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<< back to Creating Specialized Learning Materials Creating/Adapting Materials for Specific Learner Needs College classes in this millenium are vastly different from college classrooms of even 10 years ago. We are teaching to a vastly diverse student population, in a new digital world. No longer are our first year classes composed of primarily recent high school graduates. Some are mature students returning to retrain. Some are recent immigrants for whom English is not even their first language. Some are students with disabilities who are accessing their right to a college education. The concept of Universal Instructional Design allows us an opportunity to teach to ALL students by building in flexibility on the front end. The field of UID can provide a starting point for the development of a more inclusive curriculum. I encourage all involved in the development of new curriculum to learn more about this exciting new approach to teaching and learning (Karen Coffey, Disabilities Counsellor, Centre for Students with Disabilities, Algonquin College). Many thanks to Karen Coffey for providing the links to the following resources. If you are interested in further research in the area of Universal Instructional Design, or applying the UID principles to your courses, please feel free to contact Karen Coffey. Universal Design Principles at the University of Guelph. The Teaching Support Services department at the University of Guelph has an excellent site on UID. Included here is a set of UID principles in chart form which presents each principle, provides examples of the principle in action, and goals for each principle. Pay particular attention to the "Design of Tools and Materials" section in the middle column. This would be a good place to begin one's exploration of UID! Design manuals for both face-to-face and distance ed. delivery, tip sheets, and information about the history of UID are also available from the UID home page at the University of Guelph site. Teaching Every Student in the Digital Age. Looking for a professional development project? Reading this online, interactive text, and then using it to incorporate UID principles into one of your courses would make a very interesting project. The text itself incorporates well the UID principles it describes.
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