Hello. I’m glad you’re here.

When I discovered Universal Design for Learning, it was 2008. I worked with an amazing Accessibility Services team at a community college and we were all invested in making college learning for students with disabilities a better experience. We didn’t have all the answers, but we knew the solution was much bigger than simply getting better at providing academic accommodations. My manager discovered David Rose and Anne Meyer’s book, “Teaching Every Student in the Digital Age: Universal Design for Learning” and shared it with me. It was transformative. Truly transformative. I felt like here was a solution where accessibility was embedded in learning. It was a core part of designing learning experiences, not an afterthought. And that students with disabilities were not a separate category of learner, but part of a wide range of highly variable learners. It aligned with my values as an educator and as a learner, and it was both flexible and practical.

It was the beginning of my UDL journey, and it has been an amazing experience.

I’ve been lucky to work in different areas of post-secondary, and gain first hand experiences from both the academic and student services sides of the house. I’ve taught in the classroom and worked in accessibility services. I’ve developed curriculum and taught new faculty. I’ve led enterprise level projects, and worked shoulder to shoulder with faculty developing learning outcomes. In my book, “UDL Navigators in Higher Education: A Field Guide”, I weave those varied experiences together into one handy handbook for colleagues also navigating UDL in higher education.

The systems focus of UDL is important to me, and is a big part of my work. As individuals in an organization, we rely on our systems and they need to support a UDL approach too. I’ve led province wide UDL projects, and helped transform organizational learning to embed UDL in design and delivery. I’ve developed faculty development programs that embed UDL, and helped hundreds of faculty increase their use of UDL in meaningful ways. Real ways.

If you need someone to help you get real with your UDL journey, please get in touch. I’d love to learn more about your work, and help you grow UDL in your practice and in your organization.

Your UDL colleague,

Jodie