UDL, BL & PLE

Exploring the principles of Universal Design for Learning and Personalized Learning Environments. The resources provided here were prepared for Punahou's Lab School. 

Universal Design for Learning (UDL)

The term Universal Design for Learning means a scientifically valid framework for guiding educational practice that:

  1. provides flexibility in the ways information is presented, in the ways students respond or demonstrate knowledge and skills, and in the ways students are engaged; and
  2. reduces barriers in instruction, provides appropriate accommodations, supports, and  challenges, and maintains high achievement expectations for all students, including students with disabilities and students who are limited English proficient.

In addition to this definition, the framework of UDL has been elaborated by CAST in Teaching Every Student in the Digital Age by Rose & Meyer (ASCD, 2002), The Universally Designed Classroom (Rose, Meyer, & Hitchcock, Eds.; Harvard Education Press, 2005), and A Practical Reader in Universal Design for Learning (Rose & Meyer, Eds.; Harvard Education Press, 2006). 

Source: CAST

CAST: Until Learning has no limits

Located a short distance north of Boston, CAST is a nonprofit education research and development organization that works to expand learning opportunities for all individuals through Universal Design for Learning. 

The CAST team includes about 40 talented employees, including world-class educators, learning scientists, instructional designers, literacy experts, policy analysts, UX and graphic designers, software engineers, and a first-rate administrative and executive staff. 


more ...

Reading List: Universal Design for Learning

Personalized Learning Environment (PLE)

The term personal learning environment (PLE) describes the tools, communities, and services that constitute the individual educational platforms learners use to direct their own learning and pursue educational goals. 

A PLE is frequently contrasted with a learning management system in that an LMS tends to be course-centric, whereas a PLE is learner-centric. 

At the same time, a PLE may or may not intersect with an institutional LMS, and individuals might integrate components of an LMS into the educational environments that they construct for themselves. 

A typical PLE, for example, might incorporate blogs where students comment on what they are learning, and their posts may reflect information drawn from across the web—on sites like YouTube or in RSS feeds from news agencies. 

While most discussions of PLEs focus on online environments, the term encompasses the entire set of resources that a learner uses to answer questions, provide context, and illustrate processes. As used here, the term refers not to a specific service or application but rather to an idea of how individuals approach the task of learning

Source: Educause

Reading List: Personalized Learning

Blended Learning (BL)

    Blended courses (also known as hybrid or mixed-mode courses) are classes where a portion of the traditional face-to-face instruction is replaced by web-based online learning.

    How much of the face-to-face instruction must be replaced by online coursework? This question will vary greatly by class, discipline, and learning objectives. The Online Learning Consortium (formerly, the Sloan Consortium, a professional organization dedicated to postsecondary online learning) defines blended learning as a course where 30%-70% of the instruction is delivered online. While this is a useful guideline, it may not be sufficient to cover every blended learning configuration.

    The EDUCAUSE Learning Initiative (ELI) provides many useful resources related blended learning.

    The National Center for Academic Transformation has done a significant amount of work related to course redesign, including the innovative use of technology for blended learning.

    The addition of technology to any academic program must be accompanied by fundamental process re-design. This website has been designed to provide an infrastructure for participating faculty and institutions that includes innovative technology, curricular reinvention, participant training, and ongoing assessment support, all of which are necessary for meaningful, sustainable,disruptive transformation.

    Courses can be blended in many ways and for many reasons. Refer to other sections of this Toolkit for research, models, and examples.

Reading List: Blended Learning
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