Beth Poss, Instructor
301-407-0617(h) 301-367-8763(c)
Beth_J_Poss@mcpsmd.org
possbeth@gmail.com
Welcome!
 Introductions/Warm-up
 Syllabus
 Course expectations
 Weekly Web Crawl
 Assignments
 Universal Design for Learning Introduction
 UDL Scavenger Hunt
 Wrap Up
How Do You Use Technology?
 With Students
 Personal
 Work/Productivity
Syllabus
Weekly Web Crawl
 Class begins at 5:00
 Web Crawl for the week
 www.matnonline.com >MATN Wiki >Towson Sped 646
 20-30 minutes to explore website and resources
available
Universal Design for Learning
An Introduction
Today’s Objectives:
 Define Universal Design (UD)
 Define Assistive Technology
 Differentiate AT from UD
 Examine principles of UD
 Explore federal regulations impacting UD/AT
 Explore ways AT can support UD
 Find UD in place at USGC
Casey’s Story
Casey is seventeen years old and is
a sophomore in high school. He
was a sophomore last year also, but
because he is entitled to an
education through age 21, his team
decided he should do 2 sophomore
years, 2 juniors years and 2 senior
years.
 He spends the morning in the special
education classroom learning skills he will
need someday in the real world. At noon,
an aide brings him his lunch in the special
education room. After lunch he goes to a
9th grade art class. He sits in the back of the
room with his aide and works on counting
and color recognition skills.
 Instead of a report card, at the end of each quarter
Casey gets stickers for the number of “good days”
he had in school. The Art teacher gives him a
pass/fail grade. Art is the only general education
class he takes as his team feels he wouldn’t get
anything out of any of the other high school
classes. There is some discussion that perhaps he
could spend a day a week at the middle school
taking a music class.
 Casey spends his afternoons in the
community—shopping, taking a bus,
crossing streets, and bowling. When in
the community he uses a Barney
backpack that was purchased for him
to hold all of his things. When at
school, he keeps his things in a cubby
in the special education classroom.
 Everyday after school Casey goes home
and spends much of his afternoon
watching videos of Grease, Cabaret,
West Side Story, Phantom of the
Opera, and Rent. He can act out many
of the parts and sings most of the
songs. He would love to someday be in
a play.
When asked about friendships,
Casey reports that his best friend is
Ms. White, the school nurse, and
Miss Angela his teacher.
Casey wants a job so he can earn
some money. It was arranged
that he would volunteer at the
town library one day every other
month.
A meeting to discuss Casey’s IEP is
scheduled for next month. It was
scheduled in the morning so that
Casey’s aide that works with him in
art could attend the meeting and
one of the other aides could work
with Casey during that time.
Last month a school-wide career
fair was held at the school. Because
the special education classroom
was temporarily converted into the
“Computer Careers Center”, Casey’s
time in the community was
increased to full days so that he
wouldn’t miss out on opportunities
to learn vocational skills.
His team has agreed to support
Casey to attend a school dance once
he has successfully mastered (with
85% accuracy) the socialization
goals on his IEP. Casey wants a
girlfriend.
What is wrong with this picture?
Universal Design for Learning
Included materials from Marsye Kaplan, Rebecca Mahoney
Universal Design Definition
•Concept or philosophy for designing
products and services that are usable by
people with the widest possible range of
functional capabilities.
What is the intent of UD?
 To simplify life for everyone by making products,
communications, and the built environment more
usable by as many people as possible at little or no
extra cost.
 Universal design benefits people of all ages and
abilities.
From http://www.design.ncsu.edu:8120/cud/univ_design/ud.htm
 Work smarter not harder!
How did the term originate?
Architectural term--Center for Universal Design
 UD examples
 Curb Cuts
 Captioning
 Automatic Doors
 Ramps
Universal Design For Learning—UD
in the World of Education (UDL)
Children with disabilities
do not constitute a separate
category, but fall along a
continuum of learning
differences.
Leads us to make adjustments
for learner differences for all
students, not just those with
disabilities.
Development and use of curriculum
materials
 varied and diverse,
 including digital and online
resources,
 rather than centering instruction
on a single text book.
transforms the old paradigm of
“fixing” students, so that they can
manage a set curriculum, into a new
paradigm that “ fixes” the curriculum
by making it flexible and adjustable.
Http://www.cast.org
Universal Design
vs. Assistive Technology
 Wide range of students
 AT specifically
considered for an
with diverse learning
individual student
needs
 Used by a student to
 Makes the curriculum
meet the expectations
accessible -students with
of a given curriculum
varying needs
 Implemented by general  Under review of special
educators
education teachers
 IEP based
Universal Design For Learning
Tips
 Teachers’ technology skills must be relatively well
developed and supported with ongoing opportunities
for learning
 There must be a clearly defined, but flexible
curriculum in place.
 The software and instructional materials must be
compatible with both the curriculum and with the
range of existing students needs.
UD in Education
 Universal Design for Learning
 David Rose-http://cast.org
 Materials and curriculum
 Present materials in multiple ways
 Multiple ways for students to demonstrate
learning
 Provide multiple ways for students to interact
and make meaning out of curriculum and
materials
UDL in Education cont.
 Provide options for demonstrating knowledge and
skills
 Offer instruction and student response through
distance learning
 Make materials available electronically as much as
possible
 Provide material in multiple formats
 This is a process, as we learn from our experiences we
will continue to add to the list.
• In the mid 1990’s, the concept of
universal design was applied to
education (www.cast.org)
• UDL is a national initiative at this
time in the educational world
because the technology is available to
make it happen.
©HIAT/MCPS/2007
• In 1975, PL 94-142
promoted “education
for all.”
• This was huge step
forward, focusing
more attention on the
individualized needs
of students with
disabilities.
• This resulted in
an IEP driven
curriculum that
was parallel to
the general
education
curriculum.
©HIAT/MCPS/2007
In special education classrooms, students
made progress, but grew further behind
compared to peers.
Upon graduation, this resulted in students
having fewer post secondary opportunities.
IDEA focuses on access, participation
AND progress in relation to peers.
©HIAT/MCPS/2007
• Special education staff can no longer work
separately from general education.
• General educators and special educators need to
collaborate to design good instruction with a
shared understanding of standards and
benchmarks.
• No single medium and method will work for all
students.
• Differentiated instructional (DI) strategies as well
as flexible materials©HIAT/MCPS/2007
benefit all students (UDL).
No
UDL is a framework to support the range
of learners that exist in typical
classrooms.
This would include gifted students,
disengaged students, ELL students, as
well as, students with documented
disabilities.
©HIAT/MCPS/2007
…harnesses the power
and flexibility of modern
technology.
Technology provides the
flexibility needed to
adjust to learner
differences
©HIAT/MCPS/2007
Students have:
Teachers provide:
1. Flexible ways of
presenting lesson
content
1. Options for how
they learn
1. Choices which will
1. Flexible options for
student engagement
engage student
interest
1. Flexible methods of
expression, and
assessment
3. Choices for how they
demonstrate their
learning
©HIAT/MCPS/2007
Options for how students
learn
©HIAT/MCPS/2007
Traditional Text
©HIAT/MCPS/2007
E-Text: Electronic Text of Holes using Kurzweil
Software
©HIAT/MCPS/2007
• Prereading chapter summaries
©HIAT/MCPS/2007
Houghton Mifflin Social Studies Online Chapter
Summary
©HIAT/MCPS/2007
Giving students choices
©HIAT/MCPS/2007
Choices to express new learning:
• Paper and pencil
• MS Word
• Portable word processors
(Alphasmart/NEO)
• PowerPoint
• Windows Movie Maker
©HIAT/MCPS/2007
Options for how students
demonstrate their learning
©HIAT/MCPS/2007
©HIAT/MCPS/2007
Typing instead of writing for students
who need handwriting and spelling
support.
©HIAT/MCPS/2007
©HIAT/MCPS/2007
• Both DI and UDL are frameworks for
instruction, but UDL is a framework
that guides instructional materials as
well as methods.
• UDL focuses on the flexible capacity of
new media, and therefore, the use of
digitized instructional materials.
• AT is concerned with individuals – UDL
is concerned with all students
©HIAT/MCPS/2007
©HIAT/MCPS/2007
Designing Lessons
Hall, Strangman & Meyer, 2003
©HIAT/MCPS/2007
Opportunities
• Increase awareness of UDL principles.
• Make a commitment as a school to make
curriculum materials more flexible.
• School collaboration to shift to a more
universally designed curriculum.
©HIAT/MCPS/2007
• Learn to create flexible, digital materials.
• Training on the tools available at your school.
• Use the Web to locate curriculum specific digital
materials.
• Build an a personal and school inventory of digital
materials.
©HIAT/MCPS/2007
by Alec Couros from http://franksblog.edublogs.org/2008/03/29/helpingcolleagues-get-connected-one-by-one/