UDL Grant
For
Livingston County School District
UDL Updates
May 2005
Implementation of the Universal Design for Learning has begun for Livingston County. At our pilot school, Smithland Elementary, we are striving to integrate more technology into the classroom. We have ordered 10 computers to be placed in the classrooms, the IntelliTools Classroom Suite for 60 seats, a projector, a Smart Board, and hired a technology consultant for embedded training and assistance. We are trying to use the existing software that we now have, such as Read & Write Gold, PowerPoint, Word, Paint, etc. We have received and set up the projector and Smart Board to use to teach lessons and practice with students. Some of our students have created PowerPoints about field trips, about famous people, and about lessons learned. We have begun an STLP program. May 5, 2005, some of our STLP students were trained on using FrontPage to design web pages. They began a classroom website for a teacher of their choice. This is our first project, and we hope to extend our program to include many projects and many more students. The consultant is assisting teachers and students with accessing the hardware and software needed to integrate UDL into the classroom and helping them with strategies that more fully integrate UDL into their classrooms.
We want to incorporate UDL into our curriculum in such a way that all students can access the general curriculum. This means that we must look at how we structure our lessons. We need to include strategies for all learning styles so that if one strategy doesn't work for a student then another will. We are planning a PD for July in which the concept of UDL will be shown, strategies to incorporate it into the curriculum will be demonstrated, lesson plan structures will be reviewed, lesson plans will be created that encompass teachers' grade level goals and objectives, and Read & Write Gold features and uses will be reviewed. During the year, there will be follow-up assistance with what is learned in this Professional Development session.
In the year 2005-2006, three of our elementaries will be
consolidating. The new school, South Livingston Elementary, will then be the
focus of our intention to further integrate UDL into the classrooms.
Smithland (our pilot school) teachers will lead the way in demonstrating to
the teachers from the other two schools how they have incorporated UDL into
their classrooms.
August 26, 2005
The 2005-2006 school year has begun. South Livingston is
in operation as of August 24, 2005. Over 500 students are enrolled
in the new school. All who came to the Open House August 22, 2005 remarked
on how beautiful the school looked and were very pleased with it. Things
are a little hectic right now, but students and teachers alike are coping
with the beginning of a new year in a new school. We have
a new computer lab, with each classroom having at least 4 student stations
and 1 teacher station. The Project Director will be working in the school
2 days a week helping teachers integrate UDL into their
classrooms and helping with technology. The July training was conducted
with teachers from South attending. They were trained on UDL and how to
integrate technology into their classrooms.
A Work in Progress
October 28, 2005
Even though we began school later than usual this year, things at South are progressing as the students and teachers alike settle into a routine at the new school. We have the new version of Read & Write Gold 7.1e (RWG) installed on our network and have entered users. Some teachers are using RWG with students for writing portfolios. I am visiting each classroom and presenting an orientation to RWG with the students and teachers. We are using lab time to practice what is learned in the orientation As they become more familiar with the program, they will be able to use it independently in the classroom as an excellent resource tool to read text, to research subjects, and to write.
IntelliTools Classroom Suite is also installed on the network. I am working to get the students names entered so that teachers can begin using IntelliTools as another resource to help students access the curriculum.
We have bought 2 SMARTPads with the grant money and plan to buy 3 more. The district has bought 2 also, as well as a SMARTBoard for South. Teachers were trained Tuesday October 25, 2005 on the SMARTPads and SMARTBoards.
We are in the process of buying 5 laptops to checkout to teachers and students for use in the classroom.
We are planning a parent training for November. If you are interested in participating, please contact the school - 270-928-3500 for time and date. I will be sending out letters or contacting by phone or e-mail those parents who responded to the letter I sent home in September. We will probably have 2 night sessions and 1 day session to accommodate the number of parents who responded.
We have been awarded a subscription from Recording For the Blind & Dyslexic for 25 digitized books. We plan to buy Telex Scholars to play the books.
December 2, 2005
I attended the Special Education Conference in Louisville November 21 and 22. Three of the Grant schools, ours included, helped Barbara Kinney, U of L Grant Coordinator, present at the conference. We presented a sample lesson plan and described the three levels for teachers in incorporating UDL into the classroom: Beginner UDL Teacher, Intermediate UDL Teacher, and Advanced UDL Teacher. We told about our progress with incorporating Universal Design for Learning in our schools.
We have a parent who has volunteered to help a group of STLP students design web pages for the teachers. FrontPage has been installed on one computer in each classroom and on the library computers. Students will use the library computers in the mornings before school takes up to learn about web design and begin some of the web pages.
January 9, 2006
Parent trainings are scheduled for February 6th in South computer lab from 3:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. and for February 27th from 6:30 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. STLP students will be helping train parents in the use of Read & Write Gold and with IntelliTools.
We are in the process of creating guidelines for checking out the UDL laptops for home use.
Some teachers are using SMARTPads, computers, and projectors in their class instruction. They really like the idea of being free to walk around with the SMARTPad as they teach.
Tammy Sayle, Bonnie Young, and Patty Hubbard will be conducting a presentation at the Kentucky Teaching & Learning Conference in Louisville March 10, 2006. The title of the presentation is "Universal Design for Learning = The Super Highway to Success".
February 3, 2006
Our school will be having a site visit on February 13th. We will be hosting several visitors from the University of Lousiville. We've also invited our district administrators. We will be demonstrating some of the UDL strategies that we employ in the classroom to insure that all students can access the curriculum.
We have purchased 2 digital cameras and a cart. The projector and a laptop have been set up on the cart to be used with the SMARTBoard.
March 13, 2006
Our site visit for February had to be cancelled due to bad weather. However, we have had our visit and all went well. Our teachers had the opportunity to show some of the strategies that they are implementing and some of the tecnologies that they are using. We had a very good visit and I was especially proud of South Livingston, the staff and students.
April 30, 2006
We have finished with Online testing, CATS and CTB. There were some glitches with accessing the tests, but I think maybe the students were more flexible with than we adults were. We had approximately 30 students across the district to participate. There were about 5 or 6 at South. This was a first for our elementary schools, but they came through it with flying colors. Most students expressed that they liked testing online and felt that it helped them.
May 31, 2006
School has ended for this year and I feel that South has really grown in the use of technology. More and more teachers are improving their skills in using technology for themselves and in using it in lesson plans to allow students access to the curriculum. Our Year End Report has been sent in and we are looking forward to attending the Summer Institute and honing our skills for another year of implementing Universal Design for Learning.
June 30, 2006
Our attendance of the Summer Institute was great. Barbara Kinney has again done a great job of pulling it together and getting all 6 schools involved. We learned new strategies, new technology, and had input for next year's institute. We were able to share some of the things we were doing and to see what some of the other schools were doing, also. Our being able to sit down with our team and discuss what had worked for us and what we needed to do for the 2006-2007 school year was a great help in getting us organized and on-track. Some of the ideas that we want to implement is to establish 2 model classrooms, make a list available of all our subscribed websites, and to list all the technology that is available to teachers.
August 18, 2006
A new year has begun. Students and teachers alike have returned to school refreshed and ready for another year. We have established 2 model classrooms for teachers in-house, across the district, and from other districts to visit and observe strategies used to implement UDL. Other classrooms are continuing to implement UDL strategies to some degree and are becoming more familiar with technology and how it can be used in the classroom to allow all students access to the curriculum.
March 9, 2007
We have again presented Universal Design at the Kentucky Teaching and Learning Conference. Several teachers and resource teachers presented some of the technology that we use in the classroom and showed samples of lessons and strategies that are used.
June 30, 2007
Again we attended the Summer Institute and learned some new strategies. I personally enjoyed the session with Rick McAtee. He is very knowledgeable about strategies for using IntelliTools Classroom in the classroom. We had another great learning experience.
August 30, 2007
Again we have applied for the UDL grant and have received it. We will be mentoring one or two of the Phase II schools that have applied for the grant. We will share strategies and trainings with them in order to disseminate Universal Design.
April 5, 2008
Tammy Sayle, Bonnie Young, and Patty Hubbard presented UDL concepts at the National Convention for Exceptional Children in Boston.
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