Universal Design [UD]

The primary goal of the white paper Technology-Enabled and Universally Designed Assessment: Considering Access in Measuring the Achievement of Students with Disabilities—A Foundation for Research is to stimulate research into technology-enabled assessments (TEAs) that incorporate conditions designed to make tests appropriate for the full range of the student population through enhancing accessibility. The paper explores the concept of accessibility [...]

This pilot study applies principles of Universal Design for Learning to the creation of a prototype computer-based test delivery tool that provides students with a flexible, customizable testing environment with the option for read-aloud of test content. The results of the study provide preliminary support for the potential benefits and usability of digital technologies in [...]

Consumer products and base technologies are increasingly incorporating accessibility and universal design features. The potential exists for innovative applications to be developed as part of mainstream educational and consumer products, opening new markets. Stakeholders are concerned, however, that purchasers with a naive understanding of universal design will overlook customized technologies that are vital to meeting the learning needs of millions of students.

Annuska, the only female accessibility designer interviewed for this series of profiles, came to Microsoft Accessible Technology Group in 2000 by way of “an industrial engineering background.” She says, “I am really focused on customer research… a primary part of my job is making sure I’m understanding what the end user needs and then conveying that to the product developers, testers, and program managers on our team.”

Liberated Learning is an automated captioning system that enables teachers’ lectures to appear on a screen as they speak. Students can read as the professor talks and, at the end of the session, the system provides a text transcript and multimedia notes available on line after speech recognition errors have been edited out of the system. This alternative to conventional note-taking for students with disabilities also provides help to non-disabled students—they, too, can use the final notes and can benefit from having a visual lecture as well as an auditory one. The tool assists a range of learners, including typically-abled, quadriplegics, second language learners, students with learning disabilities and people who are deaf or hard of hearing.

TextHelp Systems makes a variety of software products, notably Read and Write Gold, which supports reading and the creation and editing of text for persons with literacy and learning difficulties.

Nicole Strangman, Tracey Hall, and Anne Meyer

David Rose and Anne Meyer
Journal of Special Education Technology, 15, 1, 67-70

Molly Follette, James Mueller, and Ronald Mace
The Universal Design File: Designing for People of All Ages and Abilities” by M.F. Story, J.L. Mueller and R.L. Mace (1998).

by the National Center for Technology Innovation

David Rose and Anne Meyer
ASCD Stock No. 101042

Sheryl Burgstahler
University of Washington

Sheryl Burghstahler
2002, Educational Technology Review, 10, 1

Chuck Hitchcock
Journal of Special Education Technology, 16, 4, 23-30

Raymond Orkwis and Kathleen McLane
ERIC/OSEP Special Project
ERIC Clearinghouse on Disabilities and Gifted Education

This Web site supports the teaching and study of universal design through instructional materials and open forums. It provides a place where educators can interact with each other and exchange information.

organizes categories of free resources online that address RTI as an emerging approach to the diagnosis of learning disabilities. Sample topics include Understanding the Model, Using Teams to Problem-Solve, Selecting the Right Intervention, Monitoring Student Progress, and Graphing Data for Visual Analysis.

National File Format Initiative, endorsed by the U.S. Department of Education on July 27th, 2004, the voluntary standard aims to guide the production and electronic distribution of flexible digital instructional materials such as textbooks so they can be more easily converted to Braille, text-to-speech, and other accessible formats.

The National Center on Accessing the General Curriculum is a project established by Center for Applied Special Technology, provides a vision of how new curricula, teaching practices, and policies can be woven together to create practical approaches for improved access to the general curriculum by students with disabilities.

(CAST) is a not-for-profit education research and development organization that uses technology to make education more flexible and accessible for all students, especially those with disabilities.