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Using Technology to Support Universal Design in Education: 

Using Technology to Support Universal Design in Education Libby Cohen, Ed.D.

Thank YOU!: 

Thank YOU! Our work: Ignite interests and aspirations of students Children and youth are our best investment in the future If not by us, then by whom? Nuture the flickers within Need to teach and touch every student

Memes: 

Memes Memes are mind viruses—they spread like wildfire! Memes propagate from brain to brain Examples: Most body heat is lost through your head You can catch cold if you get caught in the rain Universal design is a framework for integrating flexible, usable, and accessible teaching and learning technologies with teaching and learning. Can you think of memes that can be infectious? I’ll ask you at the end of this presentation!

Gathering Storm: 

Gathering Storm “Rising Above the Gathering Storm: Energizing And Employing America for a Brighter Economic Future” (The National Academies Press, 2006) Vitality of the United States is based on the productivity of a well-trained workforce Americans hope that the lives of our children and grandchildren will have greater opportunities that we have Without high quality, knowledge-intensive jobs, our economy and way of life will suffer

Universal Design: 

Universal Design Universal design (UD) in education means that physical, social, and learning environments are designed to support diverse learners and promote powerful possibilities for teaching and learning. Integration of technology supports universal design

Emerging Technologies Influence Learning: 

Emerging Technologies Influence Learning World to the desktop Technologies used outside the classroom are important inside the classroom Online collaborations Access to experts Mentoring Virtual communities Simulations Applets Multiuser virtual environments Computer agents Avatars (digital characters) Immersed virtual environments Physical immersion Psychological immersion

Emerging Technologies Influence Learning: 

Emerging Technologies Influence Learning Neomillenials have developed: “hypertext minds” Ability to understand visual images Ability to use inductive discovery Multi-task Quickly shift attention Quickly respond to technology demands Non-linear approaches Engage in technology-based social networks

Emerging Technologies Influence Learning: 

Emerging Technologies Influence Learning Ubiquitous computing Wireless devices Virtual resources “augmented realities” Create opportunities not available in real world (teleporting, real time images of local environments)

Emerging Technologies Influence Learning: 

Emerging Technologies Influence Learning River City MUVE (multiuser virtual environment, avatars (personal agents), digital artifacts, computer-based agents) Teams of students solve simulated problems of illness in 19th century city Example of problem: Examine water quality to see why so many poor people get sick

Signing Avatar: 

Signing Avatar Signing Avatar Signing science dictionary Vcom3D

Emerging Technologies Influence Learning Social Collaboration: 

Emerging Technologies Influence Learning Social Collaboration Wiki Projects Wikipedia Wikibooks Digital universe www.digitaluniverse.com Interlinked web portals Noteshare Sharing notes online Writely Collaborative text tool Tagging, organizing, sharing links Del.icio.us flickr

Emerging Technologies Influence Learning: 

Emerging Technologies Influence Learning A new generation of search engines: Allow customization for ages, abilities, and interests Personal digitized search agents that seek and organize information resources Clusty (returns are clustered) Brainboost, Ask Jeeves, Answers.com, etc. (metasearch engines which provide specific answers to questions) Google Images Search (multimedia search engine) Google Desktop Search, Beagle, etc. (desktop search) Blogdigger (Blog search engine)

How Emerging Media Influence Assessment of Neomillenials: 

How Emerging Media Influence Assessment of Neomillenials Considerations for assessments include: Fluency in learning from and producing multi-media Engagement Collectively seeking and synthesizing learnings and experiences Learning based on real and simulated experiences Expression through nonlinear forms, such as webs, simulations Co-design of assessments with peers, experts, mentors

Universal Design as a Framework for Learning: 

Universal Design as a Framework for Learning When the concept and principles of universal design are applied to education, a framework emerges that guides teaching, learning, and assessment…

Key Assumption of Universal Design: 

Key Assumption of Universal Design Learner diversity is a resource

Technology’s Role in the Universal Design Framework: 

Technology’s Role in the Universal Design Framework Technology: Enables and accommodates physical access Facilitates social construction of knowledge Provides for multiple means of learning

Universal Design as a Framework for Education: 

Universal Design as a Framework for Education Selection of flexible, usable, and accessible learning tools and surroundings; Construction of collaborative and interactive learning opportunities; and Development of learner-centered and constructivist curriculum, instruction, and assessment.

Students of the New Millennium--Neomillennials: 

Students of the New Millennium--Neomillennials The “media multi-taskers” of 2006 have been replaced by modern “media multi-mavens.” Learners independently survey, discriminate between, elect, and manipulate a diverse array of learning technologies available to them as they engage in educational activities.

The Learners: 

The Learners Students are using technology to: Design and develop performance tasks Collaborate and engage in dialog with both local and global peers, scientists, and other experts Communicate with and deliver products to teachers

The Learners (cont’d): 

The Learners (cont’d) Students are using technology to: Participate in advanced or alternative courses or programs Advance their knowledge via expert-novice relationships Access and analyze their own achievement records anytime, anywhere

The Teachers: 

The Teachers By 2010 or earlier, the use of technology by teachers is ubiquitous. Teachers’ combined expertise in education, their content areas, and the integration of teaching and learning technologies has extended all students’ abilities to demonstrate what they know and can do.

The Teachers (con’d): 

The Teachers (con’d) Teachers are using technology to: Present content in multiple and varied formats and contexts Develop data-driven assessments of and for learning Differentiate learning experiences Record and collect relevant data about the historic learning profiles of individual students

The Teachers (cont’d): 

The Teachers (cont’d) Teachers are using technology to: Communicate with students and parents both synchronously and asynchronously about homework and student progress Report and track student achievement Develop unit and lesson plans Access and integrate Web-based applications into teaching and learning experiences

Images of Schools: 

Images of Schools As we tour schools, we’re struck by the evidence of simultaneous collaborative learning and individual productivity in action… At a middle school, while observing a 7th grade class, we observe students and their teacher working together to achieve the established learning outcomes of an interdisciplinary unit on mountains of the world.

Slide25: 

Jeanne’s Group Focus: Impact of urban development and tourism on the flora and fauna of the Blue Mountains of Australia. Her Performance Task: Development of a digital booklet of rare and endangered animal species in the region. Images of Schools (con’d) Her Tools: Specialized word processor Web cam and Web conferencing software

Images of Schools (con’d): 

Images of Schools (con’d) Nick’s Group Focus: Ecosystem changes in the Blue Mountains His Performance Task: A written report on the ecosystem organisms and changes over time. Nick’s tools: Eye gaze mouse Onscreen keyboard Word processing software with word prediction

Images Schools (con’d): 

Images Schools (con’d) Marisol’s Group Focus: Impact of population growth on the climate of the Blue Mountains. Her Performance Task: A visual map that compares and contrasts the impact of population growth on the climate of the Blue Mountains’ to that of her native mountain region in Mexico. Her Tools: Text-to-speech software Visual mapping software Glossary Customized dictionary Test directions that have been translated into Marisol’s native language

Images of Schools (con’d): 

Images of Schools (con’d)

Images of Schools (con’d): 

Images of Schools (con’d) At a high school, we gain a broader glimpse of technology’s role in teaching and learning. We are struck by the use of technology for improving and promoting learner independence and self-direction, as well as communication among and between students and teachers…

Images of Schools (con’d): 

Images of Schools (con’d) We pause to observe a segment of an astronomy class that catches our attention because, although all of the students are focused and attentive, few are taking notes. The teacher is using an interactive whiteboard with social software to video record (in real-time and color) online collaboration with another class in New Zealand. For a final project, students create a video file for the class Web site.

Images of Schools (con’d): 

Images of Schools (con’d) Our observations in elementary schools indicate that learners are purposefully and meaningfully using technology for both learning and assessment.

Images of Schools (con’d): 

Images of Schools (con’d) As we tour elementary schools, we observe young learners: Creating their own multimedia storyboards Combining their own digital photographs, audio, and text to report an ecosystem study; Exchanging weather data with Net Pals (peers connected via the Internet) located in western Michigan

Accessible Content MediaDigital Text: 

Accessible Content Media Digital Text Text on the screen is: Transferable Transformable Malleable Examples: “.txt,” “.doc,” “.cwk,” “.rtf,” “ppt,” “html”

Accessible Content MediaDigital Text: Transferable: 

Accessible Content Media Digital Text: Transferable Copy- or cut-and-paste it from one computer application to another World Wide Web to text editor Text editor to e-mail Visual map to presentation software and many more!

Accessible Content MediaDigital Text: Transformable: 

Accessible Content Media Digital Text: Transformable Convert it from one medium to another Text-to-speech Speech-to-text Braille

Accessible Content MediaDigital Text: Malleable: 

Accessible Content Media Digital Text: Malleable Customize for individual needs and preferences Size Color/Contrast Font Style

Accessible Content MediaSources: 

Accessible Content Media Sources Online digital libraries and e-text collections Textbook Publishers Scanning

National Science Digital Librarynsdl.orgBookshare bookshare.org: 

National Science Digital Library nsdl.org Bookshare bookshare.org

Slide39: 

National Instructional Materials Accessibility Standard (NIMAS) Applies to publishers of instructional materials (e.g., Pearson, Houghton Mifflin, Prentice Hall, etc.) Standard digital format to include synthesized speech, digital audio, and large print Accessible Content Media Textbook Publishers

Accessible Content MediaScanning: 

Accessible Content Media Scanning Scan existing hard copy materials via scanner and Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software Quality of the OCR software is important Ligature www.ligatureltd.com/ ScanSoft® www.scansoft.com/omnipage/

Accessible Content Media: 

Accessible Content Media Once curriculum materials are available in digital format, they are flexible, accessible, and usable for all students.

About ALLTech: 

About ALLTech Technology for teaching and learning Assistive technology (AT) Computer access Technology needs for communication Technology for educational, vocational, and living environments Web site accessibility Universal design Assistive technology and communication assessments and consultations Initial and on-going training for individuals or groups Development and implementation of school and district-wide technology plans Assistance with ordering and setting up Online learning modules

Your Memes: 

Your Memes What memes can you suggest that will leap from brain to brain?

Thank you!: 

Thank you! Libby Cohen lcohen@alltech-tsi.org