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What is UDL?
Universal Design for Learning, or UDL, is a framework for reaching all learners through multiple modalities. Universal Design for Learning is meant to help both students and teachers by changing the way information is taught, implemented, and created.

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What Do You Need to Know About UDL?
Teaching is full of acronyms; UDL is no different. UDL stands for Universal Design for Learning. The idea behind UDL borrows heavily on many little ways society has helped design buildings for people with disabilities. The best example, borrowed from the UDL website, is that of a building with a wheelchair ramp. If you have a large, wheeled suitcase, and you need to get to the building, but the only way to access that building is through a bunch of stairs, it is going to be incredibly difficult to make it to the building. If, however, the building has a wheelchair ramp, you can use the ramp to wheel your suitcase up to the building with ease. The wheelchair ramp was not designed to help teachers hauling home too much stuff, or weary travelers with an overstuffed suitcase; it was designed to assist handicapped people. However, both people benefit from this accommodation. The building is designed to be universal; it assists all people, both able-bodied and handicapped.

**UDL in the Classroom**
Each year, teachers create lessons to meet the needs of their learners. This can become exhausting, however, every year teachers receive new students with varying learning styles and needs. By creating curriculum with the Universal Design for Learning in mind, lessons are created that will meet the needs of all students. Rather than focusing on the needs of one group of students, this model requires teachers to construct curriculum to meet the needs of all potential learners. In this WIKI, you will find a detailed explanation of UDL, tools for implication, as well as articles further describing and exploring the model.

**Key Terms Defined**
The following are terms that are commonly referred to when exploring the Universal Design for Learning:

Representation: Information presented in a variety of ways.

Engagement: Students are motivated and interested in the subject matter.

Expression: Students demonstrate thinking and knowledge through a multitude of platforms.

Recognition Networks: What is being learned (facts, categorizing knowledge).

Strategic Networks: How concepts are learned (planning and expressing what a learner knows).

Affective Networks: Why concepts are learned (motivating, personal connections, interesting, challenging).