Digital technologies in the service of universal design for learning: from Web 1.0 to Web 3.0

Abstract

The integration of digital technologies with the principles of Universal Design for Learning (UDL) offers opportunities for developing more accessible and flexible teaching practices. The evolution of the Web—from the predominantly one-way navigation of Web 1.0 to the possibilities for integration, intelligent data processing, and personalization associated with Web 3.0 has transformed the ways in which knowledge is interacted with, produced, and disseminated, presenting new challenges and opportunities for curriculum design. The objective of this study was to analyze how the evolution of digital technologies, from Web 1.0 to Web 3.0, has expanded the possibilities for implementing the principles of DUA, particularly with regard to accessibility, curricular flexibility, and student participation. This is a theoretical-bibliographic study with a qualitative approach, based on academic publications found on the CAPES Journal Portal, SciELO, and BDTD. The analysis indicates that Web 1.0 expanded the possibilities for accessing information, albeit with more limited resources for interaction and authorship; Web 2.0 expanded the possibilities for interaction, collaboration, and authorship; and Web 3.0 incorporated new possibilities for integration, intelligent processing, personalization, and adaptation. It became evident, however, that the expansion of technological possibilities does not automatically lead to inclusion; rather, it depends on their intentional integration with pedagogical planning guided by the DUA. It is concluded that the inclusive potential of digital technologies lies not only in their technical evolution but in the ways, they are pedagogically mobilized to anticipate and reduce barriers and expand the conditions for participation and learning.