EDLD+5364+Week+5+Team+Reflection


 * It was Max Werheimer, psychologist and father of Gestalt Theory, who is credited with penning, “The whole is better than the sum of its parts.” I started with this because I believe this saying is applicable to this course’s work, as well as, the course knowledge that we gained over the last five weeks. We have covered collaborative cloud based tools, Universal Design for Learning, and group based projects and assessments. “The whole is better than the sum of its parts” has flashed in my mind many times these last few weeks of study and group scenario work. **


 * To answer our scenario we created a unit of Universal Design for Learning, UDL, based lessons that center around personal finance for middle school students. Since this unit is comprised of individual UDL lessons each lesson is designed to meet the needs of every subgroup of student that was mentioned in our scenario. We will highlight some examples in this essay. To start I would like to address the rationale for the recommended professional development for our teacher. At the top of our Group UDL Unit, we establish our plan to meet with the teacher for a teacher technology assessment session where all of the technology based resources are reviewed with the teacher to ensure that they understand how to use these resources and, more importantly, how to promote higher order thinking by the use of these technology-based resources. The teacher is expected to blog daily of progress so that the technology staff can monitor their progress and ensure that there are no technology-based barriers to learning. Lastly, our teachers will meet with us to discuss any opportunity for improvement, which can include relearning the use of our practical applications for any of our unit’s technology-based resources. We acknowledge that, at first, this is an intensive amount of follow up with the teacher, but we believe that when starting a new unit which also involves such a drastic change from previous teaching tactics (UDL lessons, project based assignments, peer teaching, access to technology for learning, and group assessments) that teachers will appreciate having someone there to guide them along the way. Over time, the use of the school’s instructional technologist and technology coordinators for professional development will wane as these types of lessons become common place in school. Until then, it is our job to support them in using technology as a tool for learning in their classrooms. **


 * TECHNOLOGY ACTIVITIES FOR LOW ACHIEVING STUDENTS **
 * When trying to reach low achieving students it is very important that much of the content introduced connects at their level. Therefore much of the content contained in the banking unit, involves a lot of vocabulary, partnered with images. Also, many of the low achieving students struggle with reading and comprehension. The incorporation of the e-books offer lessons that can be electronically read to the students and which also have online coaches to offer assistance and to bring to light the important concepts that may be needed for comprehension of the material. The use of the computer lab and the interactive activities such as the ATM, helps the lower students retain the information. This is due to the amount of repetition the students are receiving through the interactive technology. Increased student repetition brings a greater academic retention rate. According to Rose & Meyer there are many features that make lessons apply to all learners. The lessons within the banking unit provide many examples that allow a variety of materials that students can relate to and other aspects that help reach low achieving students, such as the use of multiple media formats and the highlighting of important features. **


 * TECHNOLOGY ACTIVITIES FOR VISUALLY IMPAIRED (VI) STUDENTS **
 * Since all visually impaired students are not blind, there are different levels of technology that can enhance the educational experience of those with different levels of vision. The three main principles of UDL requires that we not only make information accessible but that we also use multiple means of representation to give learners various ways of acquiring information and knowledge; multiple means of expression to demonstrate what they know and multiple means of engagement to tap into their interests and challenge and motivate them to learn. For students in the inclusion classroom who are visually impaired, they will use or download a free or purchased program that will convert the text to speech so they can play it back using headphones. In our UDL lesson, we use the e-book which converts the text to speech for playback by the VI student. All classrooms that have computers installed may already have access to text-to-speech systems for other text. The teacher also records the lessons as podcasts for visually impaired and other students to playback and reflect upon using their PDAs. Recording software like Audacity or other purchased programs will be used to record the podcasts. Likewise, the student has an option to choose to create a podcast to show mastery for the summative assessment. Students will take an online quiz which provides immediate feedback for formative assessment of the material presented. Immediate feedback is important when acquiring new knowledge or connecting new knowledge to what is already known. Feedback has been shown to be one of the most significant activities a teacher can engage in to improve student achievement (Hattie, 1992). Any teacher handouts will be scanned using OCR technology to convert text to speech. A digital file of these handouts will be offered on CD or by e-mail so that the VI student has additional opportunities to review the information presented. Teachers will also use the zoom feature or enlarged fonts in all software programs for easier readability during any presentation of information. Technology coordinators will train the teacher to use Audacity and create a podcast. Advance organizers, including graphic ones, help students learn new concepts and vocabulary (Stone, 1983). **
 * Feedback has been shown to be one of the most significant activities a teacher can engage in to improve student achievement (Hattie, 1992). **


 * TECHNOLOGY ACTIVITIES FOR HEARING IMPAIRED (HI) STUDENTS **
 * In the past, hearing aids and deaf education interpreters have assisted students, however, a newer technology called an Assistive Listening System has a microphone for the teacher to speak into that transmits to the hearing impaired student. With this device, the teacher’s voice is clear and cuts down on background noises. Technology coordinators will work with the Special Education department to make this technology available to enhance instruction for the HI students. The three main principles of UDL requires that we not only make information accessible but that we also use multiple means of representation to give learners various ways of acquiring information and knowledge; multiple means of expression to demonstrate what they know and multiple means of engagement to tap into their interests and challenge and motivate them to learn. Other easily accessible technology include speech-to-text systems. Students are encouraged to use the installed software or to bring a voice recorder to record instructions for additional playback at the student’s convenience. In our UDL lesson, we use the e-book which uses text and graphics for visual clues for the VI student. It includes a glossary for immediate definitions to terms in the text. Immediate feedback is important for acquiring new knowledge and connecting it to other information. Feedback has been shown to be one of the most significant activities a teacher can engage in to improve student achievement (Hattie, 1992). All classrooms that have computers installed may already have access to text-to-speech systems for other text.The teacher/class will use e-mail or chat systems to send notes or discussion questions to the student and for some student-to-student interactions. When presenting, teachers will use electronic whiteboards like Smartboards or Promethean boards with a revealer tool to show only a portion of the text at a time. For detailed step-by-step instructions, teacher will provide video-taped instructions or record a podcast for later playback. Technology coordinators will train the teacher to use Audacity and create a podcast. Additional training will be provided to teachers on using the revealer and other tools with the electronic white board. Students will use a graphic organizer such as Inspiration to organize and connect knowledge as acquired. Advance organizers, including graphic ones, help students learn new concepts and vocabulary (Stone, 1983). **


 * TECHNOLOGY ACTIVITIES FOR HIGH ACHIEVING STUDENTS **
 * Many high achieving students are also GT or borderline GT. But there are also students of all abilities that are driven to go farther in the lesson. To meet the needs of all of these driven students, the teacher should build in extension activities. In the lesson on Balancing a Checkbook, there is an extension activity to have the students ask their parents about the typical bills and transactions of the household. This activity reaches the students Affective Network by being more personal in nature and allows the students to connect what they are learning in class to the real world. The teacher can also extend the technology part of this lesson by letting the students learn more about Excel, or other spreadsheet software. The goal for the teacher in reaching the high achieving kids should not just be “more work” or “harder work.” It should be more challenging and extending. Since not all high achieving students are on the same cognitive ability, the teacher should find activities or opportunities for the students to extend the lesson to new places. These activities should spark their interest and allow them to explore the topic deeper. Technology is especially useful for these types of activities, because it allows the student to pick their own path. Once, the standard lesson is done, each high achieving student may find different aspects interesting and want to find out more of a specific part. Back to the Balancing a Checkbook example, some students may want to find out what their aunt spends on bills and what their friends spend on bills. This student could collect data from various people and present what people typically spend on certain types of transactions (food, gas, utilities, etc). Another student (like myself) may find the spreadsheet software intriguing and want to figure out its capabilities. This student could create a sample check register that would automatically calculate current balance, create a graph of money spent and certain categories and even send an email when your balance is low. The point is to let the high achieving student focus on the aspect that they enjoy most and let them run with it, within reason of course. **


 * TECHNOLOGY ACTIVITIES FOR GIFTED AND TALENTED (GT) STUDENTS **
 * Since UDL “supports learners instead of imparting the knowledge”, a project-based lesson was selected for the gifted and talented students so that their learning could be facilitated (through teacher modeling) and not imparted (Rose and Meyer, 2002). In the case of the savings and loans lesson, the teacher presents 3 various formats to demonstrate how the bank makes money (roleplay, digital storytelling, blog). When the students select which format to undergo for final assessment, project-based learning takes place. Since the project was selected by the student, the content will be more engaging that displays intrinsic learning.The gifted and talented students will naturally become group leaders of the project that allows them to demonstrate comprehension through assisting classmates. Teacher’s usage of web 2.0 tools will ensure the framework of his/her professional development as he/she applies what is learned. Teacher’s daily blogging will enable teacher to connect with, engage, and inspire the talented students who chose to blog what they have learned. Media tools like Microsoft Photo Story and Windows Movie Maker are excellent for the advanced students to personalize their presentation. Learner-centered theories like constructivism support project-based lessons because it supports the instructional practices (teacher modeling) that is centered around the gifted and talented where their exploration is encouraged (SEDL, 1999). **


 * __ **
 * Northwest Regional Educational Laboratory. (2005). Research Based Strategies. Retrieved April 1, 2012, from Focus on Effectiveness: http://www.netc.org/focus/strategies/prov.php **


 * Rose, D. H., & Meyer, A. (2002). Teaching Every Student in the Digital Age: Universal Design for Learning. Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development. **


 * Northwest Regional Educational Laboratory. (2005). Research Based Strategies. Retrieved April 1, 2012, from Focus on Effectiveness: [| http://www.netc.org/focus/strategies/prov.php] **


 * Rose, D. H., & Meyer, A. (2002). Teaching Every Student in the Digital Age: Universal Design for Learning. Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development. **


 * Rose, D., & Meyer, A. (2002). Teaching every student in the digital age: Universal design for learning. Alexandria,VA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development. Available online at the Center of Applied Special Technology Web site. Chapter 1. Retrieved on March 6, 2012, from [| http://www.cast.org/teachingeverystudent/ideas/tes/chapter1_4.cfm] **


 * Southwest Educational Development Laboratory, (1999). Learning as a personal event: A brief introduction to Constuctivism. Retrieved on March 1, 2012, from http://www.sedl.org/pubs/tec26/intro2c.html **