EDLD 5364 Final Reflection

EDLD 5364 – Teaching with Technology  - kept me on my toes.  I think I learned more useful information in this course than any of the others to date. The scenario our group was tasked to solve was very daunting, however our team leader, Shauntel Cooley, kept us all on track. We are a very diverse group of people that complement each other very well.  We come from backgrounds that consist of elementary and secondary, science, technology, and languages.  I believe it is because of our differences that we mesh so well together.  We each brought different strengths to the project, and I also felt like I could trust each of our team members to do their part.  I never once worried that any of them would let us down. Together, we were able to develop a fantastic unit on weather. The first thing we did after forming our group was to install Dropbox.  Dropbox made it easy for us to share files and resources.  Next, we developed a Google Doc for collaborating, and a Google Site for presenting all our information.  Our group selected elementary weather for our unit.  We each choose an area to develop.  I volunteered to develop the on level plans.  As it turns out, my lessons very closely resembled Julia’s lessons for the below level kids.  We decided to mesh them together, tailoring the activities for the below level and at level kids.  Our lessons were on the water cycle, so that allowed for some hands on learning.  The students were to recreate a mini water cycle in a bowl.  While the below level kids were to make a booklet and then describe the water cycle to a classmate and then an adult at home, the on level kids are required to create a Voki avatar to describe the water cycle.  Additionally, the on level students using Prezi and present it.  Julia recommended a web quest for our unit.  I had never heard of Zunal before, so it was wonderful to learn about this new tool.  I really like how the entire unit was in one, organized location.  I love how we are learning from each other as well as from the content of this course. If I had to choose the one most meaningful thing I learned from this course, it would have to be the UDL (Rose and Meyer, 2002).   I feel like this method of planning will help me to reach every student in my class, and not just teach to the middle.  I not only learned a lot from the readings, but I also felt very validated by them.  Solomon and Schrum (2007) suggest using various media as a form of assessment, by allowing students to show what they have learned.   In thinking back about the lesson that I planned for our project, I felt validated since I had planned on using both Voki avatars and Prezis as a means assessment. 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, http://www.cast.org/teachingeverystudent/ideas/tes/ Solomon, G., and  Schrum, L. (2007). Web 2.0: New tools, new schools. Eugene, OR: International Society for Technology in Education, 168.

EDLD 5364 Week 5 Reflection

Week 5 readings centered around student effort and assessment.  As I was working on my part of the group project, the following quote caught my attention:  "Perhaps the most obvious use of Web 2.0 tools for assessment would be for students to be able to show what they know in a wide variety of media" (Solomon 2007).

I selected this quote because I feel so strongly that students should be assessed in this manner.  One lesson I wrote for our group scenario was about the water cycle.  Several forms of assessment included in the lesson were using technology to show what student learned.  In one instance, students are to use a Voki avatar to explain the water cycle.  In another instance, students were to create a zooming graphic of the water cycle utilizing Prezi.  When I read this quote, I felt confirmation on what I already believed to be true.  It was very validating.

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