Last week, my colleague in Hispanic Studies, Jonathan Arries, led a faculty seminar exploring personalized learning through an engaging, thought-provoking exercise. And despite all my experience with UDL (yes, I know, I’ve written about it quite a bit here), it led me to acknowledge and confront a major disconnect in a course I teach every year. In fact, I’ve replicated this mistake approximately 12 years in a row. This post will help you to learn from my less-than-optimal practice.
 
UDL meets UbD
Jonathan structured the seminar session around a classic reading in K-12 instructional design called Understanding by Design (or UbD). Developed by Grant Wiggins and Jay McTighe, UbD encourages instructors to design their instruction “backwards.” In this backwards design approach, rather than jumping right from learning goals to instructional strategies or learning activities, Wiggins and McTighe encourage teachers to think first about what kind of performance or product students could create that would demonstrate mastery of the learning goal. While not rocket science, this is a powerful and productive reframing of what I think is more typical practice. It also connects masterfully with UDL, which we’ll explore below.
 
In the exercise, Jonathan shared this planning document that we used together to explore a unit of study in one of the courses we teach. He asked us to begin individually first to identify the two to five “priority understandings or skills” connected with the content/skill focus we’d selected. We then shared these ideas with another participant in the seminar. Then, for one of the priority understandings/skills, he asked us what might serve as evidence that the students had mastered the understanding or skill. In this case, he challenged us to identify four different alternatives. As time permitted, we repeated this process for the other priority skills. We then shared these ideas with our partners and often identified several other possible performances/products that might serve as well or better than those we’d identified individually.
 
The exercise to this point was classic UDL principle II – identifying alternate means for students to present their understanding. The “ah-ha” moment came for me in the next part of the experience. In this next step, for each performance or product identified in the previous step, we were challenged to identify the knowledge (facts, concepts, principles) and/or skills (processes, procedures, strategies) that students would need to possess or draw upon to successfully complete the performance or product. We then shared these with our partners. In this process, I identified a major mistake (in UDL terms) that I’d made in a core assignment in a class I teach every year – a mistake I’d repeated 12 years in a row.
 
The Case of the Unnecessary Barriers
The assignment I unpacked in this exercise was from my Designs for Technology-Enhanced Learning course that I teach in our teacher preparation program at William & Mary. I approach the course like a teaching methods course, encouraging students to bridge theory and practice to identify ways to and design lessons that integrate educational technologies to support curriculum-based learning. One of the signature assignments focuses on how K-12 students learn from digital media and technologies. I’m most interested in students making connections between multimedia research and classroom teaching practice. I’ve always had them complete some form of a research synthesis paper as their learning product.
 
In this exercise, however, I identified several other possible performances/products that would also connect with this learning goal. I realized that they might also read research to prepare to engage in a case study to apply the findings and principles they explored. They might also create a concept map or table with evidence to present their understanding. Finally, they could create a brief presentation that they could share with colleagues in their placement schools as an authentic means to teach others. If I’d had the Higher Education Learning Activity Types Taxonomy handy, I could probably have identified even more.
 
When I unpacked the facts/skills, concepts/procedures, and principles/strategies that were required in the research paper assignment, I realized that this type of product introduced a number of extraneous barriers to students’ learning and most likely has limited the utility and effectiveness of the assignment. I realized that in addition to students needing to read, analyze and synthesize the research – the core elements of the learning goal – the research paper also required the students to organize their ideas for writing, adopt an academic tone to convey their ideas, and navigate the intricacies of APA style. I realized that none of these intellectually demanding aspects of the assignment really contributed to the learning goal. Is it important for students to write academic papers? Sure. Was it important for this learning goal? Nope.
 
Lesson Learned
In my conversation with my partner, I was able to think through other possible products that my students could create. We determined that some form of concept map or table with evidence would not only reduce the complexity of the assignment, but also make it easier for students to make literal and conceptual connections to the ideas they had explored. This approach would also help them to connect what they learned to classroom practice more effectively. The format and tool that students could use to create their concept maps/tables (e.g., Word, Google Docs, Mindmeister) was not important. In fact, allowing students to choose their tool and how they present their work is a nice way to connect UDL principle III – multiple means of engagement.
 
I’m excited to try this new approach next semester. I honestly believe that not only will I reduce some barriers I’d inadvertently put in my students’ way; I think I’ll get products that are better developed as well. I’m also excited to have a new tool – Jonathan’s planning chart – at my disposal to serve as a “check” for my application of UDL principles in my teaching.  

What projects, assignments or experiences can you offer your students to help them provide evidence of their learning?
Please post your comments below.

I don't think any of us would argue that the students we have in our classes today are increasingly diverse. They bring different experiences with them to class, different learning styles and preferences, different levels of engagement with the content, and different goals for their learning. Fortunately, we have many different frameworks and ways to approach this challenge in our teaching.

However, whenever I talk with teachers (both K-12 and higher ed) about UDL, student choice, or personalized learning, I often get the same question: "By providing these modifications, aren't we just lowering the bar?" It's an interesting question if you think about it. If, when we provide choice, the different options don't address the same learning goals or require the same level of rigor, I think they might have a point. But just providing options or choices doesn't mean that the expectations are any different for student learning. In the end, it's all about the learning goal.

Considering barriers
Currently, I'm participating in a seminar with faculty members across our university focused on personalized learning and UDL. In our discussion last week, we talked a bit about different pathways to the same learning goal. One great contribution of UDL is the recommendation to consider unnecessary obstacles to students' learning. Sometimes, we unintentionally create unnecessary barriers for our students to demonstrate what it is that they know. 

For example, the type of question on an exam can make a big difference for students. One student might tend to overthink things and struggle with multiple-choice questions. Given the exact same topic, however, he might be able to write a very substantive response in a short answer version. Similarly, I might have difficulty conveying my ideas in the form of a written essay. If, however, I was able to create a short video or audio response to the question, I might be better able to articulate my thinking. And in the end, unless the ability to answer multiple-choice questions or write a structured academic essay is part of the actual learning goal, it doesn't seem to me that it should make a difference what format a student chooses to express him/herself.

Providing options without lowering the bar
If you are still reading this, I'm guessing there's a good chance that you agree with the benefits for providing students with some choice in their learning. Even still, it can be difficult to navigate this balance between providing choice and ensuring rigor. What are some simple modifications we can provide for our students to eliminate unnecessary barriers while maintaining the level of rigor?

1. Be clear about your learning goal. Before considering how you want students to demonstrate understanding, clearly define the learning goal. What are the critical components? What can be pruned away without sacrificing the intent of the experience? Once you're left with the essential elements of the learning goal, you're better able to determine different possibilities.
2.  Think outside the box for exams. Rather than having different sections of the exam be comprised of different question types, why not provide a menu of choices? For example, to gauge understanding of a particular topic or concept, you might normally develop a series of multiple-choice questions. Why not offer a parallel set of short answer questions covering the same content? The students could then choose which set of questions to answer.
3. Consider different forms of writing. Oftentimes, we default to two or three types of writing assignments for our students - brief reflection statements, structured essays, and longer form papers. Why not stretch our thinking out a bit? Students could share their reflections in the form of blog posts and comment on each other's work. They might also be challenged to write a white paper for public consumption. They could also write an editorial or contribution to a blog or newspaper. Having an authentic audience for their work can be quite motivating to encourage students to put more time and effort into their writing.
4. Provide students with voice. Audio recording tools on mobile devices and laptops make it very easy for students to record an oral response to a question or prompt. This can be a great option for students who are not fast typists or who have difficulty expressing themselves in writing. You can even use a tool like Voicethread  that enables students to respond to prompts through audio recordings rather than the typical threaded discussion board in BlackBoard or another learning management system.
5. Consider different modes altogether. Depending on your content area and learning goals, it can be productive to think about very different types of ways that students can present their understanding. You might provide options once a semester or for every major assignment. For example, a video can be a great way for students to express nuanced understandings of different topics. They might be able to express themselves through artwork – either digitally or in analog form. They could create a concept map to illustrate different relationships. Or why not let them propose a unique approach of their own?

Assessing different options
Once we get past the question of rigor, many teachers worry about how to assess learning in these different formats. It would be a huge effort to create different rubrics or assessment criteria for different student products. Surely you can't assess the quality of an essay and a video project, right? I'd actually argue that as long as you anchor different options to a particular learning goal in most cases, the various products can be assessed using the same grading criteria.

Reflection responses, blog posts, or audio responses can all be judged in the same way when your rubric assesses the clarity of ideas. A video and essay could be judged on the quality of the argument articulated in either.  Once we get past focusing on the form, we can consider multiple options that work to maintain rigor and provide them choice at the same time.

What strategies do you employ to provide students with choice?
Please post your comments below. 

​I was late to the Twitter game compared to many of my friends and colleagues. It was only about 18 months ago or so that I made a conscious effort to commit to using the service for professional connections, sharing, etc. Many of my colleagues are much more active (10,000+ posts) and more connected (thousands of followers). I was just very skeptical of its value compared with the time and effort I’d need to put into it to derive any real benefit.
 
Today I’d say I’m moderately active (I’m @markhofer if you'd like to connect). I try to tweet out interesting articles that I find online, I share blog posts I’ve written, and I’m taking baby steps towards creating more connections, participating in tweetups, etc. I think this might be hard for me, because I’m not much of a social media guy. I have LinkedIn and a dormant Facebook account, but I’ve never really enjoyed or figured out the best way to make these tools worth the investment of time and energy. When I read about colleagues in higher ed using Twitter and other social media services in their teaching, I’m particularly skeptical.
 
Finding balance between skepticism and open-mindedness
The place of technology in teaching and learning can be a bit of a polarizing topic. There are some folks who would argue that technology has no place in the college classroom. Even if they are personal users of technology, they argue that these kinds of tools create distance between the students and the instructor, distract from learning, and may even make students lazy in their thinking. On the other side, of course, you have the technology evangelists who not only promote the use of technology in the classroom, but go so far as to disparage those who resist. I think that as faculty who care about student learning, growth and development, we have an obligation to situate ourselves somewhere in the middle between these two poles.
 
Just because I’m naturally a bit skeptical about Twitter in the classroom doesn’t mean I should dismiss the possibilities out of hand. I recognize that increasingly my students are active and engaged in these spaces, so it makes sense to consider the possibilities. Like with anything, though, I feel like tools and resources should be selected based upon how they serve students and engage them in my course content. In an effort to better judge the tool's affordances and constraints, I decided to do some research. Fortunately just at that time, I came upon a resource created  by Jamison Miller, PhD student and graduate assistant in the William & Mary School of Education Technology Integration center,  called Twitter for Educators.
 
Miller highlights four different strategies for using Twitter in courses:

• Continuous asynchronous discussions throughout a course
• Focused, synchronous “tweetchats”
• A Twitter essay activity
• A synchronous Twitter journal club
  
  

I was intrigued to read through these four examples because they were clearly thoughtful strategies to use Twitter in a substantive way. Based on these four examples, I’ve identified a few affordances and constraints of this tool in the classroom.
 
Affordances of Twitter in the classroom

• The informal feel of Twitter and short length of tweets might encourage greater and more organic participation in discussion, particularly in responding to each other.
• The 140-character limit for tweets forces students to synthesize their ideas and be concise and clear in their communication.
• “Unleashing a tweet into the world,” as Jesse Stommel phrased it, encourages students to consider their audience, tone, and perspective.
• If also active on Twitter, students can engage directly with the author(s) of an article or book used in class using an @ reply.
• Using a specific hashtag for a journal club or community reading allows students to quickly tweet their reactions, ideas and questions as they go, which may promote increased engagement in reading and connections around ideas from a text.

Constraints of Twitter in the classroom

• The 140-character limit may encourage shallow ideas and thinking.
• The character limit can also make it difficult to provide context for contributions.
• It can be difficult for students to reference texts and sources as they contribute online.
• Asynchronous discussion is not threaded in the way that a discussion board allows – consequently, it can be difficult to follow a string of tweets as a conversation.
• Using Twitter as a back channel during an in-class discussion may create a kind of distance between participants and may decrease active engagement in the face-to-face discussion.

In the end…
I found it interesting that in exploring some examples and thinking through the affordances and constraints that Twitter can be both a positive and a negative. Much of the value or limitations with Twitter as an instructional tool depends on how it would be used and for what purpose.
 
While I am still suspicious of Twitter as a way to post substantive contributions or to facilitate sustained threads of discussion, I’m starting to understand targeted ways that Twitter might be useful in my classes. In particular, I like the idea of Twitter journal groups for students to share ongoing ideas related to a reading. I worry a bit that this might lead to a muddled, difficult to follow collection of isolated and de-contextualized notes. Like anything, I suppose, it will take some trial and error experimentation and some input and advice from my students to make this a meaningful learning experience for my students.

Where do you stand on Twitter and other social media tools in the college classroom? More importantly, why?
Please post your comments below. 

Several of my colleagues at William & Mary and around the country have recently acquired iPad Pros. Many others are trying desperately to be more productive on their iPads or iPad Minis. The truth is, while iPads and other tablets offer great potential to make us more productive, you have to be strategic in setting up your device, finding the right apps, and working through some of the limitations with these mobile devices.
 
I thought it might be helpful if I shared some of the essential services, tools, and apps to help us all get the most out of our iPads. What follows are my ideas on what every iPad owner should at least consider for maximum productivity on their device. In each category, I offer some alternatives with a slightly deeper dive into my service, tool or app of choice. I hope that you find this post helpful. If you have additional suggestions to share, please post a comment below.
 
File Management
One of the biggest challenges for new iPad owners and those who want to move beyond content consumption on their device is file management. It can be a bit of a mystery as to how to get files on and off the device from your computer. Apple has tried to address this with iCloud integration. If you are an iCloud user on your Mac, you can synchronize files back and forth with your iPad and iPhone fairly easily. For many of us, though, we have an existing file structure, folders, and resources that may not work well with iCloud. In this case, we need a simpler solution to synchronize our existing documents using a cloud storage service. If you’re new to cloud storage, you may want to view this video overview of how Dropbox works before continuing.
 
I’ve extensively used four of the main cloud storage services – Dropbox, Box, OneDrive, and Google Drive. All four offer free accounts which can be upgraded to include additional storage space or features and all include the ability to synchronize files automatically on your computer and devices. In my opinion, it is essential to subscribe to and use a cloud storage service to get the most out of your device. Choosing one can be a bit of a challenge, but here are some rules of thumb:

• If you work mostly in Microsoft Office, I’d suggest OneDrive.
• If you want integration with the largest numbers of apps in the AppStore, I’d suggest Dropbox.
• If you live in Google, I’d suggest Google Drive.
• If you need enhanced security and a variety of file sharing features, I’d choose Box.

 
Still confused? Read this great post from Sarah Mitroff at CNET for more guidance. Whichever service you choose, it’s best to go “all in” and move all of the documents you regularly work with into your cloud account. Once there, it is relatively easy to access these files on your iPad and save documents there as well.  
 
Note-Taking
One of the things I like the most about an iPad versus a laptop is the size and relative unobtrusiveness of these devices. In contrast to having the laptop screen between you and others during a meeting, referencing materials and taking notes on an iPad puts up much less of a barrier between you and others – particularly when you use a stylus or the onscreen keyboard, rather than using your iPad with a keyboard. For this reason, I see a note-taking app as an essential tool in your toolkit.
 
If you work primarily in Office, you can use the Word app that works great on the iPad. If you prefer dedicated note-taking apps, I’ve tried a number of the great ones available in the AppStore. For me, I look for three things: a simple interface, notes have to be searchable/”organizable,” and they need to be able to sync to a desktop app or at least to my other devices. The two most widely used note-taking apps are Evernote and OneNote. Both have all the features you'd most likely need and are free. OneNote offers more unintuitive ways to group and organize your notes, but Evernote has connections with more additional plug-ins and services. I think it’s just a question of preference.
 
If you have an iPad Pro and Apple Pencil (or any iPad with a stylus you can at least tolerate), you may want to explore note-taking apps that enable you to take handwritten notes. This has always been my preference. I’ve enjoyed using Penultimate (which integrates with Evernote) and OneNote. On a recommendation from a friend, I’m eager to try Noteshelf which offers a great set of tools for different kinds of notebooks, paper, etc.
 
Document Creating/Editing
To make your iPad even moderately productive, you need to be able to access, edit, and create documents. You’ll then need to be able to sync these documents with your computer. If you’re a Google Drive user, this is easily accomplished with the Google Drive app. All you need to do is install the app, login, and you’re in.
 
For many of us, though, we need to be able to work with Microsoft Office files. A few years ago, this was a royal pain. Fortunately, Microsoft has developed a great suite of apps for Word, PowerPoint, Excel, and OneNote that are optimized for the iPad. While you don’t have access to all the features of the desktop app, you can do most everything you’d need to do. While you can save files on the iPad, it’s much better to integrate with a cloud storage service. OneDrive is definitely the easiest and most robust service that works with these apps flawlessly. You can also make other services like Dropbox and Box work – it just requires a little more effort to set up these services and make sure that your files are syncing reliably.
 
To-Do List Management
One essential for a productive life is to have an app that helps you with organizing and managing your to-do list. While there are a number of great apps and services available (e.g., Omnifocus, Wunderlist, and Remember the Milk), in my opinion, no app offers the simplicity with all the features I need in a rock-solid app that works on the iPad, iPhone, Android, Mac and Windows – Todoist. Honestly, I wouldn’t waste my time exploring the others (trust me, I have) and just sign up for a free Todoist account. I predict that you’ll upgrade to the very affordable Premium service. If you need more convincing, check out my post on Todoist.

PDF Reading/Annotating
iPads are great for reading and annotating PDF documents. I find it much easier and more enjoyable to read a digital document on the iPad flat on the table in front of me compared to a computer screen. I also enjoy the ability to highlight text and make quick notes or annotations on the documents. The experience is exceptionally good on the iPad Pro paired with an Apple Pencil.
 
I’ve recently written an overview of how to choose the best PDF reading/annotation app for your needs. To boil down the substance of that post, I think either Adobe Acrobat Reader for basic use and iAnnotate PDF for increased features will meet most everyone’s needs. Just make sure that whatever service you choose integrates with your cloud storage service, as this can be a bit hit-and-miss across the apps.
 
What other essential tools would you add to this list?
Please post your comments below. 

The following article is a guest post from Barbi Honeycutt, a speaker, scholar, and author. Dr. Honeycutt is the founder of FLIP It Consulting in Raleigh, NC, and an adjunct professor at North Carolina State University. She facilitates workshops, shares strategies, and creates resources to support educators who want to develop learning environments that involve students, increase engagement, and improve learning. You can connect with Barbi at flipitconsulting.com & @barbihoneycutt

For the past five years, the “flipped classroom” model has dominated conversations in all areas of education. From K-12 classrooms to college lecture halls to corporate training programs, educators continue to experiment with the design and analyze the results to determine if the approach actually improves student learning and engagement. Now as more educators are becoming well versed in the approach and have started implementing flipped strategies in their courses, they are beginning to ask more questions and share their experiences. Here are the top three most frequently asked questions I hear from faculty about the flipped classroom model in higher education:
 
1. What is the flipped classroom?
This is probably the most controversial question. Depending on where you look and who you talk to, you will find different definitions, models, and interpretations of what a flipped classroom is. My mission for the past five years has been to encourage us to expand what we mean by “flipped” classrooms. Most of the discussions focus on the use of videos which students watch before class. However, many of us in higher education have pushed against this limited definition. There’s more to student engagement than watching videos of lectures. And a video of a lecture is still a lecture. Even with more innovative and engaging videos, most educators are expanding on their interpretations of what it means to flip a classroom. The model was first introduced as “inverted” instruction by Lage, Platt, and Treglia in the Journal of Economic Education in 2000. Many educators who are using the flipped classroom model may not be familiar with this history, and I encourage you to take a look at that article for some of the original thinking as this idea was beginning to take shape.

In my work, the FLIP means to “Focus on your Learners by Involving them in the Process.” It’s actually based on my teaching philosophy and my research. I have developed a 4-part framework which includes the integration of student development, instructional design, learning environment research, and faculty development. All of these components are essential to creating a successful learning experience.
In this framework, the pre-class work focuses on the lower levels of Bloom’s Taxonomy and the in-class work focuses on the higher levels of Bloom’s Taxonomy. I show educators how to design active learning strategies to involve students in the process of applying, analyzing, and creating knowledge during class time.
 
2. How do you encourage students to actually DO the pre-class homework and come to class prepared and ready to participate?
This is the number one most frequently asked question!  It’s not a unique problem to flipped classrooms since we have always assigned homework and expected our students to come to class prepared. But since the flipped classroom relies heavily on the pre-class work for student engagement, more faculty members want to know how to encourage students to actually DO it.  I recently wrote two articles to help address this question, and I approached them from different perspectives in an effort to start analyzing how we can address this challenge. In the recent Faculty Focus article, I address the challenge from the perspective of holding students accountable and making the learning visible. In a separate blog post titled 3 Strategies to Encourage Students to Complete the Pre-Class Work in the Flipped Classroom, I addressed the question from the perspective of student motivation. Using Dan Pink’s AMP model as a framework, I encourage you to take a closer look at how your pre-class work is designed.
 
The main point is students have to know their pre-class work is valued, relevant, and not “busy” work. Once you meet that expectation and they see how their work contributes to their success in the classroom, they are more likely to do the work and not get left behind when their peers are prepared.  And peer pressure can be a strong motivator too!
 
3. What can I do about student resistance? What if they still don’t do the work or participate?
This is the second most frequently asked question!  I don’t know if I’ve ever talked with a faculty member who had 100% of the students 100% prepared and 100% engaged all of the time in every class. Students have “off” days just like we do, and sometimes life gets in the way of the best laid plans.  However, the first place to start is to understand where the resistance might be coming from.  The college classroom can be a scary and intimidating place for some students. And when we add a new way of learning on top of that stress, some students may shut down or choose to disengage. My favorite resource for addressing this challenge was written by one of my teaching mentors, Dr. Richard Felder. His work on the intersection between the active learning classroom and the stages of grief is fascinating, and I wrote an article titled 5 Ways to Address Student Resistance in the Flipped Classroom based on his findings. It might be a helpful place to start as you think about who your students are, where they are coming from, and what prior experiences might be influencing their behavior. I always say, “Support your students in flipped and active learning classrooms. Just as you are learning how to teach in this way, they are learning how to learn in this way.”

Please post your comments below.