Reflection Post for Reaching and Engaging all Learners Through Technology

Summarizing the How on using Resources in the Differentiation Station Social Network
For Teacher Bloggers who are reading this, I want you to know that you can all provide resources for your fellow teachers by sharing and posting on a common teacher site.

The resources that my fellow Walden students have offered me will provide useful information and links for Differentiation and Universal Design Learning. As a connection teacher, I believe it is necessary for me to have an array of resources that branch out into all subjects. Additionally, my GAME plan includes becoming a leader in technology for learning, and the gathered resources from my differentiation station provide me with an advantage because that they come from teachers. Several resources my Ning members provided are as follows: Enhancing learning with education - http://members.shaw.ca/priscillatheroux/differentiatingstrategies.html This site assists in discovering what a useful tool technology can be in the classroom. It contains areas that each have subcategories that fulfill every teachers searching desire to learn more and apply solid advice for technology usage and differentiating in education. It provides useful links. To make an analogy, this site is like one huge concept map for technology and education geared towards DI.
 
What this lesson has taught me is that every school in America should allow teachers to post sites with short descriptions in a Teacher drive for the faculty to utilize. Additionally, weekly notices should go out to remind teachers to check out. Here are a more sites offered by teachers:
 
The web site http://www.readinga-z.com/videos/index.php could be a Godsend for Reading teachers. Another good site is http://teachers.net/lessons/. Over where there are 400 lessons for teachers to search. This site, http://www.classroom20.com/forum has a long list of articles. The forum is active with teachers looking to collaborate or share with you.

I checked out http://education.jlab.org/reading/index.html and I am immediately passing it on to all science teachers at my school. Jefferson Lab is about Science Education and has teacher recourses, student zone, games and puzzles, and programs and events. Teachers, for the same reason we want our students to have greater access to information, we too need to for the same reasons share with each other.

Adjustments to Make in my Classroom because of this Course
I believe that technology does foster literacy skills necessary for students. Web 2.0 tools allow my students to connect with culture. However, I need to maintain a balance and apply hands on projects. This course has taught me that I can keep harmony in my teaching with technology. Differentiating lessons to meet the needs of my learners becomes customized (UDL) with technology. Adjustments I can make regarding technology use and integration is allowing students to gather more content on the Web 2.0 in preparing for a lesson. If I cannot get them to research all together at school, I must immediately assign research homework and encourage students to send in their opinions, information, or answers on my teacher site. Differentiation means knowing not all students have the Internet at home. I need to allow a week for these students to access information from a library. I must expeditiously prepare links on a page for students to use and allow information to come to them with more ease. Their readiness to learn will be greater if they are more prepared with content.

Reaching and Engaging All Learners Through Technology has taught me that students become my “partners in learning how to work with participatory media tools in the classroom to achieve the best results” (Roland, 2009). Additionally I have learned to allow my students to take on management roles. As they become experts, it allows them to learn more authentically. This will benefit them in the end. Differentiation means also to show respect and lift students up during the learning process.

One of my favorite authors and art education experts is Elliot W. Eisner. Here is something he has to say about diversity and art education. “Among all the fields of study in our schools, the arts are at the forefront in celebration of diversity, individuality, and surprise” (Eisner, 2002). I realize that I diversify probably more then any other teacher in my school. This course has assisted me in improving my methods and practices.

Eisner,E.(2002). The Arts and the Creation of Mind. Harrisonburg, Virginia, Yale University Press.

Roland,C. (2009). Art Education 2.0. Digital Practices in the Classroom. Retrieved April 19,

http://arted20.ning.com/forum/topics/the-art-education-20-manifesto?commentId=670107%3AComment%3A85566

Power Point presentation posted on Slideboom.com

This slide presentation about Universal Design for Learning is completed. I have loaded it onto the Slideboom site. The URL address is;

http://ww.slideboom.com/presentations/151745/App4PerezV

HOWEVER, you just have to click on the Title of this post and the link will appear.

There is music that plays throughout the show, however that costs an upgrade of $19 dollars a month.

V. Perez
Walden Student

Draft of Week 4 Power Point for Universal Design Learning

They say learning is about the process, not necessarily the outcome. Well, this week I have learned tons of power point applications for creating a multimedia presentation for my 4th week of class 9 for Walden's online, Masters Degree in Technology for Education. My obstacles have been about choosing a conservative approach to the project, versus a more exciting presentation. I believe that by choosing a more conservative approach, I was able to be self-directed in learning about Universal Design and hit on all the requirements. I hope to work out the kinks with the audio and resend.  Thanks for your patience.

http://www.slideboom.com/presentations/15149/App4PerezV

Final Posting

The knowledge acquired from Integrating Technology Across the Content has energized me to go beyond my original GAME plan. I think going beyond means locating a blog site, practicing, and setting up a collaboration opportunity for my students. I think going beyond means doing a left turn on a lesson I thought I was going to implement, and instead setting up a digital story 101 project for my students to experience. My GAME plan has not changed. I am just simplifying the lesson and going about it differently. These immediate adjustments are my way of self-directing and self-regulating to meet personal GAME challenges. Technology is always changing and I want to assist others in realizing that as educators it is our responsibility to stay on top of the technology trend. Vicki Davis, founder of 'Flat Classrooms', transforms herself by continually exploring new technology. As I stay a little later at school to practice on my blog site, I too am transforming myself by continual research and development of my classroom teaching. This is part of the GAME plan. The goal is to gain confidence with technology and become a leader in my school community.
This class has helped me recognize that I have been using Performance Based Learning in teaching. My classroom lessons will improve with the use of technology, as long as I know where I am going and how I will get there with it. This course gave me the opportunity to create a GAME plan. It began with my thoughts about planning an in-service for my colleagues. After realizing there would be roadblocks in the form of time constraints and unpaid duty days, I am looking into the possibility of presenting technology tidbits during faculty meetings. I would like to collaborate ways to apply tech applications that involve inquiry, collaboration, and reflection for student learning with my colleagues. This will improve our technical knowledge and bring our school in line with 21st century education standards.

This GAME is worth the effort. I am a self-directed learner, and I can self-regulate. The GAME plan will assist me in going forward with encouraging others to develop a “supportive culture” (Inc, 2009). Colleagues and students alike will benefit from these endeavors.



Laureate Education, Inc. (Producer). (2009). Integrating Technology Across the Content Areas (Motion picture). Baltimore:Author

Using the GAME Plan Process with Students

Revaluating my original GAME plan caused me to think about the skiers I watched this week that skied down the short steep slope with lots of moguls in Vancouver, Canada. When I began my GAME plan, I wanted to lead my colleagues into the 21st century teaching skills. Pursuing that idea and realizing that I can still lead, but beginning in tinier increments was a positive personal evaluation.


 My GOAL is to start a collaborative project between classes at my school, or within confides of my own students. The success will quickly spread and I will be glad to share the plans and pass it on.




My goals for my diverse students are to have them participate in a successful collaborative lesson that will teach creativity, as well as citizenship. By applying my knowledge, “Model Digital-Age Work and Learning” (NETS, 2008) and allowing students to build upon their existing technologies, together, collaboration projects can emerge. Considering the short time my art students attend my class, a meaningful and inspiring project that advances “student learning, creativity, and innovation” will be the ACTION to pursue.


Meeting the NETS-S and Performance Indicators for students will require me to design the lesson so that students “interact, collaborate, and publish with peers, experts, or others” (ISTE). Any authentic, collaborate lesson that my students participate in will allow them to MONITOR their progress. As I practice weaving the ISTE standards into a few lessons, I evaluate my time management and the effectiveness of the technology used to foster learning. I learned these past few weeks of blogging, wiki sharing, and planning units that include collaboration and digital stories, that there will have to be a time allowance to practice “understand and use technology systems” (NETS-S). There are challenges due to technology limits, but if I take each mogul individually instead of all at once, Mrs. Perez’s students will develop several proficiencies in the NETS-S.



We all like the gold medal winners in the Olympics. They make it look easy, whatever their sport. However, we know that work and perseverance got them to where they are today.


Do you think creating a KISS lesson for Internet research and collaboration is the way to begin meeting the Technology Standards? I was thinking of having the student’s first practice working on a blog site for one class period before beginning the lesson. Alternatively, have my students use objectives to research blog sites and use to complete several operating tasks. I would appreciate your feedback.




(International Society for Technology in Education [ISTE], 2008)



The ISTE website provides national educational technology standards for students and teachers to meet (http//www.iste.org/).

http://www.iste.org/

Revising the GAME Plan

I believe I will be a starter for the games of the 21st century literacy skills. The applications I have practiced through the Walden University’s assignments will assist me in reaching my original goal of becoming a leader for others. How I will alter my GAME plan so that I do not become a bench warmer is to put into play simple technology applications that relate to my content area. One way will be to collaborate in small ways with another teacher at my school. Gaining confidence will move me forward into community and global collaborative projects. I look forward to the time where I can sign up for social collaborative projects like virtual classroom, and epals.

I have learned how to use wikis and blogs. Therefore, I will use these areas of comfort to start a class blog and individual group wikis. Communication and collaboration are  areas that I will use to alter my goal strategies. I would like my students to record their scripts, and write to experts. These NETS-S will work with the nine-week quarters. Next year I may have a small club that would involve students who want to collaborate globally.  This is an idea to contemplate and plan for putting into action.
 
Several ideas have come to me about how I could share collaboration in other content areas. English-art collaboration may ensue by having my students draw cartoons and then allowing the English class to add sentences with compound subject and compound verbs. My students could post pictures that English students would have to write preposition poems. In science, my students could draw based on scientific studies and observations of nature. After posting their images and thoughts the science students could add terms and definitions to complete several objectives. I would need to work with that science teacher to plan the lesson. I can see growth within the school and perhaps showing interested teachers how to set up their own collaborations. This will lend itself to me returning to my original GAME plan.

GAME Plan Progression

To continue onward with my GAME plan I must use the following week's course work as an opportunity to gather great samples to show the faculty.  I would like to send a mass e-mail to my staff with the site references that will jump start them with 21st century literacies.  Presently, I found a wonderful Web Quest site called http://www.kn.pacbell.com/wired/21stcent/brain.html.  I need to show specifically for areas such as English, Math, and Science the Internet's frontier of organizational tools such as http://rubistar.4teachers.org/ and sites like above to persuade non-technical believers to believe.  The following information relates to my pursuits of increasing my teaching technology applications and gaining leadership qualities to guide a staff development course one day.

I just responded yes to my principal to attend and possibly even present at a Georgia Middle School Association "Road Show". Presently, I am a bit in the dark about it. The theme is called, "Teaming".  My principal has related to me that any presentation to include differentiation, assessment for learning, technology, best practices and so forth would deem fit.  Walden collegues I call you to offer your advice to me.  If this opportunity were to pass me by, I will look for something local that would push me in a direction of becoming a leader in applying technology in education.  This is part of my GAME plan.  I found something to share with you.    http:www.kn.pacbell.com/wired/21stcent/index.html

This site offers you lessons, as listed from the above site that assists us in the early stages of developing a PBL plan with our students.  I was stumped today thinking about how to generate questions and this site has helped.  This site breaks up the 21st literacy skills into 4 categories.  They are information, multicultural, media, and visual.  I think this site offers practical instructional strategies.  I particularly like the Visual category.  It has taught me that I can teach students to use cirtical thinking skills when choosing the right image.  You are welcome.

I fell into this today: http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl+://4bp.blogspot.com/    This is a blog site from an education student who lists teacher student related items.  She has a video about a baby squirrel that has to follow her mother , but cannot jump the concrete wall. Often we all feel this way. The students who had been watching the scenario of the squirrells offer their backpacks and bags to help the squirrel along. It parallels my self concept of how I might look at I move along in increasing my pedagogical skills for using technology with 21st century literacy skills.

AT&T sponsors the pacbell site listed above.  It will offer you many opportunities for Webinar courses to take free online.  They are self-paced and we would not feel that Wednesday, Sunday due date pressure.  There are great warm up exercises to ease us into the PBL plan. 

As I move along with this GAME plan, it is imperative that I play and not sit back and watch. I will know in a week's time about this mini seminar that I may attend as a presenter or attendee.