UDL Presentation Second Half.

What Brain Research Tells Us About Learning Differences.

The brain is the most powerful learning tool that a student brings to the classroom. Scientists are using new research to address how the brain helps students learn. They found that three networks within the brain are specialized for performing particular kinds of processing and managing particular learning tasks. They are identified in terms that reflect their functions: the recognition, strategic, and affective networks Recognition networks, located in the back of the brain, are specialized to sense and assign meaning to patterns we see; they enable us to identify and understand information, ideas, and concepts. Your recognition networks enable you to distinguish specific objects such as cars from all the other cars in a line up. Strategic networks Strategic networks located in the frontal lobes are specialized to generate and oversee mental and motor patterns. They enable us to plan, execute, and monitor actions and skills. Chess players like me take advantage of this network by planning and executing our thoughts. Dancers, athletes and pilots, to name a few, uses the strategic network to process their plan of action. Affective networks located predominantly at the core of the brain are specialized to evaluate patterns and assign them emotional significance; they enable us to engage with tasks and learning and with the world around us. Tapping into the emotions of students is important because if you can find what motivates them to learn, they will have success in your class.

How Does UDL Support Cultural, Ethnic, Linguistic, and Academic Diversity

UDL can support cultural, linguistic, and academic diversity by presenting ideas employing an assortment of technology tools and dissimilar teaching approaches. Students are different in many unique ways. The purpose of UDL is designed so that all students can learn even though some exhibit disabilities such as speaking English as a second language, or just cultural. Though the tools used in UDL that are used EEL, and bilingual students suck as language translators and text to speak can be use by every student in the class.

Three of The CAST Online Tools and Resources

Use the online TES Journal to record your ideas, insights, reflections and thoughts. Your journal entry can be saved privately or shared within a TES community. If you have been enrolled in a TES community, you will have the option to share your journal with your community and to solicit feedback. The option to keep a journal entry private is always available.

Another tool is Image Collector. Image Collector consists of tutorials and a tool. First is, Image Finder Tutorial. Images are a vital part of many if not all curricula. Photographs, drawings, art works, charts, graphs, maps, and many other kinds of images enhance, clarify, and communicate vital content and concepts. Digital images expand opportunities for teachers and learners alike. Second is, Image Describer Tutorial. Images, even digital images, are inherently inaccessible to learners who cannot see or process them, such as students with low vision, blindness, or some kinds of learning disabilities. The last tool is, Image Collector Tool. Put your skills to work to enhance your curriculum and make it more flexible.
Another CAST online tool is UDL Solutions Finder. The central practical premise of UDL is that a curriculum should include alternatives to make it accessible and appropriate for individuals with different backgrounds, learning styles, abilities, and disabilities in widely varied learning contexts. The UDL Solutions Finder Tutorial gives you practice applying CAST's three UDL principles to derive alternative media, materials and methods when planning a lesson or a unit of curriculum. The tool and downloadable template provide structured supports for applying UDL in your classroom.

For some students, the use of personal assistive technologies such as electric wheelchairs, eyeglasses, or a cochlear implant – is essential for basic physical and sensory access to learning environments. Those students will need their assistive technologies, even during activities where other students may not use any technologies at all. Even in classrooms that are well equipped with UDL materials and methods, their assistive technology neither precludes nor replaces the need for UDL overall. Digital multimedia, adaptive technologies, the World Wide Web, and other advancements make it possible to individualize education for individual students. CAST states that developers of UDL apply the inherent flexibility of digital media to individualize educational goals, classroom materials, instructional methods and assessments. Thus, each student has an appropriate point-of-entry into the curriculum—and a pathway towards attainment of educational goals.

References
Rose, D., & Meyer, A. (2002). Teaching every student in the digital age: Universal design for learning. Retrieved fromhttp://www.cast.org/teachingeverystudent/ideas/tes/

Center for Applied Special Technology. (2009). UDL guidelines, version 1.0. Retrieved from http://www.udlcenter.org/aboutudl/udlguidelines

Laureate Education, Inc. (Executive Producer). (2009). Reaching and engaging all learners through technology: Brain Research and Universal Design for Learning. Baltimore: Author.

Websites used

http://www.cast.org/teachingeverystudent/tools/tesjournal.cfm

http://www.advocacyinstitute.org/UDL/

http://chiefbighorn.edu.glogster.com/UDL-Presentation/