CEP 811 Final Reflections

CEP 811 was awesome!  It was definitely hard work for someone with my technological abilities but I managed to figure things out along the way and here I am at the end of the class, reflecting about what I've learned.  If you would have asked me eight weeks ago how to integrate technology into my classroom, my answer would be way different than it is now.  This course has taught me that simply using technology in a lesson does not necessarily make it effective.  The TPACK Webquest taught me that it takes a balance between technology, pedagogy, and content to make an effective lesson and hit the "sweet spot".  Some strategies I may use in order to incorporate technology into my classroom is to use it as a means of communication for students to interact with me, with each other, and with parents.  I could also have students use it to aid with research and with group projects (Google Docs!).  

The web-based technologies we used in this course have really made me more aware of what's out there.  Most of what we used is something my fourth grade students would be able to use as well.  My StAIR is a great resource that I plan to use with my students.  Google Docs is my new favorite online tool for many reasons.  I learned a lot from the group Webquest we did and I would like to try something similar with my students.  These are a few of many online tools that can truly enrich a lesson and the classroom as a whole.  Using the internet as a way for students to interact with each other and with the material is a new concept for me.  Blogs, RSS Feeds, Webpage creation, and StAIR are tools I would one day like to use with my class.


I have met my own personal goals for learning about technology integration.  This course has taught me numerous types of technology tools that I can use in my classroom and for personal use as well. Not only did I learn about them but how to use them as well.  In addition, I had the opportunity to create a Stand Alone Instructional Resource (StAIR).  This was a challenging project but I was very pleased with the results and I'm looking forward to using it in my classroom.  I am so  happy to have a better feel for Microsoft PowerPoint now.  What I wanted was to gain some ideas and tools to use in the classroom that involve technology and that is exactly what I got.

My new goal is to take some of the things that I have learned and created in this course and implement them in my classroom.  I'm looking forward to getting feedback from my students and seeing the results. I'm confident that they will learn from these new tools and enjoy using them as well.  In order to reach these goals, I will have to ease my way into it.  The first thing I will start with is a class blog.  I will do all the writing and eventually assign groups to write blogs.  I will create a class RSS feed page.  Each student will find one or two topics to use on our page.  Google Docs will be something I will use frequently.  I would also like to use my new knowledge and skills in my next online course.  My long term goals will be met as I gradually integrate these skills into my classroom and continue to take online technology classes.

Online Teaching Experiences

There were so many great options to choose from, it was difficult for me to choose only one of them to write about.  I teach fourth grade and I love the idea of using a blog in my classroom and I plan to do so but for this assignment I had to choose an online experience that can be used to actually "teach" something.  A blog would be a great tool to use for reflection, summarizing, commenting, communication, etc.  A wiki is also an awesome tool to use in the classroom.  If students were doing group work, writing a report or doing research it's a perfect way for me to be sure that one students isn't doing all the work.  If the internet is available to them at home, every member would be able to work on it from home without worrying about doing something another group member has already done.  If I had it my way, I would use a combination of online tools to create a learning experience that students would truly benefit from.

Online field trips is an online teaching experience that I could definitely us in my classroom.  What a great idea!  With budget cuts in almost every school system, field trips are one of the first things to go.  By using this resource, students will get to go on a "field trip" in their own classroom.  Of course it wouldn't be exactly the same but the students would enjoy it.  I would do some sort of hands on follow-up activity so students can gain a deeper knowledge of the field trip.  Students could work in groups to write a report about their field trip using Google Docs.  If we had a class blog page, I would have students blog about it.  

I was at a school last week where a class was on Skype with a park ranger at the North Dakota Badlands.  I think this would be categorized as an interactive discussion with an expert. The park ranger showed the students her view of the Badlands from her office.  She also showed them some of the artifacts they have found at the Badlands as well as pictures of animals that live there.  The student were then able to ask her questions.  It was really neat!  This was a very interactive activity.  Just like before, students could then choose an animal that lives there and do a research project about it.  They could also write a blog about their Skype trip to the Badlands.  

An RSS Feed would be harder for me to use in my fourth grade classroom.  I can't think of a lesson I could actually "teach" using one.  My students could use them for current events and maybe some research projects but it is not an interactive tool and the sources are not always reliable either.  For elementary age students, there are many other resources that can be used for these purposes.  

Wikis

I found my Burke County Schools on Wikipedia.  This is the district that I used to work in when I taught in Georgia.  The school I taught at was SGA Elementary.  I changed two things on this Wikipedia page.  The first thing I did was corrected the address to the Central Office.  The second thing I did was added a link to my school.  I made it so that when you click on S.G.A. (Sardis Girard Alexander) Elementary School it takes you to the school website.  I enjoyed doing this.  When I have more time I will link the other schools to their web sites as well.

Here is a link to the Wiki page I created:

Kimberly's Wiki Page

It has a link on it that takes you to the other page I made.

Learning about Wikis had been a great experience for me.  I plan to use them more in the future.

Universal Lesson Design Guidelines Checklist

The lesson plan I submitted to Merlot is called Double Bar Graph elementary lesson and activity.  In this lesson,  the teacher gives a mini-lesson about double bar graphs and then each student comes up with their own survey question to ask the class.  They record the results of their survey in a tally table.  When their tally table is complete they use this information to create a double bar graph on a specified computer program.  They must choose an appropriate scale, title, and colors for the bars.  When they finish this they have reflection questions to complete.  At the end of the lesson each student shares their results with the class.

This lesson is great because it incorporates technology, accommodates for different learning styles, and has a variety of different activities the students are required to do.  After completing the UDL Guidelines Checklist I realize that it falls short in a few areas.  The main thing I would like to change is to give students more choices.  I would also like to use scaffolding.  These modifications will help accommodate for students with special needs.

UDL Guidelines Checklist Anglin

UDL Guidelines - Educator Checklist
I. Provide Multiple Means of Representation	Your notes
1. Provide options for perception
1.1 Customize the display of information	Feature: Students get to choose their question, scale, title, and color coding.
1.2 Provide alternatives for auditory information
1.3 Provide alternatives for visual information	Feature: Students physically conduct the survey and create their own graph on a computer and answer questions on paper.
2. Provide options for language and symbols
2.1 Define vocabulary and symbols	Feature: Student will create a key for their graph and choose an appropriate scale.
2.2 Clarify syntax and structure
2.3 Decode text or mathematical notation
2.4 Promote cross-linguistic understanding
2.5 Illustrate key concepts non-linguistically
3. Provide options for comprehension
3.1 Provide or activate background knowledge	Feature: Teacher presents class with wrong information and students help discover what is wrong and how to fix it
3.2 Highlight critical features, big ideas, and relationships
3.3 Guide information processing
3.4 Support memory and transfer	Feature: Students use their survey results and transfer them onto a computer generated graph

II. Provide Multiple Means of Action and Expression	Your notes
4. Provide options for physical action
4.1 Provide varied ways to respond	Barrier: No options to vary the assignment are offered.
4.2 Provide varied ways to interact with materials	Barrier: No options to vary the assignment are offered.
4.3 Integrate assistive technologies	Feature: Students use a computer program to create their double bar graph for them.  All they have to do is type in their survey results.
5. Provide options for expressive skills and fluency
5.1 Allow choices of media for communication	Barrier: Students are not provided with a choice of media.
5.2 Provide appropriate tools for composition and problem solving
5.3 Provide ways to scaffold practice and performance	Barrier: Scaffolding was not used in this lesson.  I could have students who are having a hard time do a single bar graph instead.
6. Provide options for executive functions
6.1 Guide effective goal setting
6.2 Support planning and strategy development	Feature: Students plan their survey by choosing a question to ask the class.  They plan their graph by looking at their survey results, choosing an appropriate scale and colors for the bars.  They use their graph to answer reflection questions.
6.3 Facilitate managing information and resources
6.4 Enhance capacity for monitoring progress

III. Provide Multiple Means of Engagement	Your notes
7. Provide options for recruiting interest
7.1 Increase individual choice and autonomy	Feature: Students choose their own survey questions and the color coding on their graph
7.2 Enhance relevance, value and authenticity
7.3 Reduce threats and distractions
8. Provide options for sustaining effort and persistence
8.1 Heighten salience of goals and objectives
8.2 Vary levels of challenge and support	Barrier: Assignment is the same for all students. I could offer a single bar graph for students in need of extra support and a triple bar graph for those who need to be challenged.
8.3 Foster collaboration and communication	Feature: Students communicate with each other throughout the lesson.
8.4 Increase mastery-oriented feedback
9. Provide options for self-regulation
9.1 Guide personal goal-setting and expectations
9.2 Scaffold coping skills and strategies
9.3 Develop self-assessment and reflection	Feature: Students fill out a questioner at the end of the assignment to check for understanding.