This talk will cover the basics of Universal Design for Learning and show how applying principles of UDL to the design of electronic books can transform plain text documents into learning tools. We will show a examples from CAST’s digital learning environments and compare to current trends in eBook interface design.
1. From eBooks to Learning Books Dr. Boris Goldowsky & Lisa Spitz Center for Applied Special Technology
2. About CAST Nonprofit research and development organization Works to expand learning opportunities for all individuals, especially those with disabilities, through Universal Design for Learning. “Founded in 1984 as the Center for Applied Special Technology, CAST has earned international recognition for its innovative contributions to educational products, classroom practices, and policies. Its staff includes specialists in education research and policy, neuropsychology, clinical/school psychology, technology, engineering, curriculum development, K-12 professional development, and more.” More information:http://www.cast.org 2 Universal Design Elements for Websites
3. Abstract Current state of technology, books versus eBooks How people learn Universal Design for Learning Features of a Learning Book Future directions and conclusions Q & A 3 From eBooks to Learning Books
11. How people learn Old model of learning: Stimulus, Response, and Reinforcement. 11 From eBooks to Learning Books
12. How people learn New model of learning: Contextual, Distributed, Variable 12 From eBooks to Learning Books
13. How people learn Learning is: Contextual If the balloons popped, the sound would not be able to carry since everything would be too far away from the correct floor. A closed window would also prevent the sound from carrying since most buildings tend to be well insulated. Since the whole operation depends on a steady flow of electricity, a break in the middle of the wire would also cause problems. Of course the fellow could shout, but the human voice is not loud enough to carry that far. An additional problem would be no accompaniment to the message. It is clear that the best situation would involve less distance. Then there would be fewer potential problems. With face-to-face contact, the least number of things could go wrong. 13 From eBooks to Learning Books
14. How people learn 14 From eBooks to Learning Books If the balloons popped, the sound would not be able to carry since everything would be too far away from the correct floor. A closed window would also prevent the sound from carrying since most buildings tend to be well insulated. Since the whole operation depends on a steady flow of electricity, a break in the middle of the wire would also cause problems. Of course the fellow could shout, but the human voice is not loud enough to carry that far. An additional problem would be no accompaniment to the message. It is clear that the best situation would involve less distance. Then there would be fewer potential problems. With face-to-face contact, the least number of things could go wrong. (from Bransford and Johnson, 1972).
15. How people learn Learning is: Distributed 15 From eBooks to Learning Books
16. How people learn Learning is: Variable 16 From eBooks to Learning Books
18. Universal Design for Learning Three networks of the brain 18 From eBooks to Learning Books Enabling individuals to identify and understand information, ideas, and concepts Enabling individuals to plan, execute, and monitor actions and skills Enabling individuals to engage with tasks and learning and with the world http://udlonline.cast.org/
19. Universal Design for Learning UDL Guidelines have three primary principles: WHAT? (Recognition) HOW? (Strategic) WHY? (Affective) http://www.udlcenter.org/aboutudl/udlguidelines 19 From eBooks to Learning Books
20. Universal Design for Learning 20 From eBooks to Learning Books http://www.udlcenter.org/aboutudl/udlguidelines
22. Features for Learning Books What does UDL suggest could be added to current eBook interfaces to make them better for learning? Access to Content Navigation Features Action and Expression Features Affect Features 22 From eBooks to Learning Books
24. Access to Content Multiple Means of Representation http://bookbuilder.cast.org http://www.udlcenter.org/aboutudl/udlguidelines/ http://udlspotlight.wordpress.com 24 From eBooks to Learning Books
25. Access to Content Increased font sizes (Handled by most e-readers already) http://www.udlcenter.org/aboutudl/udlguidelines/ 25 From eBooks to Learning Books
26. Access to Content Image – Descriptions, alt text, captions, etc… 26 From eBooks to Learning Books
27. Access to Content Video and Audio – Descriptions, Captions, Transcripts 27 From eBooks to Learning Books
28. Access to Content Translation – Single Word http://sciencewriter.cast.org 28 From eBooks to Learning Books
29. Access to Content Translation – Whole Document http://www.udlcenter.org/aboutudl/udlguidelines/downloads 29 From eBooks to Learning Books
30. Access to Content Linking – Multimedia glossary http://udleditions.cast.org 30 From eBooks to Learning Books
31. Access to Content Linking – Background knowledge http://udleditions.cast.org 31 From eBooks to Learning Books
32. Access to Content Linking – Geographical http://udleditions.cast.org 32 From eBooks to Learning Books
33. Access to Content Linking – Character lists, family trees… http://xkcd.com/657/ 33 From eBooks to Learning Books
34. Access to Content Narration – Good: a text to speech option (like Kindle) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H3bv0C8IS-I 34 From eBooks to Learning Books
35. Access to Content Narration – Better: real human voice reading, synchronized with the text (DAISY). 35 From eBooks to Learning Books
37. Navigation Features TOC – expand for subsections; collapse for overview 37 From eBooks to Learning Books
38. Navigation Features Alternate Views of TOC – Graphic Organizers http://www.cast.org/teachingeverystudent/ideas/tes/ 38 From eBooks to Learning Books
39. Navigation Features Alternate Views of TOC – Summary http://www.cast.org/teachingeverystudent/ideas/tes/chapter1.cfm 39 From eBooks to Learning Books
60. Future Directions Extending ideas from supported text to supported: Images Video Audio Extending thinking to more interactive materials: Simulations Discussions Living Documents 60 From eBooks to Learning Books
62. Conclusion Let's not just port the book to a new technology. Think about how people learn, create knowledge, & enjoy exploring and build something new and better for doing that. You don't need to be an expert in cognition to do this - but do think about variability/diversity of people. Many creative ideas come from starting by considering the people "in the margins", then making those features available universally. This UDL design process can be applied to almost anything. 62 From eBooks to Learning Books
64. Resources CAST: www.cast.org CAST Learning Tools: http://cast.org/learningtools National Center on Universal Design for Learning (UDL): http://www.udlcenter.org/ National Center on Accessible Instructional Materials (AIM):http://aim.cast.org/ DAISY:http://www.daisy.org/ Boris:bgoldowsky@cast.org Lisa:lspitz@cast.org 64 From eBooks to Learning Books
65. Thank You! BORIS GOLDOWSKY Director of Technology bgoldowsky@cast.org LISA SPITZDirector of Designlspitz@cast.org 65 From eBooks to Learning Books
Notes de l'éditeur
I’m Boris, Position, CASTI’m Lisa, Position, CAST
Boris and I work at CAST.CAST is a non-profit research and development organization in Wakefield MA. Our work is primarily centered around expanding learning opportunities for all individuals through Universal Design for Learning – be that through R&D grant projects, Professional Development, Publications, etc.
In today’s talk wewill cover the basics of Universal Design for Learning (UDL) and show how applying principles of UDL to the design of electronic books can transform plain text documents into learning tools. We’ll take a quick look at today’s current technology around eReaders and eBooks and talk about the advantages over printed books.Then we’ll dive into a discussion on how people learn and the Universal Design for Learning principles which stem from that research.Finally, we’ll spend the majority of our time showing examples from CAST’s digital learning environments and talking about why they would add value for someone using a book for learning purposes.
As an introduction, let’s take a look at how teens currently view technology in schools – otherwise known as the printed book.So how do we fix Joe’s problem?
Here is a sampling of current electronic reading devices.Things seem to be moving in the right direction for Joe.They enable greater access to more content, by more people, and are good for general reading.
For instance – looking at the Kindle, some of the Affordances that eBooks have, and print does not include the ability to:Click on words to get a definitionAdd notes directly to the page, while you are readingEdit preferences for font size, text to speech, etcAnd Navigate in multiple waysThese helpful features may be all you need for basic leisure reading.
But what if you’re reading something a bit further out of your comfort zone…In an area where maybe you don’t know the content very well…Or perhaps it’s in a language that you are just learning. Think textbooks, scholarly journals, newspapers, or historical primary sources…Or children’s learn to read books, or something in Spanish if you’re trying to learn a new language.Those are all inherently more difficult to read than say Stephen King’s latest novel.Some may be more difficult for a particular person at a particular time. But the more difficulty you have reading something, the less able you are to learn from the material.In such cases even current eBook features may not be enough. This is a opportunity - where the power of technology holds great promise and potential.
This brings us to the main point of this talk. How can we transform eBooks into learning books?