Kristy Land, Technology Leader
Final Reflection
As
a result of this course, I have polished and improved my skills of
assimilating technology within the classroom to address the needs of diverse
learners. I consider myself to be fairly tech savvy, but successfully
executing technology in the classroom takes on a bigger role than simply
understanding the technology piece. Through the class and exploring
new concepts as well as learning about UDL, I have a better
understanding of how to enhance student learning opportunities through
the use of technology. Technology plays a vital role in addressing the
diverse needs of our students and understanding how to successfully
incorporate a successful program can significantly impact the outcome.
In
our scenario, we provided our teacher with a name, so I will refer to
her as “Ms. Smith.” Since Ms. Smith has limited computer skills and a
minimal understanding of how to teach with technology, my group
incorporated several Web 2.0 tools such as a Google Site, Google Docs,
and YouTube videos. We incorporated items that were easily accessible
and easy to use. Ms. Smith will have an array of professional
development opportunities through the district, region, and online
training modules such as Google Educator. The tools we integrated are
extensively used by educators, so Ms. Smith may also consult with fellow
teachers that use these technologies on a more consistent basis.
We
assisted Ms. Smith in creating a website and embedding examples of
projects and tutorials that coincide with her current lesson plans. We
set up the basic framework to get her started with the Google Site and
other Web 2.0 tools and encouraged her to come up with creative ways to
use some of the tools. Using Google Docs, she created a “3rd Grade
Bullying Survey” and an electronic “K-W-H-L Chart” and embedded the
documents on her new classroom site.
In
our model lesson plan, students were grouped by academic abilities and
provided with an article to read and given several options to create a
technology project demonstrating their knowledge of the new information.
Students shared their projects on the classroom site for the other
students to review and reflect on. Lastly, students composed a final
reflection by writing or podcasting to discuss the information they
learned and their experiences from the project. We provided a variety
of options and opportunities to address the diverse learning needs of
our students along with those with special needs.
I
extensively participated in the group project which provided me with
many learning opportunities. I created and maintained our Google Site
and Google Doc. I also created Ms. Smith’s classroom site as a part of
my UDL to exhibit the final products of the lesson plan. My group
decided to integrate the lesson plan and examples into the final
solution scenario and provided me with additional resources to integrate
within the site to complete it. I created a variety of Web 2.0 tools
which included a survey and electronic K-W-H-L chart using Google Docs,
Vokis, and a YouTube video that was created using a webcam and free
audio-to-text application. I spent a significant amount of time
linking web pages back and forth, so that resources were available in a
variety of places for the end user. I learned how to embed websites and
various applets using Google Gadgets and even sharpened up on my HTML
skills. I also collaborated with team members through weekly e-mails,
SYKPE calls, and our group planning page.
Creating
the electronic book through e-Book Builder helped me substantially put
all the pieces together especially when I was creating the UDL lesson
plan, the teacher website, and even in addressing the scenario in the
group project. It provided a concrete example of what UDL truly looks
like and took a basic concept like creating an electronic book and
demonstrated the various ways one could deliver the information to
address a variety of learners and needs.
No comments:
Post a Comment