Episodes | Think UDL

Maybe It Doesn’t Need to Be a Video with Clea Mahoney

In today’s conversation, the last of our Summer 2020 series on UDL in online environments, Clea and I talk about multiple ways of representing information in online classes. How can we customize the display of information, offer alternatives for text or auditory information, and guide information processing and visualization for our students? And if that sounds like way too much, we also discuss how to make online teaching simple and sustainable because, well, maybe it doesn’t need to be a video!

Your Humanity is an Asset: Instructional videos & Trauma-aware pedagogy with Karen Costa

In this episode, part of our Summer 2020 series on UDL in online environments, Karen and I discuss what trauma-aware pedagogy is and how instructional videos can help with the effects of trauma on executive functions and self-regulation.

UDL can Save Us All This Fall with Judith Dutill

In this episode, which is part of a Summer 2020 series on Universal Design for Learning in online environments, we talk about how to give space to our students and perhaps give up some control this coming semester, and how to keep our students excited about learning in this new environment.

Whole-Student Learning Online with Michelle Pacansky-Brock

Dr. Michelle Pacansky-Brock, also known on Twitter as @Brocansky, is a noted leader in higher education with expertise in online teaching, course design, and faculty development. Her work has helped online instructors worldwide understand how to craft relevant, humanized online learning experiences that support the diverse needs of college students. She is the author of Best Practices for Teaching with Emerging Technologies and has received national recognition for her excellence in teaching and faculty development from the Online Learning Consortium (OLC).

An Online Pedagogy of Kindness with Cate Denial

In this episode, which is part of a Summer 2020 series on Universal Design for Learning in online environments, I ask Cate about how she applies the concepts in her 2019 article (and forthcoming book) “A Pedagogy of Kindness” to online courses. In this conversation, Cate explains how her ideas about trusting her students, believing them and believing in them, and employing an ethos of care are utilized in specific online design principles and actions.

Epic Meaning in Online Learning with Michael Kocher

Michael Kocher is a UDL consultant at East Carolina University in Greenville, North Carolina. There he has created many faculty development opportunities to introduce instructors to Universal Design for Learning principles and help others implement them in seated and online environments. In today’s episode we talk about how to create “epic meaning” for students in online courses by valuing student choice and autonomy, and creating assessments that are authentic and worthwhile for students.

Radical Hope for Online Teaching with Kevin Gannon

Today’s episode is part of a Summer 2020 series on UDL in online environments and I am delighted to have the opportunity to speak with Dr. Kevin Gannon today. Kevin is the Director of the Center for Excellence in Teaching and Learning (CETL) and Professor of History at Grand View University in Des Moines, Iowa. His book, Radical Hope: A Teaching Manifesto was released in the spring of 2020 and has already become a “must-read” in academic circles and faculty book clubs throughout the United States and beyond.

Online Faculty Learning Communities with Christina Moore

Christina Moore is the Virtual Faculty Developer at Oakland University in Rochester, Michigan. In today’s episode we talk about faculty Online Learning Communities, also known as Personal Learning Networks. In this time of separation, how can colleagues come together and share ideas? We will discuss organizing resources around teaching topics with multiple formats that include podcasts, articles, videos, and even people to follow on Twitter, plus “Mobile learning” and accessibility in online environments.

HyFlex Course Design Model with Brian Beatty

Brian Beatty is an Associate Professor of Instructional Technologies in the Department of Equity, Leadership Studies and Instructional Technologies at San Francisco State University. Brian’s primary areas of interest and research include social interaction in online learning, flipped classroom implementation, and developing instructional design theory for Hybrid-Flexible learning environments.

Design for Learning Equity with Kevin Kelly

Kevin is a Faculty Lecturer in the Department of Equity, Leadership Studies & Instructional Technologies at San Francisco State University. I talked with Kevin at the Teaching for Active and Engaged Learning Lilly Conference in San Diego, California, February 27-29, 2020. I was so excited to get a chance to sit down with Kevin to talk about creating equity in learning environments, especially in online learning environments.

Transcripts, taxonomies and podcast websites with Bonni Stachowiak

On episode 35, we get to talk with Bonni Stachowiak. Bonni is the host and producer of the Teaching in Higher Ed podcast, an Associate Professor of Business and Management and Dean of Teaching and Learning at Vanguard University of Southern California. I talked with Bonni at the Teaching for Active and Engaged Learning Lilly Conference in San Diego, California, February 27-29, 2020.

Student Choice Menus with Eric Boyer

I got the chance to sit down with Eric at the Teaching for Active and Engaged Learning Lilly Conference in San Diego, California, February 27-29, 2020. Our conversation hits the high points of multiple intelligences, choice theory, self-determination theory, and reflective journaling.

Engaging Lilly Conferences with Todd Zakrajsek

This episode was recorded at the Teaching for Active and Engaged Learning Lilly Conference in San Diego, California, February 27-29, 2020. This conference is just one of the engaging Lilly Conferences organized by the International Teaching and Learning Cooperative and the fabulous ITLC team. This podcast also kicks off a series of four podcasts from the conference that focuses on UDL conversations that were discussed by participants or speakers that I had a chance to interview while the ThinkUDL team was there. We start out this series with the President and Conference Director of the ITLC, Todd Zakrajsek.

UDL and Culturally Responsive Teaching with Adam Nemeroff

Adam is a Learning Designer at Dartmouth College and has created a very innovative way to share his ideas about Culturally Responsive Teaching and inclusive design by using a Trello Board. This episode will investigate the ways culturally responsive teaching and Universal Design for Learning are related to and also inform each other, and Adam has organized this information using what he calls a “vision board” which he created using the Trello tool.

Inclusive Syllabus Design with Kirsten Helmer

In this episode, we get the chance to discuss Kirsten’s presentation on inclusive syllabus design that is based on UDL principles. There are 6 parts to her presentation that we will discuss in detail and she has graciously provided her handout and presentation slides which are included in our resources section on the ThinkUDL.org web page.

UDL for Faculty Development with Sarah Silverman

Sarah is the Program Facilitator at the Delta Program for Research, Teaching and Learning at the University of Wisconsin, Madison. And we had the opportunity to talk about how she incorporates UDL in her role as a faculty developer to help faculty and future faculty improve their teaching and learning.

Multiple Means of UDL with Karrie Morin & Dana Sheehan

This episode was recorded on the campus of Goodwin College in East Hartford, CT, on the eve of the 2nd annual UDL in Higher Education Conference on November 8, 2019, with the theme +1, Transformation by design.

Letting Students Lead with Dody Pelts

Dody is the Director of the Jones Learning Center at the University of the Ozarks in Clarksville, Arkansas. Dody came to the CollegeSTAR Student Support Network Retreat where Lillian had the chance to talk to her about what the Jones Center is doing to support a variety of students with learning differences.

Please Pass the SALT! with Laurel Grigg Mason

Today Lillian talks with Laurel recently traveled to Raleigh, NC for the College STAR Student Support Summit where Lillian had the chance to talk to her about what she is doing to support a variety of students with learning differences. Laurel is the Director of Bartlett Labs at the SALT (Strategic Alternative Learning Techniques) Center at the University of Arizona in Tucson, Arizona.

From “Making Accommodations” to Accommodating All Students with Paula Cocce

Today Lillian talks with Paula Cocce from Curry College in Milton, Massachusetts. Paula came to a CollegeSTAR Student Support Summit where she discussed how she supports a variety of students with learning differences.

From Accessibility into Inclusivity with Jeremy Olguin

Today Lillian talks with Jeremy Olguin, the Accessible Technology Manager at the Office of Accessible Technology and Services at California State University, Chico. Jeremy and Lillian talk about the long 18-month rollout of Ally at Chico State and the mindset shift from Accessibility to Inclusivity on his campus.

Whole campus UDL buy-in with Bryan Berrett

Lillian talks with Bryan Berrett, the Director of the Center for Faculty Excellence at California State University at Fresno. Bryan and Lillian sat down in August 2019 at the 5th Annual CAST Symposium “Becoming Expert Learners” on the campus of Harvard Law School in Cambridge, Massachusetts, to talk about how the whole campus is integrating UDL through not just Blackboard Ally for the LMS, but also online teaching, a new academic policy APM 237 for accessible course materials, Mobile DISCOVERe, and open access resources at Fresno State.

Blackboard Ally for LMS with Jon Rizzo

Today I talk with Jon Rizzo, an Instructional Designer at San Diego State University. Host Lillian Nave and Jon get the chance to sit down at the 5th Annual CAST Symposium “Becoming Expert Learners” on the campus of Harvard Law School in Cambridge, Massachusetts, to talk about his work with Blackboard Ally for the LMS, or Learning Management System.

Training Faculty Jedis with Danielle Wilken

Dr. Danielle Wilken is the Provost and Dean of Students at Goodwin College. Lillian gets the chance to talk to her about the training program she has implemented for 45 faculty members to be UDL Fellows (also known as Jedis) at Goodwin. In addition, she has also radically transformed the teaching and learning environment at Goodwin College, an open enrollment college in East Hartford, Connecticut.

Creating Inclusive Space for All with Zach Smith

In this episode I talk to Zach Smith, a doctoral candidate in Educational Leadership (Ed. L. D.) at the Harvard Graduate School of Education. We talk about his efforts to make some broad scale change to educational spaces based on both his family experience and his work in a rural school district in the central valley of California.

Got UDL Credentials? with Steve Nordmark

In this episode I talk to Steve Nordmark, Director of Business Development at CAST. Steve forges partnerships with global educators and entities in the field such as our very own CollegeSTAR network in order to further the knowledge of and implementation of Universal Design for Learning.

Engaging the Brain with Allison Posey

Welcome to Episode 19 of the ThinkUDL podcast. In this episode I talk to author Allison Posey about her book Engage the Brain: How to Design for Learning that Taps into the Power of Emotion. Allison works as a Curriculum and Design Specialist at CAST and we had the chance to record this interview just […]

Responding to neurodiversity and shifting campus culture with Elizabeth Coghill

Lillian interviews Elizabeth Coghill, Director of the Pirate Academic Success Center at East Carolina University in Greenville, North Carolina. Elizabeth outlines what her tutoring center is doing on the campus of East Carolina University to implement Universal Design for Learning strategies in a holistic way that welcomes all students to campus.

Partnering with Students and Faculty with Suzanne Ehrlich

In this episode, Suzanne and Lillian discuss the very interesting research Suzanne and her colleagues are doing with both students and faculty on the use and efficacy of UDL at UNF, the design and delivery of her UDL course in an effort to make area connections with UDL, as well as her role as a faculty fellow to build the UDL mindset with faculty across campus.

Decolonizing the Music Curriculum with Andrew Dell’Antonio at the Big XII Teaching and Learning Conference

This episode includes a discussion of the application of UDL principles in music and arts classes as well as how taking a UDL lens to the curriculum causes us to re-examine the overstuffed curriculum as well as the traditional curriculum in the music field. Andrew Dell’Antonio gives us some very interesting ways to think about UDL as a pathway to decolonize the kind of work we do, not just accessibility and content-wise, but as a way to question the way we teach in higher education in the United States so that UDL is considered as a place of practice to question the way we do pedagogy and curriculum.

Diverse Abilities and Flexibility from the BigXII Teaching and Learning Conference

This episode is comprised of two interviews with faculty at the University of Texas at Austin who employ UDL techniques systematically either in the classroom or in programming in order to provide access and flexibility for students.

Information Literacy and UDL from the BigXII Teaching and Learning Conference

Welcome to a special edition of the ThinkUDL podcast LIVE from the 6th Annual Big 12 Teaching and Learning Conference in the Texas Union Building here on the campus of the University of Texas at Austin. This episode is comprised of three short interviews with librarians who have incorporated UDL into their work with faculty […]

Intention, Tools, and Institutional Change with Danny Smith

Today Lillian talks with Danny Smith, Professor of Marketing at George Brown College in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. In this episode, Danny and Lillian discuss the ways that Universal Design for Learning principles are interwoven in the fabric of George Brown College, a 30,000 student institution in the heart of Toronto that serves many commuter students in an urban setting.

Integrating UDL in Ontario, Canada, and beyond with Jodie Black

Lillian Nave talks with Jodie Black, a Teaching and Learning Specialist at Fleming College in Peterborough, Ontario, Canada. Jodie and Lillian discuss the UDL initiatives she and her colleagues are undertaking at her college and across Ontario.

Assessments, Workforce Interviews, and Training with Bob Dolan!

Today Lillian talks with Bob Dolan, Principal at Diverse Learners Consulting and a long-time CAST collaborator. In this episode, Bob outlines how UDL informs assessments, not just in the classroom, but in hiring new employees, learning a new tool or program on the job, and why understanding the principles of Universal Design for Learning can benefit both employees and employers!

UDL is the Heartbeat of Heartland Community College

In this episode, Lillian speaks with Zach Petrea, Associate Professor of English and a UDL Fellow at Heartland Community College in Normal, Illinois. This episode catalogues how faculty “led from the middle” to change the teaching at Heartland and was even able to include UDL in the strategic plan for the college. We talk about […]

Live at UDL-IRN Summit 2019 with Adria Battaglia and Jen Pusateri

Lillian interviews two guests, Adria Battaglia (University of Texas at Austin) and Jen Pusateri (University of Kentucky) to talk about specific UDL initiatives on these two large university campuses in the United States and also discuss overcoming barriers to implementing UDL in Higher Education.

15 Steps to Group Project Success with Robin Spring

Lillian talks with Robin Spring, Assistant Professor of Advertising and Public Relations at Grand Valley State University in Allendale, Michigan. Lillian and Robin discuss her “15 Steps to group project success” which outlines the process to create successful group projects in her undergraduate advertising classes.

UDL for all in Ghana! with Elvis Agah

Lillian talks with Elvis Agah, the President of the School of Design and Technology (SDT), Accra, Ghana, and co-founder of the International Technology and Entrepreneurship Program (ITEP), Miami, FL. Hear how UDL addresses what Elvis calls the “educational national emergency” in Ghana and what steps he has taken to create a different kind of learning in Ghana.

UDL is Looking AHEAD in Ireland! with Dara Ryder

Lillian talks with Dara Ryder, the Digital Media and eLearning Manager for AHEAD, the Association for Higher Education Access & Disability, in Dublin, Ireland.

“Videos for Student and Faculty Learning” with Tom Thibodeau

Lillian talks with Tom about how he has used videos to circumvent the increasingly over-scheduled lives of students and faculty to get information out to everyone. This leads to a discussion about the role of the instructor, and how that role has shifted in the last several years.