The Universally Designed Learning Experience

1. The Universally Designed Learning Experience The ACCESS Project, Colorado State University Jesse Hausler, Assistive Technology Coordinator Craig Spooner, Project Coordinator

2. Have you heard the following from faculty? “I don’t have any students in my class with disabilities.” • Yes • No

3. How can we confront this problem? • Hold more workshops and training sessions on AT and Accessibility. • Implement a set of rules and regulations for faculty to follow. • Bribes. • Something else entirely.

4. UDL Promote UDL, not accessibility

5. Defining UDL “ Universal Design for Learning is a set of principles and techniques for creating inclusive classroom instruction and accessible course materials. teaching technology ”

6. The ACCESS Video

7. Roots of UDL • Universal Design (UD) - Accommodate the widest spectrum of users without the need for subsequent adaptation • UDL makes teaching and course materials accessible to more students and reduces the need for individual accommodations

8. UDL UDL and Technology

9. We know these help students with disabilities • Accessible Web Pages • PDFs with OCR, Tags, Bookmarks • Descriptions for STEM Diagrams • Word documents with Structure • Consistent use of CMS

10. What are the benefits of PDFs with OCR and Tags • Accessibility via the Tag structure • Search through multiple documents for keywords • Navigation through Bookmarks • Reflow for users with small displays • Text to Speech • Copy and Paste

11. Universal Design? Who benefits from PDFs with OCR and Tags? • Students with Disabilities • Students without Disabilities • Faculty Everyone!

12. UDL UDL and Teaching UDL anticipates classroom diversity

13. Students are diverse in many ways • Abilities/Disabilities • Age/Life Experiences • Cultures/Ethnicities • Native Languages • Academic Preparation • Learning styles

14. Learning styles • Visual • Visual-Linguistic (reading and writing) • Visual-Spatial (graphs and pictures) • Auditory (listening) • Kinesthetic (touching and moving)

15. UDL: a framework for inclusive pedagogy • Information and concepts are represented in multiple ways and in a variety of formats. • Students are given multiple ways to express their comprehension and mastery of a topic. • Students engage with new ideas and information in multiple ways.

16. Representation • Ideas and information are represented in multiple ways • Lecture • Hands-on activities • Graphics/Audio/Video • Text

17. Representation • In our video, who benefits from the: • Descriptive audio? • Transcripts? • Captions?

18. Expression • Students express their comprehension in multiple ways • Oral presentation • Written essays • Projects/Portfolios/Journals • Performance • Multimedia (graphics/audio/video)

19. Expression • Colin from our video • Student with Quadriplegia • Undergraduate in Landscape Architecture • Assignment: Create a 3D model • Physical model • Computerized model

20. Engagement • Give students multiple opportunities for engagement • express enthusiasm for topics • challenge students with meaningful , real-world assignments • give prompt and instructive feedback on assignments • make yourself available to students during office hours in flexible formats

21. Engagement • Physics professor from India has students video tape Q&A during office hours • Individual questions answered for everyone in the course • Video • Written explanation

22. Challenge 1 You create a class climate in which student disability is respected. • Which UDL principle does this represent? • Representation • Expression • Engagement

23. Challenge 2 You allow students to submit assignments electronically. • Which UDL principle does this represent? • Representation • Expression • Engagement

24. Challenge 3 You provide digital equivalents of all paper handouts. • Which UDL principle does this represent? • Representation • Expression • Engagement

25. Challenge 4 Problem-Based Learning (PBL): Start with the problem; instructor guides students as they work together to discover the information required to solve the problem. • Which UDL principle does this represent? • Representation • Expression • Engagement • All of the above

26. Benefits of UDL • UDL focuses on enabling the learning environment • Disabilities are part of the broader range of student diversity • Emphasizes benefits to all learners • Shifts focus from disability and accommodations to broader issues of teaching and learning

27. Institutionalizing UDL • Embed UDL into all existing professional development • In particular, bundle it with existing efforts to improve teaching and learning • Form a committee or advisory panel made up of “movers and shakers” for innovative instruction • Tie UDL to the strategic goals of your institution • Address the concerns of your audience —What keeps them up at night? WIIFMs? • Provide incentives, create a buzz, get UDL on the radar • Build on the work of the ACCESS Project

28. Quick Evaluation Question (Just One) I plan to implement the UDL skills I have learned in this session. • Strongly Agree • Agree • Disagree • Strongly Disagree

29. Thank you http://accessproject.colostate.edu