Universal design for learning, or UDL for short, is an
educational design framework that continues to receive widespread attention for
its intentional integration of malleable supports aimed at engaging all learners in the learning process. It
is rooted in contemporary neuroscience understandings of how networks in the
brain collaborate to learn new information (Dalton, 2014). Book Builder
(bookbuilder.cast.org) is a UDL book-making tool created by CAST, a “nonprofit
education research and development organization” that specializes in UDL (CAST,
2015).
Unlike other online book-making tools, Book Builder, allows
the creator (teacher, parent, tutor, student, etc.) to craft e-books with
built-in, individualized, supports for students. Specifically, a text-to-speech
feature is available to support students that struggle with fluency and/or
decoding. The builder can record their own voice or use the program’s synthetic
voice. Additionally, challenging vocabulary can be linked to a written
definition and/or a different modal representation conveying the same meaning
(sound, video, etc.).
Arguably the strongest UDL feature of Book Builder is the coaching component. When creating a text, one can select from a variety
of avatars (animals and people) which serve to coach students through
the text by guiding their thinking and strategy use. The creator determines what each coach will say and when. The coaches are not
intended to be used to assess students’ comprehension, but instead to teach and
encourage various reading strategies such as making connections and breaking
difficult words up into meaningful chunks.
Having used this tool as a classroom teacher and reading
specialist, I can tell you firsthand that it can be a powerful way to
differentiate for individual readers. That said, it is not without its pitfalls.
Specifically, I did not find Book Builder to be especially user-friendly, as I
sometimes had difficulty uploading images, pasting text into textboxes and
recording my voice. Additionally, I found the graphics and general User
Interface to be somewhat antiquated and generally uninspiring. Rumor has it
CAST may be currently working to improve this important tool, and if the rumors
are true, I look forward to the revamped version.
In the meantime, I am wondering - have any of you used
a similar e-tool to create individualized texts for learners? We are interested
in your experiences and would love to review new programs that serve a similar
purpose.
About CAST. (2015, December 21). Retrieved October 11, 2017,
from http://www.cast.org/about#.Wd6XpWhSxPY
Dalton, B. (2014). DIY E-Books. Reading Teacher, 67(7), 543-546. doi:10.1002/trtr.1246
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