Module+2-February+15-21

UNIVERSAL DESIGN & SPECIAL EDUCATION LANGUAGE: MODULE 2
Online *BPS Vacation (Yes, you still have assignments)

__**Objectives:**__
 * Students will be able to identify major components of IDEA--definitions and descriptions--through viewing slideshows.
 * Students will explore features of UDL through texts and through CAST supported webinars and learning resources focusing on UDL components.
 * Students will compare and contrast Differentiated Instruction (DI) with UDL through analysis of texts and class discussions.


 * __Tasks__**


 * 1) Complete Quia //Trends in Education// quiz from Module 1. (See Module 1 for directions.)
 * 2) Read: //Important Points// (below) up to IDEA and Other Acronyms. Be sure to read and to view all information posted.
 * 3) View: Webinar --David Rose, Scholastic--Focus on the first three webinars //What is UDL?//, //The Role of Technology in UDL//, //The Importance of Technology//
 * 4) Read, scan, peruse the Cast.org site
 * 5) Read through Teaching Every Student focusing on the components of UDL. Read Read the UDL Guidelines 1.0 You will be redirected to the National Center for Universal Design for Learning. Once there, Read //Three primary principles guide UDL—and provide structure for the Guidelines//
 * 6) Participate in Ning Discussion Forum re: David Rose & CAST.
 * 7) Participate in Ning Discussion Forum re: DI and UDL.
 * 8) Read //Teaching Every Student in the Digital Age// (at minimum Ch. 1-4).
 * 9) Participate in Ning Discussion Forum re: //Teaching Every Student in the Digital Age//
 * 10) Read //Important Points (below)// beginning with IDEA and Other Acronyms
 * 11) Participate in Ning Discussion Forum re: IDEA in a Nutshell
 * 12) Go to Google Form to choose your Discussion Board Leader Topic

Finish //Teaching Every Student in the Digital Age// What is Differentiated Instruction by Carol Tominlinson Three primary principles guide UDL—and provide structure for the Guidelines via TES
 * __Readings__ ** :


 * __Discussion Topics__**: Go to the Ning Forum--684 for the discussions. Be sure to __post__ at least ONCE in each topic (4 total) AND __respond__ to someone else at least ONCE in each topic. This means you will have at least a total of 8 posts. The idea is that this is a discussion. Therefore, it is important that you don't wait until last minute.

__Assignments:__

 * Read and View all components of Module 2.
 * Discussion Board participation--Due on or before 11:59 Sunday, 2/21
 * Submit Google Form re: discussion board topics of choice--Due on or before 11:59 Sunday, 2/21

= __**Important Points**__ =

The terms differentiated instruction and universal design for learning get tossed around frequently. But what do they really mean? I like to think of differentiated instruction and universal design for learning as existing on two ends of a continuum. Both ends converge on the same goal-- meeting the needs of diverse learners in the classroom.

**Differentiated instruction** refers to //modifying// instruction to meet the needs of learners in your classroom.
Differentiated Instruction means that educators offer options that make teaching and learning appealing and effective for a broad range of students in the classroom. As Tomlinson (2000) tells us, differentiated instruction is NOT the same as individualized instruction. It does not mean individualizing for each student in your class, but rather offering a number of different choices about how to learn, how to learn, and how to demonstrate competence. It means asking about students' needs and interests, and planning instruction to meet these. It also means taking responsibility for the success of EACH and EVERY student.

Differentiated instruction is not just for the benefit of students with learning problems and challenges, but rather for ALL students in a classroom, from high-ability to struggling learners. Differentiated instruction is NOT a new idea, but goes back as far as the one-room schoolhouse in which a teacher met the needs of a diverse set of learners from across multiple grades.

Read this article by Carol Tomlinson regarding differentiated instruction. What is Differentiated Instruction? This article offers a succinct description of differentiated instruction and a number of additional resources about the topics. You can explore any that interest you.

Universal Design focuses on developing the curriculum so it WILL meet the needs of diverse learners. Universal Design means that we're "smart from the start" and that our instructional methods and materials accommodate a range of needs and interest in the classroom. Rather than fitting the curriculum to the student, Universal Design challenges us to make sure the curriculum fits every student. The heart of UDL lies - to many theorists - in choice without diagnosis - that "accommodations" (solutions) be available to all students without medical-style labeling. This limits the need for diagnosis, and thus the need to see disability as something "wrong" with the individual. Universal design is "an approach to creating environments and products that are useable by all people to the greatest extent possible" (Mace, Hardie, & Plaice, 1991, p.156). Universal design is not synonymous with making modifications or accommodations. Rather, it refers to a "unanimity of practice and applicability to all cases without significant exception" (Welch, 1995). Universal design focuses on the idea of designing things "right" in the first place, so that as many people as possible can benefit from them rather than modifying existing designs to meet the needs of particular types of people or of individuals.

====Click here for short videos that capture the "big picture" of UDL. How do these theories and philosophies translate into practice? How are Differentiated Instruction (DI) and Universal Design for Learning (UDL) similar and different? Why is it important to understand the range of learners you may have in your classroom? ====

You may be asking, how does this (the architectural perspective of universal design) connect with teaching and learning? Well, it's not too great a leap to think about how universal design principles, conceived in the context of environments, products, and communications, might apply to education. As we teach, we're designing instructional environments, instructional products, and delivering to and expecting from our students a variety of communications. As inclusive classrooms as well as the demand for all teachers to develop their skills to teach diverse learners became the norm, rather than the exception, educators became interested in designing instruction to address the range of learners in their classrooms.

//Universal design for instruction, or universal design for learning// (the terms are often used interchangeably) has been characterized as including the following nine principles (Shaw, Scott, & McGuire, 2001).
 * 1) Equitable use, or same means of use for all students: identical when possible, equivalent when not.
 * 2) Flexibility in use: Choice in methods of use.
 * 3) Simple and intuitive instruction: Straightforward and predicable, eliminating unnecessary complexities.
 * 4) Perceptible information: Information communicated effectively, regardless of ambient conditions or student's sensory abilities.
 * 5) Tolerance for error: Anticipates variation in individual student learning pace and skills.
 * 6) Low physical effort: To permit maximal attention to learning, unless effort is integral to requirements of the course
 * 7) Size and space for approach and use: Regardless of body size, posture, mobility, and communication needs.
 * 8) Community of learners is promoted.
 * 9) Instructional climate: Welcoming and inclusive.

Other course resources have identified the following three principles of UDL as well: I. Provide multiple means of means of representation II. Provide multiple means of action and expression III. Provide multiple means of engagement

 What do these principles mean? What do they look like in the classroom when they are effective? What do thy look like in your classroom?

__I DEA & Other Acronyms __
As an Instructional Technology specialist, you will come across diverse learners, which includes those students identified as having a disability and with an IEP that guarantees them some protection by federal and state laws. It is important to know the law when making decisions regarding instruction and the use of technology.

The Special Education discourse is full of acronyms and ambiguity. The rhetoric can be daunting! View the following to help you get a handle on some of the language involved.

View the following Power Point presentations found at the U.S. Department of Education-- Building the Legacy:IDEA 2004 (@http://idea.ed.gov/ ) As you view the ppts, consider what role technology plays with the implementation of IDEA. What role does Universal Design play? These are possible topics to explore on the Ning.



==== UDL, DI, RTI, UbD, IDEA, NCLB. What does it all mean? Check out this blog to get an overview of some of the acronyms. Once in her blog, click on the PPT link. The slide show is very basic, but you'll get a simplified breakdown of some more rhetoric - UDL, DI, RTI, UbD Blog/PPT====

__Assistive Technology Act__
We will go more deeply into Assistive Technology in a future module. Go to this website to get a jump start!