Creative Commons Lab

     Photos and images are an excellent manner in which to bring new elements into a classroom.  I would use images to launch discussions regarding places of interest, geography, geology, as well as for writing prompts.  Depending on our current focus, the writing could focus on one of the five senses or emotion so students could absorb and interpret specific information without feeling overwhelmed.  Additionally, I would use images at the beginning or end of a unit to emphasize our learning.  Comparing and contrasting is another method that would be helpful for students to understand a certain concept.  With math, students would be able to see a visual representation of a concept.  For example, when teaching students about balancing equations, showing them a picture of a scale with two numbers on one side and another number of the other, they would be able to see what number was missing.  This would enable them to more fully grasp the concept and gain understanding.  With images in education, the possibilities are countless.


Oregon Coast
Link to Flickr image: Justin Wright
Photographer's website: www.lifeofjustin.com
Creative Commons License
     Ah, the power of water and geology!  I originally had a great picture from Yellowstone National Park, but it disappeared.  :^(  So I found a different photo.  This picture of the Oregon coast was taken by Justin Wright.  The captions for his photos were all the same, but very liberal.  Therefore, I have done as he has requested and posted a link to his website.  I like this picture because of everything taking place all at once.  It is chaotic and beautiful.  What a site to visit, I would imagine.


Photo: Going-to-the-Sun Road, Glacier National Park, Montana
Taken by: Duane B. Karlin

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License.
     I took this picture last summer while in Glacier National Park, about 40 miles from my home.  Unfortunately, I visited the park on a weekend, so there was a lot of traffic and nowhere to park at the summit, so after literally driving in a circle for about 20 minutes, we turned around and drove back down to the valley.  Click on the picture description to see this one and others.

UDL Guidelines

Having worked through the lab for Universal Design for Learning (UDL), I was intrigued by the questions it provoked in my mind.  Where I thought I had created a thoughtful lesson accessible to all learners, there were some areas that required some rethinking and reworking.  However, I also came to understand that many of the ideas I am attempting to teach with my lesson, "The Vicarious Travelers," already have many of the UDL Guidelines built into them.  As I continue with my education, I look forward to applying this knowledge with my classes to enable all students to achieve their best work without compromising standards.

UDL Guidelines – Educator Checklist Version 2
I.    Provide Multiple Means of Representation:	Your notes
1.     Provide options for perception
1.1 Offer ways of customizing the display of information	Feature: enlarge text and pictures
1.2 Offer alternatives for auditory information	Barrier: pictures are visual with no captions
1.3 Offer alternatives for visual information	Barrier: no text descriptions and/or captions available
2.     Provide options for language, mathematical expressions, and symbols
2.1 Clarify vocabulary and symbols	Feature: learned about Rome, Italy on our virtual trip
2.2 Clarify syntax and structure
2.3 Support decoding of text, and mathematical notation, and symbols	Barrier: inability to read maps, interpret key symbols, and measure distance
2.4 Promote understanding across language	Barrier: presented in English with little or no Italian background
2.5 Illustrate through multiple media
3.     Provide options for comprehension
3.1 Activate or supply background knowledge	Barrier: little background knowledge
3.2 Highlight patterns, critical features, big ideas, and relationships	Feature: math and social studies cross-curricular
3.3 Guide information processing, visualization, and manipulation	Feature: comparing a foreign destination to a local area
3.4 Maximize transfer and generalization
II.   Provide Multiple Means for Action and Expression:	Your notes
4.     Provide options for physical action
4.1 Vary the methods for response and navigation	Barrier: not all students are proficient with computer research
4.2 Optimize access to tools and assistive technologies
5.     Provide options for expression and communication
5.1 Use multiple media for communication	Barrier: having students present their final presentations in the same format
5.2 Use multiple tools for construction and composition
5.3 Build fluencies with graduated labels of support for practice and performance
6.     Provide options for executive functions
6.1 Guide appropriate goal setting	Feature: learning about Italy and presenting the information
6.2 Support planning and strategy development	Barrier: need to encourage students to “stop and think” to solve a problem
6.3 Facilitate managing information and resources	Barrier: need to provide a checklist of what students will need to “discover”
6.4 Enhance capacity for monitoring progress	Feature: provides feedback during the course of the lesson
III.  Provide Multiple Means for Engagement:	Your notes
7.     Provide options for recruiting interest
7.1 Optimize individual choice and autonomy	Barrier: provide students with alternative website they may be more familiar with to locate their information
7.2 Optimize relevance, value, and authenticity	Feature: students will understand how to calculate distance based on what they learned and apply it to where they live
7.3 Minimize threats and distractions	Feature: stretch the lesson into several days with goals for each day so students do not feel overwhelmed
8.     Provide options for sustaining effort and persistence
8.1 Heighten salience of goals and objectives
8.2 Vary demands and resources to optimize challenge
8.3 Foster collaboration and community	Feature: have students collaborate and share their information with another student for suggestions and feedback
8.4 Increase mastery-oriented feedback	Feature: providing feedback
9.     Provide options for self-regulation
9.1 Promote expectations and beliefs that optimize motivation	Barrier: provide a rubric
9.2 Facilitate personal coping skills and strategies
9.3 Develop self-assessment and reflection	Barrier: provide students with a chart so they can see their progress

© CAST 2011