EDLD+5364+Reflection

EDLD 5364, Teaching with Technology is perhaps the most useful course I have taken thus far in the Educational Technology Leadership program. The activities outlined in the readings are exactly what I envision myself using as a technology leader.

The main component of the course was a collaborative group project, where our task was to design a Universal Design for Learning unit to address a classroom of diverse learners using technology to address their different needs. In the book, //Teaching Every Student in the Digital Age: Universal Design for Learning//, (Rose and Meyer, 2002) the authors describe UDL as lessons with features and activities embedded that address different learning styles. This makes perfect sense to me, since it meets the needs of not only the students with documented learning disabilities, but those students of average or above average ability who simply respond better to different stimuli.

Some of the more thought-provoking material was found in the video clips from the Edutopia.org website. The website is appropriately named since in features examples that represent an educational Utopia that few students or teachers will ever realize. For example, I just spent five weeks in a course named Curriculum Management, but in a video segment highlighting project-based learning as a means to education reform, Seymour Papert says, “First thing you have to do is give the idea of curriculum.” (Edutopia.org, nd) This is perhaps a lofty goal in a perfect system, but not a realistic expectation – even in the most learner-centered, collaborative setting.

Collaboration was one of the key components of the scenario-based group project. Our group was very diverse. We have a wide age difference, a wide range of teaching experience, and are spread out all over Texas. However, through the magic of the internet, we worked quite well together, each contributing his or her expertise to the project. During the planning stages of the project, I had somewhat of an epiphany. I was initially worried about creating activities for a subject and grade level with which I have virtually no experience. It then occurred to me that as a technology leader, I would likely be doing exactly that! The key is that I don’t have to be an expert in a particular subject area in order to help teachers find technological solutions to their dilemmas. Many of the activities are adaptable to any level or subject area.

All the great teaching and technology rich, learner-centered activities are useless without one critical component – effort. Pitler (2007) points out that “People attribute success to different sources: to their own innate abilities, to the assistance of others, to luck, and to effort. Of these possible attributions, the fourth, //effort//, is the wisest choice for someone who intends to achieve success or maintain it, as it is the only one within an individual’s control.” He goes on to point out how technology can be to create rubrics and spreadsheets to help students track their effort and its effect on their achievement. This was affirming to me because it puts some of the responsibility for success squarely on the students’ shoulders; and provides widely used computer applications to help them see the connection between effort and success.

Throughout the reading selections and video clip were two recurring themes: the need for ongoing assessment and feedback, and the importance of leaner-centered collaborative activities. These are concepts to which I am already paying greater attention in my daily lessons. I look forward to expanding my use of technology tools, and helping teachers and students do the same.

References

Edutopia.org (nd). Project Learning: An Overview. Retrieved on March 28, 2011, from http://www.edutopia.org/project-based-learning-overview-video

Pitler, H., Hubbell, E., Kuhn, M., & Malenoski, K. (2007). Using technology with classroom instruction that works. Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development. Chapter 8.

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. Chapter 1. Retrieved on March 28, 2011 from http://www.cast.org/teachingeverystudent/ideas/tes/chapter1_4.cfm