Madison Bunderson, Elena Darling-Hammond, & Daniel Pimentel presented at the CAST UDL symposium this summer on “Using Online Tools and UDL to Elicit Learner Voice.” This was a three-video pre-recorded session. Pimentel began by speaking about student voice. I liked how they started with a slide that simply read “it is lovely to meet you.” Darling-Hammond introduced themselves as a third-year doctoral student in Literacy Education and Learning Sciences at Stanford. Pimentel is a 4th year Ph.D. candidate in Science Education and Learning Sciences at Stanford and former middle school science, high school chemistry, and special education teacher. Bunderson is a third year Ph.D. student in Developmental and Psychological Sciences & Leadership in System-Wide Inclusive Education. They explained that although they are using the term “voice,” they are referring to all types of communication.
In video #2, Darling-Hammond spoke about digital check-ins, community playlists, and virtual chats as examples. In digital check-ins, Darling-Hammond found community and support. Pimentel explained that community playlists has choice for students, community, and learner voice. Playing songs at the beginning of the session or during breaks helped build community. Bunderson used virtual chats in learning environments to support assignments and help learners . Virtual chats provided Bunderson with links to other resources that connected them to technologies and ideas. Bunderson used the example of sending a direct message to. connect with each other through the chat. Bunderson spoke about the richness of the learning environment created using this approach.
Darling- Hammer spoke about the three pieces for co-creating learning: actively seek, honor, and amplify student voice. The next example was digital spaces for commenting and refining their thinking. The examples listed were Padlet, Jamboard, and Google Slides. Pimentel always started speaking and mentioned their name. I need to work on that. The example they spoke about was the use of digital exit tickets through Google Forms, for example. Next, Pimentel would share feedback and how they were adapting instruction based on their feedback. The third example Bunderson shared was the use of digital zines: self-published This resource is flexible and allows for learners to share their thoughts. While the examples they shared are mostly things we are currently using, the way they described why and how they cam be used to elicit learner voice in respectful ways was very useful.
