Resourceful IdeasThomas McDanielWalden University

Sherry LambertsonReaching and Engaging All Learners Through Technology, EDUC-6714 D-2

November 28th, 2010

Universal Design for Learning(UDL)

A Collective Responsibility for Student Learning

(Laureate Education, Inc. 2009A)

The Inspiration for UDL

It started with architecture

The movement began as a way “to create structures that are conceived, designed, and constructed to accommodate the widest spectrum of users, including those with disabilities, without the need for subsequent adaptation or specialized design” (CAST, 2010). It was called universal design. The idea was so empowering in how it was able to allow everyone access regardless of circumstance that the original founders decided to use the same principles to redesign the education system so that anyone could receive the same quality of education in every school.

Access for All

The Three Principles of UDL

Principle 1:

To support recognition learning and provide multiple, flexible methods of presentation

Principle 2:

To support strategic learning, provide multiple, flexible methods of expression and

apprenticeship.

Principle 3:

To support affective learning and provide multiple, flexible options for engagement.

(CAST, 2010)

UDL Principle 1

Provide Multiple Presentations of Information

Use Audio Books

Read Together

(Laureate Education, Inc., 2010B)

UDL Principle 2

Provide Multiple Means of Expression

Act it Out

Write it Down

Use Technology

UDL Principle 3

Use Multiple Means of Engagement

Make it interesting, new…

and fun!

Have students practice, practice…

and repeat.

The Central Role of Technology in UDL

To provide the maximum amount of flexibility so that students can choose the perfect presentation, creation, and manipulation of the content and lesson to meet their individual learning needs (Laureate Education, Inc., 2009B)

Potential Impact of UDL

•All students have access to supports that can help them become independent learners (Howard, 2004)

•“Genuine opportunities [for all students] to learn in standards-based settings” (Meo, 2008, p. 21)

•Maximum differentiation for optimum learning (CAST, 2010)

Your Brain on Technology

Technology has allowed us to see how the brain processes information which helps us to understand how we learn (Laureate Education, Inc., 2009B).

Brain research has identified three learning networks•Recognition: analysis-processing patterns•Strategic: kynesthetic•Affective: emotion and evaluation

“UDL is the framework for creating flexible goals, methods, materials, and assessments that accommodate learner differences” and when linked with the current research associated with the brain and learning networks, can help educators develop instruction that will provide the appropriate supports for individual needs, cater to the zone of proximal development of students, and enhance classroom learning for every student that enters so that all students are given the best possible chance of being successful (Meo, 2008, p. 25).

How is this possible?

UDL can create an education setting that:

Has full inclusion-every student, regardless of ability received instruction in the general classroom

Students are an integral part of the process-set their own goals, have a say in how the lesson is presented, and how they are assessed

A common education experience is shared-all students receive the same opportunity to interact with the content

The needs of the entire student are addressed-the educator is fully informed about each student and uses that knowledge to plan instruction

Allows every student to learn in the manner that best meets their needs and interests-the teacher provides diverse options for the presentation, application, and assessment of the learning standards

(Bray, Brown & Green, 2004)

Technology can:

1. design or adapt relevant learning experiences that incorporate digital tools and resources to promote student learning and creativity.

2. develop technology-enriched learning environments that enable all students to pursue their individual curiosities and become active participants in setting their own educational goals, managing their own learning, and assessing their own progress.

3. customize and personalize learning activities to address students' diverse learning styles, working strategies, and abilities using digital tools and resources.

4. provide students with multiple and varied formative and summative assessments aligned with content and technology standards and use resulting data to inform learning and teaching.

(International Society for Technology in Education, 2008)

Start by Getting to Know Your Students

Three Steps in the Right Direction:

1)UDL Class Profiler--create a big picture of your classroom by learning who your students are as individual learners. My school can use this tool to begin to create a informational education image of each student to help us develop instruction that works to define which brain networks are represented in every student.2) UDL Solutions Finder Tool--this tool provides a list of resources that can help teachers find supports that will encourage instruction diversity through the framework of UDL. Since my school uses an online environment, it can be difficult to provide services to students with IEP’s. This tool can help us to find solutions to meet the needs of special needs students.3)TES Online Journal-provides an online forum to express thoughts, record information and knowledge learned, share and discuss content, and receive feedback . Our students can use this resource as a way to work in groups, seek advice from others, and interact with both peers and the teacher to extend learning beyond the classroom.

(Cast, 2010)

No matter what culture students are from, what their ethnicity is, what they look like, sound like, can do, cannot do, like, do not like, how big or small they are, and what their past experience is with learning, with UDL and technology, how far they go in school should be up to them, because it is our job as educators to bring the learning to them wherever they are.

References

Center for Applied Special Technology. (2010). UDL guidelines, version 1.0. Retrieved from http://www.udlcenter.org/aboutudl/udlguidelines

Bray, M., Brown, A., & Green, T. (2004). Technology and the diverse learner: A guide to classroom practice. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press.

Howard, K. L. (2004, February). Universal design for learning: Meeting the needs of all students. Learning & leading with technology, 31(5), 6-29.

International Society for Technology in Education. (2008). National educational technology standards and performance indicators for teachers . Retrieved from http://www.iste.org

Laureate Education, Inc. (Executive Producer). (2009A). Universal design for learning. Reaching and engaging all learners through technology. Baltimore: Author.

Laureate Education, Inc. (Executive Producer). (2009B). Brain research and universal design for learning. Reaching and engaging all learners through technology. Baltimore: Author.

Meo, G. (2008, Winter). Curriculum planning for all learners: Applying universal design for learning (UDL) to a high school reading comprehension program. Preventing school failure, 52(2), 21-30.