Universal Design for Learning

EDUC 67131-I Refelction

Game Plan Overview

Lesson Problem(S) / Driving Question(S)

            What was life like in Colonial America according to the three different regions? 

How might a timeshare company market the region?

These driving questions are relevant to student learning because it is the basis for why European settlers settled in the Americas and thus based the foundation of our country.  Students will apply their understandings of audience in order to market the assigned region, which aligns with English content standards.

PBL Lesson

Students in teacher pre-selected small groups will research an assigned region of the original thirteen colonies (Southern, New England, and Middle) through a number of sources: the internet, encyclopedias, primary sources, library sources, textbooks, teacher generated search engine, and literature.  Through their research, the groups will investigate: reasons behind colonial foundation, types of occupations available in the region during colonial times, what daily life was like, gender roles and expectations within the region, government organizations, successes and conflicts within the region, geography of the region and origins of the settlers of the region.

Online Collaboration Lesson

Students will utilize the collaborative tools of a wiki to accumulate their research and collaboratively create a marketing strategy for a timeshare in their assigned region.  Their marketing strategy must at least include a brochure and power point presentation.  Students will use the wiki to organize information, distribute responsibilities, and finalize assignment details.  Students will utilize a teacher organized wiki space according to their assigned groups to fulfill all of the requirements of the assignment.  Students will work off the Game Plan they designed in class the previous day.

Students will develop their creative thinking skills in several aspects of this activity.  First, they will working on their convergent thinking skills in their efforts to understand what conclusions about the regions the primary sources lead to.  Convergent thinking is “a type of creative thinking that attempts to bring together thoughts from different perspectives in order to achieve a common understanding or conclusion” (Cennamo, Ross & Ertmer, 2009, p. 26).  Students will also utilize their innovative thinking skills in order to develop a marketing strategy for the regional timeshare as innovation is “a type of divergent thinking that aims to produce something that is original and of value” (Cennamo, Ross & Ertmer, 2009, p. 26).

Digital Storytelling Lesson

Students will use digital storytelling in order to: (1) teach classmates about each of the colonial region and (2) demonstrate their understanding of content.  Students will present their timeshare and brochure in class while being video recorded according to their presentation expectations and guidelines.  Students will utilize power point and publisher software in order to complete these actions.

Game Plan Reflection

I practiced all steps of this unit with my students and found it to be more successful than my previous ventures in teaching the differences in the colonial regions.  Students were passionate about their desire to “sell” their audience vacation timeshares in the regions.  Their marketing strategies were phenomenal and their research was sound and impressive.

            I did this with my students at the close of the year and they had a lot of background knowledge on the concepts because we had already learned much of the material earlier in the year so the outcome will be different with students at the beginning of the year with no background knowledge and less experience in research.  In order to overcome any challenges that this might present I would have lengthened the time that students got to research.  I would have also worked with them prior to teach them how to successfully research academically.  I understand that students’ abilities at the beginning of the year are very different from that at the end of the year and I would have to accommodate for that inequality next year.

Students will use digital storytelling in order to: (1) teach classmates about each of the colonial region and (2) demonstrate their understanding of content.  Students will present their timeshare and brochure in class while being video recorded according to their presentation expectations and guidelines.  Students will utilize power point and publisher software in order to complete these actions.

            I also would have lengthened the amount of tie students had to present because I know that many of my groups wanted it.  This was something I hard often in student feedback for this activity.

Instructional Practice And Technology

Digital Storytelling

Abrams (2009) explains digital storytelling as “sharing stories through words, pictures, music, narration, and/or video” (Laureate Education, Inc.).  Within my classroom students are required to produce some form of digital storytelling at the close of or within every unit; products range from newspapers, news broadcasts, letters, maps, reenactments, advertisements, brochures, websites, and so much more.  I have collected these projects over the years from my colleagues, mentors, readings, and even my students!  The overarching goal of each of these products is to provide students with opportunities to critically think about the curriculum through various modalities, to express themselves creatively, to relate concepts to real life, and to create opportunities to assess student learning outside of high stakes forced choice assessments.  Additionally, because students always collaborate with each other they are developing their interpersonal skills.  “In today's digitized world, visual storytelling is a favorite classroom tool, and the affordability and accessibility of technology such as iMovie provides opportunities not imagined a decade ago” (New, 2005, p. 1).  My students look forward to these projects – it provides endless motivation as the best projects are always displayed on the class work bulletin board for the duration of the following unit with teacher and student feedback.

Social Networking and Classroom Collaboration

                                                        Social networking is “software that allows people to come together around an idea or topic of interest” (Smith, 2007, p.1).  Within my experiences as an online student I have found my greatest learning experiences to be in class discussions wherein my peers have challenged my pedagogy and thoughts on subjects, I have researched the material, and either changed or argued my perspective.  I find social networking’s ability to communicate so effortlessly and on my own time schedule to be a strength I want in my own classroom. The reality is social networking will be a large component of my students’ future careers. “We need to teach students how to be effective collaborators in that world, how to interact with people around them, how to be engaged, informed twenty-first-century citizens” (Smith, 2007, p.1).  For this reason alone, social networking should at the very least be introduced to students in an academic setting in order to discuss the ethics, responsibilities and privileges of the tool.

            A struggle I encounter in my classroom is my district’s lack of enthusiasm to have social networking as a academic utility within my classroom activities.  “Administrators have to decide this is valued for the whole school community, and they have to give teachers time and freedom to learn, experiment, and play” (Smith, 2007, p.1).  In order to overcome this I have to submit parent signed permission slips for activities involving social networking tools to my principal along with detailed lesson plans.  This is work I am willing to do for my students to gain the experiences I feel they should have within the classroom in preparation for their careers.  “Schools have always taught kids how to present themselves -- that's why we did oral presentations in the classroom. Now we need to teach them to present themselves electronically” (Smith, 2007, p.1).  This is a major discussion within my classroom during our interactions with technology, and especially with social networking activities.  The majority of their use, however allows my students to collaborate with one another outside of the classroom while I know who is participating and to what extent.

Resources

Cennamo, K., Ross, J. & Ertmer, P. (2009). Technology integration for meaningful classroom use: A standards-based approach. (Laureate Education, Inc., Custom ed.). Belmont, CA: Wadsworth, Cengage Learning.

Kuhlthau, C. C., Maniotes, L. K., & Caspari, A. K. (2007). Guided inquiry: Learning in the 21st century. Westport, CT: Libraries Unlimited.

Laureate Education, Inc. (Executive Producer). (2009). “Spotlight on Technology: Digital Storytelling, Part 1”. Baltimore, MD: Author.

New, J. (2005, December 2). How to use digital storytelling in your classroom. Retrieved from the Edutopic website: http://www.edutopia.org/use-digital-storytelling-classroom.

Smith, F. (2007, April 20). How to use social-networking technology for learning. Retrieved May 30, 2011from the Edutopia website: http://www.edutopia.org/print/3980.

Monitoring My GAME Plan

In order to strengthen my confidence and proficiency in addressing the National Educational Technology Standards for Students (NETS.S) within my classroom I have developed a GAME Plan to support my proficiency in the standards.  “The GAME Plan requires that you think about and take steps to direct your learning process, specifically while learning about technology and how to integrate it into the curriculum” (Cennamo, Ross & Ertmer, 2009, p. 3).

Monitoring My Progress

“As you take action to achieve your learning goals, you’ll need to monitor whether you are making sufficient progress towards your goals and reflect on whether the strategies you have chosen are working” (Cennamo, Ross & Ertmer, 2009, p. 4).  In order to monitor my progress I will refer to my colleagues within our meetings, as well as reflect on my progress, by asking and journaling my responses in my blog to the following questions:

Am I finding the information I need from other resources?

What patterns are emerging from the User Agreements I have gathered from other districts?

What more information do I want?

Am I including my student’s voice in our work?

Am I including social issues in our User Agreement?

Is the User Agreement relevant?

Do I need to modify my action plan?

My blog journaling will be made available for public feedback, including my colleagues, parents within the district, my administrators, and my students.  A biweekly update will include a post of the current draft of the user agreement and presentation materials upon suggestion from my principal.

My Current Progress

            Currently, I have collected several user agreements from districts all across the world (thanks to my colleagues in China and Germany) and I have found that many of them are in worse shape than my own.  I have also gleaned  a few major points of interest that should be considered within the agreement, such as anti-cyber bullying initiatives, plagiarism outlines, and web etiquette.  I still have several more to read and analyze, but I am off to a great start!

            Next week I will begin the debates with my students on the user agreements and the aspects thereof.  They have been working in their English classes on debate development, research, and presentation.  Many of them have really become inspired by the task at hand and I am very eager to hear their perspectives and insight.

A Request for Resources

            Lastly, I would like to ask if anyone within this Walden learning community would like to send me a digital copy of their school district’s technology User Agreement I would be much obliged!  Additionally, any thoughts you have about the agreement and it’s function in your district or at your school would also be greatly appreciated.  Thank you in advance for your support!

Carrying Out my GAME Plan

In order to strengthen my confidence and proficiency in addressing the National Educational Technology Standards for Students (NETS.S) within my classroom I have developed a GAME Plan to support my proficiency in the standards.  “The GAME Plan requires that you think about and take steps to direct your learning process, specifically while learning about technology and how to integrate it into the curriculum” (Cennamo, Ross & Ertmer, 2009, p. 3).

            “After you’ve identified your learning goals, you need to take action to meet those goals” (Cennamo, Ross & Ertmer, 2009, p. 4).  In order to address both of my goals, I will be participating in my school’s board to revamp our Electronic Resources User Agreement and Policies.  The one provided by the district leaves much to be desired and collectively we have decided to modify the agreement to better address our expectations for students both at home and at school.  In order to rewrite the user agreement I will also be doing extensive research on other school district’s technology user agreements for inspiration and guidance.  I will be reaching out to my Walden colleagues with whom I have developed a good rapport with and then I will reach out on other educational blog sites I participate in.  After collecting the other district’s user agreements I will identify both the strengths and weaknesses of each of the user agreements.

            I will also use feedback from students to assist in writing the user agreement and to ensure that the students have ownership in the agreement.  At the close of this academic year, my students and I will be participating in a series of class discussions based on aspects of the user agreement(s) that both my students and I deem important aspects of what should or should not be included in the user agreement.  This debate will be a cross curricular activity supported by the students work in their English classes.

Resources

Cennamo, K., Ross, J. & Ertmer, P. (2009). Technology integration for meaningful classroom use: A standards-based approach. (Laureate Education, Inc., Custom ed.). Belmont, CA: Wadsworth, Cengage Learning.

GAME Plan: ISTE NETS

               In order to strengthen my confidence and proficiency in addressing the National Educational Technology Standards for Students (NETS.S) within my classroom I have developed a GAME Plan to support my proficiency in the standards.  “The GAME Plan requires that you think about and take steps to direct your learning process, specifically while learning about technology and how to integrate it into the curriculum” (Cennamo, Ross & Ertmer, 2009, p. 3).

Set Goals

“In order to stay up-to-date with current and emerging technologies for teaching and learning, you will need to constantly assess your technology integration skills in order to identify the new knowledge and skills you need” (Cennamo, Ross & Ertmer, 2009, p. 4).  As the year comes to a close and class time is less restrictive to content standards after state standards assessments, I look forward to enriching my students learning experiences within the realm of technology.  My goals are foundationally based in specifically two of the ISTE NETS and Performance Indicators for Teachers:

“4.a. Promote and Model Digital Citizenship and Responsibility

Teachers understand local and global societal issues and responsibilities in an evolving digital culture and exhibit legal and ethical behavior in their professional practices. Teachers will promote and model digital etiquette and responsible social interactions related to the use of technology and information” (International Society for Technology in Education, 2008, p.1).

“5.b. Engage in Professional Growth and Leadership

Teachers continuously improve their professional practice, model lifelong learning, and exhibit leadership in their school and professional community by promoting and demonstrating the effective use of digital tools and resources. Teachers will exhibit leadership by demonstrating a vision of technology infusion, participating in shared decision making and community building, and developing the leadership and technology skills of others” (International Society for Technology in Education, 2008, p.1).

Take Action

“After you’ve identified your learning goals, you need to take action to meet tose goals” (Cennamo, Ross & Ertmer, 2009, p. 4).  In order to address both of my goals, I will be participating in my school’s board to revamp our Electronic Resources User Agreement and Policies.  The one provided by the district leaves much to be desired and collectively we have decided to modify the agreement to better address our expectations for students both at home and at school.  I will use feedback from students to assist in writing the user agreement and to ensure that the students have ownership in the agreement.  I will also be doing extensive research on other school district’s technology user agreements for inspiration and guidance.

Monitor

“As you take action to achieve your learning goals, you’ll need to monitor whether you are making siffiecient progress towards your goals and reflect on whether the strategies you have chosen are working” (Cennamo, Ross & Ertmer, 2009, p. 4).  In order to monitor my progress I will refer to my colleagues within our board meetings as well as reflect on my progress by asking:

Am I finding the information I need from other resources?

What patterns are emerging from the User Agreements I have gathered from other districts?

Am I including my student’s voice in our work?

Am I including social issues in our User Agreement?

Do I need to modify my action plan?

Evaluate and Extend

            “During the evaluate stage in self-directed learning, you’ll determine whether you met your goal and reflect on whether your approach worked or whether you should modify your strategies for the future” (Cennamo, Ross & Ertmer, 2009, p. 5).  In August I will be presenting our board’s new Electronic Resources User Agreement and Policies to both our school district and to our school site on our buy-back days.  Both presentations will model how teachers can present the User Agreement to their students in a meaningful and creative manner.  At this point in my GAME Plan I will again reflect on the experience and refer to my student’s progress as an understanding for how my work has really influenced their understanding of technology use.

Resources

Cennamo, K., Ross, J. & Ertmer, P. (2009). Technology integration for meaningful classroom use: A standards-based approach. (Laureate Education, Inc., Custom ed.). Belmont, CA: Wadsworth, Cengage Learning.

International Society for Technology in Education. (2008). National education standards for teachers (NETS-T). Retrieved May 8, 2011 from http://www.iste.org/Libraries/PDFs/NETS_for_Teachers_2008_EN.sflb.ashx

New Class!

Gearing up for EDUC-6713: Integrating Technology Across Content Areas!
Welcome new class mates to my blog space!

Reflection EDUC 6711I

Orey outlines that “understanding the theoretical base supporting teaching and learning can help [educators] make appropriate and successful instructional decisions for [their] students” (Laureate Education, Inc, 2008c).  Instructional theories examine strategies for changing the learning environment to facilitate learning and although they all have “different perspectives about engaging learners” (Laureate Education, Inc, 2008c) their commonalities necessitate active learners and participants.

Personal Learning Theory

Wolfe argues that teachers “are not just teaching children, [they] are literally and physically shaping their brains by what [they] have them do (Laureate Education, Inc, 2008b).  During the learning process, the brain seeks meaningful patterns; therefore, the only way to really understand something is to relate it to prior knowledge or creating hands-on, concrete learning experiences that involve the five senses.  “The more avenues you use to put information into the brain, the more avenues they have to retrieve it” (Laureate Education, Inc, 2008b).

Within my classroom, eighth grade United States social studies, each content curriculum is covered in various modalities in order to reach all learners; homework, study guides, class work, lesson lectures and structured group projects all support the unique styles of learning for each individual student.  All curriculum is previewed by the student through interactive bookwork, cleverly designed projects, and/or self developed worksheets.  Topics are reinforced in class through teacher guided lectures with varied note taking tasks, student lead discussions, and cooperative group projects.  Review sessions and long term research projects help students connect recent subject matter with prior curriculum.  Lastly personally developed graphic organizers depict the common thread throughout the entire year’s themes.  Within this system, I have developed a scaffold and systematic approach to encouraging and teaching students to learn and study independently, a life-long learning tool, which incorporates various modalities of study guides, review sessions, and tests.   Proudly, and with careful attention to detail, all varieties of learning theories are addressed within my classroom.

Technological Integrations: Short Term

After dissecting the prominent learning theories and putting them into practice in correlation with technological tools it was apparent that immediate changes needed to be made to my classroom.  Within the next trimester I look forward to utilizing Voice Thread and virtual fieldtrips in order to put social learning into practice and to make learning real.

Social learning theories address the function of culture, collaboration, and context in students’ knowledge construction and assimilation of the world; social learning is the primary way students construct meaning.  Cooperative learning “focuses on having students interact with each other in groups in ways that enhance their learning” (Pitler, Hubbell, Kuhn, and Malenoski, 2007, p139).  According to Orey, social learning is built upon three major components: a students’ zone of proximal development, collaborative learning opportunities with more knowledgeable others, and situated cognition (Laureate Education, 2010g).  Voice Thread allows students to discuss topics in a non-threatening environment, collaborate with their peers to solve problems, and to utilize technology.  Virtual fieldtrips allow students to experience learning personally, put concepts into context, and allow students to learn collectively all of which support social learning theories.

Technological Integrations: Long Term

            My technological long term goals include obtaining enough digital video recording devices that every pair of students in my class can work to create a personal video at the same time.  These videos can be modified and edited in order to be uploaded to Voice Thread or Blog Spaces for student collaboration.  In order to do this I have submitted several applications for grants within my district, posted a request on DonorsChoose.org, and have solicited assistance from my students’ parents.  Working in a very affluent community makes my aspirations realistic, and I look forward to having a class set before the end of this academic school year.

            My second long term goal is to bring technological advancements to my school site.  I will begin my having all of our digital projectors mounted on the ceiling, obtaining digital overheads for all classrooms, getting Smartboards for every classroom that wants it and updating all teacher’s desktop computers with the latest software and technology capabilities.  I am currently working with the district technology team, our school site PTA and Booster club, and my principal to write grants for this feat.  I look forward to making technological advancements over the next five years.

Unique Students, Unique Learning Styles

“Each learner in a classroom is likely to have a unique cognitive style, a unique learning style, and some parameters related to intelligence” (Lever-Duffy & McDonald, 2008, p19).  Regardless of how you approach teaching, or your pedagogy that determines why you do so, the best teachers are those who have a pedagogy and reinforce their beliefs within their lessons.  After completing this class, many of my teaching practices have been reinforced, restructured and elaborated upon.  I look forward to obtaining my goals and bringing both my classroom and school site into the twenty first century.

References

Derry, S. J. (1999). A Fish called peer learning: Searching for common themes. In A. M. O'Donnell & A. King (Eds.),

Hartley, J. (1998) Learning and Studying. A research perspective, London: Routledge.

Iiyoshi, T., Hannifin, M. J., & Wang, F. (2005). Cognitive tools and student-centered learning:Rethinking tools, functions, and applications. Educational Media International, 42, 281-296. Retrieved February 19, 2007.

Laureate Education, Inc. (Producer). (2008a). Program #: Brain research and learning with Patricia Wolfe. [DVD]. In Walden University: Bridging Learning Theory, Instruction, and Technology.  Baltimore: Author.

Laureate Education, Inc. (Producer). (2008b). Program #: Understanding the brain with Patricia Wolfe. [DVD]. In Walden University: Bridging Learning Theory, Instruction, and Technology.  Baltimore: Author.

Laureate Education, Inc. (Producer). (2008c). Program #: Instructional theory versus learning theory with Michael Orey. [DVD]. In Walden University: Bridging Learning Theory, Instruction, and Technology.  Baltimore: Author.

Laureate Education, Inc. (Producer). (2010d). Program #: Behaviorist learning theory with Michael Orey. [DVD]. In Walden University: Bridging Learning Theory, Instruction, and Technology.  Baltimore: Author.

Laureate Education, Inc. (Producer). (2010e). Program #: Cognitive Learning Theories with Michael Orey. [DVD]. In Walden University: Bridging Learning Theory, Instruction, and Technology.  Baltimore: Author.

Laureate Education, Inc. (Producer). (2010f). Program #: Constructionist and Constructivist Learning Theories with Michael Orey. [DVD]. In Walden University: Bridging Learning Theory, Instruction, and Technology.  Baltimore: Author.

Laureate Education, Inc. (Producer). (2010g). Program #: Social learning theories with Michael Orey. [DVD]. In Walden University: Bridging Learning Theory, Instruction, and Technology. Baltimore: Author.

Lever-Duffy, J., & McDonald, J. (2008). Theoretical foundations (Laureate Education, Inc., custom ed.). Boston, MA: Pearson Education, Inc.  Retrieved October 30, 2010 from http://sylvan.live.ecollege.com/ec/courses/53036/CRS-CW-4603750/Ch1_Excerpt.pdf.

Orey, M. (Ed.). (2001). Emerging perspectives on learning, teaching, and technology. Retrieved October 30, 2010 from http://projects.coe.uga.edu/epltt/index.php?title=Main_Page.

Pitler, H., Hubbell, E., Kuhn, M., & Malenoski, K. (2007). Using technology with classroom instruction that works. Alexandria, VA: ASCD.

Smith, K. (1999). The behaviourist orientation to learning. In The encyclopedia of informal education. Retrieved November 7, 2010 from http://www.infed.org/biblio/learning-behavourist.htm.

Thornburg, D. (2004). Technology and education: Expectations, not options. (Executive Briefing No. 401). Retrieved from http://www.tcpdpodcast.org/briefings/expectations.pdf