UDL is a framework for designing learning experiences so students have options for how they learn, what materials they use, and how they demonstrate their learning.
I wonder how many teachers implement UDL? I think schools should make this a key element in their curriculum. I do not think the public schools that I attended utilized any such framework. Maybe if UDL had been considered, I would've had a better educational experience.
When used effectively, technology can redefine and transform learning. However, far too often, technology acts as a substitute for another tool, serves as a classroom management tool, or is used because it is required by the school (e.g., learning management systems).
I agree that many schools, far too often, use technology as a substitute for certain kinds of instruction. I believe the reason for this is that most teachers have not received training on teaching with technology. Moreover, workshops are more focused on getting teachers comfortable using new technology and less concerned with how teachers use technology to transform learning.
, teachers could use social media to drive their own professional learning
I have found plenty of ideas for teaching by watching tik toks. Hashtags like teacher Tik Tok are great platforms for teachers to gain new insights and interact with other educators online.
Instead, providing students with an eBook that allows students to listen to the text, instantly define words they are not familiar with, and interact with the information makes learning more accessible for everyone.
The websites perusall and hypothesis are good examples of tools that allow for this.
These beliefs regarding race and class shaped whether they saw students’ digital skills as valuable or not.
The messages embedded in this article are extremely important. I believe that most teachers aren't even aware of the damage their stereotyping might have on their students. Overall, I was shocked by how the teachers responded differently to their students regarding technology. This is something that more teachers need to be aware of in the digital age.
While important, it takes more than everyone having comparable equipment and working WiFi for all children to get an equal shot.
This refers to the idea that good design is not just about accessibilty, but inclusivity as well. Just because a student has access to a certain program or learning tool does not make it inclusive.
Classroom discussions, without mindful guidance and a commitment by participants to fairness and inclusion, are often dominated by those with the loudest voices and quickest at raising their hands—or, in too many cases, those most willing to interrupt others.
I had a teacher in elementary school who did a great job at this. For participation, we could either speak up and answer the questions aloud or write them on a sticky note for her to collect after.
Working toward inclusive design and design justice involves listening to learners, being willing to learn sometimes hard and painful lessons, and adjusting designs based on learners' input
I always appreciated it when teachers allowed the class to give feedback. It made me feel like I had control over my education and more importantly that my opinions mattered to them. Anonymous surveys are a great tool to receive student input, allowing for more honesty in the responses.
As I say these two phrases—inclusive design, design justice—I struggle to understand why some in our country are against these principles
I feel as though few are actually against these principles. However, people do not want to go through the perceived hassle of implementing them. It is less of a matter of agreement and more about prioritization. People can be selfish and will prioritize their needs over the needs of others. This is where changing humanity's perspective comes into play. People need to be taught that inclusive design isn't just for the "other" and that it can benefit everyone.
This instructional design process puts the focus on learning, especially higher order thinking, rather than on technology use or delivering instruction.
In addition to this, I think far too much time is sometimes spent on learning how to use the tool rather than using the tool to learn the material. I think backward design can help teachers avoid this outcome and place the emphasis on learning the content.
For example, you would not teach multiplication facts the same way you would teach geographic literacy. The same goes for using technology when teaching
It is important to put the tool into context. For example, a tool like Quizlet may be good for memorizing facts about the water cycle, but a tool like canvas would be better suited for applying the knowledge (ie, having the students create their own diagrams to share with the class). One style of tool is not better than the other, they just serve a different learning purpose.
For example, a simple substitution can be useful in the classroom as long as there is value in making the switch
I think this is key when deciding if a lesson would be better taught using technology. For example, a digital worksheet or reading may not be any more useful than the paper copy unless it has additional interactive features such as the tools Hypothesis or Perusall. These tools let you write your own responses and reply to others within the text.
You can use Bloom’s taxonomy as a guide for defining appropriate, measurable learning objectives for your students and then select the best tools and apps to help students meet the objectives.
I think this pyramid is a great tool to guide teachers and help students reach their goals. A teacher could start off teaching a subject utilizing the lowest tier before gradually working their way up as a way to keep the student engaged and thinking critically.
Instruction must be based on a student’s existing mental structures, or schema, to be effective”
Many young children learn this way and their schemas are constantly building off of each other and changing based on their experiences. I learned about this process in psychology with the example of a child learning about pets. The example goes like this: a child has a cat which she knows is soft and has ears, then she meets a dog for the first time which is also fuzzy and has ears so she calls it a "cat" too. Over time she learns the differences between the two animals and switches over from calling the dog a "cat" to its proper terminology. Therefore, she is building off of existing schemas in order to learn.
Digital Tool in Practice: Kahoot! is a game-based student response tool. Educators can design or use predesigned Kahoot! games to help students memorize Constitutional terms.
Another tool that would fit into the category of behaviorism is Quizlet. Its games and flashcard tools are a great example of stimulus-response learning through immediate feedback. There is one right or wrong answer and the user receives immediate praise or help after answering the questions.
If the language used in any agreements is unclear, teachers may wish to speak with someone from the school division’s technology department to gain a better understanding. Teachers could then ensure that this information is clearly shared with students, using words they understand, so that they also know what they are consenting to prior to using assistive technologies.
This is extremely important, since the language they use for terms of agreement can be very confusing to read. Even adults have a difficult time deciphering what they may be agreeing to when they check "I agree."
Teachers can use these types of programs to grade student work; however, these programs do not currently apply to higher-level thinking and analysis skills, which means that the amount of time spent on these assessments cannot yet be adjusted
Using AI can be especially problematic when grading written assignments as their algorithms are typically set to a kind of English that is catered towards the "wealthy white male." This puts people of color at a disadvantage when the algorithms are built this way.
“products are not field tested before adoption in schools and offer limited to no research on [their] efficacy”
I think it is important to remain skeptical when it comes to AI. Teachers should not be afraid to ask the program designers questions and voice their concerns.
"Experts on data privacy and student security are calling for investigations and parents are expressing alarm after a news report last week revealed that a county police department in Florida uses sensitive data from the local school district to keep a secret list of middle and high school students it deems as potential future criminals"
This seems like a complete breach of privacy and I'm surprised that this was allowed. Making such bold claims could have major consequences for the students identified as "potential criminals." They may have limited opportunities and suffer from prejudice.
You will also be asked to review and accept the end-user license agreement or terms of service, which may involve
Most people do not bother to read the fine print, including adults, so how can we expect children to?
urrently have a GPS, a smartphone or tablet, or apps that track your location? Do you have an artificial intelligence (AI) device, like SIRI, Alexa, or Cortana, that records what you say? Have you ever had your password stolen or your personal information hacked from a site that you joined?
I am horrible at remembering passwords and login usernames. Therefore, I continually use the same logins and passwords which I'm aware can result in drastic consequences. Learning how to use a tool where I can store this information would be helpful to me as well as strategies to help me remember.
POUR model as a guide for evaluating all digital tools and apps before using them in your classroom.
I found the POUR model to be a helpful acronym to remember when evaluating tools for accessibility. I will definitely be using these strategies in the future.
Or, you may come across an excellent Flash-based math game, but it cannot be accessed on iPhones or iPads without paying for a Flash-based browser like Puffin. Or, you might find a captivating geography app, but it isn't compatible with your students' older tablets.
I think that trial and error with tools can be exhausting, which is where the importance of having a PLN comes in. Exchanging good tools and warning others of problematic ones can alleviate some of the pressure to analyze programs all are your own.
You may be thinking, “I don’t have the time, resources, or ability to differentiate learning for all 30 (or 150) students.” That’s where technology, including digital tools and apps, come into play!
I think designing individual learning plans for each student would be stressful and time-consuming, but I think there are ways around it that are beneficial for the student as well as the teacher. Students who have similar needs could be placed into groups or simply providing students with a few different choices can take the pressure off of the teacher to give instruction 10+ different ways.
For example, sidewalks with curb cuts (i.e., a small ramp or graded slope down to the street) make it easier for everyone to access the street, including individuals who use wheelchairs and those who are on bikes.
Last semester, I took a course on special education where we did a project that involved taking photographs of inaccessible places in and around campus. I was surprised to learn how many spots did not have ramps or elevators in addition to braille where they could've been easily installed. I believe that this is due to able-bodied persons lacking awareness when it comes to these issues because they do not experience them themselves. I think a way to combat this would be to continue to spread awareness through courses like these and possibly make them mandatory.
Using a tool that supports multiple languages can reduce the language barriers multilingual students might face and improve engagement and learning.
I haven't thought of how a tool's accessibility for multilingual students might impact their learning. I'm glad that I know this now because I will definitely be taking it into consideration when choosing what tools my students use.
est the tool on the operating system(s) (e.g., Windows, iOS, Android) your students will use either at home or in class to access it.
I think this is important to consider because many students have access to varying forms of technology that may or may not be synonymous with the technology that is being used in the classroom. In addition, some students do not have internet access at all which can pose problems if technology-based projects/activities are assigned outside of class time. I think a way to combat this is to keep technologically related assignments in the classroom and hard copies for homework when possible.
How much class time would be spent on students learning to use the tool?
This is extremely important to consider time management. I have had teachers in the past who did not account for the time it would take to actually learn how to use the tool before engaging in the project or activity which I found frustrating.
Multimodal instruction: The instructions feature text, images, and videos, which are multimodal ways to learn how to use the tool. Using multiple media removes barriers to learning, increases student engagement, and stimulates students’ motivation
Multimodal learning is beneficial for teachers and students because not everyone learns the same way. There are many different learning styles such as visual, audio, and hands-on learners. The only con I see with a multimodal approach is the fact that they are still learning from a screen, which in itself can be difficult for some students. I for one always had a difficult time learning from a computer and preferred to have the teacher or instructor demonstrate how to use the tool via projector or smartboard. I'm sure this problem could be solved with extra instruction from the teacher in correlation to computer instruction.
In this chapter, we will discuss how to evaluate the user experience of digital tools and apps so you can prevent this type of experience in the future
This is one of my biggest fears as a teacher especially since I know that we are moving towards a more technology-based world. I am not the most tech-savvy person, so I am interested to learn how I can mitigate my own frustrations as well as enhance learning in my classroom.
Instead, we call upon instructors and their institutions to proactively invest in training and software and to develop accountability procedures -- such as redefining instructors’ performance criteria to incorporate
I agree that it is the school district's responsibility to provide the training necessary for instructors to teach remotely, specifically with accessibility in mind.
, Flash-based e-learning tools or photocopied images of text in a PDF. As we begin a semester in which many institutions
I can see how these kinds of tools would be frustrating for a person who utilizes assistive technology. PDFs of text are not accessible for students who have visual impairments as don't have any features enabling them to be read aloud.
Instructors must also be able to control users' contributions by moderating forums and managing forum privileges.
Being able to monitor student responses and activity is important to eliminate negative behaviors such as cyberbullying. This also keeps students accountable knowing that their teacher can see their contributions.
Ideally, the mobile version will have few to no differences from the desktop version.
An example of this is the UMass spire website. The layout of the website does not include all of the features on a mobile device as it does on a computer. This makes on-the-go access more difficult and frustrating for the user.
While such support can come from a variety of sources—including peers, experts, IT staff, and help documentation—we believe that the optimal support is localized, up-to-date, responsive to users' needs, and timely.
I agree that tech support is necessary. I have encountered many tools where the "help" pages were not relevant to my problems and the contacts for those help pages took too long to respond.
a university online resource intended to help instructors discover and meaningfully integrate technologies into their teaching.
I'm glad that more teachers and professors are evaluating the tools that they use in the classroom. I think this will make for a better learning experience for everyone, both student and teacher.
Write or present your own ideas
As an introvert, I find presenting/talking about my own ideas in front of others to be the most difficult. I have no problem listening or collaborating on projects, but when I'm put into a leadership type role I tend to be less confident. This is something I strive to work on in the future and hope that with practice it will feel more natural.
Diigo is a social bookmarking tool that allows you to keep track of websites and also add comments/highlights directly on any webpage, article, or PDF.
This is a great idea! I will definitely be saving this one.
When was the page last updated? Are there broken links? Who maintains this site or posted this review?
Investigating the source is what I typically find most challenging. It could just be not knowing where to look, but I always have a hard time finding the publishers information or the date in which a site was published. Google Scholar sites are usually easier for me to find all of this info, but it's still a challenge.