Universal Design for Learning

Universal Design for Learning (UDL) is used to individualize instruction for students mainly by given them choices. The UDL focuses on support of differerent learning parts of the brain refered to networks. The three networks are recognition learning, strategic learning, and afftective learning (Rose & Meyer 2002). In a nutshell the what, how and why we learn are the networks and we need teaching strategies and options when teaching and learning to support the different learning styles and ablilities of students.


After planning a lesson in CAST's UDL Lesson Builder, http:lessonbuilder.cast.org/, I can really see the benefit of starting with the end in mind to know what you want the students to learn. Then exploring how the students are going to demonstrate that knowledge and strategies used to continue the learning including homework, reviews and presentations. This is strategy of planning is working backwards in designing lessons for students. The UDL is broken down into so many parts that you really learn what skills, benchmarks, goals, and standards you are addressing and what concepts you want the students to learn.


I did find the process very redundant at times and confusing when trying to type the details into the program. But when I used the word document template provided on the website, the process seemed to move much smoother. We integrated science and technology standards. When I build my next lesson with the UDL program, I will use a lesson already in the curriculum guide and incorporate the technology components which should make the process go much easier.


Overall, I can see the benefit of composing lessons using the UDL model. I wouldn't ask the teachers I work with to do more than one a six weeks though. I am afraid they would boycott. It does require you to evaluate the lesson at the very basics to ensure all students are addressed. You must think of the objectives, skills, lessons, options for students, abilities, cooperative work, individual work, feedback, documentation, assessment and knowledge demonstration. I believe after working through several of these lessons, the process would get easier. But even so, lesson planning would take on a whole new light.

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. Retrieved on November 30, 2009, from http://www.cast.org/teachingeverystudent/ideas/tes/

Web Conference Dec. 5, 2009

This web conference was vital in clarifying questions that I didn't know I had until others started asking questions which then triggered questions of my own that needed clarification. I send the web conference blog to my team so if they cannot attend they will have an idea of what transpired.



Week 3 assignment:

• Unit goal should be the same - the common thread for the unit.


• Each member should have their own lesson. Make sure that each lesson differentiates instruction.


• Make sure to address each network in the unit. It is allowable that each member have a different network to cover.


• Book reflection could be a URL link to a document or each person on a page on the site as long as coach/professors know who wrote what.


• Look at zoom text, jaws, dragon speak to address the blind student. Some sort of audio will suffice. Do a search on the UDL site for blind or deaf to develop plan to address these needs in the classroom.

Action Plan:

• Could clean up the brainstorming page.


• It shows that the team knows what each is supposed to do.


• Can place the URL to the google site or upload the document.


• Each of the 4 questions need to be addressed.


• Don't have to have the formal assessments yet. Just the ideas. That will be addressed in week 4 in the solution with professional development and assessment of the intervention plan.


• The final will have the example of the rubrics.

Next Conference:

• Thursday 8pm Dec.. 10


• Tuesday Dec. 15


• Look for email/announcements

Solution:

• Final week will address the teacher and professional development


• address how to evaluate the intervention program


• May need prof. development for them to implement or it might be job embedded where the tech demos in the classroom

Week 5:

• Ends Dec 18 at 11:59 pm


• Discussions need to be posted by Tues. of that week.


• there will be a web conference on Tuesday.


• 5 questions to answer. May want to start a document and begin answering the question and finish in week 5.

Web Conference Nov. 28, 2009

Post Thanksgiving day and immediately following Black Friday, on a brisk Saturday morning at 10 am, a web conference for EDLD 5364 was held to answer questions, collaborate, network and meet old and new friends along our journey to a master's degree in Educational Technology Leadership.

I must again declare my fondness for web conferencing as it allows for faces, voices and personalities to come forth and be known. I feel more of a connection to people I have not meet face to face than ever in a conventional class that I have attended in the past. The participants were in different regions of Texas and one in a different time zone. Our Professor was sitting on the floor with a house full of guest in Louisiana and thankfully everyone was still asleep.

By attending the web conference I gained insightful information to the course.

For week 2, the google site should started and then be completed by the 5th week. Each member should edit the site as the weeks progress and the site should be a culmination of the work in the project. The brainstorming activity should be a google document and could contain each member answering the guiding questions to help with the brainstorming portion of the project.

Week 3 is the bulk of the course work with 4 major assignments. Each member needs to make a UDL lesson that will take part for the entire project. The team should choose a grade level and topic or concept. Each person designs or creates a lesson or activity to submit for the project. Documentation should be included on the brainstorming and collaboration of the groups work.

One participant shared a collaboration tool in which her team web conferences. www.tokbox.com

The syllabus for the course is on the first page of the gocourseware. If anyone is having trouble viewing the syllabus or cannot locate it, contact your coach or the course professors.

A major piece of information gleaned from the conference was the fact that the course will end on December the 18th instead of the 20th. More information will be placed in the announcement section of the courseware. Also, more information concerning the two day grace period is forthcoming.

Another wonderful web conference will take place Saturday, December 5th at 10 am. I would advise attending this one as questions concerning week 3 assignment will be answered. I will again be on the road as it is the final for the First Lego League Robotics competition in Pearland where my son's team will compete.

Sychronized Web Conference #4

The web conferences just keep getting better and better. When you finally get to see faces and connect names you have been chatting with, it makes you feel like you have come home for the holidays.

The information you attain if very valuable as you listen to others questions that help you clarify assignments, activities, and procedures. Listening to the professor in a live situation makes the class seem more personable.

My classmates have become a mini family. We care for each other and want each to do our very best. We watch out for each other and help one another through those very busy times in our lives. I can't imagine completing the courses without them.

A suggestion on doubling up on some classes was made, and we immediately said, we want to graduate together. So if most wish to double up, even though it will be trying I am sure we will all double up.

I, personally enjoy the conferences. I seem to be in a car somewhere in the world when the conferences are going on. Without the use and aide of technology, I would not be able to participate in many activities that I have been a part of. While at Disney this summer I along with 3 other group members collaborated and created a movie for our final project. I have conferenced traveling along I-10 from Lousianna to Florida. And conferenced outside of Disney World while looking for a parking space. The two latest conferences were held while my family attended Wings over Houston (airplane show) and competed in the First Lego League (Jr. Robotics Competition). Our team placed 2nd in the Lego competition and will compete in the finals in Pearland in December.

I can't imagine experiencing and sharing my experiences in a static classroom where you are confined by four walls.

Week 5 Assignment 1 Reflections on PSA Production

Working on a Public Service Announcement (PSA) was a wonderful experience. Depending on 3 other people that I really didn't know and relying on someone else's expertise for a grade was a little daunting. As the days rolled on beginning with week 3, we built trust with each other and friendships. In the preproduction, each person volunteered for roles in the making of the PSA using their strengths. We explored so many different chatting options, wikis, Google docs, and mediafire.com. The exploration of the variety of online tools was a class in and of itself. We set meetings for online chats to discuss where we were at and what needed to be accomplished and who would be responsible.

We began with a wiki to brainstorm, then put information on a PowerPoint in order to edit and progressed to a spreadsheet to see the flow of the video better. While on the Google spreadsheet, we could all edit and chat at the same time. This was very helpful. Then after viewing the rough draft that was saved on mediafire.com, another spreadsheet was added to fill in gaps and further edit.

After our first draft and being way over the time limitations, I suggested viewing some PSAs in order to “learn from what you watch” (New, 2005). I found the following websites and suggested that we all view them to better understand what we were trying to produce:
http://www.readwritethink.org/beyondtheclassroom/summer/grades9_12/VideoPSA/
http://www.adcouncil.org/gallery.html
Viewing some other PSAs really helped narrow down ours and bring into focus what we were trying to accomplish.

One thing that I would like to change for our Public Service Announcement was the narration. We used Audacity to record and edit the narrator and surfer but not the shark. The shark narration needed to be recorded again and possible rewrite the narration to shorten the shark’s speeches to allow more time for the surfer’s narration. Due to the one minute time allotment, the surfer’s voice was compressed changing the tone of the voice. The PSA would have turned out much better had the time been spent with editing the different voice narrations to fit within the video.

Overall, I really enjoyed working with our team. Everyone contributed to the betterment of the video. I really like our final project. We decided to post to youtube.com. We gave credit to: The Little Red Riding Hood by Brothers Grimm for the original idea, Discovery Education for pictures and clips of video, Texas School Safety Center for background information, Netsmartz.org for background information, Music: Surfin' Safari" by The Beach Boys, Jaws Theme music, and the team members Kathy Payne, Mellonie Dalton, Michelle Barber and Erin Cobb for creation.

Below are different links to more information on the phases of producing our Public Service Announcement.

Brainstorming and Collaboration Wiki
http://lamareducationtechnology.pbworks.com/

Sample of Chatting on Google Chat
http://docs.google.com/Doc?id=dwd5526_65hbrgfr9z&invite=

First powerpoint version w/edits
http://docs.google.com/Presentation?id=dgb2cjjn_56hgqt9fgr&hl=en

Spreadsheet/ we could all edit and chat
http://spreadsheets.google.com/ccc?key=rUDl3pwdLNu5nTHw1negpYA&hl=en

Added slides after 1st rough draft of video
http://docs.google.com/Presentation?id=dgb2cjjn_67fjkjbddc&hl=en

Video viewing
http://www.mediafire.com/?sharekey=44969d00d5538f7119747bd91027d4ddf348e786d696fdf4

Final Video
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vS7eRnVOl7I

REFERCENCES

New, J. (2005). How to use digital storytelling in your classroom. Edutopia. Retrieved June 2, 2009, from http://www.edutopia.org/use-digital-storytelling-classroom

Week 3 PSA - Group Assignment

Creating a Public Service Announcement (PSA) is the assignment for Weeks 3-5 in my technology class. As we began, getting a group together was difficult. I started with the person I had worked with in week two, and then added one by one until we finally reached four. Since none of us had worked together, each person stated their strengths and how they felt they could best contribute to the group as a whole.

One person is great at story starters and outlining, one has the camera and willing to take all of the shots for the group, one is familiar with adobe editing, and I am great at organizing and putting things together.

We began with a wiki to brainstorm ideas and ended up with a "Little Red Riding Hood" type theme with a twist. We are doing Little Red Surfer as the hero and the shark as the villain, working with "Safe Surfing" on the internet. We then used Google documents and a slide show for the storyboard and shot sequence. Davis (2000) points out five traditional video shots and describes how and why to use each shot. This guide helped tremendously when deciding the sequencing of the shot and choice of shots.

Week 3 was really great. We started early in the week with chatting on Google and writing ideas, then tweaking them as the plot was unveiled. I put the Lamar document into Google docs then made the rest collaborators so that all could do their parts.

We met 4 times in week three to brainstorm, collaborate, edit and finalize our first group assignment. Though finding the time when 4 busy women will get together is quite a daunting task, with the use of wikis, Google chat, Google documents and the telephone. We are making good progress.

Slide show
http://docs.google.com/Presentation?id=dgb2cjjn_56hgqt9fgr

Assignment sheet
http://docs.google.com/View?id=dgb2cjjn_54gv2zk2hb

REFERENCE

Davis, B. (2000). Nice shot: A guide to common video shots types. Videomaker. Retrieved on June 9, 2009, from http://www.videomaker.com/article/7575/

Creating a One Minute Video

To create a one minute video is more difficult than it may sound. First you must decide what type of editing software to use. I chose Moviemaker because of the ease of use. I teach elementary education and being that it is free and already on our computers at school, the students will have access and won't have to wait for technicians to install the downloads.

Then you must come up with the idea. My partners and I used goggle docs to brainstorm and collaborate. We each chose a color for our added comments to help clarify who is talking.

Who uses video technology?
The Who came to mind immediately for me. Then we took those ideas as a general outline and found video clips and shared software while chatting on goggle chat. It makes it so much easier when you have relatively quick feedback when asking a question and/or needing assistance. The frustration level remand low.

Using a storyboard and planning shots are extremely helpful. Moviemaker has built in storyboards where you place the videos in order of how you want them to show on the movie you are making. Editing now begins.

You will need a converter to change videos into a format where you can edit. All of these things take time. Not just one minute.

With all of this said, I really enjoyed making the video. Any struggles I might have had were answered with help buttons and/or web searches. I have a greater appreciation for editors and all the work they must endure to compile a 2 hour movie. Judgement calls are made and clipping a video in the wrong place could lead to a new meaning in the video.

http://paynefreewiki.wikispaces.com/1+Minute+Video

Choosing a Editing Software

WOW! I had no idea how much I didn't know about editing until deciding what type of editing software I needed.

The main attribute that I looked for was ease of use. I began with a free 3o day trial of Adobe Premiere. But after looking at it, I realized would need several days of tutorials and I would probably personally not buy it after the 30 day trial period was over. I choose to use the Moviemaker software already on my computer. I still had to download free converters of videos from http://www.youtube.com/ in order convert videos into a format for editing.

WMV, AVI, FLV were all unfamiliar to prior to this project.

As I teach elementary education, I can see Moviemaker being used by students and faculty as it was very easy to understand how, why and when to use the different aspects of the program.

2nd Sychronized Web Conferencing

June 9, 2009

A big thank you to Dr. Abernathy for organizing and coming up with a great activity for those that wished to participate. :)

This session was much easier to manage than the last. Even though there were a lot of people that were not in the previous session that I was in, I believe stating the norms of not moving the screen and listening while others are trying to talk was extremely helpful.

I think if the host(s) or presenters would cue each person on one or two at a time, have them introduce themselves, where they are from etc., the meeting would have a little more meaning and/or structure.

Then switch host and/or presenters and have them introduce and cue in the next several people. Continue this until all participants had the opportunity to be host/presenter/speaker.

This gives everyone the opportunity to try the gadgets without getting sea sick or frustrated.

I understand the meeting is an exploration of the technology. But taking turns is never a bad thing.

I decided not to participate in the hosting until most had left since I had done it the previous session and thoroughly enjoyed even with all the changes and interruptions with the bandwidth cutting people in and out. Faces and voices really help our groups come together.

Again, I had a great time and was reluctant to leave. Thanks again!

Creating a digital story

Well, this was a first. I had just taken a workshop on Photostory 3, so I had a little experience with adding pictures, titles, and sound. But using a storyboard was a challenge for me. I quit enjoyed the experience. I chose to change the color of the font of the first word of the narration to indicate that a slide change in the storyboarding. I didn't have problems with the sound of my voice. But when I was tired, I could definitely tell a difference in the volume.

I agree with Shank (n.d.) when she said “the whole should be greater than the sum of the parts” (p. 2). In digital storytelling, the finished product is definitely more than the pictures, title, text and sound would be individually.Collaborating with others was very helpful as they could see where changes should be made to make more of an impact or less of one, also with choosing sounds and words to help convey the meaning the producer was trying to make.

Overall the experience was not as stressful as I thought it would be. With the use of a step by step guide to digital storytelling by Lambert, the process itself was fairly easy to follow. In deciding what type of story to produce, Lambert (2007) gives suggestions on the type of personal story to begin with and questions to help narrow down the topic and give a personal aspect to the process. The two questions from the author that impacted the video the most were “What lesson did they give you that you feel is important?” and “If you had something to say to them, that they may have never heard you say, what would it be?” (p. 6).

All of the programs used were free downloads and easy to follow. This was also my first time downloading to YouTube. I did get lots of help with that. Thanks everyone. I do recommend creating a storyboard for storytelling and want to use this in my classroom at school as one of the presentation options. I think I would include a timeline for each part so students won't get stalled in any one of the parts to complete the project.

REFERENCES

Shank, P. (n.d.). The value of multimedia in learning. Think Tank. Retrieved June 2, 2009, from http://www.adobe.com/designcenter/thinktank/valuemedia/

Lambert, J. (2007, February). Digital storytelling cookbook, 1-30. Story Center. Retrieved June 2, 2009, from http://www.storycenter.org/cookbook.pdf

Synchronous Web Conference

I just finished with a 29 attendee synchronous Web conference. It was interesting being that not many people had ever attended a web conference before.

Many obstacles had to be overcome with microphones and cameras learning how to access and control volume and feedback. Once 12 to 13 people were on the camera, bandwidth seemed to be a problem. To have everyone be able to see each other, you had to give hosting abilities which then opened up a whole new area. The screen began moving and changing as each person modified the screen. Eveyone had access to them which became a visual problem with the motion and not being able to focus.

If this was being used for a class, a set of criteria would need to be established so as not to over complicate or frustrate the attendees.

Being that this is a distance learning course, I feel that web conferencing is very benefical to get to know others that are in th e class so to encourage collaboration and be more of a team. I sometimes feel isolated when I have a question or do not understand an assigment. The coach only has so much time and certain quesitons can be handle within discussions.

Putting a picture with the names was comforting for me also. There are many in my section that I don't really know very well. Only those that have made contact through web conferencing and email chatting.


Putting a picture with the names was comforting for me also. There are many in my section that I don't really know very well. Only those that have made contact through web conferencing and email chatting.

Finding a Familiar Friend in the 21st Century

While searching for a website to address the weakness in technology on my campus, I came upon a website titled "Strategies and Professional Development". The web address is http://teacher.scholastic.com/teachingstrategies/. I have use Scholastic in my classroom forever, but as I was evaluating this page, I noticed Scholastic has changed with the times and I think for the better.
The page format is well organized and appealing to the eye. Beginning at the top, there are links for teachers, parents, kids and more. Each link is audience appropriate. As you click on the links the pages load quickly. The site first caught my eye with a video of a teaching strategy with links to other works to support the video. My interest continued as I scrolled down the page viewing sections for strategies for skills, classroom management, integrating technology, scholastic professional and educator communities.
Many items attracted my attention that would be very useful in the classroom for the 21st Century learner including blogging. The educator community section brought reliability and validity to the strategies where you can meet the experts (teacher advisors) from their blogs along with new research and new ideas.
The only negative that I saw was the amount of useful information. One might get bog down with where to start. The website is a wonderful use of technology for online learning for professionals. I will share the Scholastic website and the online learning in my committee meetings with fellow educators and in my personal classroom at school.