The session challenged us to think about our STUDENTS' learning profiles - what motivates them, what their strengths/challenges are, what barriers they have to learning - and moving from a deficit-oriented remediation to a student-centered, resource-oriented and compensatory model. UDL anticipates the needs of diverse learners.Image retrieved November 10, 2011 from http://udltechtoolkit.wikispaces.com/
As educators, we need to have access to as many resources as we can so that we not only can provide optimum learning, but so that we can also work smarter, not harder! In otherwords ......, we need to not add more to our plate, but provide more choices on that plate!
Image retrieved November 12, 2011 from http://ministryhealth.org/HealthConnectionOnline/2011Summer/plate.jpg
One tool I use everyday with my students is the Elmo visual presenter/document camera. It is so helpful to be able to put writing exemplars, grammar work, graphic organizers, student work, etc. to show to the class. I have used one almost everyday for at least six years. I love it!
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ReplyDeleteI have a friend who, in her retirement is working on Universal Design for CAST. She loves this work! I'm checking with her to see if she helped develop this toolkit. Here is a link that she has shared with me and would like my opinion on it:http://www.udlcenter.org/
ReplyDeleteThis will launch November 17, 2011.
I have a variety of tools that I use frequently in my job. One I'd like to share is Google Docs. I use it to take note on for meetings. That makes it easier to share my notes with a variety of people. I also like the Google Forms option on it to make quizzes and surveys.
A second tool I like is Diigo (social bookmarking). It allows me to highlight information on web sites, as well as allowing me to leave stickies (annotations). I not only add personal bookmarks, but I can follow others' tags (like on Delicious) and have started some groups where others and I can post links and comments.
Posted by Peggy Christensen to Dr. D's Commentaries at November 15, 2011 7:31 AM
I use a Wacom board/tablet almost everyday in the classroom, don't know how I ever survived without it. I can do everything with it that I would be able to do on a SMART Board, except write on the screen with my finger. I prefer the Wacom over SMART Board because it allows me mobility, I can circulate around the room while I (or give to students) write on/use the Wacom. Also, teaching Geometry the drawing features and interactive galleries are easy to use too. Other tools I use are Google Docs (sharing documents and creating surveys), Wikispaces, CPS units, and most importantly my colleagues. I get most of my ideas for the classroom from bouncing ideas off other teachers. Our librarian is another great resource, she is a technology guru and so helpful! Delicious and my aggregator are gradually working their way into my daily use too tool box. I just "played" with another new tool today, the IPad, so many apps, so many possibilities. Anybody an experienced grant writer, who is willing to pass along some tips? :)
ReplyDeleteI should clarify, I use the SMART Notebook Software (drawing tools and interactive galleries)with the Wacom.
ReplyDeleteA tool that I use almost daily is a projector. Last year I used a SMART board almost daily with SMART notebook but I was transferred to a new position and no longer have access to a SMART board. Ever since our module on delicious, I have been using delicious and also Google Reader to view updates via RSS feeds.
ReplyDeleteI use my 3M projector everyday with my students. I vary how I use this including links to YouTube, Quia activities, Edmodo and VoiceThread just to name a few. I also use SMART notebook to make the white board interactive. We've come a long way from the overhead projector with those smelly wipe of markers on plastic sheets!
ReplyDeleteI use my projector often in order to present information and/or explain problems to the students. Also, I recently received a Mobi, which is basically a portable SMART board. I haven't had the opportunity to install all of the necessary programs to get that up and running yet, but I look forward to doing so!
ReplyDeleteI use my wikispace frequently and a web based study program called Quizlet.com. I will use the Smartboard with Quizlet and have tournaments for students to study their vocab or other information. Quizlet has a few games and we play a scatter game. The kids try to get the quickest score. They end up studying while having fun. I also will use Google doc and also Google calendar a lot. I really like how the calendar can be synced to your phone. A few students have set up a calendar instead of using a agenda book. They enjoy getting the text reminders. Personally, I use Facebook and Google +.
ReplyDeleteWhen I was in the classroom, I used SMART Notebook software and a Wacom board most days in addition to powerpoints. As a math coach, I still use the SMART Notebook software on a regular basis, and use SMART boards when I am in my elementary school. Websites that I have on speed dial would be the wikispace for elementary resources as well as the website for the middle school math resources. I use my iphone constantly to keep my personal as well as school calendar in sync. I use google docs on a fairly regular basis to upload documents for specific groups as well as forms for which I want teaches to collaboratively participate.
ReplyDelete~Shelby
This is a great resource...thanks, Linda!
ReplyDeleteSince I work from home (as an employee of a Pennsylvania public school district), I rely heavily on remote communication tools. I am connected all day long via Skype, and I take multiple video calls daily. I also communicate throughout the day with Blackboard instant messenger. This particular resource allows me to have incidental conversations with administrators in my district. I also hold weekly video meetings with colleagues and clients through Blackboard Collaborate.
Without question, these tools enable me to be extremely efficient while working from a remote location.
The tool that I use constantly in my classroom is the overhead projector. In my room, the projector is mounted to the ceiling and it is turned on before my class begins and not turned off until the last student leaves. In technology classes, there is no better way to teach than by watching a procedure unfold. I have informative books, great exercises, attention-getting PowerPoint presentations, but still nothing can replace my projector. When I want to get students' attention to a particular spot on the screen, I use the screen pointer by clicking the Ctrl key (after Changing Mouse Properties through Control Panel to Show the location of pointer when I press the CTRL key). I notice that a number of people also mentioned the projector so I thought I would share this interesting link.
ReplyDelete50 Ways to use a projector in the classroom
< http://langwitches.org/blog/2008/11/19/50-ways-to-use-a-projector-in-the-classroom/ >