EDLD 5364 WEEK 5 ASSIGNMENTS

EDLD 5364 TEAM REFLECTION

EDLD 5364 Teaching with Technology has been an interesting yet challenging course for me but working with team members of various backgrounds and collaborating through the Google hangout and our Google docs site made it very easy for us to work out the scenario. 

We chose 3^rd grade Language Arts and because my experience in education has been teaching special needs students, I was very knowledgeable in developing my area of the assignment.  Many hours were spent in research and preparation through the aspects of designing and implementing as we utilized the course videos, lectures and readings, as well as, organizational skills, curriculum knowledge, and our expertise in working with classroom teachers to determine a solution to the situation.

We decided to cover four aspects in our UDL lesson plans with each of us covering one area. We covered planning/research, writing, technology and assessment. Each of us used some type of technology to obtain our objectives: Prezi, Presentation, You tube, Audacity, Blogs, Braille Embosser, Nuance Speech-to-Text, Secondary Audio Programming, Closed Caption Viewing Devices, Signtel Interpreter, and Podcast. These tools, as well as, Robert Marzano’s nine categories of effective instructional strategies, combined with the seven categories of technology, enabled us to form the perfect fit for creating and inspiring unique learning experiences that ensure lifelong improvement in our student’s achievements.

In the unit we designed, students will read and comprehend different types of literary text (i.e. poetry, drama, fiction, nonfiction), understand, make inferences and draw conclusions about the structure and elements, and provide evidence from text to support understanding. They will use what they have learned about the four types of genre so far (poetry, drama, fiction, nonfiction) to create a product using a technology tool to show their understanding of the various genres. This will be differentiated for the four groups of learners: GT, disabled, low/low average achieving, and high average/high achieving. 

In addition to the knowledge I ascertained, there were several experiences gained as well.  One was examining the Center for Applied Special Technology (CAST) website. CAST, is a nonprofit organization that strives to expand learning for all individuals (EPIC, 2011).  We used the Universal Design for Learning (UDL) framework model to build our unit so that all students in our given scenario were given the same opportunities to learn the lesson goals. 

            Secondly, there were the three different learning theories.  They were all interesting but the constructivist theory was the one that captured my interest as it was one that promotes project-based learning where the teacher is a facilitator and students are active in the classroom.  They are sharing ideas, asking questions, discussing concepts, and revising their ideas and misconceptions (Dede, 1999).  Another lesson is focusing on the education more than the technology, which says that we should allow the technology to become the tool to help students learn. 

            This course taught me the three brain networks: recognition, strategic, affective and how to allow technology to provide ways to incorporate these in student centered learning.  We were given the site to create our own electronic book to use in reaching those students who may have learning disabilities. As a Special Educator, I have gained exciting resources to use in helping my students learn about the impact of technology.  More than anything, I’ve learned that it’s very important to acknowledge that the education comes first and technology is the tool that facilitates.

           One quote from the readings “Technology-Enriched Classrooms I would like to continue researching was the quote: Effects on Students of Low Socioeconomic Status.”  Research proved that an increased access to classroom technologies encouraged more student collaboration, more creative projects, higher student confidence, and more accurate student communications (Dwyer, 1995). Evaluations also found evidence that positive student attitudes, higher self-esteem, and increased writing abilities were likely because of ACOT implementation. The most profound effects were found in the area of mathematics, where sixth-grade math scores on the state’s Comprehensive Assessment Report were strongly related to increases in technological use (Mann & Shafer, 1997).  Working in a Low Socioeconomic School District, I was excited to hear technology influenced the outcome of student collaboration, confidence, communications, self esteem and their overall attitude toward education.  As we know, if students can gain confidence in themselves, they are more apt to try harder and succeed. 

           Another quote from the readings that inspired me was from “Teaching Every Student in the Digital Age.”  It stated how giving the written test to all students is unfair and how testing separately from teaching and without the supports that students normally use provides an invalid perspective on what students know and can do.  The solution: Universal Design for Learning UDL can help to increase the accuracy and fairness of classroom assessments.  UDL assessment is its ability to adjust to individual differences and focus the questions on exactly what teachers are trying to find out. With flexibility in presentation, expression, supports, and engagement, we can reduce the common errors introduced by single-mode fixed assessments. Further, that same flexibility allows teachers to align assessment more closely with teaching goals and methods and thus, to assess students more accurately. With these technologies available in our classrooms, we will be able to create learning environments that not only teach, but also "learn" to teach more effectively.

           Although this course seemed the hardest of all the courses I’ve taken thus far, the technological knowledge I’ve gained is priceless. It’s not ‘about’ the technology itself, but about changing teacher practice, motivating our students, and creating learning experiences that will be applicable to their world and future workplaces” (Pitler, 2007).  It’s all around us-it makes sense to teach utilizing it!

Citation

Rose, D., & Meyer, A. (2002). Teaching every student in the digital age: Universal design for learning. Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development. Chapter 7. Available online at the Center for Applied Special Technology Web site. Retrieved from http://www.cast.org/teachingeverystudent/ideas/tes/

 Page, M. S. (2002). Technology-enriched classrooms: Effects on students of low socioeconomic status. Journal of Research on Technology in Education, 34(4), 389–409. Retrieved from the International Society of

 Education at http://www.iste.org/AM/Template.cfm?Section=Number_4_Summer_20021&Template=

            /MembersOnly.cfm&ContentFileID=830

Pitler, H., Hubbell, E., Kuhn, M., & Malenoslki, K. (2007). Using technology with classroom instruction that works.  Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development.

Sprague, D. & Dede, C. (1999). If I teach this way, am I doing my job; Constructivism in the classroom. Leading and Learning. 27(1). Retrieved March 25, 2011 from the International Society for Technology in Education at http://imet.csus.edu/imet9/280/docs/dede_constructivism.pdf

 EDLD 5364 KNOWLEDGE LEARNED

“All schools are driven by requirements to maintain and improve standardized test scores and yet these efforts create a rather interesting conundrum, because frequently the ‘new school’ model and high-stakes testing seem in conflict with each other” (Solomon, 2007). 

Test! Test! Test! It’s part of student’s lives and if they don’t pass obviously they FAIL.  According to the video, A Vision for 21st Century Learning, preparing our students for their future will not be effective in future generations by using test scores, reading textbooks, listening to lectures, and memorizing facts without context. We must equip our students with the technology that has already demonstrated a role in their daily lives.  We must prepare them for the 21^st century work environment. The success rate of the use of paper and pencils have proven unsatisfactory in schools and the use of technology-successful. Why not use what works!

 Youtube.com (nd). Vision for 21st Century Learning. Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com  /watch?v=Mirxkzkxuf4

Solomon, G., & Schrum, L. (2007). Web 2.0: New tools, new schools. Eugene, OR: International Society for Technology in Education, 168-176.

EDLD 5364 CONFERENCE REFLECTION

In previous lessons, I found no need to attend the conferences because I’d grown accustomed to following the rubric, learning objectives, and the step by step tasks assignments for the week.  But this week, because of the extensiveness of the assignment, I needed addition help. The recording and the questioning of my fellow classmates gave me clarity of what was expected.  Before the conference I thought I had to create a new lesson and eBook but I was happy to learn that this week consisted of reflections and adding the finishing touches to the solution to our scenario.  This has been an exhausting five weeks but the knowledge I’ve gained will help me develop many instructional practices that will impact my student’s lives.