Nov 21 2006
What is UDL?
Hello everyone:
Welcome to my first attempt at blogging. During a recent network meeting I had a conversation with a participant who teaches middle school. She told me that after the initial UDL institute she had no idea what UDL was. At the network meeting (folllowing the lesson sharing) she thought everyhting was UDL. The conversation struck me because it closely resembled my own experience in learning about UDL.
So what is UDL? Is every ingteresting lesson a UDL lesson? Is any use of technology in a classroom a UDL lesson? I wish I had a concrete answer. More importantly, though, I am hoping that you have some answers. Please feel free to enter your thoughts about defining UDL. Have you developed a working definition, or at least a framework? Let me know.
2 Responses to “What is UDL?”
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For me, UDL simply means helping people find multiple formats or different means to present the spirit or the intention of the content. As a school librarian (AKA Media Specialist), my job is to help people acquire and use materials to support the curriculum and enhance learning - regardless of the container, i.e. print in a book, print on a website, audio, video, images, music, and so on - whatever it takes to get the idea across to the learner. To me, UDL also means that the students can express their learning through whatever format is most appropriate to their learning and this expression must allow for choice on the part of the student, i.e. composing a rap, skit, dance, poem, video, essay, poster, PowerPoint, and so on. Most important to me is that the learner understands the process of How they came to understand, is able to think deeply about this process - realizing strengths and weaknesses - and will be able to apply these thinking skills to future situations.
Well said. Multiple options, flexibility, and choice are hallmarks of the program. I especially liked the references you made to the most important thing being an understanding of the process of how they came to understand. As a matter of fact, can learning take place without that realization?