Using theater to teach social skills — from Harvard Graduate School of Education by Patti Hartigan
Researchers document improvements for children with autism
Volume 28, Number 1 | January/February 2012

 

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VizWiz.org

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  • Yes folks, it’s artificial artificial artificial intelligence
    This is about using what The Economist calls artificial artificial intelligence (like Mechanical Turk, which uses people as artificial computers) to enhance (artificially intelligent) machine vision
    The idea is that the disabled can finally turn the tables on disability. They’re getting involved in developing tools to help the rest of us help them.

    Real-Time Crowd Support for People with Disabilities
  • VizWiz.org

— I originally saw this at Steve Knode’s December 2011 newsletter

Review: Top iPad Guide for Teaching Special Needs Students — from gettingsmart.com by Sarah Cargill

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http://nprinc.com/images/refcards/ipad_full.jpg

 

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learningally.org -- Formerly Recording for the Blind & Dyslexic®

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Academic Partnerships

Excerpt from their Value Proposition page:

The concept of a broad based, highly educated population began its journey to reality a 150 years ago, when Abraham Lincoln signed the Morrill Act in 1862. The Act called for the establishment of “at least one College in every state upon a sure and perpetual foundation, accessible to all, but especially to the sons of toil” (emphasis DSC).

Despite the unprecedented success of America’s public university system that is the envy of the world, reduced state and federal funding, almost a trillion dollars in student loans, tuition soaring out of reach for middle class families, stunning demographic changes and declining preparedness for college-level work, today’s public higher education is at a crossroads. Our old ways of doing business are no longer sustainable and the promise of the Morrill Act is in peril (emphasis DSC).

 

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Voices in the Dark -- a videogame for the blind by IguanaBee.com

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E-Learning expands for special-needs students — from edweek.org by Nirvi Shah
But obstacles to greater participation remain, and questions persist about what works best for students with disabilities.

Universal Design for Learning: Meeting the needs of all students — from asha.org by Patricia Kelly Ralabate

 

Universal Design for Learning and Online Education — from academicimpressions.com
Re: event to be held on November 17, 2011 :: 1:00 – 2:45 p.m. EST

 

Universal Design for Learning (UDL) at a glance -- video

My thanks to Mrs. Krista Spahr, Calvin College, for this resource and the quote below:

Universal Design for Learning (UDL) is meant to minimize barriers and to maximize learning.

 

Reflections from DSC:
Though I still have much to learn about Universal Design for Learning (UDL), my initial thought is that I really like this approach, as it moves us away from the one-size-fits-all approach and towards a teaching and learning environment that offers more choice, more selection, and more opportunities for customization and personalization. Plus, as companies such as Apple and Microsoft have seen, functionality that started out trying to address accessibility-related needs ended up helping everyone!

Along these lines, I created this graphic years ago — with the idea that students would have a choice on which media they might prefer to use to absorb the information:

 

Again, the idea being that we could provide the same content in 3-5 different ways and let the students select what works best for them. Plus, in the example above, we could even see how other students are describing/making meaning of something.

But it goes further than this as I’m understanding UDL. For example, the methods for achieving a learning outcome can be greatly varied, as the assignments for a particular outcome might be reaching via watching a video clip, or reading a book, or doing a project, or writing a story, or creating music, or ___(fill in the blank) ____.

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cast.org


Guidelines for UDL

Universal Design for Learning: It’s Not Just for Disability Experts Anymore (The Confessions of a First-Time Teacher) — from National Collaborative on Workforce & Disability for Youth (NCWD/Youth) by Amy Katzel

Excerpt:

All students, with or without disabilities, have different strengths and weaknesses. Early on, it was clear to me that I had a wide range of abilities in the room. Some students started out unable to consistently construct full sentences, while others were already writing complex prose. Some students raised their hand frequently to answer questions, while others preferred to stay quiet. When we did reading assignments during class, everyone read at different speeds. Some youth demonstrated they understood the material on quizzes, but then struggled with applying those concepts to their essays.

When I get up in front of the class, to which student am I teaching?

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Here are two online-based modules from the Center for Applied Special Technology (CAST) regarding Universal Design for Learning (UDL):

These two free online modules introduce the theory, principles and application of Universal Design for Learning (UDL) to teachers and teacher candidates. The modules, each four to six hours in length, can be used in graduate and undergraduate education courses, professional development, consulting activities, and as a resource for educators across the country.

Module One, Introduction to UDL, offers an overview of UDL by addressing the three principles of UDL, the connection of UDL to neuroscience, and the impact of UDL on curriculum.

Module Two, Applying UDL to Lesson Development, provides practice applying the UDL principles and guidelines to instructional goals, methods, materials, and assessments.

 


About CAST:

CAST is a nonprofit research and development organization that works to expand learning opportunities for all individuals, especially those with disabilities, through Universal Design for Learning.

Founded in 1984 as the Center for Applied Special Technology, CAST has earned international recognition for its innovative contributions to educational products, classroom practices, and policies. Its staff includes specialists in education research and policy, neuropsychology, clinical/school psychology, technology, engineering, curriculum development, K-12 professional development, and more.


 

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