Universal Design for Learning Meets Instructional Design

Universal Design for Learning Meets Instructional Design

I created this animation to explore ways that Universal Design for Learning (UDL) informs the Instructional Design process.

While the video is not perfect, largely as a result of the fact that the characters don't do anything but talk, I learned a lot through researching UDL and was able to apply it immediately.  One thing I learned was the importance of using headings, something that I have not been diligent about including in my blogs, docs, or sites.  I didn't know that aside from looking good, headings serve the additional function of aiding screen readers with navigation.

Before constructing the animation (made easy with Go Animate for Schools), I spent a couple of days researching and writing a script.  I then uploaded it directly to YouTube as a plain text document, allowing YouTube to automatically set the timing on the captions.  This is a different process than the one I tried the last time, and it took less time, because I didn't have to make any edits.

FLOG ALERT:
After producing this video the first time, I thought that I'd try editing it in Camtasia Studio to add supporting visuals to spice it up.  After several hours, I ended up with a hot mess and a headache. Since the original video had "Why Design" written on all of the background shots, efforts to replace that led to a sloppy, spotty presentation that looked like a bad spackling job.  I opted not to use that version, and instead tightened up the dialogue (really) and uploaded another version to You Tube.  It's not perfect, but it's about the process in this case!

Switches, GoAnimate, and Creating a Transcript on YouTube

I have recently started playing with the online animation tool Go Animate for Schools to practice creating instruction in the form of dialogue between characters.

I created the video featured here, which discusses how switches work, as a tool that might be added to the Girls Make IT Google Classroom resources.  I like the idea of creating video-based instruction for the site, because it will make it easier for the girls to share their learning with others and to revisit concepts at their leisure.

In the process, I learned something new about YouTube and how it can be used to advance Universal Design for Learning!  Did you know that you can add a transcript to videos in YouTube, allowing your viewers to see the audio written out in text?  Under the settings of YouTube, you can do this by typing in your own Subtitles or Closed Captions.  Or, you can have YouTube translate the script using a voice to text feature.  (When I tried that, however, I had to go in and edit several of the captions.)

To access a transcript, you'd simply need to go to description of the video and click on "More" to find the "Transcript" option.  Alternatively, you could turn the captions on if you wanted to see the text at the bottom of the video.