Blog Post #5b UDL Inspiration Concept Map

Universal Design is an excellent concept to apply with the purpose of differentiation. This concept allow the educator to take learning goals materials, methods and assessments and individualized to provide every student, regardless of their learning style and ability, access to the learning process. Universal design touch all type of learners with or without disabilities. Promote the use of flexible material to help teachers to individualized learning. One of the benefit of UDL is the potential of minimizing the need for assistive technology. I agree with Lisa's question Why won't more teachers set up a UDL? Is not the traditional way of teaching but we are not living in traditional times. Educators need to made education accessible to a more diverse group of students than in the past and a Universal Design of Learning can provide the flexibility necessary to engage our students in the learning process. UDL is a different way of teaching and it will require more work but teaching also involve learning in order to keep relevant. The more educators expose themselves to and implement UDL principles the easiest, effective and productive the learning process will be.

Blog Post # 4 Digital Image (jpeg)

My class group took this picture to demonstrate the concept of tableau, how to use digital imagery and Photo shop. I am a PC user so I am not very familiar with the Mac tools. At the beginning, I was very excited. As the teacher started to explain all the tools available in Photo shop to manipulate the picture I started to get confuse and anxious. My anxiety slow me down and did not allow me to follow all the steps as she was explaining them. In order to catch up I started to try to figure it out by myself. I managed to upload, download, manipulate the picture with Jerome help. I still feel I miss out a lot. I went home and downloaded the picture as a draft only to realize I did not save the Title of the picture. I spent few more hours figuring out what to do and how to do it. I hope I finally did it.This is the end result. Nevertheless, I have the impression that only by doing this often I will get to master it.

Blog Post #5a Dexter's eTips Insipiration Concept Map

Inspiration is software used to create graphic organizers, like visual concept mapping. This tool can help students with different ability levels to organize their thoughts and present material to show understanding of a content area. A student with a strong visual learning style can greatly benefit from this program. I used the software to create a Concept Map about the main ideas on Dexter’s eTip article. First, I started with the title. Second, I learned how to link the information in ways that will make sense to a viewer. The presentation had to be sequential and related. This process helped me to organize my thoughts step by step, from the small picture to the big picture and then to the small picture again. It forced me to review the information in both ways what can visually represent the real thinking process. Then, once the ideas were organized, I worked in the presentation and the final details. It was not as difficult as Photo Shop. The most difficult part was to remember to save it as a jpg and using the unfamiliar Mac tools instead the PC tools to finalize it.

Blog Post #3b Teddy Bears Go Blogging

Brenda Sherry, a second grade teacher, identified a learning outcome that drove her selection of a specific technology. Her goal was to improve second graders writing skills. She identified learning goals: writing work in small groups supervised by a teacher, independent work, reflection, editing skills and the appropriate use of an Internet blog. She provided added value to the teaching of writing skills by making it relevant to her student’s interest and learning styles. This learning occurrence was tied to student’s real experience which they shared with other students in more enhanced ways not available by traditional means. She empowered and motivated her students to develop ownership in their educational process which constitute a big learning motivation. Mrs. Sherry provided her students with skills to construct knowledge and use it for their continuous and future learning. She promoted communication between her students, students from two other countries and with students’ parents and relatives.

Security measures were taken by making the blog private also by checking the comments before publishing them. Furthermore, Mrs. Sherry made accommodation for some students with difficulty with writing or keyboarding to record oral messages. She monitored and supervised the students’ progress and achievement through out the entire project. This educator was involved in the integration and implementation of educational technology in her classroom. Brenda Sherry definitively follows the principles guiding teachers about integrating and implementing educational technology in the classroom. Of course, she probably was able to implement faster than any other teacher due to her 19 years of experience being a technology teacher.

What’s more, this project reminded me one of my daughter’s second grade elementary school projects: Flat Stanley. She loved the project, and it gave her another perspective of the world. The project motivated her to write more and not to feel threatened by writing itself. Mrs. Sherry Teddy Bears project is a technology-based version of my daughter’s Flat Stanley project.

I cannot wait to create wonderful opportunities for my students to learn and be part of the twenty first century. I know it will require a lot of work at the beginning, but like any other skill, it will get better with practice.

Blog Post #2

Current personal & work related use of technology, comfort level, and concerns and expectations for this course

I use different types of technology in my life and in different ways. I own a Blackberry, a Cannon Power Shot S5IS digital camera, a Cannon Digital Video camera, an IPOD, a Dell Desktop, a Dell Laptop and all the remotes that control our home entertainment devices like TVs, Home Theaters and Music centers. I have learned little by little to use all these media but not to their full potential.

In the work field, I started using computers around the 1990’s. As a lawyer, I always had a secretary who prepared my legal documents. Then, they started training the layers in the use of technology to prepare their legal documents in draft format. I loved it and was eager to learn more. Professional Development in that area back then was not very well structured nor scheduled. I took the task of experimenting with it and learn the most by myself. I have always been fascinated with the idea that not many of my mistakes will ruin my computer work, and the ways the computer will always provide help to help myself figure things out.

The Internet came and little by little I got into it. It has always been fascinating how you can answer so many questions by just typing them in the browser. I love information and have been able to help others gain access to it. Now, as a special education paraprofessional, I am using computers all the times. I use the Internet to find answers to student’s questions for which I do not have an answer. I have found websites that help me to use different strategies and resources to facilitate my student’s learning. When others did not know how to make modifications to some educational task, the internet helped me.

My only regret is not having enough time to keep learning about technology. Therefore, this course represents a great opportunity and a bridge to that wonderful world of endless possibilities. I expect to learn about how to use technology to help me and my students to look for information, learn from the Internet and provide them with a multisensory experience that can be used to cater to all students’ learning style. Also, I would like to learn to use technology to help students with special and unique needs gain access to educational information in ways they can understand, apply and integrate successfully. I expect to learn the most about digital imagery, the Internet, digital concept mapping, pod casting, digital storytelling and any other media, so I can be prepared and ready to integrate them with my instructional method and strategies.

This course can help me prepare to effectively and adequately integrate and implement educational technology to support my students’ learning, and also to better collaborate with the technology support staff in making technology accessible for all students, including students with special needs and exceptional learners.

Blog Posts #3a Digital Photos

Blog Post #1eTip- -Educational Technology Integration and Implementation Principles

This article is one of the best organized articles I have read so far. It provides a great blueprint to integrate technology in the educational environment. Traditional teaching cannot be replaced by technology, but it can be enhanced by it. Sara Dexter presented a series of educational technology integration and implementation principles that would facilitate the appropriate use of technology to enhance traditional instruction in a classroom. Teachers support student learning in many ways and with different activities through out the grade level curriculum. Currently, educators have various technologies available that expand the support resources used in the past. A teacher supported by the school integrates adequate technology will successfully add value to students’ learning. I found that the three eTIPs that prompt a teacher-designer to consider in the integrating and implementing process do not differ that much from the principles involved in good and effective lesson planning process. The first step of every teacher lesson design is to consider what and how to teach. Also, an educator has to evaluate what resources are available to complement the lesson delivery process. Finally, one has to reflect on how to assess and measure students’ performance and achievement when they use those resources. Educational technology is just another tool to support students’ learning. Educators, as longtime learners themselves, should not be intimidated by technology integration and implementation process to instruction. Through that process the teacher and school could decide to use or not to use technology by pondering the added value to teaching and learning.

Technology is the preferred media by the younger generation, so it is relevant for our students. An educator should consider any media that will present educational information to students in a way that allows them to make meaningful connections. Students can acquire facts, use higher level thinking in problem solving, and gain specific procedural and technical skills useful for their future life as productive adults. Technology provides students with special needs the opportunity to gain access to educational information, and different methods to manipulate and construct new knowledge in ways that traditional teaching fell short. Also, it offers them an alternative mean to demonstrate their understanding of a content area aligned with the student abilities or learning styles when traditional means are a real obstacle for that expression.

Through various technology tools, the student is prompted to use critical think within their own learning ability and style, making the learning experience more meaningful real and usable for them ultimately making it permanent and valuable.

Based on my experience in the education field, I have considered what the students are learning at the moment and how technology can facilitate and enrich their learning experience. How technology can help to assess student learning was a new question to reflect on. I found this question attention-grabbing. I am eager to learn how to answer the questions posed in the article: what are we teaching, what added value technology can bring to that teaching process and how it can help to assess student learning. I believe this will be an enriching experience for me as an educator in which my future students will reap all the benefits.