EDLD 5364 Week Four Reflection

During Week 4, I was actually able to catch my breath and digest the educational material provided.  I enjoyed the videos on project-based learning and found several of the readings interesting.  My favorite reading was from Rose and Meyer’s Teaching every student in the digital age: Universal design for learning.  I thought they brought up some questions that I would love to debate.  They state that students should have the opportunity to complete assignments and tests in different ways.  Does taking a test on a computer verses paper and pencil change the outcome of the test?  I know that some educators feel that this scenario does change the outcome.  Unless it is a reading test, I do not see how using the text to speech feature on a computer changes the outcome of a math or social studies test.  I know that people feel strongly about this and have different opinions however; we need to focus on meeting students’ needs.  If that includes completing an assignment in a different way, we need to be open-minded enough to allow them.

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/

EDLD 5364 Week Three UDL Lesson

Click here to access the lesson on Abiotic and Biotic Factors in an Ecosystem.

Creating my UDL lesson this week was like going back to high school.  I remember parts of Biology class, but I had to learn the material all over again to make an effective lesson for students.  I enjoyed researching the modifications that are available to students that are hearing impaired and blind.  I would have never imagined all of the wonderful technology that is available to help all students learn and interact in a regular classroom environment.

EDLD 5364 eBook

Click here to view my eBook on Abiotic and Biotic Factors in an Ecosystem.

EDLD Week Three Group Reflection

My team works extremely well together.  We collaborated on the subject area, lesson creation and the technology that we would use.  I enjoy working with my group members and will miss the team aspect after this course.  The work this week has been extremely confusing.  The assignment template, professor and IA have different expectations.  My group chose to adhere to the greater expectations.  We are all hard working and take pride in our education.  We spent countless hours collaborating, creating lessons and eBooks that were deemed unnecessary the Saturday before the due date.  

EDLD 5364 Week Three Reflection

Week 3 was quite overwhelming with all the readings, group work and reflections.  It is getting extremely hard to balance work, family and school. The information this week was slightly more updated than in previous weeks so it was a little easier to read and view.  I really enjoyed the Digital Youth Portraits.  I like how Luis expressed that computers and technology have changed his life.  His video shows that technology is integrated into almost every part of his activities, including playtime with his little brother.  I thought his Tech Wizards group was amazing!  I would love to start something very similar to this at my school.  Students are growing up in a digital age and we need to nurture and grow their technology abilities.    

Digital Youth Portrait: Luis. Edutopia.org (nd). Digital Youth Portrait -- Luis. Retrieved from http://www.edutopia.org/digital-generation-profile-luis-video

EDLD 5364 Week Two Reflection

I really enjoyed the Week 2 videos from Cast.org.  They explained the reasoning behind the UDL lesson plan model and why it is necessary.  I like how they pointed out items that we use everyday that are useful for many people, including those with disabilities.  I must admit that I tend to always have specific students or disabilities in mind when making my lesson modifications.  I need to offer those same modifications to all children.  Doing this might help them have a better understanding of the concept.

The readings were informative, but I still wonder if the information would be the same if the articles were more current.  The article by Michael Page states that “reports on the effectiveness of technology in education have tended to produce conflicting results, and there are many educational technology projects currently enacted that provide weak justification for the investment in technology through non-significant gains in student performance.” (Page, 2002)  Technology in the classroom has made enormous strides in the past 10 years.  I would be extremely interested to see if a more recent examination provided the same results.

Lessonbuilder.cast.org (nd). Retrieved from http://lessonbuilder.cast.org/window.php?src=videos

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

EDLD 5364 Week One Reflection

For Week One in EDLD 5364, we had several readings and videos to learn from.  I enjoyed our readings, but I always find it interesting that these articles covering “new and innovative” ideas are anywhere from four to ten years old.  I was once reading an article that I thought was fantastic and couldn’t wait to try at school. After reading the article, I discovered that it was written while I was in high school.  My teachers should have been using these “new” techniques.  I should have had the opportunity to experience these theories as a student.  With that being said, I think we have to start pushing our teachers and making them try new ways to engage student learning.  We must incorporate technology whenever possible.  “Technical literacy should not be taught as an isolated subject, nor should activities with technology be isolated from other activities in the classroom.”    (Sprague & Dede, 1999)  Students today are digital natives and we need to immerse them in technology instead of having them “power down” when they enter the classroom.   Far too many times technology activities are given out separately as afterthought or time filler.  Technology should be seamlessly integrated into our daily lessons. 

The videos left me somewhat confused on the Constructivism and Connectivism Theories and after watching the Cyborg Learning Theory I felt like I was in the future.  In the cyborg video, Warwirk refers to being able to download information into our brains in the future, instead of reading or going to school.  I find this interesting, but I also worry about the lack of human interaction.  Many of his ideas and work with the nervous system bring about fears of having others control our bodies and minds.  The Constructivism and Connectivism Theories seemed like what we should already be doing in our classrooms.  Allowing students to explore, connect with others and reach their own conclusions.  As stated earlier, I enjoyed this week but I feel like this information should have been presented to educators years ago.

 References:

 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 from the International Society for Technology in Education at http://imet.csus.edu/imet9/280/docs/dede_constructivisim.pdf

Warwirk, K. (nd). Cyborg Life [Video file]. Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RB_l7SY_ngI