1. Digital Writing,
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 for different
assignments

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 an idea of
where they are in their project.

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 each other’s
blogs

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/kayser/hist
ory-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. ToonDoo.com is a free site with
similar options, but it is more difficult to use and takes a
very long time to load.

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/ccglobal2012holida
yproject/gw-kayser-charlottesville-va-6th-grade
for examples

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 app)

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 shared with them.

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 America Day.

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