Final Reflections - CEP 811

            When integrating technology, I have learned that since all students enter the school with various levels of technology skills, I need to have my lesson planned with UDL guidelines in order to meet the learning needs.  This is something that needs to be anticipated because I will never have students who all have the same understanding.  It is a fact.  But by being prepared and ready for multiple scenarios, I will have a quality lesson ready for students to learn with outcomes they can use in further studies and projects.  Aside from skills, I also need to anticipate cognitive abilities.  This strategy will enable all students to be engaged learners from day one without hesitation.  Understanding the different learning styles will further enable me to guide my students toward success rather than frustration.

            Integrating web-based technologies helped me think about and evaluate the uses of technology by enabling me to actively participate in using FTP and MERLOT.  I was able to upload my coursework to a remote server and provide a web address for its location.  This was a great tool to learn and understand because I understand how to share my work on a global scale. 

            At the beginning of this course, I wanted to understand how to utilize and integrate technology into my teaching.  The various assignments stretched my mind to think beyond the traditional uses of the computer and the Internet.  In particular, having learned about WebQuests, I was able to have a student work on one near the end of the year.  It was incredibly helpful by enabling me to understand the greater role technology can (and will) play in my future teaching. 

            I want to continue to discover new available resources through WebQuests and MERLOT to enhance my teaching.  These assignments gave me the hope that teaching does not have to be a solitary mission.  As educators, we want our students to succeed, so by contributing useful information and lessons to various sites, we have created this network that will flourish and give our students amazing new learning opportunities.  To reach these goals, I will continue to learn more about the resources available and document my work so others may use it, modify it, and benefit from it.  

UDL Guidelines

Having worked through the lab for Universal Design for Learning (UDL), I was intrigued by the questions it provoked in my mind.  Where I thought I had created a thoughtful lesson accessible to all learners, there were some areas that required some rethinking and reworking.  However, I also came to understand that many of the ideas I am attempting to teach with my lesson, "The Vicarious Travelers," already have many of the UDL Guidelines built into them.  As I continue with my education, I look forward to applying this knowledge with my classes to enable all students to achieve their best work without compromising standards.

UDL Guidelines – Educator Checklist Version 2
I.    Provide Multiple Means of Representation:	Your notes
1.     Provide options for perception
1.1 Offer ways of customizing the display of information	Feature: enlarge text and pictures
1.2 Offer alternatives for auditory information	Barrier: pictures are visual with no captions
1.3 Offer alternatives for visual information	Barrier: no text descriptions and/or captions available
2.     Provide options for language, mathematical expressions, and symbols
2.1 Clarify vocabulary and symbols	Feature: learned about Rome, Italy on our virtual trip
2.2 Clarify syntax and structure
2.3 Support decoding of text, and mathematical notation, and symbols	Barrier: inability to read maps, interpret key symbols, and measure distance
2.4 Promote understanding across language	Barrier: presented in English with little or no Italian background
2.5 Illustrate through multiple media
3.     Provide options for comprehension
3.1 Activate or supply background knowledge	Barrier: little background knowledge
3.2 Highlight patterns, critical features, big ideas, and relationships	Feature: math and social studies cross-curricular
3.3 Guide information processing, visualization, and manipulation	Feature: comparing a foreign destination to a local area
3.4 Maximize transfer and generalization
II.   Provide Multiple Means for Action and Expression:	Your notes
4.     Provide options for physical action
4.1 Vary the methods for response and navigation	Barrier: not all students are proficient with computer research
4.2 Optimize access to tools and assistive technologies
5.     Provide options for expression and communication
5.1 Use multiple media for communication	Barrier: having students present their final presentations in the same format
5.2 Use multiple tools for construction and composition
5.3 Build fluencies with graduated labels of support for practice and performance
6.     Provide options for executive functions
6.1 Guide appropriate goal setting	Feature: learning about Italy and presenting the information
6.2 Support planning and strategy development	Barrier: need to encourage students to “stop and think” to solve a problem
6.3 Facilitate managing information and resources	Barrier: need to provide a checklist of what students will need to “discover”
6.4 Enhance capacity for monitoring progress	Feature: provides feedback during the course of the lesson
III.  Provide Multiple Means for Engagement:	Your notes
7.     Provide options for recruiting interest
7.1 Optimize individual choice and autonomy	Barrier: provide students with alternative website they may be more familiar with to locate their information
7.2 Optimize relevance, value, and authenticity	Feature: students will understand how to calculate distance based on what they learned and apply it to where they live
7.3 Minimize threats and distractions	Feature: stretch the lesson into several days with goals for each day so students do not feel overwhelmed
8.     Provide options for sustaining effort and persistence
8.1 Heighten salience of goals and objectives
8.2 Vary demands and resources to optimize challenge
8.3 Foster collaboration and community	Feature: have students collaborate and share their information with another student for suggestions and feedback
8.4 Increase mastery-oriented feedback	Feature: providing feedback
9.     Provide options for self-regulation
9.1 Promote expectations and beliefs that optimize motivation	Barrier: provide a rubric
9.2 Facilitate personal coping skills and strategies
9.3 Develop self-assessment and reflection	Barrier: provide students with a chart so they can see their progress

© CAST 2011