2026 District Day of Learning - Keynote Speaker

Thomas J. Tobin

Thomas J. Tobin is an internationally recognized scholar, author, and speaker on quality in technology-mediated education—especially copyright, evaluation of teaching practices, academic integrity, accessibility, and universal design for learning.

Thomas J. TobinHe holds a master's and Ph.D. in English literature, an information science master’s, a professional project management certification, a master online teacher certification, the Quality Matters reviewer certification, the Professional in Accessibility Core Competencies (CPACC) certification, and the Penn State Academic Leadership certification (he tells his nieces and nephews he is in 47th Grade).

Tobin’s career has focused on extending higher education beyond traditional audiences. He advocates for the educational rights of people with disabilities and from disadvantaged backgrounds. He served five years as the Coordinator of Learning Technologies at Northeastern Illinois University, seven years on the Learning, Talent, and Communication team for Blue Cross and Blue Shield, four years as the Program Area Director for Distance Teaching and Learning at UW-Madison, and helped to found the Center for Teaching, Learning, & Mentoring at UW-Madison, as well.

As a 2018 Fulbright Scholar, Tom helped Eötvös Loránd University in Budapest to develop its first faculty-development program, and provided workshops and training to twelve other Hungarian colleges, universities, and military programs. In 2026, Tom will help the University of the Cordilleras in the Philippines to establish their first teaching center, as part of his Fulbright Specialist work.

He was named to Ed Tech Magazine’s 2020 “Dean’s List” of Educational Technology Influencers, was honored with the 2022 Wagner Award for Outstanding Leadership in Distance Learning Administration, and Eduflow named him in 2023 among the world’s Top 100 Learning Influencers.

Tom serves on the editorial boards of Advances in Online Education, InSight: A Journal of Scholarly Teaching, the Online Journal of Distance Learning Administration, and the Oklahoma University Press Teaching, Engaging, and Thriving in Higher Ed series.

His books include

  • Evaluating Online Teaching: Implementing Best Practices (2015) with Jean Mandernach and Ann H. Taylor.
  • The Copyright Ninja (2017).
  • Reach Everyone, Teach Everyone: Universal Design for Learning in Higher Education (2018) with Kirsten Behling.
  • Going Alt-Ac: A Guide to Alternative Academic Careers (2020) with Katie Linder and Kevin Kelly.
  • UDL for FET Practitioners: Guidance for Implementing Universal Design for Learning in Irish Further Education and Training (2021) with Ann Heelan and Dara Ryder.
  • UDL at Scale: Whole-Campus Universal Design for Learning (forthcoming 2026).
  • Evaluating Teaching in the Digital Era (forthcoming 2027) with Jean Mandernach and Ann H. Taylor.
  • Peer Observation Made Practical: A Guide to Developing Programs, Instruments, and Institutional Cultures that Foster Teaching Excellence (forthcoming 2027) with Lauren Barbeau and Claudia Cornejo Happel.

Find him on various social media and at his website.

Presentation Description

The new Title II accessibility requirements will take effect in April, 2026. Every person on campus needs to be trained on all fifty of the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG), and every single one of the thousands of documents and files on our web sites and in the learning management system (LMS) need to be updated to be accessible before then, too. Scary, huh?

Except it’s not like that. Yes, the new requirements ask us to make everything accessible. But most people don’t need to learn fifty technical standards, and nobody is going to be 100% compliant come May 2026. So, what should we do to talk with our colleagues about how to take action about accessibility?

As instructors and support professionals, we should advocate for our colleagues around us to design their interactions with students to be as broadly accessible as possible, in order to foster greater student agency, autonomy, and satisfaction. In the process, our collective work to support learners in addressing access barriers can shift to focus more energy on more challenging concerns. Also, this is an effort that takes work off our plates: accessible design means fewer students need to claim disability accommodations, which take up a lot of our time and energy.

Our advocacy starts with grassroots champions who can help colleagues with practical advice, as well as work with campus leaders toward accessible-design efforts. This keynote will share concrete strategies for how to approach colleagues in productive ways to talk about accessibility and universal design for learning (UDL) in their own work. We’ll also explore how to talk with your campus leaders to support the positive impact UDL has on campus operations (and on the budget), especially during challenging times. By attending this keynote session, you will be able to

  • frame the principles of UDL within the access needs of all students at your institution;
  • talk with your colleagues about individual and campus-wide efforts that lower barriers, reduce costs, and increase student persistence and retention rates; and
  • collaborate on accessible design efforts among your teaching and support-staff colleagues that increase student agency, autonomy, and satisfaction.

Presentation Slides

Websites Referenced During Presentation