Universal Design for Learning (UDL)

The article about UDL explains very well all the pros and cons when teaching using traditional instructional media and digital media. It is true that most of the teachers rely on traditional methods, especially printed materials and their traditional lecture. However, I believe the most schools are shifting to a more student-centered environment, which focus more on student’s learning and the development of higher level thinking skills.

After reading the 2 chapters and checking Lisa’s website, I felt overwhelmed with the amount of activities that can be developed to help teachers to create that “flexibility” which is essential to address learning differences.  I definitely want to do that, I want to be a teacher who reaches out for all my students; I want to help the ones who are struggling in class but also the ones that can walk the extra mile. Many times in my classroom I have students who are in different levels. Some never had Spanish before or have a hard time to understand it. On the other hand, some other kids even download music in Spanish to their iPod’s and are eager to learn more. I feel frustrated because I know I am not supporting all my students. Also, the article defines very well the role of recognition, strategic and affective networks for the speech, for reading a text and for understanding images. We know that many students have special needs and if they are not able to identify and understand information in one way or the other, they will feel frustrated and powerless. Their school performance will be poor and their level of commitment will decrease. Besides that, students may come to school with emotional problems which interfere with their engagement in class. Establishing a class with relevant and meaningful materials is essential to foster a successful learning environment.

I loved when the author mentioned that teachers don’t need more media, but they need better media. If we look closely to the four aspects of digital media’s flexibility (versatility, transformability, the ability to be marked, and the ability to be networked), it is impressive the different ways that students can assess content and how teachers will be reaching out all individuals with different backgrounds and needs. The UDL principles align with the e-Tips article we read which discussed how teachers need to define the learning outcomes before planning a certain activity. UDL can help teachers to differentiate instruction using specific goals, materials and assessments.

When I was reading this article, I took advantage of the vocabulary links available in the text since English is not my first language, which showed me how important is that individualized learning support that so many kids are desperate to have.

Going back to Lisa’s blog, I was surprised to see all the links and educational sites to be used with the students. I feel a little lost on how to get started. I am looking forward to learn more about digital media and how to use in my class. I checked some links used in Lisa’s blog and most of them relate to the main content areas, but hopefully I will be able to create links and sites for Spanish learning.