Universal Design

Universal Design Promoting Academic Success for All Learners

WHY? • Recent mandates (NCLB &IDEA 2004) require accountability for providing all students with access to the general education curriculum. This presentation was developed to help educators understand the principals of Universal Design and Differentiated Instruction as tools to meet the needs of individual students. • Presenters: Karin Rasmussen ATECH consultant for the Northwest Kansas Educational Service Center, Katherine Kersenbrock-Ostmeyer Director of Special Education for the Northwest Kansas Educational Service Center, and Dan Thornton Executive Director of the Northwest Kansas Educational Service Center

Topics and Issues • Legal responsibilities • What UD is and is not • Differentiated Instruction • Brain Research • Ideas Strategies and Resources that support unique learners

Mandates • No Child Left Behind and The Individuals with Disabilities Act (2004) both require students demonstrate adequate yearly progress. • Additionally the IDEA requires that students with disabilities be educated in a least restrictive environment to the maximum extent appropriate.

Universal Design • Universal Design (UD) developed out of the field of architectural design • UD in Learning deals with the idea that education in general should be designed for access by all students. • UD is a frame of mind that supports design to make education work.

Accessibility issues

Universal Design for Learning • Does NOT mean lowering standards • DOES mean flexibility in providing alternatives in methods, materials, and delivery of instruction. • Does mean allowing options in student responses (how students demonstrate knowledge) • DOES mean providing individualized alternatives • ALL WITHIN THE GENERAL CURRICULUM.

A clear case has been made for new technologies in the classroom to ensure academic success for all students

There is nothing fair or more unequal than the equal treatment of students who have unequal needs.

English Language Learners • ELL school aged population has grown more than 169% from 1979 to 2003 (vs. 12% general growth) • ELL is projected to make up 30% of the school population by 2015 • Over 400 various home languages are represented in ELL populations • Spanish makes up approximately 70% of the ELL population

What is Differentiation? • Teacher response to student needs • An understanding that students vary in knowledge, experiences, and preferences • Instruction that matches student needs and interests

Differentiated Instruction • Allows educators to respond to those individual learners’ needs by changing the pace, level, and kind of instruction we provide. • Teachers Can Differentiate • Content, Process, Product • Key elements Include: • Compacting Curriculum • Tiered Assignments • Work Stations and Learning Centers • Flexible Grouping to personalize learning activities • Individualized instruction • Independent study • Learning Contracts • Choice Boards

Brain Based Research • In the last 20 years we have learned more about the brain and how it works than in all previous recoded history • Positron-emission tomography (PET) detects brain activity • Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) can take pictures of the brain 50 milliseconds apart • Functional MRI also measure brain response to different stimuli • Magnetoencephalography a very sophisticated EEG we can see which parts of the brain are involved in various tasks. • Implications for Teaching • Teachers try to change the human brain every day. The more they know about how it learns, the more successful they can be.

Universal Design and the Link to Brain Research • Mild to Moderate brain differences affect the way we learn. Built in flexibility in the design of curriculum, instructional materials, and acceptable student response is paramount to quality education • This relatively new knowledge of the way human brains function substantiates what many excellent educators have known for decades; that allowing for learner differences does not give students an unfair advantage, a “crutch”, but gives teachers the opening to “level the playing field” of education so that all students have the best opportunity to learn that we as a society can offer.

You need not go it alone! ! • Resources are available • One step at a time. Educators may feel overwhelmed with the information presented---however the introduction of one or two ideas to start with can help pave the way for future success.

Let’s get started!! • Now that you have an overview of UD/DI • It’s time to begin • Karin will demonstrate a few high tech and low tech tools you can use • A resource list of books, web sites, and contacts is provided • And most importantly--the knowledge that you can and should feel free to utilize flexible approaches to education ALL students.

http://www.readplease.com • Cut and paste any text into the free windows program • Allows for changes in voices, color, size, speed, • For a fee, readpleaseplus offers web, e-mail and other language options

http://starchild.gsfc.nasa.gov • Speaks, • music/songs, • video’s, • translation, • print version, • different levels • teacher center with activities.

http://www.windows.ucar.edu Windows to the Universe offers: • 3 reading levels – beginner, intermediate, advance, • Spanish/English translation. • Definitions, • Games • Classroom activities. • Focuses on earth and space sciences.

http://www.starfall.com/ • Starfall is a Learn to Read free web site designed for pre-k to second grade. • Based on research by the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development about how children read. • Child’s voice speaks. • Many free printable for parents and teachers.

http://www.42explore.com/ • A thematic pathfinder for all ages who need a starting point for a project. • Provides 4 web sites to explore for each topic with information, definitions, links and other resources and activities. • Each topic includes a basic introduction in two formats: easier or harder as it refers to the reading vocabulary lever. • Additional websites for kids and teachers

http://bensguide.gpo.gov/ • This site provides learning tools for K-12 students, parents, and teachers. • These resources will teach how our government works. • Offers 4 reading levels plus and a parent/teacher category.

http://babelfish.altavista.com/ Babel Fish Translation • Translates short pages of text • Translates entire websites • Type text into box or copy and paste text into box • 19 pairs of languages.

http://www.sparknotes.com • Geared toward high school and college students. • Similar to cliff notes. • Quizzes with mult.choice answers. • Study guides with answers. • Offers original text and modern text. • Many distracters Ads.

www.brainpopjr.com/ • Under construction so no fee yet! • Great science, health, writing, reading, social studies, and math videos. • Extended activates • Two levels of quizzes. • Text is read by a young voice.

http://arcademic.altec.org/games.htm • ARCADEMIC SKILL BUILDERS are online with downloadable games that offer a powerful approach to learning basic math, language arts, vocabulary and thinking skills. • The software, developed by Educational Information Systems, Inc., was inspired by the then emerging arcade games and the intense engagement they fostered between the game and the player.

http://www.childrenslibrary.org • The International Children's Digital Library Foundation is the world's largest online multicultural repository of children's literature. • It offers free access to exemplary works from more than 42 countries. • The online library can be accessed for free in 11 languages. • Picture books of all interest and reading levels. • Pages turned by mouse click.

http://www.lib.umn.edu/help/calculator • A tool for high school or collage students who have difficulty planning/organizing tasks associated with a research project. • Pick beginning and due date with a topic. • A tool to provide daily manageable tasks with tips on how to complete the tasks.

http://www.ri.net/schools/East_Greenwich/research.html • Created by a librarian from Rhode Island offering step by step guidance and resources • Basic steps to get started • Organization straggles • Online Reference tools • On live liberties • Presentations tips • Evaluations your work

http://coe.jmu.edu/Learningtoolbox/ • The Learning Tool Box is designed for high school and college students with mild disabilities, teachers and parents. • It provides tips in organization, test taking, study skills, note taking, reading, writing, math, advance thinking. • PDF format.

http://classroom.4teachers.org • Outline Your Classroom Floor Plan is for students or teachers to organize a classroom. • Right click will enlarge the plan and furniture. • For the visual planner. • 4teachrs.org has many great educator supports

http://casanotes.4teachers.org/ • Casa Notes is designed to allow teachers to quickly make, and customize, typical notes that are sent home to parents or given to the students. • Notes include: homework, field trip, parent-teacher conference, medication, etc. • Notes available in English or in Spanish.

http://www.readinga-z.com/index.php • Reading A-Z offers thousands of printable teacher materials to teach guided reading, phonemic awareness, reading comprehension, reading fluency, alphabet, and vocabulary. The teaching resources include professionally developed downloadable leveled books, lesson plans, worksheets, and reading assessments

http://www.readinga-z.com/index.php • Reading A-Z children's books and lessons are appropriate for all sorts of reading programs, including K-6, ESL/ELL, special education, and remedial reading. The reading program's downloadable books and lesson plans are standards based and results oriented. There is a monthly/ yearly fee however 30 free book samples printable.

http://www.edhelper.com/ • Teacher materials for a fee which covers reading, writing, Language, foreign language, science, social studies, math and more k-high school. • However do a search for free graphic organizers in PDF format: • http://www.edhelper.com/teachers/graphic_organizers.htm

http://www.m-w.com/downloads/index.htm • Merriam-Webster Toolbar/Look up Button • Free down loads for web browsing • Offers definitions thesaurus, spelling and more

http://www.webmath.org/index.html • This site is composed of many math "fill-in-forms" into which you can type the math problem you're working on. Linked to these forms is a powerful set of math-solvers, that can instantly analyze your problem, and when possible, provide you with a step-by-step solution, instantly! • At Webmath, you don't have to wait for an email response or use an electronic bulletin board and hope someone will answer it. You can get the answer to your math problem right here, right now! • For All ages and math activities

http://matti.usu.edu/nlvm/nav/vlibrary.html • The National Library of Virtual Manipulatives is supported by the National Science Foundation. • Free online virtual math manipulates to make the abstract concrete • Numbers, algebra, geometry, measurements, and data analysis and probability. • K-12 emphasis • English or Spanish Option

http://www.wested.org/cs/tdl/print/docs/tdl/home.htmUsing Technology to Support Diverse Learners • The purpose of this Web site is to focus on how technology already in the classroom or school can support good instruction and research-based strategies that work. • Differentiated Instruction – which is a teaching theory based on the idea that instructional approaches should give students multiple options for taking in information, making sense of ideas, expressing what they learn, and accommodating differences while teaching to students strengths and knowledge (Tomlinson 2001).

http://www.wested.org/cs/tdl/print/docs/tdl/home.htmUsing Technology to Support Diverse Learners • This Web site contains links to a slide show, handouts, and related materials for professional developers covering: Digital Text Audio Digital Enhancement Software Visual Curricular Supports Targeted Populations

Built in software supports • Microsoft Office Word text speaking options: • In windows, with Microsoft Word 2003, go to tools>speech>speak text. • On a Mac, go to view>toolbars>speech. • Cognitive Rescaling-Use AutoSummarize in Microsoft Word. Found under tools in the main menu bar.

More built in software supports • Text to speech in Microsoft Office Excel: Tools>Speech>Show text to speech toolbar. • Adobe reader in v. 6: main menu>view>read out loud.

Built in computer supports • Speak text for Mac: system preferences, speech, text to speech, speak selected text when short cut key is pressed • For Mac users, Universal Access is found in preferences under the blue apple. • Text Edit – Free on Mac’s. A simple word processor with spell check and dictionary. Speech option to read text.

Accessibility Wizard found in programs on a Windows computer to assist with magnifiers, on-screen keyboard, narrator and manager • Talking Word Processor for Windows 2000 and XP. A easy to use word processing program designed to help people who have difficulty with reading and writing. Down load off the web.

Universal Design