Why UDL is Necessary for
Education Technology
By: Lindsey Wright
The Universal Design for Learning provides a structure of
principles upon which to build specific uses of educational technologies to
provide each student equal opportunity to learn. Indeed, such guidelines are
necessary for effectively applying technology to education in the classroom.
The flexibility of technology tools for education is their great strength, but
it also requires a solid strategy to guide their use. In terms of each of the
primary tenets of the UDL strategy, education technology at once excels and
poses a challenge.
Providing multiple means of
representation is the substance of Principle I. Technological solutions that
allow for transmission of information beyond the scope of conventional lectures
or presentations fit this bill quite nicely. This is especially so when
students can acquire information through interaction with technology
individually or in small groups, as for instance in so simple an activity as
guided online research in class. The most basic challenge is taking care not to
simply adopt a technological substitute (digital slideshow) for the same old “sage
on the stage” approach (lecture). However, once the Pandora's box of digital
media for education has been opened, careful consideration of how different
technologies can provide multiple means of representation is essential to avoid
weak or ill suited activities.
Principle II's multiple
means of action and expression are easily provided through technological
options. Teachers need only give students rein to choose the media or tools
they wish to use to complete assignments. Of course, that is simultaneously the
pitfall: teachers must be prepared to assess how well different technologies
fulfill assignment objectives. An easy solution is providing suggested
technologies to students to provide a range of suitable options for action and
expression, but this too requires careful consideration of how well different
tools will cover the range of student needs, as well as awareness of when
something else might still be necessary.
Perhaps the most
significant concept in relation to technology is the multiple means of
engagement of Principle III. This addresses stimulation of interest and
motivation to learn. Without engaging students' desire to learn, the endeavor
is moot. Technology's interactivity is its greatest asset in this regard.
Interactivity may not be synonymous with engagement, but anything that makes
learning active, even only superficially, is a step in the right direction.
However, that potential for merely superficial engagement constitutes the
challenge here. Without making the effort to ensure student technology use is
meaningful, it's easy to be lulled by the appearance of engagement their
interaction with it creates.
Technology is often touted
as the solution to many education problems, and rightly so. The growing range
of digital tools and resources in classrooms provides a broad selection of
options to reach individual students and accommodate their various needs.
However, one of the greatest challenges of effective education technology use
is how to manage and utilize that diversity. In a way, this problem of how to
use technology in education well replicates and reveals the underlying need for
individualized education that UDL seeks to address. With that in mind, UDL's
principles can serve as the guiding strategy for meaningful technology use. The
outcome is a population of interested learners striving to continue the
educational process throughout their lives.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Lindsey Wright is
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