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1. Multiple means of engagement: Teachers should provide options for self-regulation, getting students’ interest, and helping them sustain effort.
2. Multiple means of representation: Teachers should include options for perception, such as alternatives for auditory or visual information, providing language options, and assisting with comprehension.
3. Multiple means of action and expression: Examples include physical action, multiple types of communication and expression, and helping students set goals.

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OER project: https://www.oerproject.com/
More about OER: https://www.unesco.org/en/communication-information/open-solutions/open-educational-resources
List of even more OER collections: https://library.educause.edu/topics/teaching-and-learning/open-educational-resources-oer

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Spotlight on Classroom Resources

OER Project materials provide a view of the larger world to your students, preparing them for college, career and beyond.

A course that asks big questions about our Universe, our planet, life, and humanity.

Covers Big Bang to the present

Adapts for grades 6-10

More than 50 lesson plans across 10 units

62 videos, 117 texts, 40 activities

Three courses to meet your needs: Origins to Present, 1200 to Present, and 1750 to Present.

Aligned to the vast majority of world-history state standards

Designed for high school

More than 30 lessons

More than 60 videos, 180 texts, 180 activities

A new take on climate education, developing critical thinkers and impatient optimists.

21 lessons across 5 units

Flexible materials for easy modification

Designed for grades 6-12

13 videos, 15 texts, 29 activities

Join OER Project

Join OER Project to get instant access to all of our courses and materials for free with absolutely zero hidden catches.

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OER Project's free, online social studies and world history curricula are aligned to state standards and develop key historical thinking skills.

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National Center of UDL: https://www.cast.org/
UDL guidelines- these should be used when implementing UDL!: https://udlguidelines.cast.org/
UDL sample pack: https://brookespublishing.com/resource-library/sample-pack-universal-design-for-learning-in-action/
UDL principles and practice series:- a great series to watch to learn about UDL in action! https://brookespublishing.com/resource-library/sample-pack-universal-design-for-learning-in-action/

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How UDL and OER apply to my career as an educator:

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How UDL and OER apply to my career as an educator:

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It is incredibly important to me to create an educational environment that is inclusive to every one of my students. I believe that diversity is a gift, and I want to be able to make an accessible and equitable education experiences for my group of diverse learners. I will make sure that I will follow UDL guidelines when I am building units, lessons , and experiences. I want adaptations not to be an afterthought but instead an integral part of the lesson planning process. I want to include as many varying material types as possible, and to do this I will utilize OER. I will look through OER to find resources that can complement my lessons and materials I may have otherwise not been able to use. I will also share my own resources as well as OER that I find helpful with my colleagues to make education accessible to as many students as possible. I will use UDL and OER in conjunction to create an environemnt that is varying, engaging, flexible, and equitable.

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UDL and OER both have the end goal of equity and accessibility in education. UDL focuses on making the education process more accessible and equitable. This is done by using multiple methods of engagement, information representation, and expression in the classroom. It emphasizes focusing on the student's profile and creating a lesson that will work for EVERY student. OER helps with accessibility and equity in education by offering free, open, and collaborative resources. This gives every person the chance to utilize these materials regardless of background. When teachers incorporate UDL and OER, they help make the best possible learning experience.

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How do UDL and OER work together to address gaps in education?

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How do UDL and OER work together to address gaps in education?

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Because both UDL and OER share the ultimate goal of making education accessible to improve the experience for every learner, they perfectly compliment each other. UDL focuses on making lessons universally accessible regardless of students’ backgrounds and differences. The first guideline requires teachers to use multiple means of engagement, and the second guideline requires multiple means of expression of information. This means teachers should use a wide variety of materials, various presentation methods, and different activities. This is a challenging request for teachers who may already be overwhelmed by even a simple lesson plan or worried they can’t afford new materials, fancy simulations, or pricey pre-made lesson plans. This is where OER comes in. Teachers can lean on these open resources to make an educational experience that is accessible to everyone. They can use many different worksheets that appeal to different types of learners. Educators can utilize pre-made lesson plans to see how other teachers adapt concepts. They can even find information in video, photo, text, or interactive formats to provide options for differing auditory and visual comprehension needs. By making resources equitable and accessible, OER also makes UDL more feasible for the average teacher, ultimately leading to an enhanced curriculum that works for every student regardless of their differences.

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Teachers can use OER in the classroom by finding and using engaging materials such as worksheets, activities, or games related to a topic. This makes for a more exciting classroom. Teachers can also search for subject-specific lesson plans before building their own from scratch; They may also discover excellent ideas they would have never thought of otherwise. OER can also be used to adapt certain aspects of a lesson to be more accessible for individual students.

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OER being free, open, and collaborative has many benefits.
Because OER is free, the resources used are more equitable; it is not just the wealthy who can access them. When teachers save money using OER, they can use those funds to improve their classrooms in other ways.
Because OER is fully open to any use, teachers can modify the materials in any way they please to best fit their purpose, and the materials they access can be kept forever. The resources found can also be redistributed to other teachers, continuing the spread of accessible materials.
Finally, because the nature of OER is collaborative, educators don't have to start from scratch; they can build from what other educators have already worked on. This helps expand educational possibilities!

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OER is so valuable because it helps give everyone access to educational resources, regardless of teacher or student funds. These resources are completely free and also open to any type of use, meaning there are no legal risks for teachers. Another great reason to use OER is because it encourages collaboration and shared knowledge that can help to imporve the overall quality of students' education.

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Open Educational Resources, also known as OER, are various educational materials that are available to anyone free of cost without needing permission. Educators can use OER Commons (https://www.oercommons.org/) to find countless teaching and learning materials. Just a few examples of materials that can be used are lesson plans, simulations, worksheets, interactive activities, and even full college courses! All a teacher (or student) needs to do is search for what they're looking for, scan OER Common's vast collection, and download whatever they need.

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Open Author helps you build and publish Open Educational Resources for you and for the benefit of educators and learners everywhere.

Learn more about creating OER

Groups provides a flexible environment to organize, create, share, and discuss resources with others in your network. Collaborate with group members, tag and add resources to shared folders, create your own collections, all within a public or private group.

Groups

Search through collections curated by our digital librarians

Collections

Common Core resources organized for your needs

Common Core

Hubs

A Custom Resource Center

Projects, districts, states, and initiatives make use of Hubs to bring groups of educators together to create, organize, and share OER collections that meet their common goals. Explore Hubs

Microsites

Custom Digital Libraries

Microsites are custom, flexible sites that include all the features available on OER Commons. Microsites allow your users to search resource collections using a custom taxonomy at a unique URL. Contact Us

Our award-winning OER Professional Learning programs support instructors and curriculum specialists to gain the necessary skills required to find, adapt, and evaluate high quality open materials.

In-person and virtual OER workshops help focus instructors to develop a "commons" mindset, to experience the benefits of open processes using the platform's tools, collaborative features, and workflows. This can include using Open Author for creating, remixing, and publishing shared curriculum.

Learn More

How to Search OER Commons

View all How-to videos

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OER Commons is a dynamic digital library and network. Explore open education resources and join our network of educators dedicated to curriculum improvement.

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One important method is incorporating choice assignments; students are motivated to work on what interests them and appreciate opportunities for autonomy. To help support the first and second guidelines of UDL, teachers can use a variety of materials and various presentation methods to hold attention. UDL can also be incorporated by using flexible assessment methods to support the third UDL guideline. Teachers can also work UDL directly into lesson planning by beginning by focusing on students' strengths, weaknesses, and interests and building their lessons from there.

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UDL helps to remove barriers students have accessing instruction. When using UDL, the educator ensures that content is challenging but still achievable for students. UDL has a positive approach that focuses on how to build from students' strengths rather than how to fix deficiencies.

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UDL helps teachers meet the needs of all learners regardless of differences, whether these be cultural differences like race or language, or educational differences like subject ability, literacy, or motivation.

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Universal Design for Learning, also known as UDL, is a framework that is used to address student differences when teaching.  The framework benefits students with special needs, but UDL should help teach every learner. UDL works by creating an enhanced curriculum that is accessible and engaging to all students regardless of background, leading to the best possible educational results!