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Revision as of 14:53, 6 April 2006

Welcome IT 6740 Students

Before you continue reading below, first read Kami's Story, then read the Class Instructions page.

Nervous about contributing to the wiki? Fear not, there's a pretty extensive IT6740_UDL:Help page to guide you through the process.

Universal Design for Learning

Universal Design, a term which originated in the field of architecture, emerged from the access needs of people with disabilities. Rather than retrofitting an existing building to make it accessible to those with disabilities, one who practices Universal Design would design the building to make it accessible to a broad spectrum of users from the very beginning.

Similarly, Universal Design for Learning (UDL) in education refers to the design and development of educational materials and instructional strategies that are accessible to a broad spectrum of learners with a wide array of abilities and disabilities.

UDL and the Link to Brain Research

Neuroscience research has identified three primary brain networks that tell us something about the way people learn:

• The Recognition Brain Network helps people categorize what is seen, heard, or read, and answers the question, "What?"
• The Strategic Brain Network aids in planning and performing tasks and answers the question, "How?"
• The Affective Brain Network is used to attach emotional significance to patterns, content, and assignments. In this way, people can become engaged in learning by establishing preferences to different ways of approaching learning. This answers the question, "Why?"

Universal Design for Learning calls for ...

To accommodate for individual differences in the way the three brain networks are utilized, UDL has three principles on which to base instructional design.

• Multiple means of representation, to give learners various ways of acquiring information and knowledge,

• Multiple means of expression, to provide learners alternatives for demonstrating what they know,

• Multiple means of engagement, to tap into learners' interests, offer appropriate challenges, and increase motivation.

This is accoring to the Center for Applied Special Technology (CAST Website).

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