Kelly's Curriculum Corner

Colonial Intermediate Unit 20 welcomes our newest consultant, Michelle Davis, to the Curriculum Department. Michelle will have a unique place on our team. Her position is designed to be a blend of special education, differentiated instruction and educational technology. The demand for this position stems from the steady increase in requests for assistive technology support for students with learning disabilities. The increase in requests coincides with advances in technology such as voice recognition, screen readers, spell check, podcasting, smart boards...etc. Michelle will help to facilitate teams, usually the IEP team, to identify barriers students have to learning and subsequent technology tools that will support student success in the inclusive setting. The emphasis will be on using technology tools already available to support student achievement. For example, last year we had a student whose disability created a barrier to conducting an oral presentation to his class. The te...

Universal Design for Learning (UDL) is an approach to instruction that utilizes multiple methods of presenation, engagement and expression to help students overcome learning barriers. Technology is maximized in a UDL model. Technology provides the venue for increased engagement. It allows for multiple methods of presentation and expression. UDL takes advantage of the technology in the room .... available to all learners e.g. interactive white boards, common software such as Inspiration, podcasts/podcasting, etc.... I am struck by how closely this mirrors the goals for the Classrooms for the Future (CFF) grant initiative. CFF is less about the technology than it is about critical thinking, collaboration, and engagement in learning. However, I think training in UDL could help teachers better understand the purpose of the CFF goals. UDL has the potential to deepen teachers thinking about how to create a learning environment that helps students overcome learning challenges. Technology has...