Digital technologies can be used to provide multiple means of representation, engagement, and expression for learners. Teachers should understand individual learner needs and provide options. For engagement, consider barriers and nurture strengths. For representation, offer varied formats like notes, highlighting, and toolkits with modeling. Introduce one format at a time until students are comfortable. For expression, technology allows audio, presentations, and multimedia beyond traditional writing. Learners can demonstrate knowledge through various digital options.

1. 584 EDPD Assistive
Technology
Assignment 1: Universal Design for Learning

2. Assignment 1
• Based on your understanding of UDL, explain, describe, and/or
demonstrate how digital technologies can be used to provide learners
with a range of effective options for:
• Engaging with learning goals, learning tasks and learning materials
• Representing learning materials and information to learners
• Showing and demonstrating what has been learned

3. How do teachers ensure that learners engage with learning
goals, learning tasks and learning materials?
• According to Dr. David Rose from the video, ‘From Bach to Lady Gaga: Music Lessons for
Specials Education,’ there are multiple ways for students to demonstrate and engage with
material(in particular deaf students to music) :
• 1) Instead of turning them into ‘normal hearers,’ listen to the way they listen.
• 2) Provide multiple means of representation. This can be done through language, symbols
or math. For example, Dan with Cerebral Palsy composed and conducted a musical piece
without the use of his hands or voice.
• 3)Provide options for self-regulation in students. For example, facilitate personal coping
strategies and skills.
• 4) Provide options for sustaining interest through relevant material and /or universally
appealing contexts(music).

4. How do teachers ensure that learners engage with
learning goals, learning tasks and learning materials?
1)When planning your lessons, be aware that not 1 size fits all; there is no such thing as an
‘average.’ Plan for variability.
• Just like planning for a vacation, plan for weather variability. Consider what barriers you may
face with students who may not learn the same. For example, how will a student who
doesn’t like speaking in front of others cope during a peaking based lesson?
2) Get to know how your students learn. For example, for reluctant writer know that the more
you engage them in a certain technology, the more they are engaged, and as a result, will likely
produce more.
• Be sure to nurture individual potential in your students. Some students may be terrified to
read aloud if they have Dyslexia and fear being isolated and ridiculed by their peers. How
can you get them to participate in class doing something else they are confident in?

5. How do you represent learning materials
and information to learners?
• Lisa’s Advice:
• Lisa, a teacher in New York with 25 year experience says that “ By allowing my
students the freedom to be, I allow them to grow. This makes my job so rewarding.”
• Lisa presents her students with a variety of options for assignment that
accommodates different learning styles: Powerpoint, Keynote, taking notes on paper
or a laptop, using different coloured markers and pens for highlighting.
• At the start of the school year, she posts a ‘Technology Toolkit’ which she models
in class, and then allows students to work independently through the tasks once they
have understood the instructions.

6. How do you represent learning materials
and information to learners?
• Katherine’s advice:
• Katherine, another teacher represented in the video on ‘Learning Variability,”
says that she is careful not to implement too much variety of media and
formats, to avoid overwhelming students.
• She will introduce 1 format at a time, such as a Smartboard or Powerpoint
and get students to use it until they are comfortable.

7. How can technology offer learners a variety
of options for showing what they know?
• 1) It can be more than just writing ideas down.
• 2) A learner can demonstrate learning with an audio recording.
• 3) Students can demonstrate learning through a multimedia presentation
( Powerpoint, Make a video, perform a song).