EDLD+5364+Teaching+with+Technology

In week one of EDLD 5364, I learned about the different types of learning styles in the classrooms. The style that was most interesting to me was constructivisim. With me not being inside of the classrooms, I was unaware of this type of learning style. After reading the articles in the first week of this course, I can say that I fully support constructivisim. When I was coming up through grade school, I was stuck with the same old traditional style of teaching. Everything was centered around the teacher's lectures and the textbook. I always wondered why I viewed school as boring most of the time. According to the Southwest Educational Development Laboratory, "In classrooms where teachers do all the work, students may be a captive audience, waiting for the end of class" (Southwest Educational Development Laboratory, 1999). Now I realize that I was considered a digital learner. The readings for week one of this course, introduced me to constructivism and gave me a deeper understanding of it. I know understand that constructivisim is taking ones existing experiences and building on top of them in order to develop new understanding.
 * __Week One__**

I also learned how much of an influence technology has on today's learners. Solomon and Schrum stated, "65% of students in Grades 6-12 use e-mail and/or an instant messenger every day, and personal Web site use jumped at a rate of 300% from 2004 to 2005. By Grade 12, almost 50% of students reported personal Web site use on a weekly basis and 79% play video games" (Solomon & Schrum, 2007). With these stats, I believe students are trying to tell teachers how they would like to learn material. With evidence of how much technology is being used outside of schools compared to how much is being used inside of the curriculums, it is no surprise that test scores are still not up to par. Teachers seriously need to implement more technology into their curriculums. Week one provided a lot of interesting information. One of the videos for this week talked about cyborgs. I found this video very interesting. I was unaware that someone actually had electronic chips surgically inserted into their bodies. This is interesting but disturbing at the same time. I am not sure that I'm ready to accept the fact that cyborgs will actually exist in my life time. Warwick made some interesting points about how cyborgism will change how we learn and receive information. Overall, week one was filled with information that I can apply to my professional life. I look forward to the knowledge that I will gain in the upcoming weeks in this course.

Solomon, G., & Schrum, L. (2007). Web 2.0: New tools, New schools. Eugene, OR: International Society for Technology in Education, 7-44.

Southwest Educational Development Laboratory, (1999). Learning as a personal event: A brief introduction to constructivism. Retrieved on October 4, 2009 from [].

__**Week Two**__ In week two of EDLD 5364, my knowledge from the previous week was built upon. This week enhanced my knowlege on how teachers can actually implement technology into their day-to-day activities and into their curriculums. I can comfortably say that most of the teachers in my school are using some form of technology to carryout their day-to-day activities. Most are comfortable with using email to communicate with one another. The area that I see teachers struggling with is using technology in their assignments. I still see a lot of teachers having their students turn in a hardcopy of their assignments. I think that it would be a good idea to allow students to submit their assignments via email. This would provide motivation for students, because it gives them an opportunity to interact with technology. I thought it was a great idea how the textbook for this course suggested that teachers use Microsoft Word to create a KWHL chart. In the textbook, Pitler stated, "One method that many educators use is to have students create a KWHL chart, which prompts individual students to record what they know about a topic, what they want to learn about that topic, how they plan to learn it, and what they learned at the end of the unit or activity" (Pitler, Hubbell, Kuhn, Malenoski, 2007). I have already presented this information to two teachers in my school and they thought it was a great idea to try out.

One interesting topic that was discussed in this weeks readings was Universal Design for Learning (UDLs). According to Rose and Meyer, "The idea behind universal design in architecture is to create structures that are conceived, designed, and constructed to accommodate the widest spectrum of users, including those with disabilities, without the need for subsequent adaptation or specialized design" (Rose & Meyer, 2002). I could not imagine how teachers develop lessons to accommodate a wide range of students in one class. I can see how this can be very difficult and frustrating for some teachers. In the same article, Rose and Meyers stated, "Within the framework of UDL, Sophia, who needs supports to overcome her visual deficits, and Paula, who has trouble with reading comprehension, could successfully read the same story using a software program that offers text-to-speech, images, and links to vocabulary and background knowledge" (Rose & Meyer, 2002). I help install Zoom Text onto computers in my district. This software offers text-to-speech features. I knew this software was valuable to students, but now I see how it can benefit teachers who have to teach a diverse group of students. One of the articles, in this weeks readings, confirmed that "Students in technology rich environments showed increased achievement in preschool through higher education for both regular and special needs children.

Pitler, H., Hubbell, E.R., Kuhn, M. & Malenoski, K. (2007). //Using technology with classroom instruction that works.// Alexandria, VA. Association for Supervision and Development, Chapter 1, 20-21.

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 for Applied Special Technology Web Site. Chapter 4. Retrieved on October 5, 2009, from []

In week three of EDLD 5364, I learned about the three diverse brain networks (Recognition, Strategic, Affective). I found this to be interesting because it allowed me to realize actually how our brains absorbs and processes information. I can see how this information can be important for teacher to know because they can develop effective strategies to reach out to our diverse digital learners. I also learned about the different types of technology software that provides students with immediate feedback. Before reading the articles for this week, I was unaware how much of an impact immediate feedback had on students. Kulik stated, "Research shows that the more immediate feedback is in classrooms settings, the greater its impact on student behavior" (Kulik & Kulik, 1998). I was also unaware of the feedback features that Microsoft Word has to offer. One of the articles for this week explained how video games provide students with immediate feedback while they are playing the games. This is why video games are so addictive and entertaining. Now I have a better understanding of why technology is so important for the advancement of education. This week expanded my knowledge and understanding of UDLs. I learned about how using UDLs along with technology can benefit lower learning students as well as gifted students in the same classroom.
 * __Week Three__**

In this week, we were given the opportunity to create an eBook. I found this activity to be fun and exciting. It gave me an opportunity to experiment with different Web 2.0 tools. I also experience how effective and important collaboration with my team members could be. We used Google Docs to collaborate with one another. We were able to successfully brainstorm ideas on how we planned to solve the scenario given to us in this course. In this week, we had to create our own UDL for a diverse classroom. With me not being a teacher, I did not realize how difficult it is for a teacher to create a lesson plan for students with a different set of needs. I experienced going through all of the steps required to develop a universal lesson plan. The thing that I found most interesting about my UDL was including software that I actually install for my school district. I realize how one piece of software can address several needs within one classroom of diverse students. One idea that I decided to include into my UDL was giving the students a choice on what area of the material they wanted to learn. Rose and Meyer stated, "Giving students choices of content and tools can increase their enthusiasm for learning particular processes" (Rose & Meyer, 2002). I wanted to ensure that the students would be motivated to learn the material. Without any motivation or enthusiasm, the lesson plan would not have been effective.

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 for Applied Special Technology Web Site. Chapter 4. Retrieved on October 5, 2009, from []

Kulik, J. A., & Kulik, C. C. (1988). //Timing of feedback and verbal learning.// Review of Educational Research, 58, 79-97.

In week four of EDLD 5364, we talk about different strategies and applications that we can use to address the scenario for our action plan. One area that was discussed in our reading was the benefits and importance of cooperative learning for students. It was recommended that we keep our learning groups small in size and be used consistently and systematically. We learned how technology can help assist teachers in developing an effective cooperative learning group. Technology can play a unique and vital role in cooperative learning by facilitating group collaboration, providing structure for group tasks, and allowing members of groups to communicate even if they are not working face to face (Pitler, Hubbell, Kuhn, & Malenoski, 2007). Over the past couple of weeks, I have experienced how beneficial technology applications can be. Google Docs has provided convenience for my team members and I with the development of our action plan. It also allowed us to collaborate with one another on how we address the scenario in our action plan. Another reading for this week, discussed the value of UDL in assessments. There are many flaws with standardized test that focus on only certain areas and leave several students left out. This is where UDL picks up the slack for standardized test. The obvious value of embedded, flexible UDL assessment is its ability to adjust to many individual differences and focus the questions on exactly what teachers are trying to find out (Rose & Meyer, 2002).
 * __Week Four__**

We also touched up on the importance of professional development for teachers. There are many professional development programs within the school districts that are unsuccessful. I have witnessed how my school district has dumped a lot of money into technology equipment in the schools, but the teachers do not know how to use it with their teaching. Unfortunately, even though massive amounts of money have been spent on training educators, we have not seen a real difference in the ways technology has been integrated into the classroom (Cuban, 2001; Laffey, 2004; Norris, Sullivan, Poirot, & Solloway, 2003; Williams & Kingham, 2003). We have an instructional department in our school district that trains teachers on how to properly use technology software and equipment. The problem is that most of the training occurs after school hours and its up to the teachers to attend the training sessions. Most of the teachers do not attend because they are tired after a long day of work so the training is not very beneficial. I feel that the teachers should be required to attend these training sessions several times throughout the school year. Many studies of educators' lack of technology implementation have found that the lack of accountability from administrators on their actually accomplishing technological goals has been the most influential in practice (Schrum, 1999).

Pitler, H., Hubbell, E.R., Kuhn, M. & Malenoski, K. (2007). //Using technology with classroom instruction that works.// Alexandria, VA. Association for Supervision and Development, 139-154.

Rose, D., & Meyer, A. (2002). //Teaching Every Student in the Digital Age: Universal Design for Learning.// Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development. Chapter 7. Available online at the Center for Applied Special Technology Web Site. Retrieved October 5, 2009, from []

Solomon, G., & Schrum, L. (2007). Web 2.0: New tools, New schools. Eugene, OR: International Society for Technology in Education, 99-116.

Cuban, L. (2001). //Oversold and underused: Reforming schools through technology 1980-2000.// Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.

In week five of EDLD 5364, we talked about more strategies that would help us to finalize our action plan that would address the scenario. One of the strategies was to reinforce effort that we read in one of our readings for this week. The strategy basically discussed how to provide a clear plan for students to follow, so that they would understand what was expected from them in the activity. If students do not know or understand what is expected of them, then they will not give a good effort towards the assignment. This is important because when I was in school the teach would give us an assignment and we really did not know what was expected of us. Alot of students completed the assignment in different ways based on how they felt the teacher want the end result. Because of this, many students did not give a good effort towards the assignment. With the use of technology, teachers are provided with numerous ways to address this issue. Pitler stated, "Technology makes it easier for students and teachers to track the effects of effort and facilitates more immediate feedback" (Pitler, Hubbell, Kuhn, & Malenoski, 2007). Our group decided to use rubrics in order to let students know what would be expected of them in our unit. We each provided a rubric with our individual UDL and combined them in our final action plan. We ensured that accommodations were provided for all students that needed them. We also ensured that the teacher was provided with adequate professional development to effectively teach the class.
 * __Week Five__**

The other reading for this week discussed how schools are focusing more on standardized testing. Instead of teaching students skills to address problems that they will face as adults, schools focus on standardized assessments that have no genuine meaning to the students. By schools focusing more on standardized testing, it causes boredom for students and creates a lack of motivation to learn. Many students have become frustrated with the idea of learning something they have no idea of why they are learning it and how it will help them in the future. Solomon stated, "All schools are driven by requirements to maintain and improve standardized test scores" (Solomon & Schrum, 2007). I feel that this has weakened our education system entirely. Schools should really take a lot of emphasis off of standardized test, because I feel that is is one of the main problems for our students. Just because a student can pass a test, does not mean that they truly know how to apply it in the real world.

Pitler, H., Hubbell, E., Kuhn, M., & Malenoski, K. (2007). //Using technology with classroom instruction that works.// Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development, 155-164.

Solomon, G., & Schrum, L. (2007). //Web 2.0: New tools, new schools.// Eugene, OR: International Society for Technology in Education, 168-176.