UDL and Web 2.0 tools

An exciting wiki that helps to organize Universal Design for Learning (UDL) tools for teachers is:
http://udltechtoolkit.wikispaces.com/

This site brings together many wonderful resources for teachers of general education students and special education students alike. Most of the links take you to sites that are *FREE* and support learning, including reading, writing, spelling, and math. The wiki is well-designed and easy to access. Many of the sites have activities that are great for use on an interactive white board.

Looking at these links, I am amazed at how Web 2.0 tools are redifining education. Web 2.0 is defined by wikipedia as "the second generation of the World Wide Web, especially the movement away from static webpages to dynamic and shareable content and social networking." Further, twinity.com states that "Web 2.0 does not refer to any specific change in the technology of the Internet, but rather the behavior of how people use the Internet."

Many tools can be used effectively by educators to enhance instruction. Because these tools are web-based, they provide much of the same content support as materials formerly found through applications on CD, but they are easier and cheaper to use. They do not require a technology administrator to install and they can be used quickly in class instruction. Educators can integrate the tools seemlessly into instruction, and only use what they need. They are not paying for extra resources that are not really useful or applicable. Web 2.0 tools provide the flexibility that is an integral part of the principles of UDL.

Metaversum Gmbh. (2010). Glossary: Web 2.0. Retrieved July 19, 2010 from http://www.twinity.com/en/glossary_web20

Wikimedia. (2010). Definition: Web 2.0. Retrieved July 19, 2010 from http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Web_2.0