What a difference an app makes!
After struggling with all things visual, I finally tried Canva, and it has made all the difference in the world. I had previously used Ease.ly, and somehow missed their templates. Canva asks you to pick a category of visual first, then directs you to pick a template; it’s opinionated workflow help me make this infographic:
So much better, right? Apologies for the blurriness, Canva requires purchase of Pro account to download higher quality images.
Universal Design for Learning (UDL) is a comprehensive framework to help educators prepare singular learning experiences to meet the needs of a variety of students with different skills and abilities (CAST, n.d.). Its comprehensiveness comes at a cost, one that I have experienced before when encountering massive paradigm shifts in education. After reading about UDL for the first time, I felt overwhelmed, inadequate, and stunned. Would I really have to redesign every single one of my lessons to adhere to the principles of UDL? I haven’t even figured out how to teach one type of student yet!
After struggling for a day with the resources provided for me on UDL, I did some additional searching on the internet about UDL and came to some important understandings:
- I have made plenty of accommodations over the years for students; I could apply those accommodations to future lessons designed according to UDL.
- I have been exploring and continue to explore different technologies and methods for engaging students in CS. This fits under UDL’s Affective Networks principle.
- I am constantly trying different ways to explain and teach CS concepts, from visuals to kinesthetics. This fits under UDL’s Recognition Networks principle.
- While there are a limited number and types of projects students can create in CS, some of them are very different from others. And I have introduced many of them to my students: code.org, Scratch, python, Twine, Minecraft, and unplugged lessons. This fits under UDL’s Strategic Networks principle.
Thus, the unintended result of all my experimentation in trying to figure out the best single way to teach my students is that I have now employed and gained experience in multiple different ways to teach my students, which, according to UDL, is exactly what I was supposed to have been doing! I just need to figure out how integrate all the different experiences and options together.
Phew! Sanity saved!
References
Burgstahler, S. (2011). Universal design: implications for computing education. ACM Transactions on Computing Education, 11(3), 1-17.
CAST. (n.d). About UDL. http://udloncampus.cast.org/page/udl_about
Currie-Rubin, R. (2015). The Data Inquiry-UDL Cycle: How Data Inquiry and UDL Implementation Work Together to Improve Teaching and Learning. Cast, Inc. http://castprofessionallearning.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/Data-Inquiry-and-Universal-Design-for-Learning_edits211.pdf
Degner, J. (2016, November 15). How universal design for learning creates accessible classrooms. Education Week Teacher. https://www.edweek.org/tm/articles/2016/11/14/udl-creates-cultural-competency-in-classroom.html
From Computer Programmer to CS Teacher 
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