August 18, 2011
dgordon@cast.org
40 Harvard Mills Square, Suite 3
Wakefield, MA 01880
Tel: 781-245-2212 ext. 275
Wakefield, MA, August 18, 2011 —As part of its longstanding mission to be an international leader in educational innovation, CAST has always welcomed scholars and practitioners from outside the United States. At the same time, CAST researchers and professional development teams frequently take the message of universal design for learning beyond U.S. borders: we have traveled to Canada, Latin America, Europe, Africa, the Middle East, East Asia, and the Caribbean in the past year alone.
We recognize that UDL should, in fact, be universal, and our exchanges with non-U.S. colleagues teach us new ways of teaching and learning, and bring new perspectives on the diversity and variability of learners. In fact, we currently have a paper-in-progress on ways of reading the UDL Guidelines through the lenses of different cultures--a paper proposed and co-written by an intern from eastern Europe.
This summer, three scholars are visiting CAST from Europe, and we extend them a hearty welcome. They are:
Jaime Ribeiro, University of Aveiro, PortugalAs a PhD Student in the Doctoral Program on Multimedia in Education at the University of Aveiro, Portugal, I am currently working in Teacher Education to implement ICT, Assistive Technologies and associated resources to help students with Special Education Needs. I came across Universal Design for Learning in my literature review and my research to prepare classes for Special Education Teachers and other Professionals that assist students with Special Education Needs. Universal Design for Learning is a relatively unknown subject in Portugal, or at least not widely known. Therefore, my overall goal is to learn more about UDL and to exchange ideas with people at CAST.
Sergio Sánchez, University of Salamanca, Spain
As a PhD student in the doctoral program, Advances and Investigations in Disability at the University of Salamanca, Spain, I am researching Universal Design for Learning and its implications in higher education as the focus of my dissertation. I have been using some toolkits, which have been developed by CAST. The purpose of this research is to identify best practices in higher education. In addition to my research in Spain, I felt that it was very important for me to further my studies in other countries and educate myself about their educational systems. I wanted to spend a brief period of time at CAST, because of it’s prestigious reputation and the quality of knowledge that I could acquire there and perhaps share the information I have obtained. I believe this will greatly benefit my research project.
Paul Grove, University of Oxford, England
As a PhD Student in the Doctoral Program at the University of Oxford in England, my principal research interests are to investigate the use of information communication technologies (ICT) and assistive technologies with disabled students, predominately those identified with specific learning difficulties (SpLD). I am currently working to build upon existing literature and promote the effective use of ICT models and assistive software applications to researchers, teachers, students and government bodies. Therefore, my overall goal is to understand and learn the academic processes involved in developing interactive applications, specifically with the use of Universal Design for Learning (UDL). As a researcher, and dyslexic, I recognize the importance of assistive technologies and the implementation of instructional design processes to support disabled students.
About CAST.
Founded in 1984 as the Center for Applied Special Technology, CAST has earned international recognition for its research and development of innovative learning resources based on Universal Design for Learning (UDL) principles. For more information, go to www.cast.org.
