UDL Lesson Plan- Language Arts

Setting clear goals and designing plans to achieve those goals is important to every classroom and each student’s success. Creating and customizing lesson plans using the Universal Design for Learning, or UDL, builder is a great way to include every learner and every learning style.

It is important to realize that a UDL lesson plan is not meant for use as an everyday lesson plan because it addresses the activities, assessments, and accommodations you will need in order to meet specific objectives. A UDL lesson plan may take 4-5 days to complete depending on the complexity of the activities. The plan includes areas such as unit and lesson goals, guided and independent practice, formative and summative assessment, as well as materials used and accommodations needed. The anticipatory set allows the opportunity for students to make connections between prior knowledge and new information. UDL lesson planning is a wonderful way to provide teachers with the framework to meet every student’s diverse learning needs.

You can find my UDL plan on my wiki by following this link:
Creating Short Stories and Video Trailers

UDL Cast Book Builder

During EDLD 5364 this week, I had the opportunity to try out a website called Cast UDL Book Builder. This website allows users to sign up for an account and create simple e-books. Not only can you build and publish these books, the program also allows you to share your finished product with others via email. The builder itself was fairly easy to use. You could simply add images, modify text, and upload sound into your book. However, I thought it would be easier to click directly into the text box to add text instead of having to click an extra link out to the side of the box. This was the only miniscule problem I had while using the program.  Using these e-books is a great way to entice readers and aide students with special needs. The website also provides a list of UDL guidelines that any user can refer to as they create books that will fit every learner and every learning style.

Check out my book!
Literary Elements in Hatchet by Gary Paulsen

EDLD 5364 Week Three

Multiple studies of the effects of immediate feedback have been conducted by everyone from E.L. Thorndike in 1911, Sidney Pressey in the early 1920’s, and Skinner’s “teaching machine” approach in the 1960’s; but despite the efforts of these men, their studies proved inconsistent. According to Skinner, reinforcement can be considered to be a type of feedback that informs the learner about the adequacy of their responses and also increased the probability that the behavior will occur in the future (Samuels & Wu, 2006).

In my opinion, providing students with immediate feedback on their work is crucial to their success in and out of the classroom. Immediate feedback goes hand-in-hand with providing students with the opportunity to take an active role in their own learning. Three recommendations for general classroom practices for providing feedback are to use criterion-referenced feedback, focus on specific types of knowledge, and use student-led feedback (Pitler, Hubbell, Kuhn, & Malenoski, 2007).

The use of technology in the classroom has made giving feedback even more accessible. Incorporating polls, student response systems such as SMART Response, grading software, and electronic rubrics can not only provide timely disaggregated data to the teacher, but can be a great motivator for students.

 

 Pitler, H., Hubbell, E., Kuhn, M., & Malenoski, K. (2007). Using technology with classroom instruction that works. Denver, CO: Mid-continent Research for Education and Learning.

Samuels, S., & Wu, Y. (2006). Effects of immediate feedback. Informally published manuscript, Department of Educational Psychology, University of Minnesota, Retrieved from http://www.epsteineducation.com/home/articles/file/research/immediate_feedback.pdf

EDLD 5364 Week Two

Beginning with the end in mind is a concept that is definitely not foreign to me. I have always operated in a backward sort of way and it seemed to work for me and for my students. Only recently have I discovered that it is actually a system, an idea that author Stephen R. Covey has turned into a profiting business venture.   “Begin with the End in Mind means to begin each day, task, or project with a clear vision of your desired direction and destination, and then continue by flexing your proactive muscles to make things happen” (Covey, 2004). Planning is a never-ending task that we do as teachers. It seems that so much time goes in to each lesson and then in a blink of an eye (or the duration of one period), it is over. Sometimes it reminds me of anticipating the arrival of Christmas morning. All of that work, and then it’s over in an instant. However, it’s the planning that makes it go off without a hitch.

Establishing a direction for learning is perhaps the most important decision within the planning process. This should also include a way for students to become responsible for their own learning and instill some sort of way to realize short and long term goals. This helps motivate students and creates a sense of accomplishment when those goals are reached. Technology can also play a role in setting these goals. “Technology enhances the goal-setting process by providing organizational and communication tools that make it easier to clarify the learning objectives” (Pitler, Hubbell, Kuhn & Malenoski, 2007).  Teachers can use word processing applications, brainstorming software such as Kidspiration, data collection tools such as Poll Everywhere, and other web resources. Providing students with these tools that encourage responsible learning and self-reflection extend far beyond the classroom walls.  

 

Covey, S. (2004). The 7 habits of highly effective people. New York, NY: Free Press. Retrieved from https://www.stephencovey.com/7habits/7habits.php

Pitler, H., Hubbell, E., Kuhn, M., & Malenoski, K. (2007). Using technology with classroom instruction that works. Denver, CO: Mid-continent Research for Education and Learning.

EDLD 5364 Week One

 

“Rather than debating issues of divides and gaps with regard to access and training in new technologies, the new paradigm would allow education to focus on preparing a generation to adapt to the unavoidable rapidity of changes they will face” (McPheeters, 2009).

 

It is a constant struggle in my position to introduce teachers to something new. Students are always willing to jump right in and learn anything technology related, but I have many reluctant teachers. This is where I notice this gap widening. Preparing students for this ever-changing world consists of more than providing them with technology; it comes from being a role model for embracing these changes rather than shying away from anything new. In this sense, attitude is everything. We need to teach our students that change is not always a bad thing, and is something that no matter the circumstances, will be inevitable. I agree with this quote I came across concerning this very topic: “We ask our students to be good observers, consider the world carefully and to analyze the implications of what they see. As educators, it’s time we do the same” (Romano, 2011). Jump on the wagon, or get left in the dust.

 

McPheeters, D. (2009, March 08). Social networking technologies. Tech&learning, Retrieved from http://www.techlearning.com/article/social-networking-technologies-in-education-by-dallas-mcpheeters/45734

Romano, R. (2011, November 09). Teachers: Embrace technology or students will leave you behind. MashableTech, Retrieved from http://mashable.com/2011/11/09/education-social-tech/

 

EDLD 5366 Reflections

During EDLD 5366, our group developed a website that focused on providing teachers, parents and students with information regarding the inclusion of instructional technology into every classroom. While building this website, we learned to work together to create a visually appealing blueprint that included the key elements of design described by Robin Williams such as proximity, alignment, repetition, and contrast. This multi-page website included topics such as an overview of the site, a page for parents, how-to demonstrations, special education information, and even a section on digital ethics and citizenship. Not only did I learn how to build the website itself, I also realized the importance of providing this information to teachers and parents. It is important to be an advocate of technology education and not only preach its effectiveness, but demonstrate ways to include it in everyday learning with free resources so that every student is able to take advantage of these 21^st century skills.

To make sure that I was receiving the most benefit from this assignment, I exercised self-reflection strategies to review my own learning. I would often reflect on what my responsibilities were as a group member and also as a learner. Dr. Jackie Gerstein’s words resonated with me. She explained that “without reflection, learning becomes only an activity . . . which was never meant to have meaning, only occupy time” (Gerstein, 2011). This is especially important and exhibits the dedication I have to my own education and educating others through my position in my district. I often take the things I have learned in this program and share them with my colleagues. As a technology specialist, I am expected to train teachers on these new developments in instructional technology so that they may provide unique and beneficial learning opportunities to their own students. Part of my self-reflection practices includes planning for future trainings and deciding what teachers or students will benefit most from a particular assignment or program.

For this particular assignment, I plan to help the digital graphics teacher on our campus design a lesson plan to incorporate many of the activities that I completed. This is her first year to teach this course and just recently learned of its addition to her schedule. She was very overwhelmed to learn that she was teaching it and a high stress level quickly followed. After providing some insight from my experience in EDLD 5366, we came up with a great outline of activities for her syllabus. The final project will be designing a website that will include all of the students’ digital graphics projects as an e-portfolio to showcase all of their hard work throughout the year. I am looking forward to learning more about web design and sharing all of my experiences with my colleagues and their students.

To sum up this entire experience, I recently came across a blog post that explained that being a life-long learner “means accepting that what you don’t know far outweighs what you do know . . .” (Betcher, 2007). And my friends,  do we ever have a lot to learn!

Betcher, C. (2007, May 28). [Web log message]. Retrieved from http://betch.edublogs.org/2007/05/28/the-challenge-of-being-a-lifelong-learner/

Gerstein, J. (2011, August 16). [Web log message]. Retrieved from http://usergeneratededucation.wordpress.com/2011/08/16/where-is-reflection-in-the-learning-process/

Williams, R. (2008). The non-designer's design book. (3rd ed.). Berkeley, CA: Peachpit Press.

EDLD 5366 Simple Animation Using Stykz