UDL, AI, and LiveBinders: A Unified Approach to Designing Accessible Math Experiences

An Inspired Look at How a UDL-informed AI Thought Partner and LiveBinders Can Amplify Your Math Design Strategy

In a recent episode of the Math Universally Speaking podcast, educator and consultant Beth Stark joins host Ron Martiello to explore how the principles of Universal Design for Learning (UDL) can combine with AI to help teachers design more equitable math experiences. One of the standout tools in their discussion is Ludia, an AI-powered UDL “thought partner” built to support learning designers.

Co-created by Beth Stark and Jérémie Rostan, Ludia is a chatbot specifically designed around UDL frameworks. It identifies barriers, suggests multiple pathways, and prompts you to reflect on design.   

I could see how the Ludia framework aligns beautifully with how LiveBinders functions as a knowledge hub for learner-centered resources. Our binder design principles also focus on the recipient, encouraging users to consider contextual design choices that make finding resources easier. Used together, LiveBinders helps package multiple resource types while preserving instructor intent, maintaining learner context, and reducing friction for stakeholders accessing those shared materials.

In this post, I’ll highlight three take-aways from the interview that directly connect to how teachers, coaches and instructional leaders can use Ludia alongside LiveBinders to design more inclusive learning environments.

Take-Away #1: Reframing the challenge from “learner deficit” to “design barrier”
Beth Stark emphasizes this foundational UDL perspective:

The deficit is not in the learner; the deficit is in the learning design and the environment.

This is a powerful shift. Rather than looking at students who struggle with a math concept and assuming the issue lies in their ability, the focus moves to asking recipient-focused design questions: What barriers exist in the way the task, materials, or environment are designed and presented?

When authoring a binder of math resources, you might include not just the worksheets but design notes such as anticipated barriers, supportive tool options, and alternative entry paths for different learners.

By documenting those design choices from Ludia, you create a workflow where your binder doesn’t just hold content, but preserves the design context, intention, and reasoning behind it.

Most importantly, these notes help you track how each resource supports particular skills, needs, and barriers, saving you from having to remember every instructional decision you made. Even if next year’s learners present a different set of barriers, you won’t be rebuilding from scratch; you’ll be adapting from a well-documented foundation.

Let’s try an example scenario: “I have a set of learners who are not engaging with two-digit addition word problems: what design barriers might that reflect? How could I redesign this?”

Take-Away #2: Using AI like Ludia to generate and assign accessible math problems

Here’s how you might apply that question in a binder-rich workflow:

You design a LiveBinder called “Accessible Two-Digit Addition Word Problems.”  Inside the binder you can include:

• the standard word problem set
• alternative formats (e.g., visuals, manipulatives)
• annotations about anticipated barriers

Then you prompt Ludia with:

“Design three alternative word problems for two-digit addition with regrouping, for a class where three students haven’t mastered addition facts, five students read below grade level, and two students already show mastery.”

Ludia responds by identifying the barriers (e.g., “language complexity”, “lack of fluency in addition facts”, “challenge for extension learners”), and suggests multiple pathways (e.g., visual manipulatives, peer-scaffolding routine, extension challenge tasks)

You then update your binder with the suggested variants.  This approach turns the binder from a static repository into a living design hub for inclusive math practice.  As a demonstration, I created an example binder here for reference.

Take-Away #3: LiveBinders as a structured, shareable design artifact that supports collaboration and iteration

One of the themes Beth mentions is the iterative nature of great design:

“… it’s about thinking and reasoning and developing a system that students can continue on in their learning.” Math, Universally Speaking

This approach is mirrored in how a LiveBinder can be structured for flexibility: by packaging both the content and design notes, it provides a container that preserves intent, design narrative, and accessibility while still giving teachers the flexibility to adapt and refine materials over time.

For example, a math coach uses a binder with the assistance of Ludia, shares the binder with classroom teachers, and each teacher can copy the binder and adapt it for their grade-level, student mix, or language context, all while retaining the design annotations and UDL approach.

The LiveBinder becomes a collaborative resource ecosystem, not just a folder of files.  It also supports administration teams and knowledge-transfer leadership who need a flexible, centralized hub for modeling and sharing their teaching toolset.  

Here’s a practical workflow to apply these ideas to your own binder design.

1. Start with the UDL mindset: identify learner variability and potential barriers first.
2. Use an AI tool (like Ludia): prompt design alternatives, scaffolded tasks, and multiple pathways.
3. Capture everything inside a LiveBinder: original problems, alternative formats, teacher notes, student choice boards, prompts for the chatbot, reflections and iteration logs.
4. Share and collaborate: enable teams to access, adapt, and expand the binder while preserving context and design intention.

📘 Interested in learning more about Ludia?  Check out their Ludia: AI-Powered UDL Thought Partner binder with access to their portal here: