contexts. In this context, it was necessary to redesign two face-to-face synchronous, 5-credit modules in religious education on the Bachelor of Education programme, each module comprising 400 students, into engaging, asynchronous, online formats. This paper explores the redesign of these modules with a particular focus on how the principles of Universal Design for Learning (UDL) informed the transformation of the modules for an asynchronous online learning environment.