For our curriculum project Danny and I plan to focus on teaching life skills

to a 10th grade high school student who has autism. This is important
because this is the time in students lives when they are implementing their
transition programs in order to prepare for graduation and learn the skills
necessary to care for themselves to the best of their abilities. Teaching life
skills needs to be very hands on. We feel showing students videos and
filming them with flip video cameras will help them visualize and
comprehend the actions more fully. We would like for this student to have
a video archive to reference if these skills are forgotten in the future. For
example, we could film how to ride the bus, grocery shop, do laundry,
count money and order food at a restaurant. Through the usage of other
forms of technology such as iPads and computer programs students will
visualize and then complete activities. Another idea is the usage of Word
Bingo with places in the community they will be visiting. These ideas are all
adaptable for student's unique needs. This is not a complete, full plan as of
yet, but is a rough set of ideas of where we want to take the project.

Our Challenge
Students were challenged to design an educational
experience for a child facing a learning challenge. This
experience allowed students to showcase the purposeful
integration of digital technologies and new media, and to
reflect on the teachings of Universal Design for Learning.

Each of the projects on the site showcases the following:

Scenario defining the Instructional Challenge

Each project provides a rich description of the student,
the learning environment, as well as the specific
instructional challenge with which the student is faced.

Our Instructional Challenge will benefit high school

students who have Autism. As part of a student’s IEP a
transition plan is created, including teaching students life
skills in preparation for their graduation from high school.
It often takes students with disabilities longer to process
change and prepare, as well as learn to care for
themselves through activities such as doing laundry,
counting money, riding the bus, going grocery shopping
and ordering food at a restaurant. Our focus will be with
10 graders preparing them for transition in teaching
th

them life skills.

Proposed Experience/Intervention and Expected

Outcome
Each project proposes an educational
experience/intervention that will address the instructional
challenge faced by the student, as well as the expected
outcome of the experience/intervention.

Our educational intervention will address the issues

students have with remembering steps to completing
these daily life tasks. We will enhance students
understanding of technology in the process of teaching
them life skills necessary for their future. For example,
we would plan to use flip video cameras or iPads to
document students completing these tasks throughout a
week or more period of time. This way we will be able to
then assist the students in editing and putting together a
movie of themselves completing these tasks in order to
review in future instances if they forget a step. This will
be a useful resource in their future to have a video
archive to reference, allowing them to be independent in
their future. Before doing these activities and filming
them, we wish to teach students more about places in
their community. We will utilize the game of Word Bingo
using places in the community such as grocery store, gas
station, restaurant, library, city hall, etc. to familiarize the
students with their surroundings.

Guiding Principles of Universal Design for Learning

Students provide direct and concrete connections
between the proposed experience/intervention and the
principles of Universal Design for Learning.
Our proposed educational intervention allows all students
to be in an environment well-suited for the students’
learning styles. By using flip cameras and iPads, we will
be enabling our students who are visual and auditory
learners to understand the concepts that we are trying to
convey to them. They will not only be given concrete
examples that they can initially understand, but also
videos that they can refer back to for any time in the
future that they might need help. By using the game of
Word Bingo, our students that are auditory and tactile
learners will be able to apply themselves to the game
and learn more about their community. These strategies
directly connect our proposed learning experience to the
Universal Design for Learning.

Technologies/Media Explored and Utilized

Each project will have a focus on the power of
technology and media to enhance learning for learners.

Media used during this lesson will be flip video cameras

and iPads as well as editing software such as iMovie or
Windows Media. This will allow students to take hand in
the creation of their own works as well as have for future
reference for their daily lives. Students will also be
exposed to the usage of an overhead projector screen
and powerpoint to lead Word Bingo.

Lesson Plan
Students develop a well-thought and attainable plan for
the experience/intervention, including instructional
materials, student work, and assessment.

Introduction Activity: Word Bingo- Word Bingo is a game

played in the classroom in order for students to
understand the sounds associated with words and be
able to recognize them. To play Word Bingo, a list of
words is shown to the students and they pick certain
words to put on their bingo card in the squares. To play,
the teacher reads off words and students cross them off
of their card if they filled in the word read on their square.
For example: gas station, city hall, library, school, movie
theatre, grocery store, post office, etc.

Step 1: Explain to students the importance of

understanding life skills for future use and being
independent and knowing their community.
Step 2: Provide an overview of the project including a
tutorial of the technology to be used. Provide specific
dates for when the students will be filming and
completing their activities. Explain that they will be in
partners as one student will complete the activity and one
will film and then switch roles.
Step 3: Provide instructions for each of the activities the
students will be completing: counting money, doing
laundry, going to the grocery store, riding a bus, ordering
in a restaurant, etc.
Step 4: Aid students in the completion of video gathering
and activity completing.
Step 5: Show the students how to upload their videos to
a computer and how to work the software.
Step 6: Assist students in putting together a movie of
themselves completing the activities.
Step 7: Have a showcase where parents may come to
view their students work.

Students will be assessed based off of their completion

of the tasks as assigned.

Instructional Materials
Students link all instructional materials created for the
experience/intervention, as well as any student work
samples.

__Flip Cameras__
__iPads__
__iMovie__
Computers
Powerpoint
Projector
Instructions for tasks

Analysis/Discussion
Students author a critical overarching reflection on the
entire project.
This project brought my attention to the importance of the
Universal Design for Learning and the idea of making a
learning environment that can enable all students to gain
knowledge. By including technology into a student’s IEP,
all types of learners are allowed to apply themselves to
the learning experience in various ways. Creating a
lesson plan and deciding what materials to use allow
Universal Design to be planned out before implementing
the activity with the students. All students will benefit in
some way from this project, accomplishing the goal of a
teacher to reach all students.

References / Work Cited

Students provide references/links to all resources.
The Advocacy Institute. Universal Design for Learning.
2008. __http://www.advocacyinstitute.org/UDL/__
Word Bingo Idea : __http://where-i-can-buy-bingo-game-
sheets.blogspot.com/2009/03/learning-resources-sight-
word-bingo.html__

Each project represents the students' thoughtful, critical,

and creative research and exploration of the
interventions, and they took full advantage of the unique
affordances of this wiki, including hyperlinks, multimedia
embeds, and others.

Please enjoy the responses, and feel free to leave

feedback on the Discussion tab for each exhibit!