UDL Through Technology

Introduction

“Just as iTunes has changed the way we consume music by making custom playlists available, ubiquitous computing offers schools the opportunity to customize learning for each student.”

Matt Levinson, From Fear to Facebook

The idea of the personal media player transformed the music industry. Users were no longer required to purchase pre-packaged productions of their favorite artist on a single medium. They could pick individual tracks from multiple artists, place the tracks in customized playlists, and distribute the tracks through multiple technologies.

The analogy of the music industry transformation can be transferred to education. Technology is moving away from standard software and hardware, and this includes transformations in publishing and communications

Universal Design for Learning (UDL) is a set of principles for curriculum development that give all individuals equal opportunities to learn.

UDL provides a blueprint for creating instructional goals, methods, materials, and assessments that work for everyone--not a single, one-size-fits-all solution but rather flexible approaches that can be customized and adjusted for individual needs - like an iPod. It is based on three principals:

·         Multiple means of representation, to give diverse learners options for acquiring information and knowledge

·         Multiple means of action and expression, to provide learners options for demonstrating what they know

·         Multiple means of engagement, to tap into learners' interests, offer appropriate challenges, and increase motivation

When we consider differentiation in the classroom using technology, you can see the obvious connections under the three categories of UDL. There are some students that require a great deal of technology support and that may be identified in a program plan as assistive technology. Assistive technology is a term that is typically associated with students with greater individual needs, but with advances in portable technology and a larger range of tools, assistive technology under the UDL model is just one example of how any student can benefit.

Module Activity

Create an interactive shared resource to link online tools to particular areas of support. You can define these areas of support by the Universal Design for Learning principals (Multiple means of representation, Multiple means of action and expression, Multiple means of engagement) or use another method, such as the digital differentiation tool set.

Your interactive bookmark page should include at least 12 resources that you can share with other staff, parents, or students.

...or Project Extension

Extend the activity by creating a more comprehensive toolset that addresses particular needs that students may experience through your project. You should focus on tools that are available in your classroom and do not have to be limited to web-based tools, so think of apps and traditional software as well.

Your project toolset should address the three principals of Universal Design for Learning, but you do not have to categorize the resources as such.