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Week 5 Personal Reflections - EDLD 5364

The information presented in EDLD 5364 is so vast and so great in detail that trying to assimilate the information while trying to understand how to use it is overwhelming. The information is truly very useful and if a teacher is actually able to apply all that has been presented then that teacher’s students would have an awesome ongoing classroom experience. It has been very confusing trying to get a clear picture of what has been expected in this course. By far, it has been the most challenging course for me. Not only that, I was sick (in bed) for two weeks and in the hospital for one of those weeks which created even more of a challenge to focus on this difficult task. My performance has not been my best, partly because of the confusion and partly because of my sickness, but hopefully I will be able to use and build upon what I have learned about teaching with technology, UDL, effort, assessment and many other areas.

Technology can not only be used for teaching and learning, but also to teach students about the importance of effort. Students can be taught to use spreadsheet software to create or update an effort rubric to track effort versus achievement (Pitler, Hubbell, Kuhn, & Malenoski, 2007). They should record scores for the effort put forth in all areas and create a chart to easily view the results. When they see the chart it should be clear to them how their effort helped to improve their achievement. They could set goals for effort based on the results. James Gee (Edutopia.org) wants people to realize that games provide the ultimate level of feedback. Before one can move to the next level of a game, they have to look at the instant feedback, read for critical information and determine the best way to conquer the level before moving on. The knowledge gained will be connected to new knowledge to help the student to pass future levels. Gardener (Edutopia.org) speaks about some of the ethical issues that are associated with digital media. Students don’t see copying information as a big deal. They just want to use it when they need it and believe that consequences should be only minimal or nonexistent. He also sees teachers as coaches since information is so readily available to everyone, not just to teachers. All of the big thinkers are hoping that we will realize that we are living in a different time where information is readily available and can be used by anyone and everyone. The teacher is no longer controller of the information—students can immediately seek additional information on their own to solve problems or accomplish goals. The tools teachers are given are not the kinds of tools that students will use outside of school. Barab (Edutopia.org) insists that teachers must advocate for the new media literacy to avoid the missed opportunities and high drop-out rate that will result if teachers don’t get on board.

In the past I have heard at teacher conferences that effort brings results, so I agree with the information presented about effort. It really is common sense, that when effort is applied to situations the results are likely to be successful. My past interactions with colleagues will affect my future learning experiences because when I am reading about or experiencing new technologies, I am constantly thinking in my mind how various parts would help the math teacher or the science teachers at my campus. I will be able to share my experiences and hopefully spark something in them. The challenges and issues that I face will be to continue to study about the Universal Design for Learning and try to always incorporate the three main principles so that students have more than one way of getting, presenting and interacting with new information. The Big Thinkers are on to something. Yes, they have all of the big ideas, but how in the world will these great ideas actually be applied in the classrooms? The only way I can see is if every single school district adopted the McRel ideas and began school by school to develop teachers. The other way is simply to wait for time. Eventually the digital natives will become the teachers and it will be second nature for them to seamlessly incorporate the use of all kinds of technologies into their classrooms. It is a struggle for and I always go back to the issue of time. Teachers are not treated like professionals and given the time to be creative thinkers as engineers or scientists. Working with this group has been very challenging because we have had two who always procrastinate to the very last minute and don’t get their work in soon enough for anyone to be able to assess it and make suggestions. Some of it has been incomplete and I hate being stuck in a group with loafers. Although I was sick, I did a whole lot better than the procrastinators. Solomon, G., & Schrum, L. (2007). //Web 2.0 New Tools, New Schools.// Eugene, OR: International Society for Technology in Education.

Tuttle, H. (2007). Authentic Assessments Made Possible by Web 2.0. //Web 2.0 New Tools, New Schools//. Eugene, OR, USA: International Society for Technology in Education.

Pitler, H., Hubbell, E. R., Kuhn, M., & Malenoski, K. (2007). //Using Technology with Classroom Instruction that Works.// Denver, CO: Mid-continent Research for Education and Learning.

Edutopia.org. (n.d.). //Big Thinkers: Sasha Barab on New-Media Enagement.// Retrieved October 5, 2009, from Edutopia: http://www.edutoia.org/digital-generation-sasha-barab-video