Week 5 Blog

 Part 1: UDL Summary and Connections to the Article

In the article, Technology Supports in the UDL Framework: Removable Scaffolds or Permanent New Literacies? By Sheri Vasinda and Jodi Pilgrim, the text advocates for a shift in practices in which digital technologies become a permanent part of education by implementing digital tools as a pillar of scaffolding. Real-world environments incorporate a wide range of technologies; it is time for the classroom to reflect that as well. The article highlights the UDL ideals of incorporating lessons that create a learner who is engaged, takes action, and expresses themselves well. Any good teacher knows the importance of scaffolding and how it is essential to help students learn. We are in a digital age, and it has become difficult to capture the attention of students. It is important for teachers to embrace technology and use it to help students by scaffolding lessons to create authentic and interesting lessons. In my lesson, students will be asked to write their own narrative from the perspective of a guest at a Gatsby party. By using digital tools to create mini-lessons of digital storyboards, character sketches, and a checklist, the students will be able to complete their lesson with ease and success. Due to chunking the lesson into digital tools, the students will not feel overwhelmed by simply being given a Google Document and being told to write. Many students would feel overwhelmed and shut down. Therefore, the integration of exciting digital tasks gives students the ability to feel success at each task. 

Part 2: CAST Strategies Incorporated into My Lesson

My lesson will incorporate several CAST UDI Strategies. Strategy 5.1 is Expression and Communication with the use of multiple media for communication. My students will demonstrate this skill by completing a storyboard of their narrative writing. Strategy 6.3 is Organize Information and Resources, in which students will demonstrate by using Padlet as a checklist for completing steps in the unit. Students will incorporate the use of digital tools to edit their essays, satisfying the 5.2 strategy of Use Multiple Tools for Construction, Composition, and Creativity. With the lesson, there are multiple steps to create student narratives. The digital graphic organizers and the examples will help students as well as apply to the strategy of 6.1 of Set Meaningful Goals. Within the lesson is a mini-lesson on literary devices and a peer review of the narrative writing, which would Foster Collaboration, Interdependence, and Collective Learning, UDL strategy 8.3.

Part 3: Reflection

In the NETP and the Digital Divide, it addresses the shift from students using technology as a means to an end to helping students use technology to create meaningful and engaging lessons that will help drive their education. It strives to empower teachers to think out of the box in incorporating different modes of learning and to spark student creativity. Due to the lessons not being mundane, the students will become more invested in learning the information or completing the tasks. The digital tools to express knowledge will help all students showcase their cognitive abilities because the integration of technology can be easily differentiated for all learners and foster collaboration between students. The main goal of NETP and the Digital Divide is to keep students from just being consumers of information, but to be producers of original content. 

References

CAST. (2024). The UDL Guidelines. CAST. https://udlguidelines.cast.org/

EdTech Books. (2025). Edtechbooks.org. https://edtechbooks.org/foundations_of_learn/netp2024

Vasinda, S., & Pilgrim, J. (2022). Technology supports in the UDL framework: Removable scaffolds or permanent new literacies? Reading Research Quarterly, 58(1). https://doi.org/10.1002/rrq.484