EDLD+5364+Teaching+with+Technology

EDLD 5364 Teaching with Technology III. Model, design, and disseminate curriculum plans that include methods and strategies for applying technology to maximize student learning. IV. Communicate research on the use of technology to implement effective assessment and evaluation strategies. V. Design, develop, evaluate, and model products created using technology resources to improve and enhance their productivity and professional practice. || 2 –Knows how to use technology tools to solve problems, evaluate results, and communicate information in a variety of formats for diverse audiences. || ** Course EDLD 5364 Teaching with Technology: ** A. B. As campus professional development activity, create a wiki-based study group with 8 teachers leading and support teachers who analyze data related to student learning, create a lesson using Universal Design for Learning at the CAST Lesson Building at [] , create a sample electronic book to share with your learning team members. Lastly, add a team reflection to your Google site about the process of creating an electronic book. || ** B. – 12 hrs. **
 * II. Communicate research on the use of technology to implement effective assessment and evaluation strategies.

Total: 12 hrs. ** || Reflection:
 * //

The knowledge gained from the assignment: //** For this assignment in EDLD 5364 Teaching with Technology, we worked collaboratively with fellow students using GoogleDocs to create a unit made up of lessons using the CAST UDL Lesson-Builder. In this assignment, not only did we learn how to work in groups in an online environment, but we also learned how to use the CAST website to create technology-rich, engaging lessons that also implemented modifications for various learning styles and accommodated students with disabilities. This was the first time I had ever used GoogleDocs and learned so much about using it as a tool for collaborative assignments. Everyone in the group could access it from any computer at any time, edit it whenever they wanted to (even be working on it at the same time), and post comments to give feedback to others and their contributions. Also, we didn’t have to worry about saving it to a disk or to our computer because it was saved on the internet—it still is!! Also, the formatting was uniform throughout the document. You didn’t have to worry about what program someone was using or if it was “compatible”. It is most definitely better than emailing a document back and forth among several people. The other tool we learned to use by actually using it was the CAST UDL Lesson-Builder. The Universal Design for Learning model shows teachers how to design lessons addressing individual student differences related to the recognition, strategic, and affective networks involved in learning. We had to integrate technology into our lessons, and make modifications for visually impaired, hearing impaired, and gifted students. A wiki could have been used for this assignment, as I already had experienced using, but the GoogleDoc is geared specifically towards creating and editing documents, which is what we were creating in the unit. We could still embed images and post videos as well to the document as well and create multiple pages to organize our work. This assignment, as well as setting up a wiki, taught me the most about using a web-based tool to collaborate with colleagues. This assignment is a great example of how to teach by modeling. We actually learned how to use the tool by USING IT—not reading or listening about how to use it. By actually working with the tools, working in groups, and experiencing the task, we learned how to use the programs. I think these tools are great for both students and teachers. You can give students an assignment involving collaboration using a GoogleDoc, and teachers can use the UDL software to engage their students with technology even more. Our group was quick to select a leader, who then led us to each identify our strengths. Our group worked very well together because we all contributed and helped each other. One person in our group wasn’t a teacher and needed considerable help designing lessons and such. But, she was able to help us in other areas such as uploading a video. All members contributed equally and worked well together We selected a leader, who happened to be an elementary technology facilitator. He helped guide us, keep us organized, and keep us on a schedule. There were no issues with conflict or disagreement at all as we all seemed to work very well together. In fact, we were able to help provide strategies for each other to embed into our lessons for a particular type of student when modifying for diverse learners because each of us had a particular strength in this area. All group members were positive, communicated well with each other, took and received feedback, and helped one another. There was no negativity or feeling that others were working harder—it truly was a “collaborative effort”. I would like to research and compare other lesson-building technologies to see how they compare with the CAST model. Why all teachers are not taught and trained more on how to use web 2.0 technologies in their classrooms?
 * //The relation of new information to old information learned: //**
 * //The relation of information gained to personal experience: //**
 * //Discussion at a critical level, not just recitation of facts: Discussion at a critical level means discussing things such as your opinion of the reading or experience, why you hold that opinion, what you see wrong with the reading or experience, how you see the reading or experience is consistent or inconsistent with what you have learned so far, implications for the future: //**
 * //Insights into the patterns of interactions of colleagues: //**
 * //Group processes including: who had power, authority, or influence; who was participating and who was not, who was not included, how did you or another leader draw the silent participants out; was there confrontation, conflict, consensus, agreement, hurt feelings? //**
 * //Notations addressing the affective or feeling tone evident, concerns you noticed: //**
 * //<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt;">Questions you have that you should research or about which you can seek expert advice from your campus-based supervisor or your professor: //**
 * //<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt;">Issues that puzzle you: //**