Course+Embedded+Assignment+-+EDLD+5364

I have been thoroughly educated about the significance of Teaching with Technology from this course, EDLD 5364. The instructor was very knowledgeable, available, and resourceful the entire course. I was introduced to new vocabulary and was able to get a better understanding of the constructivist theory, connectivism, and cyborg theory. These theories explain how new information is introduced, understood, and gathered by humans due to prior knowledge and individual learning skills. The constructivist theory is the one I prefer because it is a student-centered classroom where students interact with peers, collaborate with teams and individuals, and get immediate feedback. The students are allowed to work independently in groups and select team members and leaders. The students are allowed to work together to manage and control their own learning. It allows for higher and critical thinking for the students. I personally think when students are able to work with peers or use their own personal events and stories; the lessons are more meaningful. It has been proven that when technology is used and applied effectively in classrooms, it can affect the student’s leaning and motivation to want to learn new skills. It can also encourage students to want to learn and apply the new content, material, and skills in their everyday lives.
 * Course-based Embedded Assignment - EDLD 5364 **

It has been proven that technology and a learner-centered environment in a classroom, works well for student achievement. It provides many learning styles while accommodating the needs of all students working on the same lesson. As a Special Education teacher, educators have to start providing differentiated instruction in the delivery of content and skills as well as promoting critical thinking for the 21st century learners as a whole group. If educators refer to Universal Design for Learning (UDL), they will be able to understand and appreciate the importance of addressing the needs of all students because every learner processes information differently. So when preparing lesson plans, educators have to customize learning using different methods, technology, tools, and assessments. Therefore, in order for students to increase their self-esteem and take ownership in their education, educators need to allow students to establish and choose their own goals and objectives.

Teachers have to be skillful in adjusting their teaching styles, instructions as well as using a variety of tools to meet the needs of all students. It is essential that teachers start using various instructional techniques that can capture different senses. I believe that varied instructions enable all learners to successfully understand the new skills and ideas being taught. Therefore, it is imperative that teachers know their auditory, visual, and kinesthetic learners and use verbal instruction, visuals, and real life experience in their lessons, discussions, and activities in order to meet the needs of all students.

I enjoyed creating an eBook for the first time and found the website to be extremely entertaining, interesting, easy to navigate through, and informative. The coach feature was my favorite because it has a built-in speech to text and the creator can select an academic coach for the sound recorder. According to Rose & Meyer (2002), “Features such as text-to-speech “translation” supports decoding so that learners can focus on strategic reading or content learning.” Since I teach at a school that is 98% Hispanic, the Spanish function would be an excellent feature to share with my coworkers. I believe that if teachers start using this tool in the classrooms, it would help to keep the students engaged. It can also be used for the diverse learners as well as allowing additional time on classroom and homework assignments. I look forward to sharing this with my students and coworkers.

According to Rose and Meyer (2002), “When we consider individual differences in recognition, strategic, and affective networks, we realize that a common test format and administration method will always favor some students and hurt others, for a variety of complex reasons. Traditional assessments tend to measure things that teachers are not trying to measure (visual acuity, decoding ability, typing or writing ability, and motivation), thus confounding the results and leading us to make inaccurate inferences about students' learning. As a consequence, we risk making off-base instructional decisions deciding, for example, to re-teach certain content rather than move on to a new challenge or to change our instructional methods when our test design, not our teaching, is contributing to poor scores.” I believe assessments being given to students need to be changed in order for students to show what they can are capable of doing on their academic level. "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). Many times teachers assess the students with the same assessment no matter what educational levels the students are on individually. A special education student should not be given the same test as a regular education student. I do not feel that because questions and answers are orally administered to special education students that the students are capable of being assessed on their level. Teachers’ assessments should not always be summative but ongoing formative assessments. Formative assessments are ways to assess student knowledge as well as teach content and technology skills. Every teacher knows that all students do not understand, learn, and perform on the same level. Therefore, teachers should not be assessing all students with the same assessment. We should give students assessments that accommodate their learning styles, which allow them to demonstrate their understanding of the content for the subject matter. If teachers want an accurate picture of students’ achievement, assessments should evaluate the content and knowledge according to the academic level of the student’s abilities.

It is essential that teachers encourage students to perform to their highest potential for any task. If teachers have students that perceive themselves as failures, it is the teacher's responsibility to assist the student and help develop a strong trust in order to be a successful learner. Most students attribute their performance and achievement to their own hard work and competence and their failures and disappointments to their parents, teachers, environment or peers. It is extremely beneficial for teachers to emphasis the importance and benefit of believing that they must have a high level of effort. Therefore, loads of effort and energy will be needed in order for students to be successful!

The readings focused on the importance of spreadsheet software and Web 2.0 survey tools and how each can be used to track daily student effort and achievement. When students maintain their own spreadsheets, it allows them to collect data on themselves, self-assess their efforts, and make inferences from the data collected. According to Pitler (2007), “Technology makes it easier for students and teachers to track the effects of effort and facilitates more immediate feedback” (p. 156). At my school, we created an Excel spreadsheet for students in Math and Reading leading up to STAAR for students to keep track of their daily scores. It gives students immediate feedback for each assignment that has been graded. A spreadsheet allows the students an opportunity to see and record their information as well as compare their achievement levels and improvement for each subject and content. It shows students how their success or failures can affect their performance on assignments and assessments. The students enjoy keeping a record of their scores. I think this approach allows students to capture the full sense of how studying can influence their grades and achievement.

Reference

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 Website. Chapter 6. Retriever on March 10, 2012 from @http://www.cast.org/teachingeverystudent/ideas/tes/chapter7_4.cfm

Pitler, H., Hubbell, E., Kuhn, M., & Malenoski, K. (2007). //Using technology with classroom instruction that works.// Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development, 41-58, 155-164.

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

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