# data[].attributes.headline
How Smartfox v2 will apply UDL, CBE, Mastery-based Learning

# data[].attributes.subject
How Smartfox v2 will apply UDL, CBE, Mastery-based Learning

# data[].attributes.body
Text Options

Students may be given a choice in what they read. Read this OR that. Students may be directed to get advice from the teacher about which to choose.

Submission Options

Unless the standard assesses a specific skill, many assessments may offer options (i.e. demonstrate mastery through writing an essay, creating a presentation or video, recording an audio response)

Timely and Specific Feedback

Students will be directed to submit some practice items for feedback from teacher to help guide progress and areas for improvement.

Narrated Content

Curriculum includes more videos and narrated audio to provide equitable access to students

Mastery-based assessments and grading

All assessments and assignments are graded on a 1-4 scale based on standards mastery. If students have engaged in all practice, they should be able to resubmit if they do not achieve mastery on the first submission.

# data[].attributes.body
https://aurora-institute.org/cw_post/Equitable-Grading-Anchors-NYCs-New-Grading-Policy-Toolkit/

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Find resources and inspiration in New York City Public Schools' approach to equitable grading in its new Grading Policy Toolkit.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
New York City Public Schools signaled important learner-centered shifts in grading practices with its new Grading Policy Toolkit: Grading for Equity, Accuracy, and Social-Emotional Well-being. This post explores the toolkit in more depth as a model of how districts large and small can support the alignment of practice to their visions for equitable learning with practical policy guidance.

# data[].attributes.body
What is Universal Design?

A design style that meets the anticipated needs of all.

Think about ramps that allow people access to a building without using the stairs. This design helps those in wheelchairs, those with a stroller, those with tired legs, those on roller skates, etc. In other words, a ramp was designed to offer access to all without knowing what accommodations people may need in advance.

What is Universal Design Learning?

The design and delivery of curriculum and instruction to meet the needs of all learners by providing them choices for WHAT they are learning, WHY they are learning, and HOW they will share what they have learned (Muraski & Scott, 3).

# data[].attributes.body
UDL uses multiple means of representation, engagement, and action/expression in the original lesson design to ensure accessibility for all students.

Differentiation is making accommodations or modifications for students only after learning of a specific need.

# data[].attributes.body
How do they align?

Seek to create an equitable learning environment.

Share a framework based in meeting students where they are and providing access points.

Hinge on choice, voice, and timely feedback.

Engender a learning mindset over a performance mindset.

Focus on skills not content recall

# data[].attributes.body
What Really Works for Universal Design Learning.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
The UDL Guidelines are a tool used in the implementation of Universal Design for Learning, a framework to improve and optimize teaching and learning for all people based on scientific insights into how humans learn. Learn more about the Universal Design for Learning framework from CAST. The UDL Guidelines can be used by educators, curriculum developers, researchers, parents, and anyone else who wants to implement the UDL framework in a learning environment. These guidelines offer a set of concrete suggestions that can be applied to any discipline or domain to ensure that all learners can access and participate in meaningful, challenging learning opportunities.

Reenvisioning the UDL Guidelines

Because the UDL Guidelines are meant to be informed by feedback from the field as well as new research, they have been updated several times in the past. We are in the process of updating the Guidelines once again in our UDL Rising to Equity initiative.

This update will focus specifically on addressing systemic barriers that result in inequitable learning opportunities and outcomes. CAST aims to develop a transparent, inclusive, and community-driven process. If you are interested in collaborating and staying updated on our progress, we invite you to complete a brief survey.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
The UDL Guidelines are a tool used in the implementation of Universal Design for Learning, a framework to improve and optimize teaching and learning for all people based on scientific insights into how humans learn. Learn more about the Universal Design for Learning framework from CAST. The UDL Guidelines can be used by educators, curriculum developers, researchers, parents, and anyone else who wants to implement the UDL framework in a learning environment. These guidelines offer a set of concrete suggestions that can be applied to any discipline or domain to ensure that all learners can access and participate in meaningful, challenging learning opportunities.

# data[].attributes.body
The Shift to Student Led: Reimagining Classroom Workflows with UDL and Blended Learning

# data[].attributes.body
Proficiency Scales: Samples

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
AMSTI Proficiency Scales | AMSTI | ALSDE

# data[].attributes.body
Cast.org
UDL Guidelines and basics

# data[].attributes.body
Building Choice into Instruction from ASCD.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
To process a transaction with a Purchase Order please send to member@ascd.org

# data[].attributes.body
Students work toward mastery of standards while practicing skills related to these 12 competencies. Assessments are designed to gauge mastery of standard while emphasizing experiences with these competencies (skills).

# data[].attributes.body
Proficiency Scales: Samples

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
The ND Standards-Based Learning (NDSBL) English Language Arts (ELA) resources were created by North Dakota teachers for North Dakota teachers. State workgro…

# data[].attributes.body
The Case Against the Zero by Douglas Reeves

Rethinking traditional grading practices

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.authors[].name
WPTV News - FL Palm Beaches and Treasure Coast

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Author of "The Case Against the Zero" talks about national attention to grading scale

# data[].attributes.body
Learning Mindset vs Performance Mindset

# data[].attributes.body
Bravery v. Perfection

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Get a daily email featuring the latest talk, plus a quick mix of trending content.

By subscribing, you understand and agree that we will store, process and manage your personal information according to our Privacy Policy

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Reshma Saujani: Teach girls bravery, not perfection

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
We're raising our girls to be perfect, and we're raising our boys to be brave, says Reshma Saujani, the founder of Girls Who Code. Saujani has taken up the charge to socialize young girls to take risks and learn to program -- two skills they need to move society forward.

# data[].attributes.body
https://www.facultyfocus.com/articles/effective-teaching-strategies/bringing-theories-to-practice-universal-design-principles-and-the-use-of-social-annotation-to-support-neurodivergent-students/?utm_source=ActiveCampaign&utm_medium=email&utm_content=Bringing+Theories+to+Practice%3A+Universal+Design+Principles+and+the+Use+of+Social+Annotation+to+Support+Neurodivergent+Students&utm_campaign=FF210913

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.provider_name
Faculty Focus | Higher Ed Teaching & Learning

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
The Universal Design for Learning (UDL) framework allows us to understand the importance of utilizing web 2.0 in teaching and learning. Social annotation tools such as Hypothes.is allow teachers to fulfil the three essential UDL components: engagement, representation, and action & expression through thoughtful use of the platform.
Social annotation tools such as Hypothesis and Voice Thread, when used well, boost student engagement, enhance critical thinking, expand reading comprehension, and increase student interaction. Of the several social annotation tools currently available, our institution uses Hypothesis. Hypothesis' motto-"Making reading active, visible and social"-sums up why we think social annotation is so valuable for our students: it engages students and invites them to read and think together as a group by sharing real-time annotations of websites or PDFs (Hypothesis, 2021). The richly multimodal, interactive nature of Hypothesis offers instructors a platform through which they can employ the principles of Universal Design for Learning (UDL) to improve engagement and accessibility for all learners.

There are three core principles of UDL outlined by the Center for Applied Special Technology (CAST). First, instructors should provide students with multiple means of engagement, especially by helping students understand the wider significance of the content they're learning. Second, instructors should provide students with opportunities to interact with course content in multiple ways, for example, by providing audio, video, and textual materials. Third, instructors should provide students with options for expressing their knowledge and ideas in several ways. Social annotation applications like Hypothesis provide built-in options for addressing all three of these core principles. As faculty working at an open access institution, we believe this tool is particularly suited for the diverse learners we serve.

How social annotation works

Social annotation is a way for students to engage deeply with readings and see how their classmates are engaging as well. It makes use of online tools that enable readers to highlight sections of readings and insert comments, questions, images, videos, and links in the margins. Participants can see and respond to comments synchronously.

Students come to open access institutions like ours with wildly divergent levels of preparation for college work. Some have just graduated high school, while others are returning to school after some years away. Some are avid and voracious readers, while others can struggle with comprehension. The UDL framework is helpful generally in working with students of a wide range of abilities; applying the UDL framework to reading practices in particular is, we think, especially good for creating deep learning experiences.

Implementing UDL principles with social annotation

Here, we discuss how social annotation tools can be used to implement the principles of Universal Design for Learning to create critical and engaged readers.

The first UDL principle is to provide multiple means of engagement. Social annotation centers student reading and interpretation practices, giving students options for how they approach and engage with the reading. Though there is clear evidence that explicitly teaching reading strategies to students improves their overall academic performance, such instruction is often limited to developmental reading or study skills courses (Saxby 2017, 37-38). Social annotation, on the other hand, provides an unobtrusive way for faculty to focus on student reading and interpretation in any course that requires reading. By asking students to share their annotations openly, we help students to see a wide range of annotation practices, thus demystifying what has often been a private, individual practice.

Instructors can use these apps to reinforce annotation strategies they want to teach students. For example, an instructor might first teach a particular strategy for reading, then invite students to apply it openly using Hypothesis. By making annotations and, in a sense, student thinking public, the tool can also help instructors identify student's strengths and weaknesses, a core element of UDL (Carroll, 2018). The instructor can then respond accordingly: additional class time can be spent discussing a difficult reading, reviewing a complex research strategy, or unpacking an engineering schematic.

Just as important, social annotation helps students frame reading as a dialog, not a one-sided hunt for knowledge. Instructors who do not explicitly teach reading strategies can still invite students to read socially by asking them to share annotations: as Hawes (2018) argues, "the mere requirement that students write down something in response to an assigned text implies they have something to offer." The act of assigning shared annotations can help students think about reading as a social element rather than a private practice. Using the socially annotated version of the text as the reference text-for example, by screensharing it during class-can further reinforce this.

A great way to introduce Hypothesis during class is by having students collectively annotate a short reading in class together at the beginning of the semester-the class syllabus is a good place to begin! This ensures that students learn how to use the tool in real time, and they can see how useful it is in terms of reading each other's questions and comments. At various points throughout the semester, it can be useful to ask students to take time during class to annotate a short reading or another document together. This kind of group reading can also enhance the learning experience of neurodiverse learners, who may feel left behind by traditional reading discussions.

The second UDL principle is to provide multiple means of representation: that is, to provide students with multiple ways to express their responses to the material. The use of social annotation to illustrate while teaching appeals to students in several ways. Social annotation can enable students to annotate the course readings and identify key terms using not just text, but images, videos, and links to websites (Carroll, 2018). This helps students ask each other questions, share their ideas, and collaborate in ways that meet the needs of diverse learners as they tackle the core problems of their disciplines. They may share a link to the biography of a person mentioned in the reading, or a news story related to the reading, encouraging their classmates to check it out. They may link to an image or map online that they think will help their fellow students better understand the reading. As a history instructor, for example, one of us requires students to locate archival photographs from the Library of Congress that might help illustrate the reading, link to them in appropriate places, and write a caption that explains why they've chosen the photograph. Students can also add links to video and audio that connect to the reading. Below is an image that shows how hypothesis social annotation can be used in a classroom with the aid of the UDL framework.

The third UDL principle is to provide multiple means of expression and action. We find it helpful to think of this as the principle that transcends social annotation: at this point, students use what they've learned through engagement with the material to create new knowledge. This kind of work tends to happen outside of the social annotation platform as students create videos, essays, presentations, graphics, and other products that showcase their new knowledge.

Social annotation tools provide instructors with a platform for applying the core principles of UDL in their courses to engage students, enhance understanding, and create opportunities for neurodiverse learners to truly showcase their skills.
Amanda Huron is an associate professor of interdisciplinary social sciences at the University of the District of Columbia. Her research interests are in urban geography, housing justice, and the history of Washington, D.C. In her 2018 book, Carving out the Commons: Tenant Organizing and Housing Cooperatives in Washington, D.C., she theorizes the urban commons through close examination of the experiences of limited-equity housing cooperatives in Washington. Huron is active in housing work in Washington, and is a native of the city. Fatma Elshobokshy is the director of learning technology at the University of the District of Columbia. Her work focuses on digital learning strategies and the instructional technology that supports those strategies to improve learning outcomes. Christian Aguiar is an assistant professor of English at the University of the District of Columbia Community College. His research focuses on multimodal writing, collaborative assessment, and supporting first-generation college students in composition courses. He is a 2019 Roueche Teaching Excellence Award Winner. References
Al-Azawei, Ahmed; Serenelli, Fabio; Lundqvist, Karsten. "Universal Design for Learning (UDL): A Content Analysis of Peer-Reviewed Journal Papers from 2012 to 2015." Journal of the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning 16, No. 3 (2016): pp.39-56. doi: 10.14434/josotl.v16i3.19295

Carroll, J. (2018). 7 Ways to Introduce UDL into your Classroom. Texthelp. Retrieved 16 April 2021, from https://www.texthelp.com/resources/blog/7-ways-to-introduce-udl-into-your-classroom/

Hawes, Sarah. "Reading Reframed for the Community College Classroom." Faculty Focus, February 12, 2018, https://www.facultyfocus.com/articles/effective-teaching-strategies/reading-reframed-community-college-classroom/

He, Ye. Universal Design for Learning in an Online Teacher Education Course : Enhancing Learners' Confidence to Teach Online. MERLOT Journal of Online Learning and Teaching 10, no. 2 (2014): 283-298.

Hypothesis. (2021). Home. Hypothesis. Retrieved 16 April 2021, from https://web.hypothes.is/#features.

Saxby, Lori Eggers. "Efficacy of a College Reading Strategy Course: Comparative Study." Journal of Developmental Education 40, no. 3 (2017): 36-38.

"The UDL Guidelines." CAST. https://udlguidelines.cast.org/

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.authors[].name
Christian Aguiar, Fatma Elshobokshy, and Amanda Huron

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Bringing Theories to Practice: Universal Design Principles and the Use of Social Annotation to Support Neurodiverse Students

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
The Universal Design for Learning (UDL) framework allows us to understand the importance of utilizing web 2.0 in teaching and learning. Social annotation tools such as Hypothes.is allow teachers to fulfil the three essential UDL components: engagement, representation, and action & expression through thoughtful use of the platform.

# data[].attributes.body
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QCkm0lL-6lc

# data[].attributes.body
https://www.toacorn.com/articles/grading-2-0/

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
LOOKING AHEAD-Teacher David Pulsipher helps his freshman students create college pennants during an Advancement Via Individual Determination, or AVID, class at Westlake High School on Wednesday. He is among a group of teachers piloting a new approach to grading. MICHAEL COONS/Acorn Newspapers

Two Conejo Valley Unified teachers have introduced a new approach to grading they say more accurately measures student learning and remedies the shortcomings of traditional systems.

David Pulsipher, a...

Oops! An active online subscription is required to access this content.

Please login below or Subscribe today!

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
LOOKING AHEAD-Teacher David Pulsipher helps his freshman students create college pennants during an Advancement Via Individual Determination, or AVID, class at Westlake High School on Wednesday. He is among a group of teachers piloting a new approach to grading.