EDLD+5364

__EDLD 5364 - Week 5 - Part 3: Course Embedded Reflection:__
I was thrilled to be working with Team 4M again for the group project in EDLD 5364. We collaborate and work very well together and knowing that helped to alleviate some of the stress of the assignments. We decided to use google docs for our collaboration and documentation. Our group is all familiar with google, and by using docs, we were able to complete our assignments without complications. I was also excited to see what I would be learning and working on during this course and how I could incorporate it into my classroom.

After reading the assignment for the group lesson plan, which required using the Cast UDL lesson plan template and creating a sample book using book builder, I was concerned about my ability to complete both of them. I’ve created lesson plans for my classroom, but never used that particular template prior to creating my individual lesson for this course. And, quite honestly, it looked like a ton of work that wasn’t necessary. As I read and learned about the UDL model and began working with my group on the plan, I became very frustrated. It was a lot of work, especially during Spring Break! But, once again, Team 4M rose to the challenge, worked together, and helped to ease my frustration. And, I discovered that there was a benefit to using the template. It really made me think about the activities that would be used to teach the students, and how each activity could benefit and enhance learning for each subgroup. As stated by Rose & Meyer in //Teaching Every Student, “Because individuals have their own optimal pathways for learning strategic skills, teaching approaches and tools need to be varied.” (2002, Chapter 6)// I also discovered that it wasn’t really that hard or frustrating when you have such an awesome and supportive group. My individual and group lesson plan using the Cast UDL model can be found on our team website at [].

Using the book builder was actually a lot of fun. I started the project with absolutely no idea of what I was doing. I read sample books and watched some tutorials and was excited to start building my book. Completing the sample took more time than I had anticipated, or maybe that’s just my perfectionist nature. I really enjoyed building the sample book, but am not convinced that I would use it in my classroom. I can see some benefit to letting my students use it for their assignments, but it seemed a little time consuming for me to use very often. As Pitler reminds us**,** “Using technology for technology’s sake isn’t a good application of instructional time or funding and it is unlikely to improve student achievement.”(2007, pg. 217) My sample book and reflection can also be found at [].

Overall, I feel this course challenged me to think and work outside my comfort box. As I mentioned before, I was unfamiliar with the techniques and programs we would be using. In addition, some weeks had the added stress of limited time. However, I worked hard, followed the rubrics, and am very proud of the work I accomplished. I’m also excited to share what I’ve learned in this class with my colleagues and use new techniques in my classroom. In addition, as I incorporate new technology tools into my classroom, I want to keep in mind information shared by Schacter, “Students in technology rich environments experienced positive effects on achievement in all major subject areas.” (1999, pg. 5)

REFERENCES: []

Pitler, H., Hubbell, E., Kuhn, M., & Malenoski, K. (2007). Using technology with classroom instruction that works. Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Department.

Rose, D. & Meyer, A. (2002). Teaching every student in the digital age: Universal Design for Learning. Alexandra, VA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development. Available online at the Center for Applied Special Technology Web Site. Chapter 6. Retrieved on March 31, 2012, from []

Schacter, J. (1999). //The Impact of Education Technology on Student Achievement: What the Most Current Research has to say.// Santa Monica, CA: Milken Exchange on Education Technology. Retrieved on March 31, 2012 from http://www.mff.org/pubs/ME161.pdf.

__EDLD 5364 - Week 5 Reflections:__
Watching the video of James Paul Gee discuss the use of games in the classroom and grading with games was incredibly interesting. I found myself nodding in agreement to many of the points he made during the discussion. Games really do focus on problem solving and collaboration. Thinking back to watching a 11 year old play a video game this weekend, you can see the problems he is solving as he makes decisions and choices during the game. While he's playing, he's constantly collaborating and chatting with friends online about the game play. I see the same thing thing happen in my classroom as student use the ipods and ipads to play games. They are in constant collaboration with each other, setting up challenges, totally engaged, and most importantly of all, learning and enjoying it! And, as Mr. Gee mentioned, games provide instant assessment for our students, allowing them to have constant feedback throughout the entire gaming session.

In addition, the readings this week were informative and interesting, as they have been for this entire course. I have taken notes and highlighted so much information in both of our textbooks, but find myself really enjoying //Using Technology with Classroom Instruction that Works.// Chapter 8 focused on reinforcing effort, and the relationship between effort and achievement. Pitler states "The research tells us that not all students realize the importance of effort. Many attribute their success or failure to external factors."(2007, pg. 156) I see this attitude in my classroom on a daily basis. I hear comments such as "I'm just not able to learn that" or "I'm not as smart as Johnny" filter through my classroom when faced with a difficult assignment. Pitler also shares "A powerful way to convince students that effort is truly tied to achievement is to show them data - not just data on themselves, but also combined data on groups that they associate themselves with; for example, 5th grade students, social studies students, and incoming freshmen." (pg. 161) I find this to be true with my students as well as my own children. By creating competitions and collaborations, their competitive nature starts to shine, and we see an improvement in their personal responsibility and increased overall effort.

References:

Edutopia.org (nd). //Big Thinkers: James Paul Gee on grading with games.// Retrieved on March 28, 2012 from http://www.edutopia.org/digital-generation-james-gee-video

Pitler, H., Hubbell, E., Kuhn, M., & Malenoski, K. (2007). Using technology that in the classroom instructions that works. Alexandria, VA:Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development.

__EDLD 5364 - Week 4: Reflections:__
I enjoyed all of the amazing videos this week. But I have to admit, I am in awe of Vicki Davis and the her small, rural classroom that she showcased in //Harness Your Students' Digital Smarts//. (Edutopia.org, 2009) She had so many points of interest that I agreed with 100 percent. One of the things that struck me the most was her comment about teachers, and how we think we should know everything before we teach our students. That's absolutely not true! Our children and students are so comfortable with the digital world around them, and have an incredible amount of information to share with educators. In addition, they are fearless and without boundaries, unlike teachers and administrators. Just listening to and working with my 3rd grade students, I find myself learning everyday. Their ability to problem solve and figure out technology related information is awesome. She also talked about making sure we customize our classroom activities and instruction based on our students and their learning styles. All children do not learn the same way, and our instruction should reflect that fact.

The reading selection from //Using Technology with Classroom Instruction that Works// had information that focused on collaborative learning. Pitler, Hubbell, Kuhn and Malenoski (2007) state that "Technology can play a unique and vital role in cooperative learning by facilitating group collaboration, providing structure for group tasks, and allowing members of groups to communicate even if they are not working face to face."(pg. 140) Using technology can help us customize our classroom activities and make sure our students are learning. By working together to create multimedia projects, students rely on their groups to share information and work together as a team to complete their project. In my third grade classroom, we've tackled several media projects, and the results are impressive. They love the feeling of learning as a team, and my experience is that they collaborate and work hard to achieve success. Chapter 7 went on to share multiple examples of multimedia and web resources. Most of these are being used on a daily basis on our campus. Webquests are always a favorite with students, and they love to just take off and explore! Also, teachers on our campus enjoy using shared bookmarking sites. It can really cut down on time spent searching for curriculum activities and resources when you find that another teacher has a useful website already saved.

References:

Edutopia.org (nd). //Harness Your Students' Digital Smarts//. Retrieved on March 19, 2012 from http://www.edutopia.org/digital-generation-teacher-vicki-davis

Pitler, H., Hubbell, E., Kuhn, M., & Malenoski, K. (2007). Using technology that in the classroom instructions that works. Alexandria, VA:Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development.

Melanie Starnes EDLD 5364/ET8038

__EDLD 5364 - Week 3: Reflections__
As I watched the video selections this week, I found myself amazed by how quickly our world has been transformed by technology. //Welcome to the Digital// Generation provided a great timeline showing the integration of technology tools into our educational setting. I especially enjoyed viewing the individual student videos. The passion and drive these students have for technology and the way they effortlessly incorporate technology into their daily lives is incredible to see. And, age has no factor in their ability to learn and use technology; it's a normal way of life for our young children and teenagers.

The weekly reading provided a wealth of information as well. Learning about UDL Lesson Plans and the Book Builder tool really shed some light on how I should be thinking about and creating my lesson plans, as well as giving me a new tool to use in my classroom to help differentiate and reinforce learning. As stated by Pitler, Hubbell, Kuhn, and Malenoski (2007), "It is essential that teachers design a quality lesson plan first and then select the most appropriate technologies to support that lesson." (pg. 217) In addition, Chapter 2 of //Using Technology with Classroom Instruction that Works// was full of useful information that I can use in my classroom. I find myself really enjoying this book and always finish reading with a list of new suggestions and ideas. Providing feedback to our students can be a struggle at times, as we try and find ways to provide individualized feedback for our students. Using technology to provide feedback makes it easier and quicker to provide that information. Referring back to Pitler, Hubbell, Kuhn and Malenoski (2007), "Technology is especially effective when it comes to providing this kind of feedback." (pg. 42) We use a program called "Successmaker" in our classrooms. This program provides immediate feedback to my students and they love to see the progress they are making!

References:

Edutopia.org (nd). //Welcome to the Digital Generation.// Retrieved on March 18, 2012 from []

Pitler, H., Hubbell, E., Kuhn, M., & Malenoski, K. (2007). Using technology that in the classroom instructions that works. Alexandria, VA:Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development.

__EDLD 5364 - Week 3: UDL Lesson Plan and Reflection__
As I began this week's lesson plan, I felt incredibly frustrated and overwhelmed. Creating the lesson plan seemed to include tons of information, and went way beyond what I typically prepare for classroom lessons. After viewing several samples of lessons and really digging into the UDL principles and networks, I felt little bit more comfortable. And, once I got started, the lesson seemed to flow better that what I had anticipated. My lesson focused on the higher achieving section of a classroom. This meant that I needed to create a lesson that met the average needs of students in addition to higher achieving students. I enjoyed researching technology tools that I could incorporate into my lesson plans. And, I was pleased to see that most of my activities met more than one of the networks. As I mentioned, this lesson plan went beyond what I typically do for lesson planning. But, upon reflection, I can see how using this template would help ensure that I am meeting the needs of all of my students, and am using various methods of teaching and activities in order to meet their individual needs. As stated by Rose and Meyer in //Teaching Every Student in the Digital Age,// "Individualizing the way that students work toward goals is feasible if a variety of tools and media are available." (pg. 1)

Rose, D. & Meyer, A. (2002). Teaching every student in the digital age: Universal design for learning. Alexandra, VA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development. Available online at the Center for Applied Special Technology Web site. Chapter 6. Retrieved on March 13, 2012, from @http://www.cast.org/teachingeverystudent/ideas/tes/

__EDLD 5364 - Week 3: UDL Book Builder__
I can see some value in using the UDL book builder, as it encourages a student to be more actively involved in reading a book. They are engaged, answering questions as they read, and seemingly more interested in the material presented. Also, content can be modified for each individual student or sub-group as needed, allowing them to read and comprehend at their own level. This would certainly benefit struggling students in your classroom. By having your students engaged, they are increasing their reading comprehension and knowledge of the content material. The program was fairly easy to use, although very time consuming for a teacher. It does have a lot of neat features, like being able to add video, audio and captions. The book builder could also be used as a classroom tool for students. The option for each student to create a response to the content presented on each page is a great feature. I could see an opportunity to use the book builder for group projects, with student creating their own books for different subjects.

Melanie Starnes EDLD5364/ET8038 [|Book Builder: Tricky Multiplication]

__EDLD 5364 - Week 2 Reflections:__
This week has been very informative and productive. From past experience, I knew that our group would work well together, and I feel so fortunate to be collaborating with such a hard working, dedicated group of colleagues/friends. We spent this week brainstorming ideas, figuring out what a UDL lesson involves, and narrowing our focus for our lessons. In addition, we assigned sub groups based on our personal teaching experience. This worked out surprisingly well, as we all have diverse backgrounds and teaching levels. I will admit to feeling a little overwhelmed this week! But, as I dug into the reading material and really looked at the questions, things became a little clearer. And, Meredith has been awesome as a team lead, and really helped to clarify information as well. I enjoyed the readings this week, and feel like I learned quite a bit. One of the issues that I found interesting was the effect of computers on a student's self-esteem. I enjoyed reading the studies and conclusions made about the correlation between the two. As a teacher, I believe that increasing a child’s confidence and esteem levels can only lead to positive benefits, especially in the classroom. As we read in the Page (2002) article, “Numerous studies have demonstrated that young children’s self-esteem or self-confidence directly affects their academic performance.” (p. 391) Putting together the use of technology and increased self esteem gives us even more reason to integrate creative technology tools in the classroom.

References:

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 March 7, 2012 from the International Society of Education at []/AM/Template.cfm?Section=Number_4_Summer_20021&Template=/MembersOnly.cfm&ContentFileID=830

__EDLD 5364 - Week 1 Assignment:__
As a classroom teacher, I realize that technology must be integrated into my classroom, yet I struggle with the “how to”, or implementation piece of the puzzle. I feel incredibly blessed to have so many technology choices available for my students to use, and I try hard to integrate it into my lessons on a daily basis. But, I also feel overwhelmed by the wealth of technology information out there that I'm not currently using! Just reading the first section of //Web 2.0 new tools, new schools// has started to ease my mind just a bit. I'm so excited to continue reading and know this book has a wealth of information to offer.

I found it interesting to hear about the three different learning theories, Constructivism, Connectivism, and the Cyborg Theory. “Constructivist Teachers allow student responses to drive lessons, shift instructional strategies, and alter content.” (Sprague & Deed, 1999). This is a strategy that my principal and I discussed at the beginning of the year, and has been a driving factor in my lesson planning this year. And, honestly, I can see how much my students are growing in both knowledge and self-esteem. By asking open ended questions and allowing their experiences to guide the lesson has led to some in depth and collaborative conversations!

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 February 27, 2012 from the International Society for Technology in Education at @http://imet.csus.edu/imet9/280/docs/dede_constructivism.pdf