Universal Design in School Libraries

 Hello readers, today the topic is Universal Design, what it is, and how it can be seen in school libraries.

Universal Design is the idea of removing barriers that can stop or affect parts of the human population from access. This can be seen in applied in buildings where there are stairs, elevators, ramps, and escalators to help people get to where they need to go. Elevators having an automated voice that directs passengers to the floor they've arrived at is another example of that. 

Schools and specifically classrooms must also understand and apply Universal Design because they are teaching all kids. Teachers must keep Universal Design in mind when creating lesson plans to reach all kids and all learners regardless of any challenges for them to learn the information. 

While learning more about Universal Design, I realized that there is another term that kept coming back to me, "differentiation." Educators learn about the importance of differentiation and are expected to apply it every time they teach. Differentiation, as many of you already know, is changing how you present information so that it can reach all types of learners in your classroom. Learners can be visual, auditory, kinesthetic, reading/writing, or any combination of these. Presenting information, assignments, and assessments should accommodate all learning styles. 

Therefore as a teacher, there are some guidelines of Universal Design that I have already incorporated as part of my teaching. 

• Providing options for perception-Always trying to make sure that I have provided verbal instructions, digital instructions, and visual instructions on the projector. I've also included detailed instructions and straightforward instructions for students who need to know the whole picture versus students who need things a little at a time. 
• Providing options for language, mathematical expressions, and symbols-one of the checkpoints here specifics providing speech-to-text option, which I started to do quite recently, and providing dictionaries in their native language to help anyone who needed them. I've also used manipulatives when teaching grammar lessons to help learners form sentences. The manipulatives were simply words on squares of paper that students were able to put together. 

This is just a small sample of some items that I have done in my classroom to assist all learners. 

There are also things that I could immediately implement if I was teaching right now. 

• Bridge concepts using easy-to-understand analogies and metaphors
• Make cross-curricular connections
• Use graphic organizers to link prior knowledge
• incorporate the use of mnemonic devices 

UDL and UDI, the universal design in instruction should be second nature to all educators because our students should not have to ask or show a struggle before we attempt to make something more accessible to them. I'd like to learn how to use technology to make my lesson plans UDL and UDI-friendly. There are a lot of great resources out there that can help me do just that. The following is a list of resources including websites and books that can be helpful to me and possibly you in your quest for improving your lesson plans and courses through UDL. 

• Unlearning: Changing your Beliefs and Your Classroom with UDL by Allison Posey and Katie Novak.
• Universal Design Daily: 365 Ways to Teach, Support, & Challenge All Learners using UDL by Paula Kluth
• Creating Inclusive Libraries by Applying Universal Design: A Guide by Carli Spina
• Universal Design for Learning
  
• Although for higher education, primary and secondary educators can use this as well Creating Inclusive Courses with Universal Design

Enjoy your journey in UDL!