EDUC 5113 Week 3 Blog Julia Weisenfels

 EDUC 5313                                   Week 5 Blog                                      Julia Weisenfels

Part 1)  Select one article from those linked below regarding Universal Design for Learning and provide a summary of the article and discuss connections to the lesson you are developing.

I chose:   Basham. J.D., Smith. Sl.J., & Satter, A..L. (2016). Universal Design for Learning:  Scanning for Alignment in K-12 Blended and Fully Online Learning Materials. Journal of Special Education Technology, 31(3), 147. doi:10.1177/0162643416660836

     The article from the Journal of Special Education Technology, mentioned above, was very interesting in that it was written pre-Covid, yet the information could very easily have been written post pandemic.  With online instruction being an increasingly adopted form of learning, research has been done to discover the origins and validity of the content and curricula.  It has been discovered that as much as 90% of K-12 online learning is through pre-packaged content (Basham et al., 2016). Often, the primary role of the teacher as the instructor is replaced by the online system, and classroom teachers typically do not develop their own lessons because the vendor-based digital lessons and digital systems drive the learning experience, from the lessons to the assessments. 

     As on-line learning has increased, so has the number of struggling students, which makes it more important to customize online lessons and activities to accommodate students with all abilities. The United States government enhanced access to internet technology and services for individuals with disabilities in 1973 with amendments to the Workforce Rehabilitation Act.  There are two primary definitions for Web or digital accessibility:  the definition of accessibility, meaning the use, understanding, and navigation of the web, and the use of digital services by people with disabilities and without.  Accessibility design standards include closed caption, font size adjustments and audio transcripts. They also require alternate formats, like having a complete transcript for an audio file.  Developing pioneers call on learning format designers to provide accessibility standards to ensure that digital materials, delivery systems and devices are accessible and accommodate sensory and physical restrictions (OCR, 2011).

     Traditional accessibility focuses on multiple formats but not on changes to learning demands of the digital material, so accessibility is limited in how it supports cognitive abilities and learning barriers of learners with disabilities, and those who struggle with reading, processing and memory.  To ensure accessibility of learners, educators need relevant guidelines and tools to evaluate the products for appropriateness and accessibility for learners.

     The Universal Design for Learning (UDL) framework was established to provide guidelines that include critical elements of UDL instruction:   Having clear goals, planning for variability, providing flexibility in methods and materials, and timely process monitoring.  There is also guidance and training for educators in availability and choice of instructional materials, and in alignment to educational standards, since the development of the UDL Scan tool.  This tool provides researchers and educators with a measurement tool to review online content for their support of learner accessibility and variability.  The testing of the tool was extensive and detailed, and was critical to ensure that all learners have access to digital learning materials, regardless of abilities.  Through using the UDL Scan Tool, teachers may have a larger role in ensuring all learners are actively engaged and demonstrating the desired outcomes in the learning process (Basham et al., 2016).

     This article goes in depth about online learning and accessibility to learners.  The final lesson for this course that I am planning is for 9th grade Physical Science students and many of them have either 504’s or IEP’s. I will not be using a pre-made lesson but I am using one that I made myself.  My lesson incorporates both paper/pencil and technology activities, and cooperative learning. The lesson begins with a tutorial on accessing and navigating Magic School.  Students will begin making models of atoms #1-20 on the Periodic Table including their subatomic particles.  The lesson focuses on the placement of the electrons, specifically, the valence electrons.  The lesson moves on to drawing Lewis Dot Diagrams of the atoms, then the students will use the technological tool Magic School to draw atomic models.  Finally, the students will create a Google Slide presentation about the elements #1-20 on the Periodic Table, describing the characteristics of each element and how the characteristics relate to the valence electrons. This is one of my favorite lessons in Physical Science and Chemistry because it teaches one of the basic concepts that leads to understanding more difficult concepts of chemical reactions.  It is like the cornerstone of Chemistry and Chemical reactions.  

References:

OCR. Office of Civil Right (OCR) 2011

Basham. J.D., Smith. Sl.J., & Satter, A..L. (2016). Universal Design for Learning:  Scanning for Alignment in K-12 Blended and Fully Online Learning Materials. Journal of Special Education Technology, 31(3), 147. doi:10.1177/0162643416660836

Part 2)

Visit the CAST Universal Design for Learning website and use resources there to identify strategies that you could integrate into the lesson you are developing.  Discus at least two strategies that you could meaningfully integrate into the lesson you are developing

  I chose Consideration 7.2:  Optimize relevance, value, and authenticity, in a variety of ways:

• Vary activities and sources of information to learners’ lives

Personalized and contextualized to learned’ lives

Culturally relevant and sustaining

Age and ability appropriate

• Design activities so learning outcomes are authentic, communicate to real audiences, and reflect a purpose that is clear to participants

• Provide tasks that allow for active participation, exploration, and experimentation.

   I also chose Consideration 8.3:  Foster collaboration, interdependence and collective learning:

• Create community agreements that emphasize learners’ ideas for fostering collaboration, interdependence, and collective learning

• Use prompts that guide learners to surface and share different perspectives

• Encourage and support opportunities for peer interactions and supports

• Encourage questions to more fully understand concepts, ideas, and perspectives.

     Consideration 7.2 can be used in my lesson because it begins with the students taking an imaginary bus tour of “houses” much like the bus tours of the stars’ houses in Hollywood.  I have experienced students not knowing what that was, so I changed the bus tour to be like riding the school bus around town looking at specific buildings and landmarks. Students may ask questions and contribute their thoughts as we tour.

     Consideration 8.3 fosters collaboration and collective learning, which my lesson does.  Students work in pairs and create Lewis Dot Diagrams of atoms #1-20 from the periodic table.  Questions and interactions among groups and students are encouraged.

Part 3)

Reflect upon the guidance provided in the 2024 NETP regarding the integration of UDL strategies to address the Digital Use Divide.  

     “Technology can be a powerful tool to expand learning and allow students worldwide access” (USDE 2024).  The 2024 National Educational Technological Plan (NETP), hopes to expand the use of technology to as many students as they can and lessen the inequalities of access and availability of technology in the classrooms.  Ideas for closing the use divide include a series of recommendations that would require school districts to include in their educational standards.  Simply put, schools would develop an outline record of each student’s competencies that would be updated as they transition to the next grade level. These competencies would be supported by systems of needs assessments and technology plans and make technology accessible and integrated with support from Universal Design for Learning (ULD) principles.  Digital literacy skills would be age-appropriate, hands-on, and work-based learning experiences.  The UDL encourages teachers to implement technology with content that supports students’ diversity.  Teachers and staff would be provided with educational development and continuous learning and support in the use of technology.  

     Students use technology to think critically, communicate with others and collaborate through activities such as coding, media productions, and making global connections.  In one unit, students could access information in various ways, take on different roles and contribute in ways aligned with their strengths.  Challenges to this plan include educators who are already overwhelmed with responsibilities.  Frequent changes in curriculum and teaching methods result in decreased effectiveness (NETP).  To help increase the use of technology by students and teachers, districts would be given recommendations of ways to provide educators with time, space and the capacity to implement technology as described.  They would also help teachers in understanding, planning, engagement and device access, and partnership with supportive agencies and departments.

     To close the digital access, design and use divide, the NETP must work with both the content and the users, who are the students and educational staff.  Several states have already been successful in narrowing the divide by developing computer science immersion programs, using grants to support tools for writing instruction, using badges for mastery-based assessments, and creating state-specific education technological integration guides.  Success begins with a vision for digital learning.  States need resources, guidelines, and examples of successful implementation.  Teachers need adequate time and training and students need equitable access to the learning experiences that technology provides.  Bridging the divide fosters this educational access for technological success.

(USDE 2024). United States Department of Education, 2024