Teaching Every Student in the Digital Age: Universal Design for Learning

Rating:
Summary: A Must-Read
Review: This book is a must-read for teachers and administrators faced with the demands of the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) legislation. NCLB requires that all children progress in the general curriculum. Teaching Every Student in the Digital Age lays the theoretical groundwork and offers practical examples and recommendations on how digital technologies can be used to break down barriers to learning that impair the performance of many students.

Authors Rose and Meyer cite two converging dynamics at play that are helping eliminate such barriers: one is the discoveries of neural science that explain the great diversity in student learning; the other is the growth in digital technologies. As they see it, digitization makes possible a rich array of media that are beginning to match the complex of ways that students learn and express that learning.

Rose and Meyer urge material developers to follow principles of Universal Design for Learning (UDL). Just as buildings today are designed to be accessible to all, without added ramps, so say the authors, educational materials should be created without barriers to content. If type is a barrier, alternative routes to content (such as audio, enlarged type, or shifts in foreground and background color) can and should be provided.

As I noted, this book has an excellent balance between theory and practice. It is supported by a rich Web site (http://www.cast.org/teachingeverystudent) and would make an excellent text for pre-service or in-service programs.