Free Webinar: Agency & Empowerment: Strategies to bring UDL to life in your classroom

Overview

In partnership with ReadSpeaker, CAST is proud to bring you an opportunity to learn about the value of learner agency and how it can be achieved through incorporating Universal Design for Learning (UDL) and the CAST UDL Guidelines.

In this free webinar you’ll learn from a diverse set of perspectives on UDL including industry expert Luis Pérez from CAST, Learning Specialists Heather Avery and Heather Roxborough of the New Brunswick Department of Education and Early Childhood Development, and Brian St. Amour, Director of eLearning at Temple College. Avery and Roxborough brings an inspired UDL approach to the K-12 space, and St. Amour will share the impact of UDL on learners from a higher education perspective.

We’ll explore how the principles of UDL can be applied at each phase of the academic journey to help learners:

1. Engage with purpose and motivation by connecting learning to personal goals and interests.
2. Access and process information strategically through multimodal pathways, including ReadSpeaker’s suite of text-to-speech tools.
3. Demonstrate understanding authentically by leveraging choice, flexibility, and inclusive design.

Together we’ll dive into strategies for weaving UDL into course and program design, practical examples of technology supports that nurture independence, and insights into how inclusivity tools like ReadSpeaker can amplify agency for all learners.

Join us to discover how even small, intentional design choices can spark meaningful learning experiences every step of the way.

Register for the webinar

About the panelists

Luis Pérez is the Senior Director of Disability and Accessibility at CAST. In this role, and as part of CAST’s Postsecondary and Workforce Development teams, Luis promotes the creation, delivery and use of high quality accessible educational materials and technologies to support learning opportunities and career access for all students. He is the Principal Investigator for the Center for Inclusive Technology and Education Systems (CITES) at CAST, which aims to empower school districts to build and maintain technology systems that include every student, particularly children and youth with disabilities who require assistive technology and accessible materials.

Luis is also a co-host of our CAST podcast, The Learning Experience, with new episodes launching monthly. His perspective is informed by his own experiences as a user of assistive technology.

Heather Avery is a Learning Specialist in Universal Design for Learning (UDL) and Inclusive Teaching & Learning Practices for the Department of Education and Early Childhood Development, New Brunswick, Canada. With over 20 years of experience spanning kindergarten to post-secondary education, she has served in various roles including classroom teacher, resource teacher, accessibility advisor, and learning strategist.

Heather Roxborough is a Learning Specialist with the Department of Education and Early Childhood Development in New Brunswick, Canada. A former online high school teacher, Heather now supports educators and departmental staff in effectively using the Brightspace learning platform. She is currently leading a provincial long-term recommendation project focused on leveraging technology to enhance learning and personalize educational experiences.

Brian St. Amour is currently responsible for strategic planning and service operations within eLearning offices at Temple College, ensuring compliance with college, state, and regional accrediting agency policies. This role entails supporting a large enrollment of online students, faculty, and course sections. He chairs eLearning Advisory Committees to establish policies, procedures, best practices, and process improvements, and collaborates with various departments to foster a robust and supportive eLearning environment.

Brian possesses extensive experience in professional eServices and eLearning technologies, serving both industry and higher education sectors. Also serving as an adjunct Business Professor with experience in both online and traditional classroom instruction, Brian is a key contributor and active leader in regional, state, and national associations, including the Texas Digital Learning Association and United States Distance Learning Association.