UDL... and You!

Faculty Development Videos, on a Computer Screen Near You

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As one of the partners in the multi-campus Ensuring Access through Collaboration and Technology Ensuring Access through Collaboration and Technology) grant, Center for Teaching and Faculty Development (CTFD) has produced a series of videos about various aspects of Universal Design for Learning, featuring members of the Ensuring Access through Collaboration and Technology (EnACT) Faculty Learning Community.

The videos are part of the grant deliverables, and are designed to showcase various Universal Design for Learning (UDL) applications in the classroom, covering a variety of disciplines and approaches. The ultimate destination for these case stories is the Multimedia Educational Resource for Learning and Online Teaching (MERLOT) ELIXR archive.

The ELIXR project centers around building a repository of 96 case stories exemplifying best practices in teaching, and is, according to its website, "intended to develop and test new collaborations amongst faculty development centers and online resource repositories."

In 2006, the Fund for the Improvement of Post-Secondary Education Fund for the Improvement of Post-Secondary Education (FIPSE), part of the U.S. Department of Education, funded the ELIXR proposal, which stemmed from various Multimedia Educational Resource for Learning and Online Teaching, MERLOT, institutional partners. MERLOT itself has been in existence since 1997, and is the leading online collection of shared, searchable, and peer reviewed learning materials.

Seven campuses of the California State University including SF State, are part of the MERLOT ELIXR project team. CTFD hopes to spread the word about UDL by sharing faculty stories with the worldwide teaching community through the ELIXR repository.

CTFD has thus far produced three videos. Two are UDL based, featuring faculty members Neil Lindeman (Assistant Professor, Technical and Professional Writing) and Paul Beckman (Associate Professor, Information Systems). The third, featuring Karen Grove (Professor, Geosciences), illustrates a technique Karen calls "Just in Time Teaching," a practice that can be used in conjunction with UDL accessibility methods to increase engagement in the classroom. This case story will be jointly featured on SERC (Science Educations Resource Center, out of Carleton College). A fourth video, featuring Math Department Chair David Bao and his General Education statistics class, is in production during Fall 2008, as part of yet another grant partnership with Sonoma State and funded by the National Science Foundation.

In the meantime, you can view a segment from Neil's video and as well as others illustrating Universal Design for Learning, UDL methods on Center for Teaching and Faculty Development, CTFD's Universal Design for Learning site. You'll also find Center for Teaching and Faculty Development, CTFD's UDL Training Module, complete with audio, visual, PowerPoint and text files, as well as a self-study guide and information on Faculty Learning Communities. UDL and You essays and features previously published in The Garden are also available.

Additional Resources

• Visit the ELIXR Web Site
• Visit the MERLOT Web Site

UDL Case Stories

Neil Lindeman's Case Story on UDL

Neil Lindeman, Technical and Professional Writing
In this case story, Neil demonstrates how he implements multiple course delivery methods and creates opportunities for class engagement. Neil's use of UDL techniques helps his students learn more successfully and makes the teaching more fun and rewarding for everyone.

• View Neil Lindeman's Case Story on the MERLOT Web Site

Paul Beckman's Case Story on UDL

Paul Beckman, Information Systems
Paul implemented UDL concepts with the goal of increasing successful learning among his students. His case story specifically addresses his use of small-group discussions, guided notes, and online multimedia resources in his classes, and how these techniques enhanced his students' learning.

• View Paul Beckman's Case Story on the MERLOT Web Site

Karen Grove's Case Story on JiTT

Karen Grove, Geosciences
Just-in-Time Teaching (JiTT) is a teaching method that encourages students to prepare for class "just in time" by assigning online activities related to the upcoming lecture topic. Karen demonstrates how she uses JiTT in her "Introduction to Geology" class and explains how the students have responded to this teaching method.

• View Karen Grove's Case Story on the MERLOT Web Site

This article originally appeared in The Garden Volume II, Issue 6: July 2008

• Read More Issues from The Garden

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