Accessibility for all! While that should be a given no matter what is being talked about, library, school, playground etc. that is not always the case. Everyone likes to believe what is being done or what they themselves are doing and creating will be helpful to all learner types, yet some fall short. Like the title of this blog says, accessibility for ALL not just some, it does not matter what their disability is or if they struggle learning in the traditional way!
Photo credit: Depositphotos
Universal Design for Learning
How can we, as people of society, when creating just about anything be mindful of all the different types of learners out there and what might work for one will not work for another? Universal Design for Learning or UDL is the concept to make that happen. UDL's definition is: a concept that identifies what barriers there may be given the situation that could cause some not to be able to understand the material, and then has multiple ways to get everyone to the same place of knowledge. There are 3 steps to creating a UDL design:
1. Representation- using a multitude of ways to present the information that is being given, Example: instead of just giving a lecture about a topic, show a video, use a PowerPoint and/or have some books to go along with it.
2. Action and Expression- offering multiple ways to express what it is they have learned from the topic. Example: giving a presentation, having the option to create a blog post, or even creating a video to show what has been learned.
3. Engagement- options for everyone to get involved in the conversation or discussion about the topic. For example: having an in person group discussion, having a Canvas discussion board where others are able to make comments and contribute to the discussion.
For more examples and also to see the differences between a traditional classroom and a UDL focused classroom go to this Link
My Experience with or without UDL
After going through some materials and websites that show how UDL has been utilized and how it can be added to a program or lesson plan, I realized majority of my schooling career has had very little if any of UDL. Even while in college for my undergrad in elementary education there was never the idea to make the accommodations available for everyone, they were only available for the students that needed them. I would hope given the 10 years span it has been since college, things have changed and UDL has been integrated into the teaching of teachers.
As someone who has a special needs school age child, I feel like this is my strength but also my weakness when it comes to talking about UDL and accessibility. Because I have seen the special education side of curriculum, I can see how some of the accommodations that are given could be beneficial to those that do not have an individual education plan or IEP for short. I would be able to better add diversity to any program I would create for a library setting with those needs in mind. On the flip side, when I first began my journey through the special need's world, my only concern was for my child and their needs. I did not tend to think of others and how they might benefit from some of the same material my child was getting. Even when thinking of future programs I could create, I started out only thinking about how I could make this work so my child will get the same enjoyment and knowledge as the rest. I did not look at it in terms of others who might have different learning abilities. While I still struggle building all the potential accommodations into a program, I like to believe I am getting better and working in more accessibility than just what my child could benefit from.
Artifact for Accessibility Knowledge
The poster below I created to display all of the less commonly known accessibility options there are on laptops. I decided to do this option because when I looked at the settings on my laptop, I was surprised by the many options that were already built into it and that I did not have to go and download an app to access them. I also tend to believe that if I did not know about something then it is also likely others did not know about it as well and could benefit from a poster exampling some of the tools available to them at their fingertips for free.
Photo credit: author
There are so many of us that could benefit from utilizing these features! Is this list based on a laptop from Apple, Google, or Microsoft?
ReplyDeleteIt was based off of a Microsoft laptop.
DeleteHi Brittany-I like the idea of these accommodations being available to all. Sometimes teachers might not be aware of what a specific student needs so offering it to everyone would make it available to that student. It might also make the teacher aware that there is something going with that student that they haven't noticed. I like the infographic you created. It's very cute!
ReplyDelete