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"This course is a collection of resources aimed at supporting the educational community in the creation of learning environments that are accessible and inclusive of all learners. Original content and tutorials that support the use of accessibility tools and the concept of Universal Design for Learning (UDL) are available as well as inspirational stories that highlight the importance of material that is easily accessible to all learne"

Universal Design for Learning (UDL) is a framework for designing educational environments that enable all learners to gain knowledge, skills, and enthusiasm for learning. This is accomplished by simultaneously reducing barriers to the curriculum and providing rich supports for learning.

"Welcome to the "Universal Design for Learning" excerpt of the National Educational Technology Panel Report. The excerpt uses pages 14 through 18 of the report to demonstrate some UDL supports. The UDL icons provide descriptions of UDL features and how they support learning. These are just a few examples of ways that technology can be used to support learning in a UDL environment. For more information about UDL and the UDL Guidelines, go to The National Center on UDL."

"Welcome! Whether this is your first visit or your one-hundredth, we hope you are finding what you need to create the right learning environment for you and your students. I believe that each of your students with unique learning needs can thrive in the right environment. This requires the right tools, the right implementation and the right instructional approaches. Our QuickTopics Learning Strands will provide you with more information and inspiration as you explore your own path of interest. After you select the strand you want, you will receive an article by email about every 10 days-4 to 6 emails depending on the topic. If you want to explore another strand or discontinue receiving this information, you can do so at any time. "

Integration of 21st century goals into teacher education programs requires attention to diversity, technology, and instructional supports in terms of how content material is presented, students are engaged, and learning is documented. Faced with barriers such as disparities in access to curriculum and technology, as well as differences in background experiences and prior knowledge, teachers in today's classrooms face unique challenges as they struggle to meet the diversity of needs within a single classroom setting. As a result, educators need innovative approaches to address the diversity of available resources, student characteristics, and other environmental challenges. One approach is the integration of Universal Design for Learning principles with instructional planning. By using a wide lens approach to initial instructional planning and then narrowing the focus through the integration of Universal Design for Learning principles to meet individual needs within lessons from facilitation through assessment, teachers are able to address individual needs while also facilitating planning for the entire class.

"CAST Professional Learning offers many opportunities for educators, teachers, administrators, and organizations to enhance their professional understanding of Universal Design for Learning (UDL), a framework for education design that is based upon cognitive neuroscientific principles. UDL, developed by CAST, has become one of the most widely, nationally accepted set of guidelines that enable educators to amplify the learning experience and reach the variability of all learners."

"EMPOWER STUDENTS Students (as young as 5!) can independently create, capture, and store artifacts of learning in their private learning journal. ENGAGE PARENTS Parents get notified of new items, giving them a glimpse of their child's day and an opportunity to support learning at home."

"This list was developed to provide apps based on common learning characteristics and traits that are typical for students with ASD. It is important to remember that all students learn differently and selecting apps should be based on the unique learning needs of the student"

"MathSquared is a prototype series of grid-based puzzles using basic math operations that help learners develop logical thinking and reasoning strategies. Puzzles have different levels of challenge and include embedded supports for solving, such as a Scratch Pad for recording information that supports problem solving and the option for immediate feedback on your progress. These puzzles were developed as part of the iSolveIt project at CAST (http://www.cast.org), an educational research & development organization that works to expand learning opportunities for all individuals through Universal Design for Learning (UDL). iSolveIt is a mobile digital learning environment that supports the development of logical thinking and reasoning skills, essential competencies for algebra and mathematics in general."

What is BLiNK Eye Tracking? BLiNK is a one of a kind wireless eyewear that contains a tiny camera and a special invisible light that tracks where your eyes are looking. BLiNK is portable, lightweight, and clips on to any eyewear. All for under $200. BLiNK is a real time-saver. Imagine flying through your daily computing tasks twice as fast. Select items with laser precision instantly. Multi-task with brilliance and ease. Just wirelessly link BLiNK to your computer and within seconds, your eye movements are turned into cursor control. BLiNK captures everywhere you look. A pointer skates across the screen just like your existing mouse. To click, simply gaze for a moment, blink, or tap your keyboard. Use BLiNK to browse the web, write an e-mail, or update your Facebook status; hands-free. Imagine blasting away opponents in a videogame with just a glance. BLiNK was inspired by disabling diseases like ALS. Go to Our Story to learn more. BLiNK can be used in research, marketing, sports, and sciences. Visit Eye Tracking to learn about eyegaze and eyetrackers and  BLiNK details the possibilities. Click details to learn more about the technology that makes it all possible.

"This paper explores how new digital technologies can be used to design curricula that are flexible enough to adapt readily to individual differences. The authors propose that universal design for learning-as the confluence of advances in the neuroscience of human variability and in multimedia technologies-can create an "ecology for learning" which provides rich, diverse, student-centered learning pathways for all students. "

"Mind mapping software has been very effective when used with students with learning disabilities who are visual learners. However, we were eager to look into apps for mind mapping on the iPad and iPod and see if effectiveness for students with learning disabilities lived up to their traditional software counterparts."

"UDL - Universal Design for Learning The pedagogical framework to designing learning environments to teach and to support ALL learners! Curated by Kathleen McClaskey"

"Materials, Aids and AAC Devices to Enhance Communication and Language Clear Pocket Picture Communication and Hook (&Loop) fastener Receptive Devices, Literacy Learning Aids, Visual Aid Displays, Picture Choice Boards and Picture Schedules Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC) devices, Picture Communication Books, Visual Aid Displays, Picture Choice Boards, Literacy Learning Aids, Picture Schedules for individuals with Autism, Pervasive Developmental Disorder (PDD), Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), Nonverbal Learning Disability (NLD), and Low Incidence used with Picture Symbols, The Picture Exchange Communication System (PECS), Mayer-Johnson Boardmaker® Picture Communication Symbols™ (PCS) "

"The Peer Collaboration program is designed to assist students who have needs within their classroom environment. The program pairs a peer with a student who is struggling with a particular course, has trouble staying focused, has difficulty building relationships with classmates, or any other obstacle a student may face on a daily basis. Placing peers into classrooms with students who are struggling allows collaborating peers to build their empathy and leadership skills. Additionally, having more leaders in the classroom allows the teacher to focus on all students, balancing his or her time with each student. Peers learn to collaborate with their fellow students as well as with the classroom teacher. Classroom students learn to collaborate with their peers and gain a new understanding of the material, learn to build friendships, and overcome obstacles, eventually leading them to success."

"inPromptu helps people of all ages learn new skills by watching video clips of others doing the skill. The person watches a series of video clips, each of which shows a part of the skill. By watching each clip, a person can learn even fairly complex skills quickly. As users learn the skill, they can choose how many clips to watch together, or they can watch the video of the entire skill. New skills are being added all the time."

"For years, students with significant support needs (SSN) received little or no literacy instruction as their education programs focused on life skills, social skills, and vocational training. The little literacy instruction they did receive relied on teaching methods that we now know helped them learn simple component skills in isolation. For example, students matched upper and lower case letters or learned a limited set of sight words. Unfortunately, this instruction never helped students with SSN learn how to read or write to gain or convey meaning. A series of changes in education laws, along with the efforts of students, families, and educators, have raised expectations for academic achievement for students with SSN."

"Our students benefit from learning in an environment where they feel included and where they are taught in ways that recognise and support their needs as individuals, and as part of a learning community. Our commitment to inclusivity means we recognise and value our diverse student body. It also means we take measures to improve the success of specific groups, where research has shown that the route to educational success is less straightforward. "

"SEN Teacher provides cost-free teaching & learning resources for students with special needs and learning disabilities. All the resources available or listed here are free for use in schools, colleges and at home. * The Printables Page has a selection of printable worksheets, handouts and teaching aids most of which can be customised to suit a range of learners. * The Links Page lists websites which have been carefully selected for the quality of their information or because they provide further excellent sources of cost-free learning resources and software. * The Files Page lists free educational software from many sources which has proved useful to teachers and parents of special needs students. * Search Tools are custom Google search engines which make it easier to locate free resources and information from several different SEN related areas."

A writer who suffers a stroke loses the ability to read by sight, but adapts his ability to read via motor cues to not only learn to read again, but to produce another book.