EDLD 5364 -Course Based Embedded Assignment Reflection

Overall, I feel I was successful in completing the course assignments. The discussion postings and protocols were the same as I had experienced in other classes. The use of blog post every week was good practice to prepare us for integrating them into classroom instruction. Even the Adobe desktop videoconferencing was easy to participate in and very informative.

            Despite a detailed rubric and guiding questions,  I generally started to feel more comfortable in completing the group project when we were provided with an example. Based on the conversations among my team members, I believe we all felt uneasy about whether or not our project has hit the mark.

            I learned during the project that although my technology skills are well developed, using these skills to construct an interactive, multimedia lesson is more difficult than I thought. Having technology skills alone is not sufficient to promote true integration of technology to teachers in a way that transforms instruction; it is critical to understand educational theory and pedagogy. Depending on my team members, and trusting their educational experience to help design instructionally appropriate lessons infused with differentiation opportunities through technology, led to the development of much better lessons than I could ever have created alone.
Although I have always had an open mind and a positive attitude regarding teaching with technology and using “digital native” tools, during this course my attitude toward student assessment changed. I never thought of a video game as a constant, real-time, ongoing assessment with immediate feedback on performance after each task (Solomon, G., & Schrum, L.2007), and will now look at educational applications of game-like technologies differently. I am now convinced that assessment must be frequent, and just as in a video game, there must be regular, ongoing opportunities for students to monitor their progress and connect the effort they expend to their performance and progress.

 In summation, the lessons I learned in the Teaching with Technology class have changed my attitude towards instructional applications for video gaming technology strategies, improved my online leadership and collaboration skills, and left me with a new respect for teachers who have to find innovative methods to deal with such a wide variety of student skill levels and abilities.

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

EDLD 5364- Week 5 Post Conference

After viewing the archive of this weeks web conference, I was made aware of what the week 5 expectations are. Usually I scan over the expected assignments and readings before viewing the conference, but this week I did not. The web conference really laid out what I needed to do to wrap up the group website, and my individual task. It also reminded me that there was a Tk20 submission and what the due date was.

EDLD 5364- What I learned Week 5

This week I was taken back by the readings for new technology in the schools. I really experienced an epiphany when I read about new types of assessments in the classroom. I had never thought of video game and application type assessments to monitor the on-going progress of students. This type of assessment can offer varied levels and immediate feedback to the students and teachers. The challenge with this type of assessment is finding or creating one that is rigorous and monitors their progress over time.

EDLD 5364- What I learned Week 4

This week I had an epiphany regarding assessments after our Week 4 readings. As we trek closer to the STAAR exam, this reading was really appropriate for me. Ultimately, the biggest lesson I learned this week in my Teaching with Technology class is that we must always remember that assessment must be used to evaluate ourselves as teachers, and our teaching methods, just as much as it is used to evaluate student learning. By changing the way we assess our students so that we are truly assessing their knowledge and skills and not just their test-taking ability, we gain a better understanding of how to improve them and how to improve ourselves as well. We must remember that we are all learners, we must learn with our students, and we can build relationships by sharing with them the excitement of creating new knowledge that is self-assessing as the lessons progress.

• Teaching Every Student in the Digital Age: Universal Design for Learning, Chapter 7
• • 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 from http://www.cast.org/teachingeverystudent/ideas/tes/

EDLD 5364- Post Conference Week 4

This week's s conference was more confusing to me. After viewing the archived conference I still was unsure if our group must  complete the examples or if we are simply expressing how we would implement technology activities to solve the scenario. One of my group mates emailed our instructional associate, so hopefully that will clear up my confusion. I think there is a chance that I may be making this more confusing by OVER analyzing the instructions.

EDLD 5364 UDL Sample Book Link

I created a sample book with the UDL book builder website. Please check it out.

http://bookbuilder.cast.org/view.php?op=view&book=73926&page=1

EDLD 5364- What I learned week 3

This week was informational just like the previous weeks. I gained a better understanding of the Universal Design of Learning, and how to use technology to reach all learners in a classroom. I also learned more about the "digital classroom" and the direction that learning with technology is headed in the future.