EDLD+5364+Teaching+with+Technology



When beginning this course I was unsure of the outcomes. As I read the course syllabus I was a little overwhelmed and nervous about the assignments. I have always been that way when it comes to school work. I was also a little worried about finding a group to work with for the project and not quite sure of what was to happen. Overall, I think that the group project turned out well. I was able to get ideas from the other group members and found a new and adventurous way to collaborate with colleagues. After beginning the course and getting the hang of things and being able to collaborate and get clarification about assignments, I feel that the course was more than I had envisioned. In this short 5 weeks I have come out with greater knowledge it was is available for me as an educator and parent. I hope that in future courses we are able to work on group projects again. With my group we created a learning unit that benefited all students in the class room. This collaboration activity achieved one of the Iste standard indicators, TF-V.d.3 which states, participate in online collaborative curricular projects and team activities to build bodies of knowledge around specific topics (Williamson & Redish, 2009). Creating this lesson reminded me when I was getting my teaching degree. We had to include many of the items that are found in the UDL lessons. UDL or Universal Design for Learning is a set of principles for curriculum development that give all individuals equal opportunities to learn // (Meyer & Rose, 2005). // I thought that is what I would have to do when I was hired as a teacher. My first year on my campus, we did not have to submit lesson plans now we submit them but they are not to the extent as the UDL lessons. We basically tell them what we are doing and which day. We do however have to post the TEKS in our classroom so that if they were to come in and observe they would know what TEK we are working on. I can see the positive effects of writing a lesson using the UDL lesson plan because it meets all three networks. That way you are reaching out to all your students. With the hussle and bussle of everyday life there are many teachers who are spoiled because of not having to write detailed lesson plans but I realize that is how we let those certain students slip through the cracks. Since this class we have now changed the lesson plans that we have to submit. They are now more detailed; with this I see the benefit for all students. We also created a book using UDL book builder. I thought that creating this book was a great opportunity. I enjoyed creating it and I believe that students would really enjoy being able to publish their own ideas and share them with others. The books have endless possibilities to accommodate all students in the classroom. You have the tutors that can read everything you typed, you can have them ask the students questions, and even guide them in an activity. This would really be beneficial to those who are blind or are very low readers. I exceptionally like the glossary. You can highlight the word and create a definition and add a picture so the students get both the words and a visual. I definitely plan on using this in my classroom. I think that being able to create a book like this by yourself or with your class would be very beneficial. Students would have ownership in what they are learning and will be able to say they are published authors. Using technology in the classroom can have an additional positive influence on student learning (Ringstaff & Kelley, 2002; Schacter, 1999) (Pitler, Hubbell, & Kuhn, 2007).
 * Self Assessment: **

I was successful in completing my course assignments. One thing that I did not like was having to wait for the other people in my group to complete their part of the assignment so that I could turn mine in. I also did not realize that we could have a different completion time and date than the others in the group. I am sure they may have felt the same way. I did however enjoy everything about the group assignments. Now I have resources that I can use in my daily routines as a teacher. Another difficulty that I had was that something happened to my courseware on my computer and I could not bring anything up. So after numerous phone calls to the technology people at Lamar, I have to go online to the website and log in that way. In some ways I like that better because I can save the assignments on my hard drive and work on them from any computer and still have what I have saved be there. I found the assignments in this course very pleasing. I enjoyed writing the reflections on my wiki every week and the information that we learned was very interesting and beneficial. Throughout this course I have learned to manage my time better. I don’t know if it was because the readings and videos were easier to read and understand but I found myself retaining more and looking forward to the next week. I also learned more about Google docs and their benefits. I did not realize all the resources through technology out there to help you plan as a group However, I feel that if I am to put any of this new knowledge to use I would have to go to different district or patiently wait until my district or campus is ready. I still see myself developing as a leader. I feel that I have a little ways to go in that department. I found myself using more leadership skills when creating the group project, especially when I put my thoughts and ideas on the Google planning document. It felt great when the others agreed to the idea or unit that I had suggested. I am feeling a lot better about the whole program that I started back in August. I feel that the further I go the more interesting and educational it will become.
 * Learn as a Learner **

The outcomes of this course are very relevant to the work that I do or see myself doing in the future. I see myself using the book builder website to help my lower students, who are not on the same reading level as other students; also I will share it with my fellow colleagues, so that they can its benefits and maybe utilize it in their classrooms. I feel that learning how to collaborate the way we did will be beneficial to me if our campus should ever move in that direction. I enjoyed being able to discuss with my fellow group members about the project. It really helped when you were not quite sure of the assignment. It helped to have other ideas or points of view on everything. I believe that the textbooks used throughout this course will be good resources when it comes to helping my students meet their goals. I am excited to try these new ideas and incorporate them in my daily lessons.
 * Lifelong Learning Skills **

References: UDL BookBuilder directions and help []

Pilter, H., Hubbell, E., Kuhn, M., & Malinowski, K (2007). Using technology with classroom instruction that works. Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development. Meyer, A., & Rose, D. H. (2005). What is Universal Design for Learning? Retrieved from CAST: [] Williamson, J., & Redish, T. (2009). Iste's Technology Facilitation and Leadership Standards What Every K-12 Leader Should Know and Be Able to Do. Eugene, Oregon: International Society for Technology in Education.