Spring is in the Air!

What a lovely and hopeful time of the year!

Welcome Autumn

Winter dies into the spring, to be born again in the autumn. ~Marche Blumenberg

Reflection

New technologies available in education and in all arenas of life abound. One key for encouraging fellow educators to use and advocate for collaborative and diversified learning tools is share and help train in successful and innovative technology use. I have really enjoyed learning about some amazing emerging technologies that can ignite the imagination of our students in an engaging way. Digital games, online learning modules, and Multi-user virtual environments can be harnessed to give students an internal motivation for learning. I find the Second Life realm a fascinating one and feel that it will only become more prevalent. The use of games to help motivate students and enhance learning and I will continue to add links to games to my learning module that work well with our standards and content. As I reflected on this class, I realized that the learning module that I planned is going to have an immediate impact on my teaching and peer collaboration. I am more comfortable in utilizing Web 2.0 skills as a result of my time at Walden, and I will continue to be diligent in organizing learning experiences at home and at school that challenges the 21st Century student. The use of wiki’s, blogs. Podcasts, glogs and inquiry learning help to stimulate the learning environment and expanding student interest in learning. After creating my own lesson plan, using MUVE as the learning catalyst, I realized that this is a format can organize and help manage learning.
As I evaluate emerging technologies, I will look for sites and applications that give all students equal access information to gain knowledge. I will make my website a vehicle for authentic and active learning in a multimodal learning module. I have already begun to adjust the use of my school website in all of these capabilities, as students and families are already familiar with it.
I plan to use social bookmarking sites and access to my modules to help share with my colleagues and families. Our cohort group will collaborate in person and via the internet with my fellow educators in gifted and regular education. We will have yearlong, monthly meetings and invite speakers and share our experiences and data.
I think the most effective way of encouraging the use of emerging technologies in your school or district wide is to demonstrate the benefits of new technologies for rapid information access and sharing of ideas and tools for learning. Well, this concludes my 36th post. My last one as a student at Walden. I have valued my time in this program and I feel it will serve me well in being a good teacher.I will continue to follow my classmate's rss feeds and after a brief reprieve, I hope to continue to post on this blog. See you soon!

The Change Agents

I really couldn't have said it any better myself.
Sharepoint

Online Learning to Support 21st Century Learning

Free online screencasting tool

If I sound unhappy in this recording, it is because I had SO many issues with trying to record and save this presentation. I spent 3 hours just trying to record! I was about to give up and go with Voicethread or Slideshare when I was finally able to get a passable recording. I wanted Screentoaster because I wanted to go from site to site and share features of each but it would up being quite a challenge.

Reaching and Engaging All Learners through Technology

This class has introduced me to some very important concepts including Universal Design for Learning (UDL), and made me revisit some ideas that I have put on the back burner like Differentiated Instruction (DI). I have learned the value of technology integration to allow for flexibility and individualized learning for my students. Throne and Smith (2009) advocate that technology can be a great differentiator for us (Laureate Education). My colleagues have introduced me to many new resources "Differentiating4Success-Reaching and Engaging All Learners through Technology" These resources opened many avenues for exploring the concepts of UDL and DI and will be a great source of support for me as I try to implement these principles and strategies in my classroom. The resources also offer new ways to integrate technology into my classroom. I need to look at these resources more in depth and determine which would be most effective for my students.

My favorite assignment for this course was using Skype to communicate with my colleagues. It was fascinating to me to have the chance to chat,speak and collaborate with people around the world for a common goal. I also loved doing the Voice thread. This was a super example of how to collaborate, and use creativity and alternative modes of expression. I find that this inspires me to use the technology with my students because I have developed a confidence with it and see the possibilities for integration. I also find that the planning it takes to incorporate the knowledge I want to share and the technology I am using to share it strengthens my understanding of the topic. The ning was a great collaborative tool and it was a great opportunity to find resources to implement UDL, DI and technology integration.
Although I certainly am using more technology than I did last year, I am hoping to continue to ramp up my use. I am using the Smartboard and the clickers very regularly, I have also learned to embed videos from United Streaming into my website for students to use at home and use videos and online quizzes in my classroom. I have also gotten my students to blog on my school website. I hope to incorporate more assessment and enrichment oppotunities.
I hope to encourage more independence in my students. Some still need more practice in reading text online for information. I hope to continue to help move these students into more independent learning.
References:

Laureate Education, Inc. (Producer). (2009). What Is Differentiated Instruction? [Motion picture]. Reaching and engaging all learners through technology. Baltimore: Tomlinson, C. A., Smith, G., & Throne, S.

Differentiated Instruction and UDL Synthesis