Here is a link to the Voice Thread that I created that discusses online learning.  Enjoy!

http://voicethread.com/share/1539482/

Reaching and Engaging All Learners Through Technology: A Reflection

Throughout this course, I have discovered the importance of differentiating in my instruction as well as incorporating the principles of Universal Design for Learning (UDL) in to my teaching. As a group, we put together a resource of websites, articles, strategies, and learning activities that will help us to incorporate these principles seamlessly into our teaching. As a first year teacher, I have come to realize how important it can be to reach and engage all types of learners that come into your classroom. Utilizing technology and the principles of UDL as well as the incorporation of technology can help you to achieve this. Incorporating technology into your teaching can help you to create an environment that is engaging and allows you to personalize learning for students and essentially prepares them for a global marketplace and the real world (Laureate, 2009).


Using the Differentiation Station learning resources will truly help me to differentiate for all of my students. There are tools for beginners, such as myself, so that you can take small steps towards differentiating until you have a firmer grasp and can explore new tools and strategies. As someone that is new to Universal Design for Learning, there are strategies for getting to know your learners and information on how to accommodate for the various types of student needs using technology. There are tools for students, tools for teachers, teacher blogs to follow as your begin your implementation of these different strategies and technology tools. Even if it is just links for books online, a teacher’s blog to follow as they begin their journey of differentiation, there are many resources that are a great aide as you try to reach all of the learners in your classroom. This is a resource that I will continue to use throughout my teaching career as well as share these ideas and strategies with others.

As a part of my immediate incorporation of differentiation and UDL, I would like to get to know my students as the different types of learners that they are. As part of my job, I work to differentiate for the students that are a part of my caseload. I work to customize learning for them so that they can still maintain their role as a student in their classroom. Using the tools that I have gained from this course, I will establish student surveys and learner profiles so that I can find different activities and strategies that will appeal to them as learners and that they can use across many different types of educational settings. Using “technology can provide the teacher with tools that can facilitate assistance, remediation, or extend the learning” (Bray, Brown, & Green, 2004, p. 16). I want to bring different technology tools into my teaching with them as it will help to make their learning even more individualized. I want to discover the tools that will be the most beneficial to them so that I can engage them in the content and increase their knowledge and skills.


References:

Bray, M., Brown, A., & Green, T. (2004). Technology and the diverse learner: A guide to classroom practice. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press.

Laureate Education, Inc. (Executive Producer). (2009). Integrating Technology Across the Content Areas. Baltimore: Author.

Reflection: Integrating Technology Across the Content Areas

Throughout our course at Walden, we discovered ways to implement new ideas and approach to teaching NETS-S standards through the establishment of a GAME plan. A GAME in this case is used to outline different steps towards working towards a goal. For my own GAME plan, I wanted to increase my knowledge and confidence in is Model Digital-Age Work and Learning, which would be helping me to discover more ways to use different technology tools within my teaching such as using other teachers as models from which to learn and in the establishment of my own blog to use with my teaching. In using the GAME plan approach to this topic, I have taken steps throughout this course to achieve my goals. With this goal, I have really discovered the many different tools that are available to us as teachers as well as for our students (blogs, digital storytelling, facilitating online collaboration). I am excited to begin to implement some of these into my own teaching. The educational service that I work for has many tools that I can use with the students that I work with. I plan on looking into using some of these as a way to enhance my teaching with my students.

The second part of my GAME plan approach dealt with increasing my professional development with the vast amount of opportunities that are available to me through my district as well as on the internet through educational blogs and articles. I have not achieved this portion of my plan as many seminars and lecture begin in the fall. I have however subscribed to some of the different blogs on the internet and have found useful information for my teaching through them. In a way, subscribing to and reading through my colleagues posts from my course at Walden have broadened my horizons and provided me with new and exciting information with real life examples and experiences. I intend to take this knowledge and excitements and ignite excitement for learning with my own students.

Using the GAME Plan Process with My Students

Throughout my course at Walden, I learned about different ways to integrate technology into my teaching. As a part of this we worked with NETS-S standards and established a GAME plan to take this process step by step. As a part of my GAME plan, I wanted to begin to familiarize myself with the technology tools that are available within some of the schools that I work in as well as future schools that I will be placed in. As a part of my GAME plan, I plan to observe teachers and do some research online trying out different technology tools and instruments. I have already obtained a lot of knowledge from my course and have explore using some of these tools so I will know how to use them with my own students and teaching. As the school year approaches, I plan to find different teachers who are experienced with different technology tools and have really tried to incorporate as much technology as they can into their classrooms. I think that by learning from them, I can also share my knowledge with others. The second portion of my GAME plan, I plan to attend some professional development courses to enhance my knowledge in different aspects of teaching. I plan to make time for these seminars in order to help my students as well as other teachers that I work with.

In using a GAME plan approach to the NETS-S standards, it will help my students become better acquainted with the different types of technology in classrooms. Helping students learn to become 21st Century literate and learn to communicate are some of the major parts of the NETS-S standards. I hope that by take a GAME plan approach to becoming more proficient in these standards, it will in turn help my students learn as well. Using the GAME plan approach would also be helpful for students to accomplish their own goals in and easy to follow step by step way. It will help to make tasks seem less daunting as they focus on one step at a time. This can be used in many different areas of teaching. I hope to use the GAME plan approach with the students that I work with this upcoming fall. Using these standards and the GAME plan approach will help my students become more proficient and be better prepared for the 21st century teaching and learning.

GAME Plan Progress

Reading back through my blog posts, I realized that I have been slowly moving towards my goals. In the beginning of developing my GAME plan, I discussed using a blog to host different activities and websites for practice with different topics for my students. I wanted to better acquaint myself with different technological tools even if I am not using them on a daily basis (such as an interactive whiteboard, Elmo…). The second part of my game plan was geared more towards professional development and working towards fitting more of this into my schedule. I have been looking for different opportunities to take on when the school year starts. I want to be able to share my knowledge that I gain from these opportunities with my fellow teachers. As the school year approaches, I will most likely revise my GAME plan slightly depending on the amount of students I am able to take on for this may impact the time and dedication I have to finishing these goals.

As I am not quite ready to set any new goals, taking this GAME plan approach will help me in the future with other endeavors I may take on. This approach to setting goals and taking them step by step in order to achieve them is a very logical method. I will most likely be using this method when I would like to accomplish a task as the idea of goal setting helps you to feel more accomplished and is an easy way to actually do the tasks you only talk about. There is so much that I am learning about through these courses, I feel that I am already on my way to helping others make changes and enhancements in their classrooms.

Update on My GAME Plan

I have begun to sort through my resources for students in order to organize them effectively in to a wiki space. I have so many sources that are on paper in the form of worksheets or diagrams and I am working on sorting through those as well and will most likely begin to transfer them to the computer either through scanning them or re-typing them into a more workable format. Through the advice of some of my colleagues, I have begun to use a Delicious.com account, though I am not entirely familiar with it, it seems that it will work for me in helping me keep track of different websites that I encounter. These actions that I have taken towards my GAME plan have been effective in my following through with creating a page for students to go to for extra help or practice. In reviewing these sources, I have been revisiting different ideas and information that I can use in the upcoming school year.

As for my professional development portion of my GAME plan, I have been thinking about whether or not I want to familiarize myself with one particular topic such as technology in the classroom seminars or autism seminars, or if I want to attend different seminars in different areas related to my field. I have not figured out if I want to limit myself to one genre in order to become more knowledgeable in an area and share this information with my colleagues or do I want to attend different seminars to gain some more knowledge in a few different areas. I feel that if I did it this way, I would not retain as much information but I also feel that it would help to make for a better rounded base from which to use in my teaching and help to teach others. As more opportunities arise in the upcoming school year, I guess I will make that determination.

Working on My GAME Plan

I must admit that I have taken some time off from my GAME plan and finding different resources and preparing for the upcoming school year. I have many different resources for the first part of my game plan in many different locations and areas and one of my first steps to be taken would be to compile these sources and information together in one location. In doing this I will be able to organize them and categorize them into a workable format. I have not yet decided how I will organize them (subject, games …) and will have to wait and see when I have all of the sources together. I do think that creating this website will be beneficial to the students that I work with for some I work with for a short time during the school year or over the summer and it will be a good way to stay connected and allow them to continue making progress.

For the second portion of my GAME plan, working on attending more professional development seminars and truly enhancing my knowledge base, I have not made much progress towards this. As the school year begins, more seminars are sent to me and once I have my schedule I can begin to plan on attending more of these. I know that this summer may have been a better time to try and explore these opportunities and work towards attending perhaps one or two, but my schedule did not really allow this. I really think that these presentations and seminars will really be helpful in allowing me to expand my knowledge base and share this information with other teachers so that we can all benefit and establish more productive and exciting classrooms for our students.

Continuing on with my GAME Plan

In order to carry out my GAME plan for strengthening my knowledge and confidence in Model Digital-Age Work and Learning, I have begun to reflect on what I might do to improve my knowledge in this area. Since I do not have my own classroom in which have my own interactive whiteboard or computers for which students can learn from. I also will not know my placements for the upcoming school year until it gets closer to the beginning of the year. However with my teaching situation as a Consultant teacher and Tutor, I am thinking of establishing a blog which will have different resources of review games or information that students can use when they are not directly working with me. Parents can use it as a source for perhaps over the summer for students to refresh their memories of content area material. I have been collecting different sources of information from Jeopardy games and websites from my classes at Walden and from other teachers. As I collect this information, I need to come up with an organizational method for putting them into a blog. When the school year begins, I will take advantage of being in classrooms where teachers integrate technology and take note and learn from this.

For the other part of my GAME plan, Engaging in Profession Growth and Leadership, I have been looking through the different opportunities that are offered in my district through the Board of Cooperative Educational Services (BOCES). I receive many emails have need to figure out which will benefit my teaching situation and convenient times and dates. I will look into this more instead of ignoring the emails as they can truly be very beneficial to teaching as the world of education is constantly evolving.

Developing a Personal GAME Plan

The National Education Technology Standards and Performance Indicators for Teachers allow teachers to reflect on and learn to implement different experiences for students in the classroom. These standards help teachers set goals and benchmarks for learning in the classroom while integrating technology.

The first area of the NETS-T standards that I would like to strength my knowledge and confidence in is Model Digital-Age Work and Learning. Within this standard you are to become fluent in different technology systems so much so that you can easily integrate them into your teaching and into your classroom. I have not worked with many of the different technology systems that are in place in a lot of classrooms today (Smart Boards and other digital learning tools…). I would like to know more about these different technology tools as they can make my teaching more engaging and I could have more knowledge with which to share with other teachers and colleagues. Some of the steps that I would take to achieve this goal of becoming more proficient in this area would be to observe more in classrooms where teachers are using these different tools and taking the time to talk with them and gain ideas of how I can integrate this type of technology within my own teaching. As I have the basic knowledge of communication and am able to communicate regularly via email to parents and other teachers, I would like to extend this knowledge by eventually creating a blog in which students and parents can communicate with me and look to see different websites or other information that I have posted that is useful to my students. I can monitor this by doing a trial and error blog to see if it is as effective as I would hope.

A second area of the NETS-T standards that I would like to become more acquainted with is the area of Engaging in Profession Growth and Leadership. I have begun to subscribe to different educational blogs in my RSS feeder which I can read through at my leisure and they provide me with different experiences and information from teachers all over our nation and the world. There are so many different opportunities that come through my email each day. As these blogs are very beneficial, so would taking the time to discover more about the professional development opportunities in my area. These opportunities can range from leadership conferences, math or reading skill building, autism awareness, technology courses and many more. These courses would be so beneficial to building my knowledge base in many different areas of teaching especially in the areas of technology which not many people may have the knowledge of. In order to achieve this goal of taking on more of a professional growth mindset, I would like to begin attending 1-2 seminars a year. I would apply this new knowledge to my teaching and share this information with other teachers with whom I work. I feel that contributing to my school community in this way is not only beneficial to me as I am growing and learning through these opportunities, but I am sharing the knowledge with others so that everyone has the opportunities to establish a more engaging classroom.

Reflection: Supporting Information Literacy and Online Inquiry in the Classroom

Throughout the course, Supporting Information Literacy and Online Inquiry in the Classroom, I gained knowledge and information of new literacy skills that are necessary for students and classrooms to succeed within the 21st Century. One of the most striking revelations that I had dealt with the new literacy skills of reading, writing, and communicating. These new literacy skills are “concerned with understanding and teaching the new reading, writing, and communication strategies required for student to maximize the potential of information and communication technologies (ICTs) such as the Internet” (Eagleton & Dobler, 2007, pg. 44). In the past most forms of communication has been written by hand or typed on a typewriter and information was communicated in this fashion. With today’s technology when new information is researched and studied, it can be communicated in many different forms from email, to blogs, to online, articles and publications. As this class was centered around student inquiries and learning how to use the internet for searching and researching, I learned new ideas and information about how to teach students how to use the internet effectively to do their research projects. I also learned new ways for students to communicate this knowledge to their classmates and teachers aside from essay writing form. Students are able to establish a blog or a wiki, create presentations using Power Point or Voice Thread technology. These are just some of the many ways for students to become more interactive with their studies. As a part of the 21st century skills that students are using now, fostering a collaborative working environment in which students work together to solve a problem or create a project is extremely important to continuing the growth and success of students outside of the classroom.

Within this class I gained much knowledge and experiences about inquiry in the classroom that will definitely influence my future teaching. I have learned how easily different forms of technology can be integrated into the classroom whether it is through projects in a collaborative work environment or in daily class work that allows students to practice these learned skills. Since making a Holocaust Inquiry Unit Plan, my knowledge and experience with integrating different forms of technology to units and lessons has greatly increased. I have learned that what may come naturally to some students may be more difficult and challenging to others. It is important to teach the basic skills to students, such as how to appropriately use search engines when researching, as a part of allowing students to begin to explore on their own and create their own work. I also learned that it is important for students to have a part in their learning as the effects of what they study can have a longer retention as well as a more profound effect on the students. “The most compelling inquiries are student-generated…student choice is critical for sustaining interest in long term inquiry projects” (Eagleton & Dobler, 2007, p. 82). Allowing students to create and generate their own topics and questions (within reason) for projects with ultimately allow students to become more engaged and excited with what they are to create.

With the world of technology constantly changing and advancing, it is important to stay abreast of the new technologies that are useful in the classroom. As a part of building on my preexisting skills and the new skills learned in this course, I would like to take advantage of the professional development opportunities that are available within my district. There are a variety of courses that are offered in many different areas of technology and different ways to make learning more interesting for students and this would definitely be to my advantage. I would also like to continue to use this learned knowledge gained within course at Walden within my teaching as a way to become more proficient in integrating technology and being able to share this knowledge and information with other with whom I work. By taking small steps and incorporating one or two technology resources that I have learned about, this information will become more natural and common within my own teaching.

This course has also allowed me to create a working unit plan in which students will learn to effectively develop questions and research this information and chose different ways to communicate their findings with an audience. Asking important questions leads to comprehension of the material as well as the ability to synthesize new information with previously learned skills. As a part of New Literacy Standards outlined by Dr. Douglas Hartman, “knowing how to question, developing good questions, and staying focused on questions” (Laureate, 2009) as strategies that 21st Century learners should have. This course has taught me different ways to support inquiry in my teaching and has helped to teach me different ways to allow students to become more comfortable with researching and communicating this information.

Reflection of Learning Styles and Theories

At the beginning of my graduate course, Bridging Learning Theory and Instruction, I reflected on my own personal learning theories for my students. I was introduced to the idea that students learn through the brain being sculpted through experiences (Laureate, 2009) and I also felt that students could benefit more from lessons that provide the tools and skills that bring meaningful experiences to their learning. Through this course I have discovered how to create these meaningful experiences within my teaching. I have been shown the tools and different technology to bring learning for my students to life.

As a tutor and consultant teacher, I have a variety of students for varying amounts of time. In the time that we work together, I try to discover their interests and relate lesson to them so that the knowledge and information can become meaningful and they can make connections between the information they are learning and what they already know. From this course, I have learned to power of technology for my current teaching position. “Teachers who have brought technology into their classrooms are aware it provides an opportunity to differentiate instruction and change their classrooms into dynamic learning environments” (Duffy & McDonald, 2008, p. 2) and using technology within my teaching field can truly enhance student’s skills and understanding of lessons. I would really like to being creating a wikispace for students to use when we are not working together directly. It would be a place where students would find interactive worksheets and games to use to enhance their skills. I feel this would be a great way to create a source for students to use on their own and use the skills that we have worked on together and apply them in a different setting to the different activities found on the wikispace.

One long term goal that I have for my teaching is to find more ways to use the new technology that I have been introduced to. Virtual Field trips can be a great way students to see a topic we are working on in a different way and provide more knowledge to students. Using concepts maps can be a way for students and I to organize information on topics and see the relationships between them. These technology tools and others, I think, will really help to reinforce learning and information to students. Another long term goal that I have is to continue to expand my own knowledge base as a professional. There are many opportunities to attend seminars and lectures that I have not taken the time to attend and I feel these would provide more information and ideas to bring to my teaching as well.


Laureate Education, Inc. (Executive Producer). (2009). 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.

My First VoiceThread

I was also recently introduced to VoiceThread and the many ways it can be used with teaching. I created my first VoiceThread last night. Here is the link to listen to it:
http://voicethread.com/#u747302.b895880

Cooperative Learning

Cooperative Learning is one way for students to learn in the classroom not only through a teacher- student focus but through student to student interactions. It is learning that allows students to begin working with each other, sharing knowledge and working towards a common goal. There are many times that I have used cooperative learning in my teaching whether it is quick, “Think Pair Share” where students take a minute to think of what the question asked means to them and then share it with a partner, or in a larger scale with partner or group projects. I think that cooperative learning is great way for student to share knowledge on a level that may be more meaningful to them and broken down in a way that they will understand and retain the information.

"Cooperative learning focuses on having students interact with each other in groups in ways that enhance their learning” (Pitler, Hubbell, Kuhn and Malenoski, 2007, p. 139). Cooperative Learning can take place within the classroom and with the introduction of new technology tools such as blogs and wikis, students can collaboratively work together to create an informational data base that can be used in many different schools across that nation and across the world. Allowing students to become engaged with one another and having a true hand in their learning helps to expand students’ knowledge base and truly benefit from their learning and experiences.

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

Constructionism in Practice

Most of the students that we work with in schools are of the Digital Native “descent” having been around computers or some form of technology most of their lives. They have become accustomed to having the instant gratification of answers, pictures, and information at their fingertips. It is important that as teachers we strive to bring this advanced and higher level of learning that technology can provide. With constructionist approaches to teaching and learning in our classrooms, we can provide our students with a form of higher level learning in which they seek to discover the answers on their on developing collaborative skills and enhancing their thought process.

Constructionist Learning Theories are about constructing anything using tools that get students engaged and active in constructing artifacts (Laureate, 2009). This can be allowing students within your classroom brainstorming together on a topic, creating a Power Point presentation in order to display research on a given topic such as each group creating a travel guide to one of the Seven Ancient Wonders of the world. Showing students how to utilize programs to calculate daily spendings and savings based on a salary can also be a way for students to learn through technology based on real life examples. Allowing students to engage in a higher level of thinking and allowing them to use the skills and vocabulary they have already acquired will help to help them essentially gain more of an understanding of the content at hand (Pitler, Hubbell, Kuhn, & Malenoski, 2007). Allowing this interaction with students and with technology help to foster a seamless transfer from school to students’ own personal daily lives.

Laureate Education, Inc. (Executive Producer). (2009). Bridging learning theory, instruction, and technology. Baltimore: Author.

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

Cognitivism in Practice

Within the text, Using Technology with Classroom Instruction that Works, we explored two instructional strategies that use technology with in the classroom. The two instructional strategies were “Cues, Questions, and Advance Organizers” and “Summarizing and Note Taking”.

In starting a new unit or topic it is important to discuss with students different ideas or details that they may already know about it. “The instructional strategy cues, questions, and advance organizers focuses on enhancing students’ ability to retrieve, use, and organize information about a topic” (Pitler, Hubbell, Kuhn, and Malenoski, 2007, p. 73) and this ability to retrieve information is important to making lasting connections with the material. Creating these lasting connections and networks within students stays true to the cognitive learning theories. Creating teacher-made organizers with the most important material help students to focus their information and really help to allow students to discover the important information and seek out “higher-order questioning” (p.78). I believe that creating organizers and teaching students how to use them will allow students to understand information more clearly and have a longer lasting impact. The use of concept mapping is one way for teachers to organize information for their students about a topic and create ways to enhance connections to the material and in providing opportunities such as virtual field trips allows teachers to use this “powerful tool to create experiences and make rich connections to retrieve information” (Laureate, 2009).

Summarizing and Note taking goes along with cues, questions, and advance organizers and also helps students while giving them the ability process information and translate it into material that they understand. Students should be taught ways to take notes from information given to them so that they most important information is retained. There are many students that I work with who’s notebooks and binders are so unorganized they do not even know what test we are studying for or what material to work on. There are times when we take time to organize notes alone to make it easier for retrieval and understand concepts better. Teaching students from a younger age how to take proper notes and how to pull out information that is essential to a topic will help them when it comes time for a class where a teacher does not give students many notes and mainly lectures. Students must be able to draw out the information that is pertinent to the topic in a logical and critical manner. Taking their own notes and creating them in a language that students understand helps to create a longer lasting learning rather than short term memory for a test.


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

Laureate Education, Inc. (Executive Producer). (2009). Bridging learning theory, instruction, and technology. Baltimore: Author.

Behaviorist Learning Theories

“In defining behavior, behaviorist learning theories emphasize changes in behavior that result from stimulus-response associations made by the learner” (Orey, 2001). As a teacher, we must find ways to create engaging ways for students to become involved in the classroom and experience learning in new and inviting ways. In the Learning Resources for this week, we discovered two instructional strategies that correlate to behaviorist theory practices: reinforcing theory and homework and practice.

Within the text, Understanding Technology with Classroom Instruction that Works, the authors state that “the instructional strategy of reinforcing effort enhances student’s understanding of the relationship between effort and achievement by addressing their attitudes and beliefs about learning” (Pitler, Hubbell, Kahn& Malenoski, 2007, p. 155). This text describes the use of charts and graphs to allow students to see the progress that they are making in a particular area. I do find that when I tutor and teach students, they get the impression that I am not a teacher and this is a time when they do not have to work their hardest. I make it a point to establish myself as a teacher and create lessons that are reinforcements of topics that they are learning in their class so that they can see the changes that occur in their “real” classrooms. I have used charts with some students who, like me, need a visual understanding such as a graph to organize and see progress. It has really helped some of my students and also brings an excitement to their learning. I also let students input their own grades and information onto their graph so that can be a part of their learning and their success.

The second instructional strategy is the use of homework and practice. Homework has been a way for students to practice what they have learned in class and has also been a “chance for students to review and apply what they have learned” (Pitler, Hubbell, Kahn& Malenoski, 2007, p. 187). With technology these days, it is easy for teachers to being to design homework that is stimulating for students rather than dull and monotonous. There are times when basic homework of drill work might be necessary, yet technology provides ways for students to become connected while reinforcing a topic learned in class. One example might be for the teacher to pose a question in a class wiki whether it be on a book being read or a math problem and for homework that night have students submit their responses online and perhaps comment on other classmates responses (this can be modified to accommodate for those that might not have a computer). Getting students engaged in a different type of homework might help to really have students apply their knowledge and reach further than writing something on paper and handing it in never to see it again. As Dr. Michael Orey discussed that reinforcement is powerful (Laureate, 2009), finding ways for students to really become involved in their learning and bring a connectedness to the classroom is powerful.

References:
Laureate Education, Inc. (Executive Producer). (2009). Bridging learning theory, instruction, and technology. Baltimore: Author.

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

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