In December 2024, CAST partnered with the Stanford University Accelerator for Learning in the planning and execution of a two-day AI + Learning Differences event. This two day event encompassed a symposium and hackathon.
The symposium brought together a select group of researchers, innovators, policymakers, and philanthropic leaders to engage in thought-provoking discussions and collaborative roundtables aimed at identifying and developing actionable solutions in the emerging artificial intelligence (AI) field to support learning differences. CAST will be contributing to a post-event collaborative white paper, outlining new directions in policy, innovation, and funding.
The hackathon brought together technologists, educators, students, and families to prototype AI-driven solutions supporting learning differences. Attendees collaborated in teams, contributed their expertise to define key challenges, and worked together to develop and present actionable solutions. All hackathon attendees were given a UDL Guidelines 3.0 overview and resource to reference and use during the development of their prototypes.
Additionally, CAST attendees served as mentors for the hackathon teams to ensure that accessibility and UDL were key considerations in the development of their prototypes. Lindsay Jones was one of several judges in determining the winners of the hackathon.
Find out more about how CAST is weaving together Universal Design for Learning and AI.