Since 2014, Melinda Stanley has been at the forefront of online education, designing over 20 online courses. Spending countless hours ensuring that her course materials are accessible to all students, her course design approach is student-centered, always aiming to enhance their learning experience regardless of their access needs. For example, she meticulously edits the captions for her course videos because accuracy supports every student's learning.
Melinda Stanley
Senior lecturer in healthcare management, School of Business, IU Kokomo
Her commitment to accessibility goes beyond just meeting the requirements. Stanley has advocated for university resources and support to make her courses Quality-Matters certified, a recognition given to courses that follow best practices in online course design. This certification process involves extensive peer review, and her courses have consistently met these high standards.
Stanley shared her motivations and experiences in promoting accessibility. She recounted how a student's interpreter failed to show up for class and she wrote everything on the board for the student. Personal teaching experiences like this, along with being a parent of a child with disabilities, fuel her determination to create accessible learning experiences for all her students. She said,
Accessibility is not just about providing support for those with disabilities but about fairness and equity in education.
A key principle that Stanley emphasizes is Universal Design for Learning (UDL). She aims to create courses that provide multiple ways for students to interact with course materials, including closed captioning, providing transcripts, and being mindful of the HTML code and font colors used. Her UDL focus continuously leads her to seek out new strategies to improve students' access to her course materials.
Her dedication to accessibility has also led to creative solutions in her teaching. For example, she worked with an IU Academic Media Production Studio videographer to create an online field trip of the Iron Lung exhibit at the Indiana State Museum. This allowed her students, who could not attend in person, to experience the exhibit up close. Such initiatives demonstrate her commitment to providing high-quality learning experiences for her students.
Stanley's efforts have not gone unnoticed. She is a winner of the 2024 President's Award for Excellence in Teaching and Learning Technology, and her students and colleagues have expressed appreciation for her efforts. They have seen firsthand the positive impact of her work, from improved course materials to an inclusive learning environment. Her approach has also fostered a sense of camaraderie among her students, who have become more supportive of each other and engaged in their learning.
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