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

EDLD 5366 Week 5 Reflection

“Critical reflection is an important part of any learning process.  Without reflection, learning becomes only an activity-like viewing a reality TV show-which was never meant to have meaning, but was only meant to occupy time.” (Gerstein, 2011)  This course made us take time to critically reflect.  We had to process how our peers viewed our personality and work ethic, along with how we viewed ourselves.  We also had an entire week to reflect on the previous four weeks’ work to determine the impact it will have on our students and ourselves.  I feel that all the readings and assignments have solidified my current beliefs and teachings.  I also learned that “ having a strong authentic personal brand is an important asset in today’s online, virtual, and individual age.” (Goldsmith, 2007) I enjoyed creating a personal logo and working on a group website with my peers, each assignment gave us an opportunity to explore and create. 

As a life-long learner, I am trying to improve on my study habits.  During the summer I have tended to let my life take control and put school on the backburner.  I have spent countless, late nights reading and watching YouTube videos to complete the assignments.  As the new school year approaches, I must get back into my old routine and put school first. (at least some nights)  I feel that my performance on the assignments has been mediocre to good.  I would love to give more time and energy to the assignments, but sometimes a week is just not enough time.  I feel like I have to sacrifice family time in order to complete the tasks.  The greatest learning and interaction with peers has been through our Facebook page.  I feel people post on the discussion board because it is required and do not always give their true opinion.  Our Facebook page allows us to communicate and collaborate because we choose to, not because it is required in an assignment.

“Today’s K-12 students are very different from even their recently graduated peers.  Theses students are digital natives, a term attributed to futurist Marc Prensky to distinguish between those who have grown up with technology and those who have adapted to it.  They live in a world in which digital technology is part of the texture of their daily lives.  They have never known a world without technology.  Technology is their daily lives.  Technology is their- native language and they expect to use technology in school.” (Understanding Multimedia, 2008) My goal in this entire process is to become a digital native.  I plan on using the skills learned to help students reach their goals and share with fellow teachers different ways to reach our students.  One great way is to allow students to explore and create through a class website.  For elementary and middle school grades, a class could have a page for every subject.  Students could be split into groups and be responsible for posting content and projects relating to their subject.  This would be a great way for students to practice using technology, digital citizenship and it would also help with parent and community communication.

References

 Gerstein, Jackie. (August 2011).  Where is reflection in the learning process? Retrieved from http://usergeneratededucation.wordpress.com/2011/08/16/where-is-reflection-in-the-learning-process/ -

Goldsmith, M. (August 2007). Authentic personal branding. Retrieved from http://www.businessweek.com/managing/content/sep2009/ca20090929_228578.htm 

Understanding Multimedia Learning: Integrating Multimedia in the K-12 Classroom. (2008, September). Retrieved from http://www.brainpop.com/new_common_images/files/76/76426_BrainPOP_White_Paper-20090426.pdf