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=Welcome to the EDLD 5364 Teaching with Technology HQ=

Members

 * Jared Lamb: Klein ISD- 6th grade science and coach. jaredplamb@yahoo.com
 * David Becker: Tomball ISD david_becker@sbcglobal.net
 * Jay Walsworth: Mineral Wells ISD jrw2121@gmail.com
 * Space available for new members to join


 * __Google Docs:__** [|**http://docs.google.com/Doc?docid=0AU0ihsgH5UQiZGdybW04MnRfMHBzODQyM2hr&hl=en**]


 * Week One**: All that I have read and watched this week has reinforced my belief that technology is not just a tool that should be used occasionally but it is a medium through which students can communicate, learn and invent. As an institution, education is so far behind the curve as compared to student's day to day lives. Only at school, do we tell students not to use technology. You can't have your ipod or your cell phone. Sorry, that site is off limits. No Twitter here. We must find a way to integrate all the 2.0 tools into our curriculum. One way I believe that state could help us along is to integrate the technology standards into the core curriculum standards. This would force schools to look at them as part of the daily curriculum and not a separate goal that we get to if we have time. In the book, Web 2.0, New Tools, New Schools, it says, "With these tools, people are changing the way that the real world works--business practices as well as social activities. Whey not use them to change schools?" I could not agree more.

Source: Web 2.0: New Tools, New SchoolsSolomon, G.,&Schrum, L. (2007). //Web 2.0: Newtools, new schools. //


 * Week Two:** It has been a great week although working it with Thanksgiving has been a trick to perform. Our group collaboration is going well. We have been using the google docs to work out the particulars of who, what and how. I have taken the task of designing the assessment piece to measure the effectiveness of our plan. I found some great tools for using cell phones in the classroom for learning. One site called [] has a great survey tool. A free account will allow you to poll up to 30 people. They use their cell phone to answer the survey question and you get the result in real time. You can show the question on the screen and have your audience answer the question by texting their choice ( if you use multiple choice). I think it will be great way to survey students. Of course we will have to get permission because of our cell phone use policy. In our Web 2.0 reading I the question was asked, "How do we take advantage of students' interest and the ways they learn to create new models for learning?" Cell phones are such an integral part of our daily lives it seems a shame not to take advantage of them. The computing power of the cell phone increases with every generation. If you have an IPHONE, you really have a computer at all times. I watched my daughter sit at the Cowboy game and update her Facebook status telling the world she was at the game and sitting directly in front of Chris Daughtry and his band. How can we not take advantage of this great tool for learning and communicating?

Source: Web 2.0: New Tools, New SchoolsSolomon, G.,&Schrum, L. (2007). //Web 2.0: Newtools, new schools p. 42. //

"UDL principles help educators customize their teaching for individual differences in each of these three brain networks. A universally-designed curriculum offers the following: **Multiple means of representation** to give learners various ways of acquiring information and knowledge; **Multiple means of action and expression** to provide learners alternatives for demonstrating what they know, and **Multiple means of engagement** to tap into learners' interests, challenge them appropriately, and motivate them to learn."
 * Week Three:** This week has been tough. We have put together a good plan and have put in a lot of hours doing it. The work in UDL has been invaluable in assisting me understanding how I can teach a lesson to a diverse group of learners. The quote that stood out for me came from the UDL website:

This one quote gave me a prism through which to look at the lessons our curriculum provides and see how it could meet the needs of all our students. We are teaching the water cycle and the interactions that organisms have with the cycle. I have found multiple ways for students to achieve the learning goals by asking myself the what, how and why of learning. I was able to use the self check tool in UDL to gain a deeper understanding of the what, how and why of learning. It gives concrete examples that are very helpful.

Source: Cast.org (2009). //Model UDL lessons.// Center for Applied Special Technology. Retrieved on December 3, 2009, from []


 * Week Four**: I have really been able to gain much knowledge this week from the readings, videos and our web conference. I particularly enjoyed Larry Rosenstocks comments on what learning should be. He spoke of the importance of engaging students and how activities and projects are great ways for engaging students. He never specifically mentioned the UDL model, but everything he spoke of was right in line with the three networks. I also enjoyed the Web 2.0 discussion regarding "using technology to learn how to use technology". I believe that is exactly what we are doing in this course. I could not have possibly learned how to use all these tools without being told to go out and use them for this course.

The wide array of technology-based activities allows us to meet the needs of virtually every student we teach. The only limitations that I can see are: 1. Lack of teacher training. 2. Lack of funding. 3. Our own imagination. What we can do right now is amazing and we need but to complete the marriage of academic learning and technology to move out of the 18th century and into the 21st.

Source: Solomon, G., & Schrum, L. (2007). //Web 2.0: New tools, New schools.// Eugene, OR: International Society for Technology in Education, p.111.


 * Week 5:** This has been a great course as far as finding new ways to teach using technology in the classroom. The one tool that stands out for me is the smart pen. I fell in love with this thing to the point that we are trying one out on our campus. I sent it home with one of my math teachers to play with over the holidays. She is going to identify a student that might benefit from it and let them use it in class. I look forward to seeing the results. We are going to take small steps with it and hopefully it will meet our expectations.

This class has shown me something else that I thought I knew well which is how to effectively collaborate with other people to solve a problem. We started out as four individuals with different ideas and were able to take those ideas and meld the into one cohesive plan that I think would work for the scenario. I hope that the lessons learned will do me good with my own staff.