hi all I forward the following article from the "disability grapevine"
E-newspaper in the hope it wil be of interest.

nnot about built environment in the strictest sense but still has
implications given the recent focus on all aspects of access in education.

----- Original Message -----
From: <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Sunday, June 04, 2000 2:59 AM
Subject: [DisabilityGrapeVine] Beyond Access: Universal Design for
Learning(tm)


> The Disability Grapevine
> (The Daily Voice Of The Disability People)
> Issue # 12
> ****************************************************
> Title of Article:
> Beyond Access: Universal Design for Learning(tm)
>
>
> Author:
> Submitted By: Christina
> Written By: Anne Meyer, Ed.D., and Lucinda M. O'Neill
>
http://autism.about.com/health/autism/gi/dynamic/offsite.htm?site=http://www
.e
> parent.com/
>
> Article:
> The ultimate goal of any student is to learn. However, having access to
> information is not the only essential ingredient in achieving that
> goal.Education requires challenge and resistance. A balance must be found
> that allows maximum access (which requires reducing or eliminating
> resistance) and maximum learning (which requires meeting or overcoming
> resistance). Universal Design for Learning(tm) (UDL) is the paradigm
> developed by the Center for Applied Special Technology (CAST) for
teaching,
> learning, and the development, selection and use of curriculum materials.
> Universal Design provides the challenge and resistance-requiring careful
> attention to the goals of any given learning experience when selecting
> curriculum materials and deciding what modifications are appropriate.
>
> Universal Design in practice
>
> If the goal of a teacher is to teach word decoding to a student with a
> learning disability, for example, having the computer read all of the
words
> aloud could undermine learning. On the other hand, if the goal is to
convey
> science concepts, having the computer read the text aloud could enhance
the
> learning opportunity for the same student. Each student, with or without a
> disability, is unique. Categorical approaches that label students, such as
> "disabled," "average," or "gifted," make broad assumptions about the
> similarities of students within categories while missing the differences.
> They also make assumptions about the differences among students across
> categories while missing the similarities.
>
> Universal Design for Learning, as conceptualized by CAST, shifts old
> assumptions in key ways. First, students with disabilities fall along a
> continuum of differences as learners rather than constituting a separate
> category. Second, adjustments for differences in learning occur for all
> students, not just those with disabilities. Third, universally designed
> curriculum materials are varied and diverse, including digital and online
> resources, rather than centered on single textbooks. Ultimately, instead
of
> "fixing" students so that they can manage a set curriculum, UDL "fixes"
the
> curriculum by making it adjustable.
>
> The concept of UDL evolved from the simultaneous emergence of new
knowledge
> about the brain and new technologies for learning and communication.
> Neuro-imaging techniques have enabled researchers to better understand the
> neurological basis for differences in learning. At the same time,
networked
> multimedia tools and content are now supporting the creation of flexible
> curricula in ways that were never before possible.
>
> The "universal design" concept has its roots in architecture and product
> design, where physical access is the goal. Architects practicing universal
> design create structures that are dedicated to accommodating the widest
> spectrum of users, including those with disabilities. In universally
designed
> environments, adaptability is subtle and integrated into the design. A
> distinct benefit of universal design is that designing for the divergent
> needs of "special" populations increases usability for everyone. The
classic
> example is the curb cut. Originally designed so that people in wheelchairs
> could negotiate curbs, curb cuts also ease travel for people pushing
> carriages or riding skateboards, pedestrians with canes, and the average
> walker. Similarly, the widespread use of captioning on television has been
a
> boon to exercisers, customers in noisy bars, individuals working on their
> language skills, and roommates who go to sleep at different times.
>
> Flexibility allows access
>
> Universal Design for Learning extends the concept of universal design in
two
> ways: 1) it applies the idea of built-in flexibility to curricular
materials,
> and 2) it requires that teachers use these flexible materials to provide
more
> than "access" to help students learn. Because the key to UDL is
> individualization, the key characteristic of UDL materials is flexibility.
> Although individualization is theoretically possible with traditional
> materials such as textbooks, UDL is predicated on the flexibility of
digital
> media and tools, including digital content, adjustable technology tools
for
> accessing and operating on that content, and networked resources such as
the
> World Wide Web. Non-digital materials tend to be individual,
self-contained
> units ("a" book, "a" video tape) and are largely inflexible-what comes out
of
> the box is what you get, with essentially no viable means of modifying it.
> Teachers wishing to practice UDL with these traditional materials would
> confront virtually insurmountable problems. They would need large, costly
> collections of physical materials so that choices would be available for
> different students.
>
> Electronic ease
>
> Digital media, on the other hand, can be designed to be highly flexible
> because of their capacity to be transformed. Unlike a printed book-which
has
> fixed, unchangeable text and images, but no sound, animation, or video-the
> digital environment (e.g., computers) can carry any and all media
> simultaneously. Text-to-speech or speech-to-text via speech recognition
> software can be programmed into online tools and software so that the
> transformation from one medium to another can take place for users who
need
> the alternative medium. For example, if a student with dyslexia needs a
> particular word read aloud, the computer will read it "on demand." Image
and
> video descriptions in digital speech provide access to those who cannot
see
> the images. Captioning of dialogue, music, or sound effects, accomplished
> with a combination of text and graphics on screen, provides access to
those
> who cannot hear the sound.
>
> Text-to-speech and captioning are access features that become "smart" when
> they are designed with the instructional purpose in mind. The next
generation
> of CAST software tools will go further, offering built-in teaching
supports
> that make these products truly universally designed for learning. The
current
> version of the CAST eReader(tm) offers text-to-speech and highlighting
> supports that help students with disabilities access information on the
World
> Wide Web; the next version will help students develop Web-searching
> strategies to maximize their use of the Web for learning. Another tool
under
> development at CAST will work with digitized textbooks to help students
with
> learning disabilities develop the organizational skills that are critical
to
> their success in school.
>
> Although technology is at the heart of both UDL and assistive technology,
it
> is important to clarify the differences. Assistive technology is designed
to
> help individual students access the mainstream curriculum. Under most
> circumstances, assistive technology is necessary because the mainstream
> curriculum is inflexible and inaccessible to those students without it.
For
> example, a video enlarger can make a textbook more accessible to a student
> who has low vision. But the enlarger is not a part of the curriculum, it
is a
> device used by an individual student to overcome a barrier inherent in the
> curriculum's original design.
>
> Assistive technologies can allow the learner to adapt to the curriculum.
This
> way, there is access and the challenge is one that stimulates learning
rather
> than hindering it. Rather than requiring a video enlarger to make 12-point
> black-on-white text legible to a student with a visual impairment, a UDL
> curriculum would include a digital version of the text that could easily
be
> enlarged to the necessary size and changed in color if necessary. Once
> digitized, that text could be converted to speech and "read aloud" for
> students with difficulty decoding words. It could then be copied and
pasted
> into a "concept mapping" software program for students with organizational
> difficulties. It can also be saved into an on-screen "notepad" which
manages
> text for a student preparing to write an essay. The built-in flexibility
> eliminates the need for the assistive tool, and simultaneously improves
> learning opportunities for all students.
>
> The full implementation of UDL may reduce but not eliminate the need for
> assistive technologies. As Universal Design for Learning becomes viable
and
> pervasive, the power of assistive technology can be devoted to providing
more
> efficient interaction with a curriculum that is already access-aware. For
the
> students who need it, assistive technology will no longer be required to
> overcome barriers in a poorly designed curriculum, but it will enhance
active
> interaction with a curriculum that has been designed at the outset to be
> accessible to all. Since 1989, CAST has been engaged in the research and
> development of software products, Internet tools, and model educational
> programs that go beyond access to support learning. Universal Design for
> Learning(tm): Mind, Media and Instructional Design, a forthcoming book by

> Co-Executive Directors Anne Meyer, EdD, David Rose, EdD, and staff members
of
> CAST, will explore issues discussed in this article in depth.
>
> Anne Meyer, Ed.D., is co-executive director of CAST, the not-for-profit
> Center for Applied Special Technology, in Peabody, Mass. Lucinda M.
O'Neill
> is a staff writer at CAST.
> ****************************************************
> The Author's views reflect only their opinion and do not necessarily
reflect
> that of The Disability Grapevine.
> ****************************************************
> Do not copy any of these articles without the author's permission.
> ****************************************************
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> Adrian Higginbotham.

SURFACE:   Salford University, Research Focus on AcCessible Environments.
E-mail:  [log in to unmask]
tel:  44-(0)-161-2954939
web:  www.scpm.salford.ac.uk/surface/





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