Universal Design for Learning (UDL) aims to create an inclusive learning environment that caters to the diverse needs of all students. Thankfully, technology offers a wealth of tools to help educators implement UDL principles in their classrooms. Here’s a breakdown of some powerful tech resources:
For Reading and Comprehension
Natural Reader
This free web app lets you upload documents or paste text and have it read aloud. You can customize the reading speed, voice, and highlight words as they are spoken.
Clusive
An adaptive and accessible web-based reading and learning environment designed to engage students in independent reading
Lexend
This font is a research based font that supports students with dyslexia.’
Helperbird and Read/Write Extension
These are Chrome browser extensions providing text to speech and speech to text, word prediction, highlighting, and other features.
For Writing and Organization
Corgie
A great resource for digital graphic organizers for building higher-order thinking skills.
Vocaroo
A simple but powerful site that allows you to easily create audio versions of ANYTHING!
Autodraw
Transforms rough sketches into polished drawings, encouraging creativity and visual expression for students with fine motor challenges.
Texthelp
A suite of tools including Read&Write, Equatio (for math), and uPar (for writing supports) that offer comprehensive support for literacy and learning. Free for Arkansas schools!
For Engagement and Interaction
YouTube: 360° Great Hammerhead Shark Encounters
An example of a 360 degree video allowing the user to control their experience. There are 360° videos all over Youtube, so consider this when choosing videos for your classroom plans.
Purify YouTube Videos for Students WITHOUT Ads and Recommended Videos
This video explains how to ‘purify’ youtube videos so there are no thumbnails or ads (put a dash after the t in the URL).
Screencastify
Offers a simple, free way to record what’s happening on your screen to support your students.
Along.org
Facilitates one-on-one reflection and connection between teachers and students.
For Differentiation and Support
UDL Strategy Database
Access a wealth of strategies and resources for implementing UDL in your classroom.
Goblin Tools
This is a cool site that will take any task you give it and break it down into the micro tasks that are required to complete it. This can allow you to create a checklist for your students. The ‘spicier’ you make your list, the more micro it will go.
Magic School
This site uses AI to help teachers save time when differentiating content. Some of the most helpful features include the Lesson Plan Generator, which creates comprehensive plans aligned to standards; the Diagnostic Assessment Generator, which quickly assesses student understanding; the Text-Dependent Question Generator, which fosters deeper analysis of any text; the Rubric Generator, which simplifies assessment creation; and the Syllabus Generator, which helps teachers effortlessly craft detailed syllabi.
Eduaide.Ai
Suite of tools including Lesson Seed for generating creative lesson ideas, Anchor Chart for crafting visually engaging summaries of key concepts, CER (Claim, Evidence, Reasoning) for scaffolding scientific thinking, Escape Room for gamifying learning with interactive challenges, and Scenario-Based Questions for developing critical thinking skills through real-world problem-solving.
Brisk
Over 30 AI-powered tools designed to streamline teaching tasks and enhance learning. Some of their best tools include the Targeted Feedback Generator for personalized student feedback, the Presentation Maker for crafting Google Slides from various sources, the Quiz Maker for creating quizzes with answer keys in Google Forms and Docs, the AI Lesson Plan Generator for comprehensive lesson plans, and the DOK Questions tool for generating Depth of Knowledge questions to deepen student understanding.
Ludia
Tools including the Barrier Identification feature, which helps educators pinpoint potential learning barriers in their lessons and provides personalized UDL strategy recommendations; the 4T’s process (Target, Tools, Techniques, & Take-Aways), a structured framework for applying UDL; and the AI-powered chatbot, which offers on-demand support and guidance for UDL implementation.
For Accessibility
Don’t have a digital copy of the text you are using? No problem! Learn how to take a hard copy and make it digital with these resources:
- Copy Text with iPhone Camera
- CNET article on how to copy text with iPhone
- Copy text with Google Lens
