VEX PD+ Is Now UDL Product Certified
Creating inclusive and engaging experiences for all learners is essential. That’s why earning certifications from organizations like CAST is a significant milestone. We are proud to announce that VEX Professional Development Plus (VEX PD+) has earned Universal Design for Learning (UDL) Product Certification! In this article, we’ll explore what this certification entails and how it can enhance your own learning and teaching.
Who is CAST?
CAST (Center for Applied Special Technology) is a nonprofit organization dedicated to transforming education through innovation and inclusivity. CAST developed Universal Design for Learning (UDL), a research-based framework designed to make learning more accessible and effective for all students. Through resources, training, and certifications, CAST empowers educators and organizations to create flexible learning environments that address the diverse needs of every student.
What Is the UDL Product Certification?
The UDL Product Certification is a recognition given to educational tools and resources that align with CAST’s UDL guidelines. This certification ensures that products meet high standards for accessibility, flexibility, and inclusivity. For educators and schools, a UDL-certified product provides assurance that it’s designed to support all learners, regardless of ability, background, or learning style.
The UDL Product Certification process consists of two phases, which must be completed in order:
1. Accessibility Baseline for the Universal Design for Learning Product Certification
The Accessibility Baseline ensures that a product conforms to accessibility principles defined in the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG). This phase evaluates whether information about the product’s accessibility is clearly documented and easy to locate on the developer’s website. This is helpful for educators and decision-makers who wish to assess a product’s accessibility before making purchasing or adoption decisions. Achieving this certification is a prerequisite for the next phase.
2. Alignment to the Universal Design for Learning Framework Product Certification
This phase evaluates whether UDL principles are central to the product’s design. The product must prioritize learner’s access and engagement, considering diverse interests and motivations. It ensures learners have multiple ways to build comprehension and provides various methods for them to express their knowledge and ideas. By embedding these principles, products certified in this phase demonstrate a commitment to inclusive and effective learning experiences.
Achieving both phases of the UDL Product Certification requires rigorous evaluation by CAST. Products are assessed based on their adherence to WCAG accessibility standards, their alignment with UDL principles, and their ability to foster flexible and engaging learning environments. Only products that meet these high standards in both phases earn the certification.
How is UDL incorporated in PD+?
One of the clearest ways to see how this has been achieved is through the VEX 123 Educator Certification Intro Course. Like other Intro Courses, the content features a mixture of readings, videos, and hands-on activities designed to introduce teachers to incorporating VEX 123 in their setting. Working toward this certification enabled us to think about the way in which course content is presented, and how to ensure that it was offering multiple means for engagement, representation, and expression of learning. This provides us the means to be sure educators taking this course are given the same opportunities for learning as we endeavor to give our students.
Engagement
The UDL guidelines for engagement highlight learners’ individual identities, and honors the idea that what sparks each of our motivation and enthusiasm for learning is as unique as we are. To enhance engagement, look for things like:
- Times per chapter - We added in approximate time estimates for Chapter completion, to offer educators another way to determine how they wish to engage with course content. Knowing the approximate time to complete activities can help educators to take on course content as best meets their needs and available time frames at any given moment.
- Introductory vignettes - Vignettes were moved to be part of Chapter introductions, to enable educators to see themselves and where they could be by the end of a Chapter’s content. This helps to paint a picture of learning, and gives the opportunity for learners to make a personal connection to learning goals.
Representation
The representation guidelines center around the idea that learners perceive and make meaning of information in a variety of different ways. To enhance representation, look for features like:
- Video summaries - Prior to each video in the course, a bulleted list of the main ideas or key takeaways from the video was added. This gives viewers an idea of what to look for as they watch the video, and a way to anticipate what to pay particular attention to within the video format.
- Multiple avenues for consuming content - Lessons give options for engaging with the content in a variety of ways: watching and listening to video content, reading articles, or with hands-on activities.
Action & Expression
The action and expression guidelines get at the heart of how learners navigate a learning environment, approach learning processes, and express their learning in varied and unique ways. To help augment opportunities for varied action and expression, look for things like:
- Keyboard navigation - Each page of the course is navigable using the keyboard, giving a more accessible option to those for whom using a mouse or touchpad is difficult.
- Clearly identified learning targets - We continue to include clear learning targets that are presented at the start of each Lesson. These give participants the opportunity to think about what they will learn, as well as targets to reflect back upon throughout the learning process.
This is just a sampling of some of the features of the Intro Course that help us to reach accessibility goals. We will be continuing to expand options and opportunities for incorporating UDL guidelines throughout all courses in PD+ in the coming weeks and months.
What does this mean for you?
Incorporating UDL principles into your own teaching practice is an ongoing process. Often it involves incremental changes in the ways in which we engage with our students, so that over time, our teaching and learning becomes more accessible and flexible for all. Our hope is that experiencing UDL as you work through the Intro Course will spark interest and curiosity about how you can incorporate UDL in your own teaching practice.
Earning CAST’s UDL Product Certification reflects our commitment to making sure all students can learn engineering, computer science and STEM with VEX.
If you have questions about how UDL can benefit your students, or incorporating UDL principles when teaching with VEX, schedule a 1-on-1 with us - we’d love to talk to you about it!