CAST (Center for Applied Special Technology)

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CAST (Center for Applied Special Technology) CAST is a global leader in inclusive education. We researched and authored the UDL Framework and the CAST UDL Guidelines for inclusive learning.

Heading to MassCUE next week? Come find us. 👋We’re bringing UDL-Con: International to the MassCUE Fall Conference, Octob...
10/09/2026

Heading to MassCUE next week? Come find us. 👋

We’re bringing UDL-Con: International to the MassCUE Fall Conference, October 14–15, and we can’t wait to learn alongside educators from across New England.

Christine Fox, Melissa Sanjeh, Niel Albero, and Jenna Gravel will lead hands-on, interactive sessions with strategies you can bring right back to your classroom and school, on topics like executive function, AI and accessibility, trauma-informed practices, and whole-school UDL. Stop by and say hello to Alison Berg, who will also share special opportunities for Massachusetts leaders to partner with CAST.

Add our sessions to your conference schedule: https://pulse.ly/syhwj0se89

"Going slow to go fast" is a mantra Mike Marotta shares from the New Jersey teams working with the CITES Framework.🔗 htt...
10/07/2026

"Going slow to go fast" is a mantra Mike Marotta shares from the New Jersey teams working with the CITES Framework.

🔗 https://pulse.ly/5no4lsxoya

In this episode, we talk with Mike, Director of New Jersey's Assistive Technology Act Program, along with Donna Volpe and Ryan Kenny of Ramsey Public Schools, about what that looks like in practice. They share how their team slowed down to build a shared vision, brought people from different departments together, and made it a goal to share the assistive technology tools already in their schools' software, so inclusive technology becomes part of everyday work instead of one more thing to add.

Tune in:
Transistor: https://pulse.ly/9hm9lyfo2g
Apple: https://pulse.ly/qtsthqettj
Spotify: https://pulse.ly/u7tuw06ekv
YouTube: https://pulse.ly/dfjpzzkq6i

Be sure to subscribe, leave a rating, and share this episode with a colleague. 💜

Our co-founder Skip Stahl has retired, for the second time.Skip was there in 1984 when CAST began. In the years that fol...
10/06/2026

Our co-founder Skip Stahl has retired, for the second time.

Skip was there in 1984 when CAST began. In the years that followed, he helped bring publishers, educators, disability organizations, and technology specialists together around accessible instructional materials, work that led to a national standard for producing them.

Here at CAST, we'll also remember him for the "Flo song" sing-alongs. https://youtu.be/d2GC8kAUpSQ

📸: Some of the team sending him off with one more rousing rendition.

Thank you, Skip.

Join us in wishing him a wonderful retirement.

What if coaching conversations started with who could access the learning, instead of whether a strategy was implemented...
10/05/2026

What if coaching conversations started with who could access the learning, instead of whether a strategy was implemented correctly?

A new opinion piece in District Administration explores that shift and makes the case for pairing Universal Design for Learning with instructional coaching.
🔗 https://pulse.ly/uhazupk0yx

We've seen what that pairing can look like through our OASIS project (Opening Access to Science Instruction and Support). We worked alongside elementary science coaches and their teachers to anticipate and reduce barriers to inquiry-based science learning. Coaches told us the experience made them more aware, reflective, and structured in their practice, and they saw teachers grow in confidence, lesson planning, and reflective teaching.

Explore the case study:
🔗 https://pulse.ly/fxsmcwtqvz

The OASIS coaching resources are freely available to any coach or teacher:
🔗 https://pulse.ly/uphxkb3gek

On October 7 at 2 pm ET, our own Kelli Suding will join a panel of experts for “Building Accessible and Fair AI Tools,” ...
10/02/2026

On October 7 at 2 pm ET, our own Kelli Suding will join a panel of experts for “Building Accessible and Fair AI Tools,” which will focus on designing and implementing AI tools with respect for learner variability and cover strategies including Universal Design for Learning (UDL), testing compatibility with assistive technologies, and monitoring and correcting AI models to address bias.

Register here to join the free webinar: https://pulse.ly/6gdd56xyxc

This conversation is designed for ed tech developers, funders, and policymakers interested in creating AI tools that are accessible, fair, and responsive to the needs of all learners.

October is AAC Awareness Month.Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC) is access to voice. It supports communic...
10/01/2026

October is AAC Awareness Month.

Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC) is access to voice. It supports communication, participation, connection, and self-expression across every part of a person's day, in the classroom, with friends, and everywhere in between. When AAC users have the right tools and people who believe their voice matters, others get to see who they really are.

In our new blog post, you'll meet Laila, a North Carolina middle school student and cheerleader with a big personality and plenty to say. Her story begins with a simple request: "Please give me a minute while I type what I want to say."

What happened when the adults around her made room for that minute is worth the read.

🔗 https://pulse.ly/zureqoeqmh

The post is based on an interview conducted through the Center on Inclusive Technology & Education Systems (CITES).

For International Podcast Day, we're revisiting four conversations from The Learning Experience that show how far Univer...
09/30/2026

For International Podcast Day, we're revisiting four conversations from The Learning Experience that show how far Universal Design for Learning (UDL) reaches, from statewide strategy to the way a classroom is physically set up.

🔗 https://pulse.ly/thuuzkk0kn

Now in its sixth season, The Learning Experience has 58 episodes and tens of thousands of downloads. Here are four to start with:

1. AI in the Classroom: What Utah is Building and Why it Matters
Matt Winters, AI Education Specialist at the Utah State Board of Education, walks through Utah's statewide approach to AI and how schools can balance innovation with responsibility.
https://pulse.ly/8a5lhvfofz

2. Ergonomics Meets UDL: Designing Classrooms That Work for Every Body
Occupational therapist Elisa Wern shares small ergonomic changes that make a big impact on participation, comfort, and engagement. She covers posture and positioning, classroom setup, and how learners physically access assistive technology.
https://pulse.ly/gnzlo6lif6

3. Tech Isn't Inclusive Until It's Designed to Be
Our hosts explore how UDL can shape technology tools that work for all learners, and when technology becomes assistive.
https://pulse.ly/y1hmquwcdz

4. Makenzie's Mission to Empower Learners
Makenzie joined us as a high school freshman and advocate for students with dyslexia. She shares how she raises awareness by speaking with students and educators across the Midwest and presenting at national conferences.
https://pulse.ly/elplghldei

✨ Subscribe, leave a rating, and share an episode with a colleague who's designing for every learner.

Tune in:
Apple: https://pulse.ly/867pgnvmwj
Spotify: https://pulse.ly/ulfzt5xs6z
YouTube: https://pulse.ly/hu0ork8sxg

If you work in higher education, you've probably seen UDL show up in pockets: a redesigned course here, an accessible sy...
09/29/2026

If you work in higher education, you've probably seen UDL show up in pockets: a redesigned course here, an accessible syllabus there. But turning those good ideas into something that works across a whole campus can feel like the harder part.

That's what this free webinar is for. Join us for a walk-through of the new UDL Campus Implementation Criteria, a practical new tool for assessing where your institution stands and mapping out what to tackle next.

October 1 at 3 PM ET

This is the first webinar in our 2026-2027 UDL-Con series, so registering once means you'll hear about every session that follows.

🔗 https://pulse.ly/wf3sbdbnid

How do you build a classroom where every student feels like they belong from the start?In this episode, we talk with Hea...
09/25/2026

How do you build a classroom where every student feels like they belong from the start?

In this episode, we talk with Heather Avery, a learning specialist in Universal Design for Learning with New Brunswick's Department of Education. Heather shares how her province built a system-wide approach to UDL, from a provincial inclusive education policy to a preferences tool built right into their learning management system so every student, not just some, can find the supports that work for them.

The conversation covers practical ways to foster learner agency and design for variability, along with a simple mindset shift: start small, try one thing, and build from there.

Tune in:
Transistor: https://pulse.ly/jnz2ycyhev
Apple: https://pulse.ly/de4npgcjqn
Spotify: https://pulse.ly/wtfkc8msv3
YouTube: https://pulse.ly/qrhjwmjmub

Subscribe, leave a rating, and share this episode with a colleague.

We're grateful to ReadSpeaker for sponsoring this episode.

Where does AI fit into the planning, feedback, and differentiation you're already doing?Our own Kelli Suding joins educa...
09/23/2026

Where does AI fit into the planning, feedback, and differentiation you're already doing?

Our own Kelli Suding joins educator Tim Belmont, instructional coach Marcia Kish, and FETC chair Jennifer Womble for an hour of practical strategies you can use right away. The focus is on saving time and strengthening instruction while keeping relationships, critical thinking, and student growth at the center.

Tuesday, September 29
4:00 p.m. ET
🔗 https://pulse.ly/tjxsapqnwr

Address

Lynnfield, MA
01940

Opening Hours

Monday 8:30am - 5pm
Tuesday 8:30am - 5pm
Wednesday 8:30am - 5pm
Thursday 8:30am - 5pm
Friday 8:30am - 5pm

Telephone

+17812452212

Website

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