Developing UDL for Online Learning

Designing effective learning environments online is an important part of not only my current teaching environment but, but also where I believe education is headed in the coming years. Through “Teaching Students Online,” I designed an online course using Canvas LMS (learning management system). While creating this learning environment, I intentionally considered the principles of UDL (Universal Design for Learning). At the heart of this approach, educators provide layers of differentiation, choices on how students access information, and choices in how they can express that learning according to either student need (in the case of a learning disability/difference) or for student preference (in the case of student interest or ability).

Typically this looks like students choosing to either read an excerpt from the textbook, watching a recorded lecture, listening to someone read the textbook, or researching the information for themselves. Similarly, students are also given a choice on whether they want to answer questions through writing, verbally explaining through video creation, or express their learning through a creative medium, like creating an illustration or writing a short piece of music.

You can explore a portion of the course “Ancient World History” that I have made available to the public by clicking here.