EDLD 5364 Week 5 Post Reflection

For someone who is really looking forward to what technology has to offer our students, I thoroughly enjoyed this week's videos! I love the idea of using gaming for the assessment. I like what James Paul Gee and Sasha Barab are doing with games in education. I wish that we actually had the time to utilize this type of teaching in our school. Unfortunately, focusing so much attention on passing a high-stakes takes priority. I do have the opportunity to utilize several different types of teaching and learning environments since I do teach technology, but I often just scratch the surface of what I would like to do with my students. I'm encouraged by the direction that technology is headed in our schools, but I'm concerned that my own students still do not have the tools they need to become competitive with other students their age. Our technology director was more concerned with the fact that we only had 25% of an advanced technology class attempt the Microsoft Office Certifications, and out of that 25% only 12% actually received the certification. In the mean time, I had students working with 3-D construction software that attracted the attention of a local engineer who volunteered to talk with my students about the software they use to design oil and gas production equipment. I want my students to bed the ones that are always searching and asking questions. I don't care that they had to click on the Microsoft Help button to figure out how to set a gutter on their page. Maybe that is wrong and I'm not doing what I need to be doing. However, my students designed and built dog houses to donate to a local shelter. The skills they gained from that one project alone have lead them on to projects of their own including video "how to's" and lessons on using tools properly. I do believe it is important that I continue to press forward with my classes.

EDLD 5364 Week 4 Post

I was encouraged by the videos this week. I enjoy working on projects and utilizing real world situations. However, I also realize that I have a bit of an advantage over the core teachers in that I have the flexibility to work on projects and integrate a variety of digital media for longer periods of time. This allows me to create differentiated instruction for my students as well. I do agree with one of the speakers on the video who commented that as long as we are teaching to a state mandated test, we will not have the opportunity to service our students with more real world thinking and projects. Some of the reading this week discussed what technology training should be and what it should not be. I selected a quote for my discussion that rang very true for me and for my campus. We are overwhelmed with the latest and greatest toy, when in all actuality, we would simply like our technology to work and be dependable. I personally spent 30 minutes in one 50 minute class period troubleshooting network issues on my students' netbooks. This totally interrupted my students learning and threw everything off. I had to ask my other students to log off of their computers and read their library books while attended to the problems with the netbooks. Unfortunately, this scenario is not unusual. This same thing will have at least 3 times a week. The students are trying to learn to troubleshoot these issues themselves; however, it still cuts into instruction time.

EDLD 5364 eBook Builder Post

Well, I'm not sure if it was just my computer and internet connection, but this site seemed to load rather slowly. I often had clicked on things too many times in order to get them to load which just made even more of a mess and slowed down the process even more. I enjoyed building the ebook, but I'm not sure if my students would have the patience to go through it. If it is indeed faster on my school's network, then I could see many applications for this type of lesson. The students would love to take a topic they enjoy and create a book. This would be a great way for them to present vocabulary words as they write their own story. They could discuss technology and have the site give the definition. I think they would like this. I'm going to test it out at my school and see how I do. I may let some of my 8th graders test it out and they can teacher the younger students. My ebook can be found at: http://bookbuilder.cast.org/view.php?op=share&book=e89f9967ac3a8473571376de87c732c1&sid=9661

EDLD 5364 UDL Lesson Reflection

I was a bit overwhelmed by the UDL the fist time I looked at it. I didn't exactly understand what each part really meant even though I had gone through the material. It made more sense to me after I had reviewed my peers' UDL lessons. I was able to formulate what I wanted to go in each section. It also helped me plan out the steps that needed to be taken in order for the lesson to be successful. Here is a copy of my first UDL Lesson: https://sites.google.com/site/5364teachingwithtechnologyllam/home/udl-lessons

EDLD 5364 Week 3 Post

"Successful learning experiences challenge and support each learner appropriately and adjust as the learner changes over time. The goal of UDL is to provide every student this kind of customized and responsive experience. Establishing goals is the first step. The next step is to plan instruction so that students have multiple pathways for achieving their goals." (Rose, 2002) Teachers often feel inundated with new teaching strategies. I have been overwhelmed when our technology director would come across the latest and greatest "thing" that was supposed to be the cure-all in order for all students to achieve. I'm not sure that I have ever heard of UDL before I took this course, but I am very interested in trying to implement it in my classroom. As I read through this weeks' materials, I could visualize how I could utilize the instruction for all of my students to learn and be successful. I think it would be very interesting to have my students help me design the lessons. I like to have their input, and this way, I could tap in to their digital world. Rose, D., & Meyer, A. (2002). Teaching every student in the digital age: Universal design for learning. Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development. Available online at the Center for Applied Special Technology Web site. Chapter 6. Retrieved from http://www.cast.org/teachingeverystudent/ideas/tes/

EDLD 5364 - Week 2 Part 1 - Blog

This week's readings highlighted the role that technology can play when it comes to diversity in the classroom. Utilizing technology allows teachers to present the information or lesson in a variety of ways in order to capitalize on many learning styles. As students learn "how they learn", they select methods of delivery that fits into their learning style. Many instructors see differentiation as another task they must add to their classroom instruction. However, often students come up with the ideas for differentiated instruction and are willing to help their instructor produce lessons that will benefit other students with similar learning styles. A wealth of lessons and websites are available to instructors who desire to weave technology seamlessly into their lessons. Along with discussing utilizing technology for all students, some of our readings illustrated research conducted for specific areas of integration. Although there were some negatives to each study, the positives of utilizing technology to enhance learning were much greater. Again, I believe it comes down to facilitating the lessons with a variety of technology choices. Our students are much more familiar and comfortable with technology than we are. They will have insight and innovative ways to work with the technology we have available if we as teachers will be willing to let them take part in the instruction process.

EDLD 5364 Week 1 Part 1

Technology is changing the way we do just about everything in our daily lives. it is imperative that education not be left behind in utilizing the tools that are being developed in society. Students' vocabulary includes "let me google it", "just message me on facebook", "I tweeted about that", and my 5 year old grandson recently added, "I can download the app for that". What we know is constantly changing and as teachers we need to be familiar and ready to use the tools that are students use. Technology has opened many doors and opportunities that we would never have imagined as far as bridging our small community with the world. Our students have the opportunity to view webcams of rare and exotic animals in zoos in other counties. I often feel that I become a bit overwhelmed with all of the technology that is around. However, to my students, having a cell phone conversation while texting a friend, downloading apps for just about everything while listening to their iPod or reading a book in their Kendel or Nook is like using extensions of their own hands and fingers. Learning how we learn is not new to educators, but learning how we learn in such a technology rich (or influenced) environment is new. Our students' brains are being wired differently as they multi, multi task. Often this multitasking means that they do not do any one thing well, but rather that what they do seriously lacks substance. Each task they undertake suffers since they cannot give all of their attention to a specific task at hand. There is a need for educators to step outside their comfort zone and integrate technology into their curriculum in what many tec hnology directors would hope to be a seemless effort. However, there must also me a mix of traditional educational experiences that students can build upon.