Chapter+1+Education+in+the+Digital+Age

= Preface =

** The Center for Applied Special Technology (CAST) **

 * ====Original Mission: develop and apply technologies to help students with disabilities access a print-based curriculum====
 * ====New Position: use technology to **transform the nature of the curriculum** itself to accommodate varying learner needs====

** Universal Design for Learning (UDL) **

 * ====Based on brain and media research====
 * ====Framework for using technology to **maximize learning opportunities for all students** ====
 * ====Components:====
 * ====Setting appropriate learning goals====
 * ====Choosing and developing effective methods and materials====
 * ====Developing accurate and fair ways to assess students’ progress====

= Chapter 1 : Education in the Digital Age =

== Universal Design for Learning is a way to turn the two major challenges faced by teachers in classrooms today--learner diversity and high standards--into opportunities to maximize learning for all students by taking advantage of new brain research and new technologies. ==

Increasing learner diversity

 * ====Typical classrooms might include students who:====
 * ====are English language learners.====
 * ====have learning disabilities.====
 * ====do not read on grade level.====
 * ====are classified as gifted.====
 * ====come from varied cultural backgrounds.====
 * ====have behavioral, attentional, or motivational problems.====

Increasing emphasis on learning standards

 * ====Teachers have a greater responsibility to ensure that ** every ** student reaches a ** specified level of achievement **.====

Brain research

 * ====Recent theories, such as Gardner's Multiple Intelligences, are consistent with new discoveries about the brain.====
 * ====Students have a ** variety of learning capacities ** and may have a disability in one countered by an extraordinary ability in another.====
 * ====The evaluation of ability can be confounded by the means used to conduct the evaluation if the student has difficulty in the medium used.====

Technological advances

 * ====New technologies provide teachers with a variety of media, tools, and methods to use in the classroom.====
 * ====Digital technologies are inherently ** flexible ** and can therefore adjust to differences in learners.====
 * ====Teachers can differentiate general learning problems from problems that students have using particular learning media.====
 * ====Students can **use strengths and interests** that could have been blocked by traditional methods.====

Universal Design for Learning: The "Intersection of Initiatives"
==== //“The concept of UDL is the intersection where all of our initiatives—integrated units, multi-sensory teaching, multiple intelligences, differentiated instruction, use of computers in schools, performance-based assessment, and others—come together.”// ====

UDL ties together research and reform to break from the "traditional" classroom model.

 * ====The number of students who have difficulty in this environment is increasing with increasing diversity.====
 * ====UDL ** supports many educational approaches ** including differentiated instruction, cooperative learning, teachers as guides, and demonstrating learning through a variety of media.====

UDL provides a framework that makes differentiated instruction more feasible.

 * ====Teachers enhance opportunities to learn by ** removing barriers ** caused by the traditional classroom environment and by ** providing supports **where they are needed.====
 * ====Students are challenged appropriately so every one of them progresses.====

Teachers can use technology to present information in a variety of ways in order to reach the diverse learners in their classes.

 * ====Example: Present information as text in a **wiki** and as audio in a [|podcast]. media type="custom" key="6554433"====

Students can choose the media they use to present their evidence of learning in order to take advantage of their strengths and avoid their weaknesses.

 * ====Example: A student who recently immigrated to the United States was concerned that she was not fluent enough in English to present an oral report in front of her class. Her teacher helped her to create an animation with dialogue so she would be able to carefully plan what was said. This allowed her to focus on the content rather than the difficulty she would have speaking during the presentation.====