Global Accessibility Awareness Day 2026
Supporting Cognitive Needs in Teaching and Learning
May 21, 2026 | 11:00 AM EDT | 45 Minutes
Conversation led by:
Dr. Sambhavi Chandrashekar
Global Accessibility Lead, D2L
Speakers
Jeff Geurts
Principal Product Designer, D2L
AJ Karakus
Senior User Experience Researcher, D2L
Nathan Koop
Senior Manager, Software Engineering, D2L
Susan McInnes
Senior Product Manager, D2L
About This Webinar
Cognitive accessibility spans the entire teaching and learning experience, and meeting those needs doesn’t happen by accident. It requires intentional design from the ground up. Because every educator, every learner, regardless of diagnosis, has moments where the environment around them either supports how they think — or works against it.
On this Global Accessibility Awareness Day, join the D2L team on May 21st for a panel discussion on what it really takes to design for cognitive needs, and why getting it right changes the experience for everyone in the room.
This webinar is hosted by the Brightspace Community. For more community events, visit https://community.d2l.com/brightspace/events/.
Register Now
What You'll Learn
- Understand the universality of cognitive needs
- Identify Brightspace features that provide cognitive support
- Plan for cognitive ease across your curriculum, instruction, and assessment
Who Should Attend
This session is designed for educators, instructional designers, curriculum leads, and anyone involved in building or supporting learning experiences. Whether you're a D2L client, a prospective partner, or a colleague — you're welcome.
Why Attend
Our panelists from across D2L's product management, research, design, and engineering teams will share how cognitive needs shape the way Brightspace is built, and what that means for the educators and learners who use it every day. Our conversation will explore how thoughtful design in Brightspace can reduce barriers and create more inclusive learning experiences.