Presentation Panel
Inclusive by Design: Making Digital Learning Work for Everyone
Date Thursday, Dec 4 Time – Room: Köpenick II/III
What does it take to make digital learning truly inclusive? This panel shares global perspectives on accessibility, equity, and learner-centred design, showing how innovative frameworks and practical strategies can transform education. Participants will gain actionable insights into building belonging, removing barriers, and creating scalable approaches that serve diverse learners, including those with disabilities, learning gaps, or complex life circumstances.
Esther Chesterman
CEO, National Extension College
Esther Chesterman is Chief Executive of the National Extension College (NEC), a UK not-for-profit organisation and long-standing leader in accessible distance education. With over 25 years’ experience across awarding bodies, global education projects, and digital learning innovation, she has held senior leadership roles in training providers, UK colleges, exam boards, and awarding organisations.
A passionate advocate for inclusive and flexible education, Esther has led award-nominated digital transformation projects that expand access for second-chance learners and those on non-traditional pathways. Her work focuses on harnessing technology and design thinking to make high-quality education truly accessible to everyone.
Matt Cornock
Head of Online Learning, University of Leeds
With 20 years experience in online and digital education, Matt specialises in the design and development of fully online programmes and short courses, with a particular interest in the intersection of higher education and professional learning. As a senior leader at the University of Leeds, UK, he coordinates activity across professional services and drives forward the growth and quality of online education. He has led award-winning teams, is a trustee of the Association for Learning Technology and is a champion for bringing together online and subject-discipline pedagogies. Matt brings a passion for collaboration, learning design and creating accessible online courses that enable learners to succeed and continue their learning journeys.
Patti Dyjur
Educational Development Consultant, University of Calgary
Patti Dyjur, PhD, is an Educational Development Consultant with the Taylor Institute for Teaching and Learning, University of Calgary. She works on curriculum review and development, as well as collaborating with others to design courses and programs that incorporate intentional, meaningful student learning experiences. Her research interests include curriculum development and review in higher education, micro-credentialing, and Universal Design for Learning (UDL) in higher education.
Designing Digital Diversity: Principles for Powerful, Inclusive Learning, Esther Chesterman
Discover how inclusive course design can transform digital learning into a powerful tool for equity. This hands-on session from the National Extension College shares a practical, award-nominated framework for creating accessible, self-paced learning that supports diverse learners at scale.
Holistic Accessible Online Education: Intersection Between Digital Accessibility, Human Experience and Systems Design, Matt Cornock
This session offers a case study in bringing together multiple perspectives to improve the digital accessibility of online education. Participants will be encouraged to think and work in a cross-functional way across their institution to address educational and operational design challenges across the full student experience.
Fostering Inclusion in Postsecondary Online Courses through Universal Design for Learning, Patti Dyjur
In this session I will briefly introduce Universal Design for Learning, focusing on how it can be used to create inclusive, accessible and engaging online learning environments. I will then identify themes from postsecondary learning that are relevant to inclusivity, with examples of how them might be enacted online.