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UDLUniversal Design for Learning
Education Law Center
Wexford, PA
February 24, 2006Dori Anderson & Scott Dougherty, AT Consultants
Allegheny Intermediate Unit
UDL Definition
“The design of products and environments to be used by all people, to the greatest extent possible, without the need for adaptation or specialized design.”
Center for Universal Design at North Carolina State University
UDL Definition---for LearningFramework that promotes curricula that are designed, developed and validated to meet the needs of the full range of students in our schoolsCombines best practices in teaching with flexible, accessible, electronic informationIncludes a range of options for assessing, using and engaging with learning materials
Center for Applied Special Technology (CAST)
Three principles of UDL
Multiple means of representationProvide learners various ways of acquiring information & knowledge
Multiple means of expressionProvide learners alternatives for demonstrating what they know
Multiple means of engagementTap into learners’ interests, offer appropriate challenges, and increase motivation
CAST
Not a single solution for everyone
UDL provides a “blueprint for creating flexible goals, methods, materials, and assessments that accommodate learner differences.”
Teaching Every Student in the Digital Age
Concepts contributing to UDL
Universal Design in Architecture
Assistive Technology
Paradigm Shifts in Education
Universal Design in Architecture
Influenced by:Americans with Disabilities Act, ADA, 1990 Seven Principles:
Useful for diverse abilitiesAccommodates a wide range of preferencesSimple and intuitiveCommunicates information effectivelyMinimizes hazards and adverse consequencesMinimizes fatigueAppropriate size and space regardless of body size, posture, mobility or seating
Assistive Technology
Influenced by:Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, IDEA
Assistive Technology Act
Paradigm Shifts
Influenced by:Inclusion Model
No Child Left Behind
High Stakes Testing
Assistive Technology in the era of UDL for Learning
More and more products are designed with needs of varied users/learners in mind
You need tools to meet the needs of more and more diverse learners in your classroom.
Accessing the curriculum
Assistive technologies will always have a role in the education of learners with disabilities, and UDL will not eliminate the need for personal assistive devices.UDL curriculum materials assume diverse learner profiles, and therefore are designed with flexibility as their keystone.
Flexibility
The cornerstone of UDL is flexibility.
UDL leverages the inherent flexibility of digital media to support individualized learning.
Research validated tools
Findings from an expansive survey of the peer-reviewed literature show that the use of technology transformations help overcome curriculum barriers.
National Center on Accessing the General Curriculum (NCAC)
“Text Transformations” are technology tools that alter or add to the features of printed text
Why look at tools you have?
“The least complex solution that will remove barriers to achievement should be the first consideration.”
“10 Things Everyone Needs to Know About Assistive Technology in Schools in 2005”, Joy Zabala
Your own data on the effectiveness of tools you have is an important step in the AT assessment process, and can point the team to other tools needed by a particular student.
Tools available to teachers
Operating System tools
Word Processors
Talking Text
Web Resources
Tools to try (at no cost to you)
Operating System Accessibility Tools
Windows XP: Accessibility Options Start, Control Panel, Accessibility Options Start, All Programs, Accessibility, Accessibility Wizard
Mac OS 10: Universal AccessApple menu, system preferences, Universal Access
Allow adjustments for visual, auditory, and motor needs, as well as personal preferences
Window XP: “Accessibility Options”
Mac OS 10: “Universal Access”
How to learn more…
Accessibility Optionshttp://www.microsoft.com/enable/products/windowsxp/demos.aspx
Universal Accesshttp://www.apple.com/education/accessibility/technology/
Word ProcessorsMost commonly available is Microsoft Word, but many of the same features apply to Appleworks, Word Perfect, etc
Research validatedAbility to manipulate text in various ways is beneficial
Positive impact of writing/editing on overall writing quality and fluency
Text manipulation
Font: Format- fontFont Color: Format- font- color (or use Formatting Toolbar)Word spacing: Edit-Find- (replace space with 2 spaces)Line Spacing: Format- Line spacingCharacter Spacing: Format- fontHighlighting: Option on Formatting ToolbarBackground Color: Format - BackgroundZoom: Go to View – Zoom – choose %
Auto Summarize:Looks for keywords in documentCan produce a summary or abstract
Good for: Pre-reading for meaningPost-reading to self-test or summarizeDoes well with reports, articles, scientific papers; not as well on fiction, correspondence
How to: Tools-Auto Summarize
Choose size of summary (in %)Layout of summary
Add CommentsGood for:
Providing built-in support or prompts to students
Peer reviewing
Student “notes-to self”
Adding “Voice comments” to documents
How to:
Click on location for comment and go to Insert- comment
Or, use icons in reviewing toolbar
Looks like this!Looks like this!
Highlighting Text
Good for:Aiding recall of key information or vocabulary
Providing cues to return to text later for clarification
How to:View-toolbars-formatting
When text is selected, clicking will highlight once. Otherwise, it is activated and click and drag over text will highlight .
Spelling & GrammarRight click on misspelled word-possible word choices appear
Right click on correctly spelled word to see choice for synonyms
Spelling/Grammar preferencesTools-Options, click Spelling & Grammar Tab
26 fundamental rules
Choose style of writing that Word grammar check will apply
AutoCorrectCommonly misspelled/mistyped words are replaced with correct word as you typeCustomize it: Tools- AutoCorrect Options- AutoCorrect tabEnter abbreviations in “replace” field
For example, a student could type “pht”during class and then use the Replace function to change all of those entries to “photosynthesis”
Readability StatisticsOption in Spellchecker (when chekced, statistics appear after spellcheck is completed)
Flesch-Kincaid Reading Grade LevelReading ease score# of passive sentences
Text at higher reading level can be augmented with additional features such as images, guided notes, highlighting, or text-to-speech
More Resources on Word
http://www.westedrtec.org/techtips
Text-to-SpeechUses
Tool for supporting comprehensionProofreading tool in writing processListening to words that are difficult to decode, or to text above reading level
AvailabilityBuilt in to Mac OS 10.4 for some appsFeatured in some common and many “AT”apps Via software add in OS 10 and XP
Getheadphones!
Text to SpeechMac OS 10.4:
Word 2004 for Mac: View- toolbars- Speech (Click on speak selection)Other apps: Application menu-Services-speech (Start speaking Text is bold if available in that program)
Windows :Commercial “AT” SoftwareExamples of software add ion Downloads for
Neurospeech IE Speaker, Word Speaker, or All-in-One Text to Voice at www.mycomputerspeaks.comText Aloud at www.nextup.com
Text-to speech: Accessing the world of digital text
Web Options: Read the web with text-to-speech
Example: E-text reader, www.readingmadeeasy.com
Copy and paste into any talking word processor (or Word)and benefit from manipulating size, color, spacing, even summarizing and embedded supports
Links to Digital TextsDigital Book Libraries (lists over 90 sites) http://www.ditext.com/etexts.htmlNational Library Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped (extensive list of links)http://www.loc.gov/nls/index.htmlBibliomania (2000 classic texts) http://www.bibliomania.com/Bookshare (Subscription-based online community providing access to 24,000 legally scanned books.) http://www.bookshare.org
Textbooks go digital
Check with your textbook publisher:Audio CD versions
CD-based supplementary material
National Instructional Material Accessibility Standard (NIMAS):
Plan for eliminating barriers to electronic textbooks
Other Web ResourcesMath websites
National Library of Virtual Manipulatives http://nlvm.usu.edu/en/nav/vlibrary.html
Webmathhttp://www.webmath.com/index4.html
Other Software You Have
Graphic Organizers:“flexible and endless in application”
Use software such as Word or PowerPoint to generate outlines and templates for writing, studying
Use Inspiration, Kidspiration, Writer’s Companion, or other software packages
About Graphic OrganizersUse for:
Generating ideasIncreasing recallPrereading deviceIntegrating old/new informationTeaching thinking strategies
Index of types and uses http://www.graphic.org/goindex.html
Tools to Try (at no cost to you)
PaTTAN Short Term Loan
http://www.pattan.net/supportingstudents/shorttermloan.aspx
Tools to Try (at no cost to you)
PIAT:PA Technology Lending Library
http://disabilities.temple.edu/programs/assistive/atlend/index.htm
ReferencesWestEd’s Regional Technology in Education Consortium:
Handouts on “Technology Tips for Differentiated Instruction” www.westedrtec.org/techtipsKnowledge Brief on Using Flexible Technology to Meet the Needs of Diverse Learners: What Teachers Can Do
National Center on Accessing the General Curriculum
“Text Transformations” by Nicole Strangman and Tracey Hall http://www.cast.org/publications/ncac/ncac_textrans.html
References (continued)Castellani, J., and Jeffs, T. (2001). Emerging Reading and Writing Strategies Using Technology. Teaching Exceptional Children, 33(5), 60-67PaTTAN: Handout “Tools You Have Tried and Tools to Try: AT Features of Common Software that Any Teacher Can Use to Support Students
Zabala, J. (2005). 10 Things Everyone Needs to Know About Assistive Technology in Schools in 2005. Presented at the national conference of the Assistive Technology Industry Association, Orlando, FL.
