Reach everyone and teach everyone with Universal Design for Learning (UDL)

This session will be in English

In order for learners at the University of Iceland to be successful and reach their potential, it is important that they have access to quality and equitable education. This interactive presentation aims to create and strengthen the work of instructors, support staff, and administrators who are prepared to teach and support a diverse range of learners, especially the time-crunched students who come to the University of Iceland and area colleges and programs from a variety of socio-economic and community backgrounds. 

The overarching goal of this interactive session is to help our already-busy students (Eurostudent, 2024) to engage in and continue successfully with their course work, overcome barriers, and graduate in their chosen fields. Especially where students are dropping out or delaying their progress (University of Iceland, 2021), we can focus our efforts on the strategic priority (United Nations, 2023) of helping our existing students to stay with us and complete their educational journeys, regardless of their circumstances.  

In this hands-on session, University of Iceland instructors, support staff, and administrators will receive support and training that support key areas of the organization mission to reach out to busy adult learners: 

• Identify the three core needs of adult learners along the vectors of safety, time, and belonging. 
• Select, predict, or draft a specific expression of equity, diversity, inclusivity, social justice, or accessibility in the work that you do with learners. 
• Create and implement a classroom or interaction design (e.g., a rubric, activity parameters, a welcome message) that addresses barriers for over-scheduled learner populations through the use of adaptable curriculum, inclusive engagement techniques, or learner collaboration with peers, instructors, or the community. 
• Analyze a single learner interaction through the lens of the universal design for learning (UDL) framework. 

Session Details: 

• Date: Thursday, December 5th

• Time: 9:00 am - 10:45 am

The session starts with coffee and kleinur and towards the end (10:45) those interested get a chance to have a discussion with Thomas and buy his books.  

• Location: Sudurberg at Setberg, 3rd floor

The host for this session; Thomas J. Tobin helped found the University of Wisconsin-Madison Center for Teaching, Learning, and Mentoring, and he is an internationally recognized scholar, author, and speaker on technology-mediated education—especially copyright, evaluation of teaching practices, academic integrity, accessibility, and universal design for learning. 

He holds a master’s and Ph.D. in English literature, an information science master’s, and certifications in project management (PMP), online teaching (MOT), Quality Matters (QM), accessibility (CPACC), and academic leadership (Penn State). 

On Ed Tech Magazine’s 2020 Influencers “Dean’s List,” honored with the 2022 Wagner Award for Leadership in Distance Learning Administration, and one of Eduflow’s 2023 global Top 100 Learning Influencers, Tom serves on the boards of Advances in Online Education, InSight: A Journal of Scholarly Teaching, the Online Journal of Distance Learning Administration, and the Oklahoma University Press Teaching, Engaging, and Thriving in Higher Ed series. 

His books include:  

• Evaluating Online Teaching (2015).  
• The Copyright Ninja (2017). 
• Reach Everyone, Teach Everyone: UDL in Higher Education (2018). 
• Going Alt-Ac: A Guide to Alternative Academic Careers (2020). 
• Implementing UDL in Irish Further Education and Training (2021). 
• UDL at Scale (forthcoming 2025). 
• Evaluating Teaching in the Digital Era (forthcoming 2026).