Hope Myles Scott

Do we meet the needs of all of our students?  That is a question that plagues educators, whether they admit it or not.  "The challenge posed by greater diversity and greater accountability is to enable students with widely divergent needs, skills, and interests to attain the same high standards. "(Rose and Myer, 2002.)  As I reflect upon the diversity of our campus, I feel that sometimes we forget that we do have high standards to attain.  The needs of our students are as divergent or different as our student body.  Students on our campus come from all walks of life and many ethnic backgrounds.  We have many students with handicapping conditions.  We have many students with special needs, including language barriers.  All of these students must have access to the same high standards that the State expects for all students we serve.  I feel that technology is a way to help and empower all students.  One of my colleagues has a class of mentally and physically challenged students.   They love going to her class.  I am sure that she does not allow them to use their handicaps as a handicap.  They are expected to meet the same requirements of other students enrolled in Business Information Management.  Even though I doubt that she is aware of it, my co-worker has to be flexible in designing her lessons for the individual needs of her students[2].  She is using UDL's power and flexiblity to include all students, regardless of ability[3]. 

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[1] Rose, D., & Meyer, A. (2002). Teaching every student in the digital age: Universal design for learning. Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development. Available online at the Center for Applied Special Technology Web site. Chapter 1. Retrieved on October 5, 2009, from http://www.cast.org/teachingeverystudent/ideas/tes/
[2]Lessonbuilder.cast.org (nd). Principles of Universal Design for Learning. Retrieved on Oct. 5, 2009 from http://lessonbuilder.cast.org/window.php?src=videos
[3]Lessonbuilder.cast.org. (nd). Universal Design and Universal Design for Learning. Retrieved on Oct. 5, 2009 from http://lessonbuilder.cast.org/window.php?src=videos