DrawingDay08 and Universal Design for Learning

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June 7, 2008 by Paul Hamilton

Today is Drawing Day 08. The organizers of the event have encouraged us to “drop everything and draw”. The goal is for artists around the world to create and share 1 million drawings today. Meeting that goal is less important than raising awareness of the possibilities and opportunities that exist. I agree with the organizers’ assertion that, “the internet is an open canvas” for creative expression.

Art is a “subject” that deserves to be taught in schools, but I believe there is much more to it than that.

While I’m no expert on UDL, I’m becoming an increasingly passionate proponent. Universal Design for Learning is the approach to education that intentionally supports the diverse learning needs of ALL learners, regardless of learning style, aptitude, physical access challenges, or any other potential barrier. For all learners to have any hope of success, there are three essential requirements:

multiple means of representation
multiple means of action and expression
multiple means of engagement

I believe there are learners for whom art is an indispensable component of all three–representation, expression and engagement. With digital media, it is now realistic to offer learners multiple options for artistic expression. Learners can use their artistic aptitude, and/or available digital tools, not just for creative expression, but to demonstrate and share what they know. There is also an infinite range of convenient ways that art can be used to present information and to engage learners in our classrooms.

Many of the resources I have written about on this blog can be used to create and/or share art of one form or another. A few such posts that stand out in my memory are Viscosity, Glogster, Sketchcast, and artPad. As a result of Drawing Day 08, I’ve discovered several wonderful digital art resources that are new to me. I intend to begin a series of reviews here soon.

One of the new art resources I discovered this week is Mutapic. I used it to create my own submission for Drawing Day, and I’ve shared that below.

Posted in 1 | Tagged Art, artPad, CAST, drawing, drawing day 08, Glogster, Sketchcast, UDL, universal design for learning, Viscosity | 5 Comments

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5 Responses to “DrawingDay08 and Universal Design for Learning”

on 10 Jun 2008 at 1:06 am1 Birdie

Paul, you are a very, very busy blogger! What a wonderful site and resource. This looks like a lot of work, and you’ve done it beautifully. I got hung up on that conversation with the avatar. Pretty cool. Couldn’t strike up a conversation with it myself as my silly laptop has no mic. Thanks for visiting my blog. I need more inspiration and energy. I have your blog in my favorites now. Bird
on 10 Jun 2008 at 9:03 am2 Paul Hamilton

Thanks for stopping by my blog, Birdie. And thank you for your very kind words! I’m eagerly anticipating the next post on your blog. As the mother of 2 little ones, I don’t doubt your need for more energy. At the same time, I expect that Kai and Maryn have plenty of inspiration to offer! –Paul

PS I suggest that you consider setting up an account in Google Reader so you can subscribe to RSS feeds. That way you are automatically informed when a blogger writes a new post, and you don’t have to keep checking back.
on 11 Jun 2008 at 7:57 am3 Ira Socol

Before John Calvin art and music and poetry were the dominant communication arts. But Calvinist churches banned both music and decoration from their buildings and American schools - created to match those religious environments - followed suit back in 1650 and have really never changed. Instead of welcoming and integrating the variety of human expression forms, and the varied forms of literacy, schools focus relentlessly on a very narrow path to success (again, a Calvinist notion).

This is why Universal Design is not just about technology. It is about redefining human learning and reconstructing the entire school experience, from the buildings to the clocks to the curriculum to the relationships between “teachers” and “learners.” It is about going back to the truly natural humane patterns which existed before Protestantism.
on 11 Jun 2008 at 8:59 am4 Paul Hamilton

Thanks for sharing some historic context, Ira. I appreciate UDL as a conceptual framework that has the potential to help define and facilitate education more as I believe it ought to be. I agree that UDL must not be just about technology. Long before I’d heard of UDL, I had been trying to articulate my sense that the system is so badly broken that we need to “blow it all up so we can start over”. Yo put it well when you say UDL needs to be about “…redefining human learning and reconstructing the entire school experience.”

I will continue to share my enthusiasm for new learning tools made possible by digital technology. There are no magic bullets, but some of these tools offer the only hope of success for many who are stuck in the education system as it is.
on 12 Jun 2008 at 7:35 pm5 Artist Anika

I am very glad to find another supporter of Drawing Day 2008!

I had never heard of UDL before, but your description of it makes me wish it was a more dominate part of our society. Art is a necessity, but it is continually losing support. I was glad to learn about Drawing Day for that very reason, it brought art back into the spotlight.

Most people appreciate good art, but very few are willing to learn or teach it (or spend money to teach it). It is sad and my wish is for Drawing Day and all those that support it to change the way art is viewed world wide.