ADCET Webinar: Beyond Accommodations - Why Universal Design Matters for All Learners
This ADCET webinar provided an overview and demonstration of Texthelp's Toolkit.
In the ever changing world of education, ensuring inclusivity and maximising students' success remains a constant challenge for educators. While traditional accommodations have and always will serve a purpose these are often met as reactive rather than proactive.
Universal Design for Learning transforms this by thinking proactively about how all learners can benefit. UDL isn't about putting a bandaid on existing structures but starting from the foundation and ensuring seamless accessibility and engagement for everyone. While these supports can be invaluable, they often operate within a framework that sees disability as a hurdle to be overcome, rather than a unique lens through which students experience and engage with learning.
Technology plays an important role in supporting Universal Design for Learning. When literacy is a barrier for learners, it affects them in every environment. Texthelp's Toolkit - Read&Write and OrbitNote are universally designed literacy tools that remove barriers to literacy and learning while supporting them in everyday tasks like studying, revising and learning.
Audience: Educators, Academic Staff, Disability Liaison Officers, Learning Designers/Developers and UDL practitioners
Presenter
Rachel Coathup has a passion for supporting educators to use technology to enhance teaching and learning supporting all learners. She's the Customer Success Director (ASIAPAC) at Texthelp and has worked with schools, colleges and universities delivering training and support in using EdTech. Prior to this, she was a Primary Teacher for 6 years in public and private sectors (AU and UK). During her teaching experience this has included Computing Curriculum designer and Lead Teacher of Technology for Learning. She is also an ISTE Certified Educator, Google Certified Trainer and Innovator.
(February 2024)
ADCET is hosted by the University of Tasmania