UDL: Sharing Ideas, Building Resources, Part Two

Brain Research/Three Principles:

Recognition networks – the “what” of learning

Strategic networks – the “how” of learning

Affective networks – the “why” of learning

(retrieved from www.cast.org)

Learning Differences:

“Brain functioning depends on what is being learned and the learners current level of expertise with the topic (Laureate, 2010).”
Different parts of the brain are activated by how the learner reacts to things and by which teaching method is being used, such as kinesthetic type lessons.

UDL supports cultural, ethnic, linguistic, and academic diversity.  UDL reduces barriers for learning, provides tools that are flexible and diverse, and engages/challenges all types of learners.  There are technology tools to address brain research through UDL.

CAST Online Tools:

1.       Lesson Builder – provides educators with models and tools to create and adapt lesson plans for a more centered UDL environment

http://lessonbuilder.cast.org/

2.      Class Profile Maker – allows educators to easily get to know their students and find out which brain networks their students use.

http://www.cast.org/teachingeverystudent/tools/classprofile.cfm

3.      Strategy Tutor – provides a resource for students to get help with reading, researching the Web, taking notes, etc.

http://cst.cast.org/cst/auth-login

References:

Center for Applied Special Technologies, CAST, retrieved from http://www.cast.org/

Laureate Education, Inc. (Producer). (2012a). Program number 5: Universal Design for Learning [Video webcast]. In Reaching and Engaging All Learners Through Technology.

UDL: Sharing Ideas, Building Resources, Part One

 “Educating students with disabilities is a collective responsibility.” (Laureate Education, Inc., 2010)

Universal Design for Learning is a set of principles for curriculum development that give all individuals equal opportunity to learn.  (www.cast.org)

UDL provides a blueprint for creating instructional goals, methods, materials, and assessments that work for everyone--not a single, one-size-fits-all solution but rather flexible approaches that can be customized and adjusted for individual needs.  (www.cast.org)

Examples of UDL in physical environment:

·         Ramps for wheel chairs

·         Doors that automatically open from pushing a button

Both of these examples might be seen in various businesses, schools or even in homes.

Three Principles of UDL:

1.       Multiple means or representation, to give diverse learners options for acquiring information and knowledge.

2.      Multiple means of action and expression, to provide learners options for demonstrating what they know.

3.      Multiple means of engagement, to tap into learners’ interests, offer appropriate challenges, and increase motivation

(retrieved from www.cast.org)

Universal Design for Learning-
Builds maximum flexibility into the curriculum, provides every student with the maximum opportunity to learn, provides alternatives so that every student can learn, and builds flexibility into curricular materials  (Laureate Education, Inc., 2010)

Role of Technology:
Technology allows students to have access to learning and learning environments, to materials for learning, and to be able to have the same experience as other students.

Examples of Technology:
Calculators, speech devices, enlarged monitors and/or keyboards, laptap computers

Impact of UDL in my School Environment:
Through the use of UDL, all students can learn and can have the same learning experiences.  UDL offers a “barrier free” learning environment to ensure success for all.  UDL offers a positive learning environment with the options being endless.  Students are able to collaborate with others to learn as well.

References:

Center for Applied Special Technologies, CAST, retrieved from http://www.cast.org/

Laureate Education, Inc. (Producer). (2012a). Program number 5: Universal Design for Learning [Video webcast]. In Reaching and Engaging All Learners Through Technology. 

GAME Plan Reflection

Throughout this process of developing a GAME plan and carrying out, I've learned a lot about goal setting, planning, and about myself.  I was successful with carrying out my goals and meeting my goals of being more technological in my classroom and within my lessons.  I've learned new ways to incorporate technology into my daily lessons and content areas.  I've become more active with sharing ideas with my teammates and becoming more of a role model/facilitator with technology amongst my team.  I can tell that my students are more engaged while using the SMART Board and laptops more often.  I also feel less stressed with integrating content areas into the technology components.  I feel that I am using my time more wisely and efficiently in ym classroom.  This process makes me excited to begin next school year with the knowledge and understanding that I have about technology.

Monitoring My GAME Plan Progress

It's important to remember to monitor your progress when beginning a journey or plan like this.  So far, I am very proud of my growth and learning experience.  This past Wednesday at school, my 1st grade team had our usual collaborative planning afternoon.  During this time, I made a point to have a discussion about integrating technology into our content areas.  We shared ideas that we have found to use with the SMART Board and various assessments that we had created to use with our iRespond remotes.  I was excited too because not only did I gain new SMART Board ideas/lessons, but I learned about some great resources to use that will get my students up to the SMART Board more rather than me just using it for a teaching tool.  On Thursday and Friday, I taught my students about different things that I learned.  An "Aha!" moment for my 1st graders was when I used the words "I learned something and I want to share it with you...".  My students were so amazed that "I" am still learning about things and I explained to them that even adults still like to learn about new things.  We are all life-long learners.  I think this "mini" lesson turned out to be a "huge" learning lesson for my 1st graders.  :)

Carrying Out My GAME Plan

Through this journey, I will work through the process of developing, implementing, monitoring, and evaluating my personal GAME plan.  In order to carry out this plan, I will need recources.  Something that I am currently doing in my GAME plan, is discussing and sharing ideas with colleagues.  I am fortunate to work with some incredible 1st grade teachers with whom I am constantly sharing different SMART Board activities/lessons with.  We do a great job of communicating ideas with one another to better our students.  I have also been to two trainings since beginning this GAME plan.  The trainings were about using the technology in my classroom and sharing SMART Board activities/lessons that will get the kids up more and not just me standing there talking and using it.  I plan to continue my online research of finding more ways to use technology with my students on a daily basis.  Since the beginning of this school year, I can already tell a difference in how I teach and how much more my students are learning.  This makes me excited to continue this journey and see where it takes me.

Developing Your Personal GAME Plan

Teachers are often self-directed learners…

We create lessons plans (Goals)

We teach lesson plans (Actions)

We monitor student learning (Monitor)

We evaluate student progress and teacher effectiveness (Evaluate)

After examining http://www.iste.org/ and the NETS-T, I chose to focus on number two…

2. Design and Develop Digital Age Learning Experiences and Assessments

Teachers design, develop, and evaluate authentic learning experiences and assessment incorporating contemporary tools and resources to maximize content learning in context and to develop the knowledge, skills, and attitudes identified in the NETS·S.

My goals are to design or adapt relevant learning experiences that incorporate digital tools and resources to promote student learning and creativity and also to provide students with multiple and varied formative and summative assessments aligned with content and technology standards and use resulting data to inform learning and teaching.

The action that I plan to take is to search for research-based lessons using technology tools to help give me some ideas of how I can better use the technology tools that I have in my classroom with my students.  I also would like to become more fluent on our iRespond to use with my students for assessment and data collection. 

I will monitor my progress by making sure that at least once a week I designing, developing, and evaluating authentic learning experiences and trying something new and different each week with my students, whether it’s a lesson or a type of assessment.  (This I feel is the hardest part of the GAME plan.  I’m not sure how I should monitor myself and would love feedback or ideas for this.)

I can evaluate my progress by making sure that my students are still learning the content and by looking closely as student data from assessments.  I could also ask for a peer or administrator to observe me using technology tools in a lesson to evaluate my effectiveness and offer me feedback for growing more as an educator.

http://www.iste.org/