1. Classroom
Spaces, and
UDL
Brian Kayser
Special Education Teacher at Walton
Middle School in
Charlottesville, VA
bkayser@k12albemarle.org

2. The Physical Space
As a special education teacher, I have
mostly taught collaborative classes, which
meant I was always the guest in another
teacher’s classroom.
Being a guest is okay at a restaurant, but
not in a classroom.
When I was given space this year, I wanted
to redesign it so the kids could feel as
though they had their own space.

3. Steps I took...
There were three teacher desks in the
space over the summer. I got rid of all
three.
Got rid of all desks and replaced them with
round tables. They’ve been much easier for
the students to use for collaboration.
Took down all posters on wall. The only
things that go on the wall are student-
created work and materials and our map to
show where we’ve connected this year.

4. Steps I took...
Added comfort furniture to the class. There
are beanbags, pillows, empty five gallon
buckets, and a couch.
Most students sit in different places each
day. This simple decision means they enter
the class already thinking.
Students can sit where they want as long
as they are on task.
Students often choose different locations

5. What it looks like...
To view panorama, please visit:
http://360.io/KJgU4p

6. Other Places
Students Use
Students can also work in:
• The kitchen attached to Room 4
• The hallway
• The library

7. Writing and UDL
Every student needs to understand and
truly believe they have something valuable
to share with the world.
Students need to understand what writing
is – sharing your thoughts with the world –
and the many avenues they can take to
sharing their thoughts

8. Writing and UDL
cont…
Some students have used Dragon Dictation
(free iPod app) for speech-to-text dictation.
Others have needed a teacher scribe.
Others have tried both options and found
those processes didn’t work for them,
opting instead to type their work.

9. Writing and UDL
cont…
The key to maximizing UDL in writing it to
know what you want your students to know,
but be very flexible in the path each student
chooses to show they know what they’re
supposed to.
An example of this is…

10. The Short Story
Project
- Students are currently working on this.
- Students first write a story and share it on
Google Docs for feedback.
- Once their story is written, students will tell
the story in a different way (movie, puppet
show, picture book, animation
(goanimate.com), dramatic reading, etc).
- Students will then reflect how different
mediums changed/enhanced/limited their story.

11. The Short Story
Project cont.
- In this process, we’ve already had
discussions about why certain mediums
were better than others depending on
the story.
- Key element for students is telling a
compelling story...they’re very interested
to learn new technologies to get the best
product possible.

12. The Short Story
Project cont.
- Currently most students are on Part 2 of
their project.
- Some are planning a movie, others are
adapting their story into a children’s book,
one student is producing a puppet show,
and one student is retelling the story
through Twitter conversations using
FakeTweetBuilder (faketweetbuilder.com).
- The biggest challenge is being able to help
kids with a variety of problems and keeping

13. Student Blogging
Each student has their own EduBlog.org
blog (total cost for 50 students is $40)
Students choose their theme and color
layout
Students learn to post only the work they
are truly proud of
All student blogs are posted on the
language arts website for easy access
Students are given time to comment on

14. Some examples

15. One more example

16. Comics

17. StripGenerator
An example from StripGenerator
(stripgenerator.com)
What }I like about StripGenerator:
- it’s free
- very easy interface
-multiple students can be logged into the
same account at the same time

18. StripGenerator cont.
What I don’t like about StripGenerator
- strips can not be edited...once they’re
submitted, it’s final
- no color
- limited characters and objects

19. BitStrips
bitstrips.com
- For examples, please visit
https://sites.google.com/a/k12albemarle.org/kay
ser/history-ii-1865-to-present/civil-rights-
movement
BitStrips costs money, but they give a one
month free trial. The comics are easy to make,
very customizable, and give students a ton of
options. This is my favorite comic creating site.

20. VoiceThread
-Students have used VoiceThread
(voicethread.com) for a variety of
projects, such as telling about their
favorite holiday memory, history projects,
and as a digital story for elementary
students
-Please visit
https://sites.google.com/site/ccglobal2012
holidayproject/gw-kayser-charlottesville-

21. SoundCloud
- SoundCloud (soundcloud.com, great iPod
app) is a free site that allows students to
record or post recordings of their work to
be shared
- Students have used this to tell about their
favorite holiday memory after they wrote it.
- We’ve also experimented with podcasting
using AudioBoo (audioboo.com, great iPod

22. SoundCloud cont.
- SoundCloud (soundcloud.com, great iPod
app) is a free site that allows students to
record or post recordings of their work to
be shared
- Students have used this to tell about their
favorite holiday memory after they wrote it.
- We’ve also experimented with podcasting
using AudioBoo (audioboo.com, great iPod

23. Global Fiction
Readings

24. Global Fiction
Readings
Students write, edit, and rewrite
When students have a final draft, they
practice reading with a partner
Students then read their writing to their
classmates on a scheduled day
The reading is also broadcast through
Ustream, a video streaming service (free),
to family and other classes that can tune in

25. Global Fiction
Reading Cont.
Students receive immediate feedback from
their classmates and teachers
Through Twitter and Ustream, students also
receive feedback

26. Some Feedback...
Thanks, Rebecca, Tyler, et al. Now I know from whence many of you come, your
backgrounds and bios.
I enjoyed hearing y'all read. Not only was it interesting to hear your views about
important topics such as bullying, but I enjoyed the fiction and poems, too. Flying dogs,
magic bears, ghosts, and dragons (lots of them)? Thieves dressed in flags? Foods
flavored with rosemary? And there was a lot more, too. Some of these things reminded
me of what I think is called "magical reality."
The writing I heard was very impressive. There were many excellent sentences; the clear
sentences made it easy for me to understand the ideas you were presenting. I also
heard many writers using sophisticated and strong vocabulary.; colorful words helped to
paint a picture for me about what was happening in a parking lot, and action verbs
helped to describe the movements of characters.
Congratulations.
JohnL

27. More Uses for
Ustream...
I’ve also used Ustream to broadcast our
band concerts, talent show, and graduation.
By sharing the Ustream link with families
and other classrooms, it gives our kids a
wider, authentic audience.
Link: http://www.ustream.tv/channel/walton-
wildcats

28. More feedback from our
Ustream events...

29. More feedback from our
Ustream events...

30. Google Docs
Google Docs allows for collaboration during
the writing process.
Students can view each other’s work from
their own computer and leave comments
and ideas for each other.
Students can collaborate on one document
at the same time from different computers,
or from one and they all automatically have
the updated document as long as it is

31. Pen Pals
Students have pen pals from Ireland and
Australia.
They have the opportunity to describe
Charlottesville to their pen pals and to learn
about other cultures.
Students share letters through email and
Google Docs

32. Skyping
My students have Skyped with other middle
school classes to share work and listen to others’
work.
We’ve Skyped with our pen pals in Ireland.
We’ve Skyped with elementary classes to listen to
their work and teach them new material.
We’ve Skyped with a 9/11 survivor.
We’ve Skyped with a variety of classes for Dot
Day, Digital Learning Day, and Read Across

33. The SuperSchool
Project
Students maintained a Tumblr page dedicated to
showing what happened at Walton on a daily
basis.
Students took the pictures, edited them, wrote a
caption, and posted them on their own.
http://superwalton.tumblr.com

34. The SuperSchool
Project cont…
An example

35. Contact
Brian Kayser
Email: bkayser@k12albemarle.org
Twitter: @bkayser11
Blog: bkayser11.wordpress.com