21st Century college students bring a diverse set of preferences, skills and expectations to the classroom. Engaging and motivating students in the dynamic age in which we live can be a challenge. The Faculty Development and Instructional Design Center is pleased to announce a series of 3 new online workshops on the topic of Universal Design for Learning (UDL). To address the diverse needs and preferences of students in 21st century classrooms, we will explore how UDL concepts can be applied in both traditional and online courses.
During the first online session hosted on February 23, 2016, an overview of Universal Design for Learning was discussed. The three areas of Universal Design for Learning: Multiple Means of Engagement, Multiple Means of Representation and Multiple Means of Action/Expression, were introduced to provide the foundation for the series of workshops. Additionally, the first workshop provided a more in depth focus on Multiple Means of Engagement. Participants from a wide range of disciplines and departments shared many different perspectives as well as tips and strategies for incorporating UDL principles in courses they are designing and teaching. We enjoyed collaborating with NIU participants and colleagues from other institutions in this online workshop. View the workshop recording below.
[youtube width=”600″ height=”338″]https://youtu.be/60Equ1bGk6M[/youtube]
The series of workshops will be fully online to allow participants to connect from the comfort of their home, office or other location using an Internet connection. The newly released Blackboard Collaborate Ultra platform will be used to conduct all of the online workshops.
All of the workshops will be held from 12:00 p.m. – 1:00 p.m. CST. The second workshop Universal Design for Learning: Multiple Means of Representation will be hosted on March 24th. NIU faculty, teaching assistants, and staff can register here. Those who are interested from other institutions can register here. The final workshop Universal Design for Learning: Multiple Means of Action/Expression will be scheduled for April 2016. We look forward to engaging with you during the series of workshops.
