Welcome!
Welcome
to the first issue of the UDL FOCUS from the National UDL
Center. In this issue, you'll find information about US
Secretary of Education Duncan's letter to Congress on the
National Education Technology Plan plus links to news and resources
on UDL implementation and research.
Don't miss the Designing UDL Contest (which ends
TODAY!) and the UDL Fellowship deadline on January 14,
2011.
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 Secretary
Highlights UDL in Letter to Congress
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 In a letter to Members of
Congress in
November, US Secretary of Education
Arne Duncan cited UDL and state-of-the-art technology
as critical to implementing the National Education Technology
Plan, Transforming
American Education: Learning Powered by Technology. He
described UDL as helping "to enable, motivate, and inspire all
students to achieve, regardless of background, languages, or
disabilities." |
 New
Group Focuses on UDL Implementation and Research |
 K-12 educators and higher education faculty and
researchers convened in Chicago in October to lay the groundwork
for a new initiative focused on research, implementation and
scaling up of Universal Design for Learning (UDL). Convened
by Dr. James
Basham and Jeff Diedrich,
the UDL Implementation and Research Network (UDL-IRN) agreed to
build a common understanding of the critical elements for UDL
implementation, establish and secure funding sources for a research
agenda, and promote UDL implementation and research via the National UDL Center. You can sign up for
updates from the UDL-IRN and learn more by reading
the UDL-IRN press
release.
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 Science
Project Studies UDL Principles |
 Science educators at all grade levels face a
daunting challenge: raising academic performance in all the
sciences of an increasingly diverse student population. Led by
EDC's Jackie Miller and June
Foster, a new science project is tackling this
problem by creating novel kinds of science materials that embody
the principles and practices of high-quality science and UDL
features, such as highlighting critical text; categorizing and
organizing notes from reading, experiments, and discussions; and
multimedia coaches that provide models of successful practice. For
more information, go to the EDC
newsletter.
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 News
You Can Use |
|
 Designing UDL Contest Ends TODAY!
We want to know what UDL means to you! Submissions should describe
how UDL has influenced you as a learner or as an educator. These
submissions can come in a variety forms (text, audio, video,
photo/drawing, etc.) - be creative, we want to see 'multiple means
of expression!' To submit, upload
your idea to the Designing UDL Ning
Network by 5:00 PM EST TODAY (December
1). Or, help us Vote for the People's
Choice between
December 2 at 10 a.m. and December 9, 2010 at 5 p.m.
 UDL
Leadership Fellowship Boston
College and CAST are now accepting applications for 2011-2012 UDL
Post-doctoral Fellowship which are due January 14,
2011. Fellows will be notified by February 15 and begin
their residency at CAST in September 2011. For more
information, read the description or
email udlfellows@cast.org.
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Meet
the UDL Faculty
CAST's UDL Faculty Cadre prepares educators to apply UDL to the
general education curriculum through on-site workshops and
institutes. To learn more about UDL professional development
opportunities, email pd@cast.org.
Elfreda Blue |
Elfreda Blue
is an associate professor of the Department of Counseling,
Research, Special Education, and Rehabilitation at Hofstra
University in Hempstead, New York. She teaches technology and
curriculum methods courses for pre-service teachers in elementary
and secondary special education graduate programs. Her research
interests and publications focus on technology and curricular
resources to support the literacy needs of diverse learners.
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George
Van Horn
|
 George Van
Horn leads his district's plan to adopt UDL as a framework for
curriculum and instruction for all students in his current position
as the Director of Special Education for the Bartholomew Special
Services Cooperative in Columbus, Indiana. He has served as a
general education teacher, principal, school superintendent and a
teacher of students with emotional disabilities. In addition,
George has taught as an adjunct assistant professor at Manhattan
College in New York and an adjunct faculty member with Northern
Illinois University and Indiana University Purdue University
Columbus (IUPUC).
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This Month:
UDL
Challenges |
Would
You Recognize UDL if You Saw it?
In this article,
Dr. Dave Edyburn "highlights the nuances
associated with translating UDL theory into practice." He also
offers 10 propositions to move the UDL field forward.
Download the
article
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