EDLD+5370+Reflections+of+5364

. Self Assessment:
 * __Reflections of 5364 __**

The knowledge I gained from the course, Teaching With Technology, will benefit my career in many ways. It taught me to not just see a situation through my own eyes but to see through the eyes of different learners and teachers. I learned to think from a visually impaired student’s point of view among many other things. I also learned that there is still so much more that I don’t know. This course gave me a glimpse of other avenues I can go with teaching with technology. I learned how to create more effective lesson plans that will improve instruction.

Learn as a Learner:

“Good teachers have always used experience as a valuable instructional tool; that is why we arrange field trips and hands-on projects. It is why an internship or apprenticeship is essential to the completion of most vocations, including teaching" ( Southwest Educational Development Laboratory, 1999). I have learned to make hands on lessons and experiences a priority when teaching. I had heard a lot of the information presented in the course before but feel that it was shed in a new light. The UDL principles and creating electronic books on the CAST websites really impacted my way of thinking. Using the three brain networks: recognition, strategic, and affective, or the what, how, and why of learning improved my ability to design lessons. I have always tried to differentiate instruction but using these tools made it easier to implement. When I first started to work on this group assignment I had the idea that making a lesson and ebook would be rather simple because I had worked with both for many years. Then as I was going through the Universal Design information it really made me stop and think of ways to make sure all students have the best learning instruction that maybe I wasn’t doing before. I had used Google Docs before but never simultaneously with the chat bar on the side. That was a first for me. I’m eager to share all this new knowledge with teachers on my campus. The assignment made me get out of my comfort zone and grow in new areas of my career.

My approach to completing the assignment was to try to get all my readings and videos done. I would take time to internalize the information until I felt like I really knew what the assignment was and then try to apply what I learned. I also communicated with my colleagues to make sure we were all on the same page. In doing so I would make sure I was contributing to the group scenario. I really enjoyed the videos and exploring different sites that were mentioned. As a learner I love exploring the unknown especially when I was aloud to use my creativity. When creating a wiki page for our group project I could be creative and a producer and this really was something I enjoyed doing. Like the video that showed Sasha Barab, speaking about students feeling empowered and actually experiencing what it might feel like to become a scientist. I know I learn best when I feel empowered by something and I’m allowed to produce something. By having to make an ebook I was allowed to use my creativity while learning. Discussions, wiki and blog participation are always interesting to me. It’s great to hear what other schools are doing. It allows me to compare what we are doing in our school to others. I always come away with new ideas, insights and questions after I participate in discussions. Comments from others on postings always make me reflect on things from a different perspective.

Life Long Learning SKills:

What I gained about learning from this course is to be open minded to new ways of doing things. Although it sometimes seems to be daunting, learning new ways to do things will help you tap into new discoveries that you might had never known if you just stay in your comfort zone. Using the CAST site will help me in the future. Just making lesson plans without analyzing them and putting much thought into them should be a thing of the past. I plan on using the sites revealed to me during this course. My past interactions and collaborations impact my future learning experiences. I have gained confidence in working with others who are also knowledgeable in my field of expertise. I have learned to come together with people who share the same passions and goals that I do. Feeding off of one another’s passion and drive is very inspiring. Questions and issues that challenge me are of how to find more ways to explore and meet the needs of different style learners. In my case it is working with the bilingual population. Learning two languages simultaneously without falling behind in academics is a big concern of mine. I know text to speech and other technology outlets can address limited English students’ needs but I hope to find more avenues to help these students.

Rose,Dl, & 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 Aug. 5, 2011 from []

Lessonbuilder.cast.org (nd). The Brain Research. Retrieved on October 5, 2009 from []

Edutopia.org. (nd). //Big Thinkiers: Sasha Barab on New-Media Engagement.//Retrieved on Aug. 5, 2011 from []

Southwest Educational Development Laboratory, (1999). Learning as a personal event:a brief introduction to constructivism. Retrieved on September 10, 2011 from []