I have really enjoyed this course this semester.
I decided to teach myself Book Creator in order to complete this assignment.
Here are my reflections on this course:
Thank you for a great semester and for assignments that invigorated my love of educational technology!
For the group project, we originally chose to create the assignment using Canva video, since none of us had used it before. We then changed and ended up recreating the assignment using Nearpod.
As a group, we discussed having the students create a Podcast for their final project.
Some of the issues we came up with were:
Students not knowing how to create and edit the podcast or having access to the proper equipment.
School district technology/app limitations - some might not allow students to post to platforms for podcasts.
We also discussed how it might be hard for the students to remain on topic/be serious with their conversations.
If you have a class podcast series, allowing students to have access to create and post to the podcast site might cause issues.
Benefits:
You should be able to tell quickly if the students have actually learned the information/are knowledgeable in the content they are posting about.
You can learn so much more about your students and have positive interactions with them.
I know we did not need to create a blog post about this, but I felt it was needed.
Many years ago, Conroe ISD encouraged teachers to use Universal Design for Learning. However, their current trend is for teachers to use differentiated instruction and for every student to complete the exact same assessments. They do not want parents to complain or compare teachers. We all are supposed to use the same lessons, warm-ups, assessments and lectures on the same day, at the same time. Carbon copies of each others.
To enhance teaching practice with Universal Design for Learning
(UDL), I broke down the questions and goals:
Immediate Implementation:
From my current understanding and resources, I can immediately implement, or help other teachers implement, strategies that align with the principles of UDL, such as:
Multiple Means of Representation: Incorporate various formats of content delivery (text, audio, video) to cater to different learning preferences.
Multiple Means of Engagement: Offer choices in assignments or activities that allow students to demonstrate understanding in different ways (e.g., written response, oral presentation, multimedia project)
Multiple Means of Expression: Provide scaffolds and supports for students to express their knowledge and creativity effectively (e.g., graphic organizers, sentence starters, digital tools).
Need Help to Implement:
Some UDL practices might require me to have additional support or resources to implement effectively:
Accessible Educational Technology: Explore tools and platforms that support accessibility features (e.g., screen readers, closed captioning, adjustable fonts) to ensure inclusivity for all students.
Personalized Learning Paths: Develop methods to differentiate instruction based on student interests, readiness, and learning profiles, possibly through adaptive learning technologies or personalized learning platforms.
Exploring UDL Implementation Further:
To deepen my understanding and implementation of UDL, I am going to consider these resources and areas of exploration:
Books and Articles:
For my latest LSSL/LMS class, I had to record a 1-3 minute video of how to teach someone how to search for information on the internet. Since my 2 kids are currently trying to con me and my husband into letting them get a hamster (to go with the hermit crab, guinea pig, fish and 2 dogs - one of which is a 5 month old puppy). Oy Vey! We're going to have a full zoo soon!
Since my district uses Canvas and I will be teaching other teachers, students and parents how to access information in Canvas, I chose to use the Studio function in Canvas. I have used this before during Covid to create online lesson videos for my students. Studio uses Studio Capture and Screencast-o-Matic for recording videos. I thought of my oldest daughter when I was talking in the video, so that I (hopefully) not talk over her head.
It is a rather quick video on how to complete a search, but here it is:
https://conroeisd.instructuremedia.com/embed/c44667af-de20-4c65-8187-1d0917e79c58
In the past, my videos on how to use Canvas or another program, typically ran about 7 minutes. I tried to talk quickly and not babble in this video. I hope I succeeded in completing the assignment in a concise manner.