Carolyn Staudt Project Manager

Realizing the educational potential of information technologies Not-for-profit Educational research and development Focus: Educational Technology Funding: grants The Concord Consortium

Modeling Tools Enabling students to interact with the unobservable Online Learning Democratizing education with anytime, anywhere learning Probeware Developing new tools for data collection and analysis Handhelds Moving closer to the promise of ubiquitous computing Sustainable Development Confronting global issues with decision-making tools Assessment Research Improving methods for measuring deep learning in science The Concord Consortium

The Concord Consortium is proud to announce the Post-Textbook UDL Materials project. These materials are based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation under Grant No. ESI Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation. Universal Design

“Applying universal design to learning materials and activities can increase access for learners with wide disparities in their abilities to see, hear, speak, move, read, write, understand English, attend, organize, focus, engage, and remember.” -- Rose & Meyer, 2000 Universal Design

UDL Science: Why? There are no classroom-ready STEM curriculum materials that use Universal Design for Learning. There is a particular urgency to develop UDL materials now, because the 2004 Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) included provisions for a process that will result in a voluntary National Instructional Materials Accessibility Standard (NIMAS). Exemplars are needed that demonstrate what is possible when UDL materials are designed from the start for electronic delivery.

UDL Science: Modules The project will develop seven modules that each require two to three weeks of class time. Each will include a driving question that leads to investigations with probes and atomic-scale models. Energy conservation and conversion will be highlighted in each module, providing a unifying theme.

The 7 UDL Lessons Why are there clouds? Take a trip through the water cycle. What do plants eat? Travel around inside a tree. Is it getting hotter? Hitch a ride on an incoming light beam. Crash into the atmosphere. (various options at that point – hit cloud, hit earth or snow, "bounce" off as IR, etc.) Why does water boil? Go diving in a teakettle, equipped with a thermometer. What's electricity? Build circuits and test them with a voltmeter. What if there were no friction? Visit a world with no friction (slippery world) and one with too much friction (sticky world). What does soap do? Take a trip in a mini-submarine along the surfaces of water and oil. Bring along a soap dispenser.

The science modules will provide a range of alternatives for the way tools are used in the classroom. Alternative Representations Alternative Communications Alternative Instructional Strategies Alternative Assessments Additional Alternatives UDL Science

The materials will be constructed from three kinds of objects: text boxes, graphs, and models with a range of display options: Type of display Size Colors Line width English and Spanish Vocalization Alternative Representations

The text can be selected and read in meaningful parts (e.g., words, phrases, sentences, or paragraphs) and it can explain text using a glossary. Smart Graph and Smart Model will be able to describe important features, e.g., a graph’s maximum, minimum, and slope; atoms that are part of a solid, liquid, or gas. Alternative Communications

UDL Tools – Smart Graph Smart Graph Features Rescale axis with explanations Overlays of student-drawn predictions Translate graph (with hand) Label a data point General text comment (can be put anywhere) Name the graph Describe the graph (an accompanying textbox, rather than text on the graph) - again, forces one to describe the context of the measurement. Draw a dataset Zoom in to a selected area Read a dataset value - crosshair line to X and Y axes (reinforces meaning of Cartesian plane) Highlight a portion of the graph, and label it. (the line changes color, bolder, etc..) Analysis (keep this limited, for primary grades): maximum and minimum, slope (of a highlighted segment for instance), time between two measurements, difference of two measurements, average y-value of a segment. Save, go back to it and continue to analyze and add comments.

UDL Tools – Smart Model Smart Model Features (Molecular Workbench) Semantic intelligence about molecular dynamics models Ability to communicate in terms of important features of the display. For example, number and kind of atoms and molecules Location of selected atoms Temperature Pressure Volume Average potential and kinetic energy States present – liquids, solids and gases When bonds are made or broken Whether the distributions are random.

UDL Tools Macroscopic to Microscopic Zoom Tool Input Options - Text boxes - Buttons - Sliders - Check boxes and radio buttons - Drawing Tool Live Polling

Technology UDL Technology is based on: OTrunk: a Java software framework developed at CC that supports assembly and scripting of Java components using a declarative xml-based language. SAIL: a Java software framework developed at Berkeley and CC that supports network-persistence of pedagogic data about learners.

Alternative Instructional Strategies Name this kind of cloud Save my answer Student clicks for scaffolded help. Level 1: One or more examples of good responses are provided. Level 2: The student selects the best of several suggested responses. Level 3: Parts of a response are provided, but the student is asked to fill in missing content. Level 4: Clues are given for data or information that students should use. Level 5: Only context-independent scaffolding is provided.

Example: Scaffolded Help Draw a diagram to show how water from the sea can fall as rain on land. Save my answer Level 5: Student sees a blank drawing tool and the following help: Make sure your drawing clearly answers the question and add labels if needed.

Example: Scaffolded Help Draw a diagram to show how water from the sea can fall as rain on land. Save my answer Level 4: Student sees a blank drawing tool and the following help: Don’t forget to include the sun and a cloud as well as rain and the sea.

Example: Scaffolded Help Draw a diagram to show how water from the sea can fall as rain on land. Save my answer Level 3: Student sees a blank drawing tool with stamps: Use the palette to help create your answer. Palette contains necessary images.

Example: Scaffolded Help Draw a diagram to show how water from the sea can fall as rain on land. Save my answer Level 2: Student sees a blank drawing tool with stamps: Use the palette to help create your answer. Some suggestions are: Palette contains necessary images.

Example: Scaffolded Help Draw a diagram to show how water from the sea can fall as rain on land. Save my answer Level 1: Student sees a drawing tool with background image of the water cycle, explaining the answer to the question. Label the image. A few examples are shown below.

Example: Scaffolded Help A car with its doors closed and windows up sits in the sun on a warm, sunny day. Is it warmer inside or outside the car? Save my answer Level 5: Student sees an open text box and the following help: Think about all the information contained in the question as your formulate an answer.

Example: Scaffolded Help A car with its doors closed and windows up sits in the sun on a warm, sunny day. Is it warmer inside or outside the car? Save my answer Level 4: Student sees an open text box and the following help: Try the following short experiment. Using a Temperature Sensor, measure the temperature inside a closed baggie that is in direct lamplight. What happens to the temperature in the bag?

Example: Scaffolded Help A car with its doors closed and windows up sits in the sun on a warm, sunny day. Is it warmer inside or outside the car? Save my answer Level 3: Student sees an open text box and the following help: This is a graph of the temperature inside the car. Use it to help you answer the question.

Example: Scaffolded Help A car with its doors closed and windows up sits in the sun on a warm, sunny day. Is it warmer inside or outside the car? Why? Save my answer Level 2: Student sees an open text box and the following help: Some possible answers include. There is more sunlight coming into the car than leaving, so the car heats up. The car is warmer than the outside air. The “greenhouse effect” causes radiation to be trapped by the car’s glass. This raises the inside temperature. Light comes in through the windows easily. When the light tries to leave, it bounces around. This warms the inside of the car.

Example: Scaffolded Help A car with its doors closed and windows up sits in the sun on a warm, sunny day. Is it warmer inside or outside the car? Why? Save my answer Level 1: Student sees an open text box and the following help: Both the graph and the text can help you answer the question. It is warmer inside the car. Sunlight gets trapped in the car as a result of the “greenhouse effect.”

Example: Scaffolded Help Save my answer Level 5: Student sees an open text box and the following help: Think about all the information contained in the question as your formulate an answer. Could you walk on a floor without friction? Why?

Example: Scaffolded Help Save my answer Level 4: Student sees an open text box and the following help: Think about walking on ice. Ice has friction, although the amount of friction is less that many other surfaces. Could you walk on a floor without friction? Why?

Example: Scaffolded Help Save my answer Could you walk on a floor without friction? Why? Level 3: Student sees an open text box and the following help: As you try to step forward, you push your foot backward. Friction holds your shoe to the ground.

Example: Scaffolded Help Save my answer Could you walk on a floor without friction? Why? Level 2: Student sees an open text box and the following help: You could not walk without the friction between your shoes and the ground. As you try to step forward, you push your foot backward. Friction holds your shoe to the ground, allowing you to walk. When you push on your foot to take a step, there would be nothing to stop it! It would keep sliding until you fell over. You would not be able to walk.

Example: Scaffolded Help Save my answer Could you walk on a floor without friction? Why? Level 1: Student sees an open text box and the following help: You could not walk without the friction between your shoes and the ground. It would be difficult even to stand. As soon as you tried to push off to walk, your foot would keep going and you would quickly lose your balance, and fall. Much like being on ice, but even more so.

Explicit and embedded assessments Tracking Performance assessment Electronic portfolios Automatically graded quizzes Alternative Assessments

Class Setup The teacher will be able to set many of the UDL parameters on a class-wide basis.

Class Setup (by Student) The teacher could then customize those class settings on a per student basis.

Class Setup (by Student) Clicking on an option that isn’t a checkbox will open an editor for that option.

Class Setup (by Student) Clicking on an option that isn’t a checkbox will open an editor for that option.

Class Setup (by Student) Clicking on an option that isn’t a checkbox will open an editor for that option.

Teacher Reporting Clicking an icon will offer details about a student’s activity progress.

UDL Science: Sites Four sites were chosen across the United States: Acton, MA, Anchorage, AK, Maryville, MO, and Fresno, CA

UDL website

Resources Teaching Every Student in the Digital Age: Universal Design for Learning David H. Rose & Anne Meyer SCD, ideas /tes/ Universal Design Using Flexible Technology to Meet the Needs of Diverse Learners: What Teachers Can Do Julie DuffieldJulie Duffield and Lisa Wahl