UNIVERSAL DESIGN

BY: LYNNE COLLINS

WHAT IS UNIVERSAL DESIGN?• Often designers try to focus on the average user.

* Universal Design, "is the design of products and environments to be usable by all people, to the greatest extent possible, without the need for adaptation or specialized design" (www.ncsu.edu/project/design-projects/udi/center-for-universal-design/the-principles-of-universal-design).

• Universal Design principles require that products and environments meet the needs of a wide variety of characteristics. It puts a high value on diversity and inclusiveness and it benefits a large variety of people.

• Disability is one of the characteristics that many people possess.

• For example, if you are a 18 year old female who is short, has a broken leg, is a visual learner, etc., the universal design principle requires that products and environments are made to meet your needs.

• Examples of UD are lower counters designed for people in wheelchairs and short people, automatic doors, word captions on tv’s for deaf people.

WHAT IS THE PROCESS OF UNIVERSAL DESIGN?

• 1. Identify the application- the environment or product to which UD is being applied.

• 2. Define the universe- the wide variety of characteristics and diversity of the population.

• 3. Involve Consumers- consider and identify their perspectives throughout the whole process of the UD project.

• 4. Adopt guidelines or standards• 5. Apply guidelines or standards• 6. Plan for accommodations• 7. Train and support• 8. Evaluate and make modifications based on

feedback

UNIVERSAL DESIGN PRINCIPLES• Equal use to a diverse amount of people

• Flexible to accommodate the needs and preferences of a wide, diverse range of people

• Simple and easy to understand to a wide range of diverse people

• Communicates necessary information effectively to the user

• Minimal hazards and consequences of accidental or unintended actions

• Low physical effort

• Efficient size and space for use

• Universal Design can be applied to any product or environment

• Examples include curriculums, career service offices, conference exhibits, museums, microwave ovens, worksites, college campuses, etc.

• In our case, we are concerned with universal design for learners in education.

UNIVERSAL DESIGN FOR LEARNING • In many classrooms, the focus is on the average student.

However, studies have shown us that there really isn’t an “average” student anywhere.

• Universal Design for learning is particularly focused on making sure that we get those students that have been marginalized (students who struggle, have a disability, are gifted and talented and under-served, or don’t speak language as their first language); the children who do not learn well with the curriculum designed for the “average” student.

• Universal Design for Learning is a framework of cognitive sciences for designing learning experiences that work across a wide spectrum of learners. Its purpose is to make every learner a successful and expert learner.

• Based around the power to be flexible in allowing choices and different paths and for things for be presented in different ways.

PRINCIPLES FOR UNIVERSAL DESIGN FOR LEARNERS I.

• Provide options for perception

• Provide options for language and symbols

• Provide options for comprehension

• II.

• Provide options for physical expression

• Provide options for expression and fluency

• Provide options for executive functions

• III.

• Provide options for recruiting interest

• Provide options for sustaining effort and persistence

• Provide options for self-regulation

HOW TO IMPLEMENT UNIVERSAL DESIGN FOR LEARNING IN EDUCATION• Identify what is going to be a barrier for

students:

• Put the extra time into designing the curriculum to cater to the learning needs of the students

• Team with your teachers and be very creative in how you design the curriculum

• Administrators need to be encouraging and supportive, they need to make sure the work the teachers are doing is accountable, they need to make sure the assessments are there, and they need to make sure that UDL helps all students- not just a few individuals.

Four main components are needed for a curriculum to be universally designed:1. What are its goals? How do we translate standards into meaningful learning experiences?2. What are the materials that are going to be in the classroom? Are the materials universally designed for learning?3. The Methods- How does the teacher teach when trying to help students learn?

- Groups, lecture, hands on experience?4. The means of assessment- how is learning measured?

WORKS CITED

• http://www.washington.edu/doit/CUDE/inst_sec.html

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rfsx3DGpv5o&feature=relmfu

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vr3ardmq0a0&feature=relmfu

• http://www.washington.edu/doit/Brochures/Programs/ud.html

• http://www.wilmington.va.gov/images/services/prosthetics/wheelchair_ramp.bmp

• http://glassrepairnewyork.com/wp-content/uploads/EasyRotatorStorage/user-content/erc_17_1354839405/content/assets/Automatic-Doors-02-0.jpg

• http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/92/Closed_Caption_Demonstration_Still-Felix.png

• http://www.levcobuilders.com/wp-content/uploads/Universal-Design4-300x155.jpg

• http://www.udlcenter.org/sites/udlcenter.org/files/ataglance.jpg

• http://holesthenovel.pbworks.com/f/UDL.png

• http://fdlrs.leeschools.net/pdf/technology/2011-2012/UDL.png

• http://vitalis.edublogs.org/files/2008/12/accssible-doc-logo-300x287.gif

• http://r4udl.wikispaces.com/file/view/logo2_little.jpg/338903558/logo2_little.jpg

• http://mile.mmu.edu.my/orion/nadiah/files/2013/12/Universal-Design-Logo.png