WHO ARE YOU GOING TO CALL?
What are you doing to meet student variability in your district, building or classroom? Have you thought about Universal Design for Learning (UDL) as your instructional framework? This blog post is for you, whether you are just thinking about UDL, or you have been practicing UDL for years.
A great place to start is the CAST Website (http://www.cast.org/). The second place to check out is the Universal Design for Learning Center (http://www.udlcenter.org/). The two of these websites hold a treasure chest of information on Universal Design for Learning. Be sure to check out their tools too, such as Book Builder (http://bookbuilder.cast.org). All the tools can be found here (http://www.cast.org/learningtools/index.html). Teachers love the UDL Exchange located at (http://udlexchange.cast.org/home) when they are working on inclusive lesson plans.
We know a lot of districts are turning to Universal Design for Learning (UDL). So, you have already taken the steps to check out CAST and The Universal Design for Learning Center. Now it's important to build a network of people to rely on for brainstorming, coaching, and great ideas. You can check out this link for more information (http://blog.ronbrogers.com/building-a-strong-professional-learning-community-pln)
When you start to think about the Common Core or SAT and UDL, check out Katie Novak's blog. Her blog is a must have UDL resource. It is located at (http://katienovakudl.com). Katie tackles all the important issues she runs into and discusses how the UDL Framework can conquer them.
Want more, try OCALI at (http://www.ocali.org/center/udl) be sure to check out the new area UDL In The News or check out Learn About UDL. You can watch videos of UDL in the classroom, or teachers and administrators being interviewed.
Kathleen McClaskey uses the tool Scoopit in a great way to collect what is happening with UDL (http://www.scoop.it/t/udl-universal-design-for-learning). This is another great resource to have in your tool box.
The UDL-IRN (http://udl-irn.org/udl-irn-created-resources/) has a lot of new items just posted over the last few years. This includes:
A Blue Print for UDL
Instructional Process
Critical Elements
Beliefs of UDL in Practice
Another great resource starts February 10, 2015. Feel free to read about it here (http://blog.ronbrogers.com/why-a-book-study). It is a book study with almost 200 people signed up so far. There are participants from around the United States and other countries. So imagine the discussion that takes place around UDL. Feel free to sign up and participate.
If you are looking for information around the integration of technology into the classroom to enhance accessibility, check out Matt Bergman's blog Lead Learn Grow (http://bergman-udl.blogspot.com/).
There is always more to add so please feel free to list your suggestions under the comments area of this blog.
Always remember,
"It's all about the KIDS".
A person that has invested in the lives of others through many avenues including education.