Individual Blog Post #3

How can you ensure equitable access to authentic, meaningful & relevant learning environments for all learners in K-12 open and distributed learning contexts? What did you already know, what do you know now based on the course readings and activities, what do you hope to learn?

The environment is integral for cultivating an equitable learning experience that allows for meaningful and relevant learning to occur. Whether it is in a distributed or open learning environment there are techniques like the Universal Design For Learning (UDL), ways to accommodate and promote learning in the Indigenous communities, and considerations for online learning to cultivate an equitable and impactful online experience. 

UDL was developed by Cast 20 years ago and is a ”… framework for guiding educational practice that-(A) provides flexibility” in information presentation, “in the ways students respond or demonstrate knowledge and skills, and in the ways, students are engaged; and (B) reduces barriers in instruction, provides appropriate accommodations, supports, and challenges, and maintains high achievement expectations for all students including students with disabilities” and ELL students (Basham et al., 2018, p.477-478). Through three principles of “Multiple means of engagement, multiple means of action and expression and multiple means of representation” educators create an environment that allows any student to thrive in their environment with “variability being the norm rather than the exception” (Basham et al., 2018, p.480). The UDL website has a chart that outlines the nine subsequent guidelines with examples to help guide teachers. UDL can be implemented in a face-to-face or an online environment as online “offers unique affordances for supporting and extending UDL aligned implementation practices” (Basham et al., 2018, p.477). Some tools allow for individualized education that goes hand in hand with online or open learning networks. In “both blended and full-time virtual settings” it was found that UDL based practice “improved both learner satisfaction and learning outcomes” (Basham et al. 2018, p.489). There has been research on parts of UDL, but more must be done to prove its entirety. 

In an article by Kral & Schwab (2012), the eight principles to create an effective learning space for Indigenous learners of every age are explored (p.58):  

1. Space young people can control 
2. A space for hangout out and mucking around
3. Space where learners learn 
4. A space to grow into new roles and responsibilities 
5. A space to practice oral and written language 
6. A Space to express self and cultural identity through multimodal forms 
7. A space to develop and engage in enterprise 
8. A space to engage with the world. 

Overall it expressed the need for open learning resources, safe spaces to learn like libraries or cultural centers, providing autonomy over learning, providing schedules ahead of time, guiding enterprise experiences, and bridging the gap between elders and the young through technology and the arts to maintain cultural identity all while stepping into an often unwelcoming world. By acknowledging and implementing these ideas in an online and, especially, open learning environment, educators will better engage, support, and educate Indigenous communities. 

Finally, Selwyn (2020) explains how in the Covid-19 world educators have to consider data privacy, nurture greater online relationships, cultivate different online setting for different learners, be flexible and asynchronous, have heightened empathy for students, and recognize how taxing online learning is and that it is a new learning experience for students too.  

I hope to understand how to make sure student engagement is still high in a more asynchronous learning style?

Resources

Basham, J.D., Blackorby, J., Stahl, S. & Zhang, L. (2018) Universal Design for Learning Because Students are (the) Variable. In R. Ferdig & K. Kennedy (Eds.), Handbook of research on K-12 online and blended learning (pp. 477-507). Pittsburgh, PA: Carnegie Mellon University ETC Press.

Kral, I. & Schwab, R.G. (2012). Chapter 4: Design Principles for Indigenous Learning Spaces. Safe Learning Spaces. Youth, Literacy and New Media in Remote Indigenous Australia. ANU Press. http://doi.org/10.22459/LS.08.2012 Retrieved from:   http://press-files.anu.edu.au/downloads/press/p197731/pdf/ch041.pdf

Selwyn. N. (2020). Online learning: Rethinking teachers’ ‘digital competence’ in light of COVID-19.[Weblog]. Retrieved from: https://lens.monash.edu/@education/2020/04/30/1380217/online-learning-rethinking-teachers-digital-competence-in-light-of-covid-19

CAST (2018). Universal Design for Learning Guidelines version 2.2. Retrieved from http://udlguidelines.cast.org