About UDL

Universal Design for Learning is the brain-based brainchild of Harvard educators David Rose and Anne Meyer.  Like Universal Design in architecture, a UDL curriculum builds in supports for diverse student needs as part of the original design, rather than adding these supports in afterwards.  UDL uses multiple means of representation in teaching to support the brain’s recognition networks.  Students in a UDL classroom use multiple means of expression in demonstrating their learning, which supports the brain’s strategic networks.  UDL classrooms also stress the importance of multiple means of student engagement, which support the brain’s affective networks.  Digital materials, which are highly flexible, current, and engaging, are used extensively in UDL classrooms

CAST website at www.cast.org/index.html

The single best resource for learning about UDL is the CAST site at Harvard, where UDL originated.  Highlights include an interactive online version of the book “Teaching Every Student in the Digital Age:  Universal Design for Learning” by David Rose and Anne Meyer (2002) which provides an excellent introduction to practice and theory.  The CAST site has a UDL lesson builder, sample lessons, a book builder, and a new module called UDL self-check to help you critique the lessons you design.  There are also downloadable workshops to help you train teams in UDL principles.

BC UDL Project Website at www.setbc.org/setinfo/BCUDL/

Here you will find information for the current BC UDL project, a project timeline, blogs, resources, the BC UDL Learning Object Repository, current project updates, UDL Café announcements, application, and contact information.

Experience UDL-Based Teaching and Learning at www.setbc.org/setbc/curriculum/bcudl_spectrum.html

These are a series of interviews with teachers who participated in year one of the BC UDL project.  In these interviews, the teachers describe their lessons and the impact that UDL has had in their classrooms.  To view and download their lessons, go to the BC UDL Learning Object Repository. 

BC Learning Object Repository at www.setbc.org/bcudl/

This website contains a lesson builder and sample lessons created by teachers in the BC UDL project.  The lesson format is based on the CAST model but is not exactly the same.  The UDL lessons and attached resources are downloadable.  Registered users can upload lessons or clone an existing lesson, modify it, and add more resources.  The first year of the project emphasized lessons in Language Arts, but the emphasis will be expanded in the second year to include Social Studies and Science.

Patins website at www.patinsproject.com/universal_design_for_learning_project.htm

Model UDL units have been posted on the Patins Indiana UDL pilot project site.   You can view lessons already developed and taught by teachers.  Many of these include downloads and/or links to the resources they used in their lessons, and you can contact the teachers directly by email.  The lessons follow the general principles of UDL design, and the teachers all appear to be using the same lesson template, but it is a simplified version of the one used at the CAST site.

Differentiated Instruction and UDL at www.k8accesscenter.org/training_resources/udl/diffinstruction.asp

The Access Center is a national technical assistance center funded by the US Department of Education.  At this site, you can download a research paper on the similarities between differentiated instruction and UDL.  The left hand sidebar contains links to other resources.  The bottom link takes you to 14 more links, specifically on UDL.  These include two videos about UDL principles and practices.

Kurzweil and UDL at www.kurzweiledu.com/files/udl.pdf

This document shows how specific features of Kurzweil can be used to support the UDL principles of multiple means of representation, expression, and engagement.

 

The Jordan School District site

If you haven’t seen their signature video, Pay Attention, you need to.   You’ll find it at the top of the page under Popular Items.  In general, this is a great website for information on teaching with technology.

Preparing for the future

His challenge begins, “Let’s have a little competition at school and get ready for the future.  I will use a laptop and you will use a pen and pencil…”  It’s downright scary when you see it presented like this.

Ian Jukes Understanding Digital Kids

At the Committed Sardine blog, you can download a number of handouts including a great 80 page paper called Understanding Digital Kids on how kids today have been changed by growing up in a digital world.

Mark Prensky’s site

Futurist Mark Prensky coined the term Digital Native to describe students who grew up using technology.   He explains how the use of digital media has changed not only the students’ preferences and approaches, but how it has rewired their brains.  His classic paper on Digital Natives/Digital Immigrants is downloadable from this website, along with many of his other presentations and writings about how to design education for digital students.

The Shifthappens wiki

If you get hijacked by an advertising page, go to http://shifthappens.wikispaces.com/Other+presentations and then you can navigate back to the home page.   The Other Presentations link on this site contains a treasure trove of videos and great conversation starters by education tech gurus such as Karl Fisch, Scott McLeon, David Warlick, Ian Jukes, and Willard Daggett.   The medieval training video, Introducing the Book, is hilarious.

 

 

Marco Polo (Thinkfinity)

Now called, Thinkfinity, this phenomenal free site has resources in every subject.  If you click on the Educators tab, you can search not only by topic and curriculum area but by the type of resource you want:  lessons, worksheets, interactive, reference, media, and assessment.

eThemes

The folks at eMINTS have already searched over 1,000 themes for kid-friendly links.  Wow!

Eduscapes

Go directly to the 4 t2 Explore tab, search by curriculum unit, and you’ll be hooked.  The articles in the Activate: The Journal of Technology-Rich Learning tab are also great.

100 Helpful Web Tools for Every Kind of Learner

This is a fantastic collection of Web Tools organized by type of learner:  visual, auditory, and kinesthetic. 

Paul Hamilton's Education Blog

Free Resources from the Net for Special Education. Paul Hamilton, a consultant at SET-BC, has found some real gems.  Paul’s detailed commentary and screen shots of the sites help you decide which ones you want to explore further.

The Ed-Tech Solutions site

In Karen Janowski’s excellent collection you will find links to free text readers, curriculum organizers, online collaboration tools, reading tools, math tools, study skills tools and more.

Education Oasis

Free downloadables here include graphic organizers (some can be filled in online), bookmarks, calendars, colouring pages, worksheets, and posters.  Their links to Terrific Teacher Sites and Super Sites for Students are organized by curriculum topic and will keep you busy for hours.

Rubrics

This site contains a great rationale for using rubrics, advice on how to write good rubrics, and links to sample rubrics and rubric generators (Try the Rubistar  generator and storage link).

You can easily search for photos in Google by clicking on the Images tab.  However, be aware that some of these photos will be copyrighted.  It is possible to snag almost any photo or clip art from a web page by right-mouse clicking on the item and choosing “save target as” from the context menu that pops up.  Just be aware that some of these images may also be copyrighted.   Photos and clip art designated as public domain or creative commons are copyright free.  You should always use public domain photos and clip art for any projects that you intend to share with others. 

Everystockphoto search engine

This is a search engine that looks for free photos.

Pics4Learning

This large library of free photos was contributed by students, teachers, and amateur photographers.  This should be a safe place for students to search photos.

Flikr Creative Commons

This is a special section of Flikr in which photographers have granted various levels of permission for use in advance e.g. just credit the photographer and use the photo for non-commercial purposes.

The Internet’s Morgue File

The morgue is the place where newspapers and magazines traditionally kept old photos and materials they had already used.  The photos here can be used for free.

Stock.xchng

Over 350,000 free photos here.

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration photos

These free photos (over 10,000) are useful for science topics such as different kinds of storms, oceanography, fisheries, space.

US Fish and Wildlife Digital Library System

This is a large collection of public domain photos in a searchable database. 

Clip Art

This is a large collection of links to free clip art sites.

It is possible to snag almost any audio or mp3 clip from a web page by right-mouse clicking on the item and choosing “save target as” from the context menu that pops up.  Just be aware that some of these items may be copyrighted.   Audio and music designated as public domain or creative commons are copyright free.  You should use public domain audio and music for any projects that you intend to share with others. 

Jamendo

On Jamendo, artists allow anyone to share and download music.  This is probably not a good place for kids to browse but handy for finding copyright free soundtracks for your projects.

The Freesound Project

Creative commons sound effects.

Soundsnap

This site contains many sound effects and music loops organized by category.  The interface is easy to use.  Recommended by PC magazine May 2008.

Director in the classroom free sounds links

This site lists numerous sources of free sounds and medleys.

Garage Band

This free sound editor is included with Mac OS.  For information about how to make audio recordings or podcasts on the Mac platform using Garage Band click on Tutorials.

Sound Recorder (Windows):

This basic sound recorder is included with Windows OS.  Go to Start Menu/Programs/Accessories/ Entertainment.

Audacity

This free sound editor works on Mac and Windows; in Windows you need the LAME add-on to export in mp3 format.  I have used this for a number of years to change tempos and edit dance music.

WildVoice

Click on Learn More for a great lists of ideas for using voice recordings.  You can export directly to mp3 with this Windows only free app.  Recommended by PC magazine May 2008.

PRCVI e-text

The Provincial Centre for the Visually Impaired has already converted many of the recommended textbooks and novels to e-text.  These are available free of charge in text or Braille format to students with a visual impairment.  The same materials are also available to any student designated as having a print disability for a handling charge.  These are text versions only and contain no graphics, so the sighted student still needs a copy of the textbook to access pictures, charts, maps, etc.  Click on the Print Disability link to check the definition of print disability and download the designation forms at this site.  You can also search their catalog online. 

ARC BC

The Provincial Centre for the Visually Impaired and SET-BC are cooperating to create e-text versions of novels and textbooks in text and Kurzweil format.  ARC BC is currently being beta-tested by 8 school districts and will be ready for roll-out in January 2009.

Publisher Provided E-text

Many publishing companies will provide a free electronic copy of textbooks purchased from their company.  When placing textbook orders, request a CD copy or electronic file.   The electronic copies, if available, are provided for any student with a designated disability.  The textbooks must be for classroom use, and the school must have purchased a print copy for each student.  Most companies have permission request forms.  The four companies listed below do provide electronic copies.  (Thanks to Set-BC consultant Jane Rondow for this information!)

McGraw-Hill Publishing at http://www.mhhe.com/catalogs/cust_serv/electronic_education.mhtml

• Nelson-Thompson Publishing at http://www.thomsonrights.com/permissions/action/start
• Pearson Education Publishing at http://www.pearsoncanada.ca/permissions_school.html
• Nelson Science Probe Electronic copies of Teacher’s resources at http://www.nelson.com/nelson/school/elementary/science/bcscienceprobe/otr.html

Kurzweil Classic Literature CD

The Kurzweil Classic Literature CD ships with Kurzweil.  The CD contains over 3,000 titles of books which are now in the public domain.  This link contains the index to the CD.  These titles are also available online at sites such as Gutenberg, but using the CD saves having to download them.  You can import these to Kurzweil using the KESI Virtual Printer.  It is recommended that you bookmark the chapters for ease of use.

SET-BC Accessible Books Collection

Go to the Learning Centre and then “A” for Accessible Books.  Here you’ll find over 500 popular children’s books that have been converted into electronic form and narrated by live readers.  Most are in PowerPoint form and can be played with PPT Player if you don’t have PPT.  If you live in BC, you can request these books on CD free of charge if you have a hard cover copy of the book in your school library and are using the CD for student with access issues.

Wikijunior Books

This is a collection of free open-content non-fiction textbooks suitable for K-7 students.  They have finished a dozen titles such as Solar System, Big Cats, Dinosaurs, and Ancient Civilizations. You can view these online or download them as .pdf files.  The ones I looked at were well-written with great colour graphics.

CAST UDL Editions

The CAST UDL Editions are a set of free public domain novels that have been engineered with UDL principles.  They contain leveled supports for text-reading, vocabulary and comprehension as well as story elements such as character and setting.  These interactive texts are also linked out to other web-based resources including maps and background information which help the student understand the story.

Thinking Reader

Thinking Reader is a series of novels (for purchase) in electronic form that were created using UDL principles.  The program can read the novel to the student and also prompts the student to use reading strategies such as summarizing, clarifying, visualizing, reflecting, questioning, predicting, and feeling.  Students can keep a reading log, and teachers can monitor their progress.  Thinking Reader titles are pricey but fabulous.  Teachers who used Thinking Reader in year one of the UDL project reported that the comprehension skills transferred over to other reading materials.

Don Johnston’s Start to Finish Books

The Start to Finish Books are interactive books (for purchase) that have been modified for high interest and low vocabulary readers.  Each set includes the text copy, the audio cassette, a CD version, and teacher resources.  Students can have the story read to them and then complete cloze or multiple choice questions.  The complete title listing link is in the left sidebar.  Also check out the SET-BC demo and suggestions for using these books.

Librivox Audio Books

Volunteers at Librivox have produced human voice recordings of many of the classic literature titles in the public domain.  These are available for free download.

Robert Munsch Audio Books

Why not have Robert Munsch himself read books to your kids?

Kurzweil is an integrated scan/read/write program. It can be used as a teaching tool or to scaffold student learning. Kurzweil is ideal for quickly scanning a handout or worksheet in class. It is time-consuming to scan and edit larger amounts of text, so it is better to acquire the e-text versions of novels and textbooks if possible. You can import any Word, .txt or .pdf format document into Kurzweil.

You can use Kurzweil tools to read a document (or the web) and look up definitions and synonyms of words. You can highlight vocabulary or notes on the page and extract those to a separate file. You can also scan in a worksheet, test, or curriculum organizer and add text, highlights, or voice notes to the page. Kurzweil text files can be quickly turned into audio files. Kurzweil provides writing supports including spell-check, typing echo, word prediction, and custom vocabulary lists. Teachers can annotate Kurzweil documents with bubble notes, text notes, or voice notes to guide student learning.

Kurzweil 3000 and UDL at http://www.kurzweiledu.com/files/udl.pdf

Kurzweil will be an important application in the BC UDL project.  This handout describes features of Kurzweil which support students’ recognition, strategic, and affective networks.

ARC BC at http://www.setbc.org/setinfo/arcbc/

The Provincial Centre for the Visually Impaired (PRCVI) and SET-BC are cooperating to create e-text versions of textbooks and novels in text and Kurzweil format.  This is currently being beta-tested by 8 school districts and will be ready for roll-out in January 2009.  Available to BC educators only.

Kurzweil Classic Literature CD at
http://www.kurzweiledu.com/files/classicliterature.pdf

The Kurzweil Classic Literature CD ships with Kurzweil.  The CD contains over 3,000 titles of books which are now in the public domain because their copyright has expired.  This link contains the index to the CD.  These titles are also available online at site such as Gutenberg, but using the CD saves having to download them.  If you want to use the Kurzweil Study Tools with these files, make sure you convert them to KESI format by running them through the KESI Virtual Printer.  If you simply open them in Kurzweil using the Open Button, some of the Study Tools will be grayed out.

CurriculumSet at www.setbc.org

From the main page, go to CurriculumSET and search for “Kurzweil”.  Here you will find a set of 30 graphic organizers, the B.C. Road Sense manual, and the Fisheries and Oceans Primary and Intermediate Salmonids in the Classroom Unit Handouts already converted to KESI format in addition to several other activities. 

BC UDL Lessons using Kurzweil at http://www.setbc.org/bcudl/

Several lessons using Kurzweil have been posted here.  Enter “Kurzweil” in the Search the Repository field and press Go.  You do not need to be a registered user to browse and download lessons and files.  However, you do need the Kurzweil program to open the .kes files.

SET-BC online demonstrations and tutorials at www.setbc.org

From the main page, go to the Learning Centre and click on “K” for Kurzweil.  There you will find a large number of Kurzweil resources.  The most recent Windows resource is a full twelve-module self-paced course, complete with demonstrations and downloadable tutorials.  Mac resources are also posted.

Trial versions of Kurzweil at http://www.kurzweiledu.com/downloads_kez3000.aspx#trial

If you install Kurzweil from any Windows CD, it will run as a demo for 30 days.  You can also request a trial Windows or Mac version CD or download the Mac version from this page.

PSAP purchase of Kurzweil at www.setbc.org

From the main page, click on the PSAP link.  Go to the Software List, and you will see the pricing for Kurzweil.  Kurzweil is available in a stand-alone, network, or USB version.  PSAP prices are available to BC educators only. 

Compatible scanners list at
http://www.kurzweiledu.com/scanner_compatibility.asp

Since Kurzweil is not able to test every scanner on the market, the easiest way to find a compatible scanner may be to ask someone who is already using one for a recommendation.  In general, we have had good luck with the portable Canon LIDE scanners that run off the USB port and also with the Epson CX series printer/scanner combinations.

Kurzweil research and videos at http://www.kurzweiledu.com/research_resource.aspx

A number of research studies have looked at the effectiveness of Kurzweil. 

Kurzweil and Provincial Testing

Kathleen Edge is the provincial contact for questions regarding the use of Kurzweil and other alternate formats during provincial test.

 

About PPT

PPT is presentation software that is a part of the Microsoft Office Suite.   It is available on both the PC and Mac platforms.   Thousands of PPTs are already available online.  Search for the specific subject plus the keyword PPT or PowerPoint.  For example, a search for “frog PPT” turned up 150,000 hits. 

PPT is just one type of presentation software.  Google’s Presentations is free online, which makes it ideal for collaboration and sharing.  You can also use Apple’s KeyNote or Windows  Open Office app Impress (free).  In Open Office, PPT presentations can be opened and converted to html or even flash movies.  You can also create presentations on the SMARTBoard. 

Jefferson County PPT Collection

This amazing collection includes PPT presentations and games in every curriculum area K-12, from a game template for “Are You Smarter than a 5th Grader” to a presentation on “Gel Electrophoresis”.  There are also numerous links to other PPT collections.  Check out the link to “Pete’s”.

Internet for Classrooms Collection

This general site includes many tutorials at different levels, many PPT game templates, links to other PPT collections, and ideas for PPT Integration.

PPT Sidekicks

Are you ready to move beyond bullets?  Here are some very creative PPT templates that will scaffold your students’ presentations.  Click on the sidekicks bar on the left to get started with PPT ideas (and downloads) for Book Blasts, e-stories, scrapbooks, guide books, journals, problem solvers, quests, tutorials, virtual field trips and more.

SET-BC Accessible Books Collection

Here you’ll find over 500 popular children’s books that have been converted into electronic form and narrated by live readers.  Most are in PPT form and can be played with PPT Player if you don’t have PPT.  If you live in BC, you can request these books on CD free of charge if you have a hard cover copy of the book in your school library.

PPT presentations on Teacher Tube

Go to Teacher Tube and search for “PowerPoint” (slow but worth the wait).  Examples are PPTs on Internet Safety, How to import PPTs to Smart Board Notebooks, How to put PPTs on iPods, PowerPoints that Rock, and How NOT to do PowerPoint (stand-up comedy).

PPT Magic

PPT Magic is a book of lessons suitable for using PPT at the K-8 level for different types of writing activities including narrative, research, descriptive, instruction, and persuasive writing.  This ISTE series book was recommended by Karen West, SD#71.

Tips and Tutorials

Microsoft PPT 2003/2007 online tutorials

In the Find Training area, select either Getting Started or All Training.  The All Training section includes many different online PPT tutorials from beginner to advanced, rated by users.  The amount of time needed to complete the tutorial is also listed.  I have tried several of these and found them to be excellent.

PPT in the Classroom online tutorial

This fun online tutorial for kids covers making a basic presentation, adding images and charts, motion, sound, timing and rehearsing, and taking it with you.  You can also download printable tutorials.

Power Talk

You can add speech capability to PPT with this utility for the Windows version of PPT.

Best Practices, Effectiveness and Assessment

Scoring PowerPoints by Jamie Mackenzie

This is a very good article that discusses best practices for student PPT projects.

Rubric for evaluating students’ PPT presentations

This is a very rigorous rubric for evaluating all parts of a student PPT presentation.