Welcome
A decade into the 21st century, educators are faced with both challenges and opportunities. This course is designed to assist you in confronting those challenges and exploring the unimaginable opportunities of education for all learners in the digital age.
Welcome to Universal Design for Learning: Reaching All Learners in the Digital Age!
We are excitied to have you in our class. Take a moment to introduce yourself.
Join us on Facebook. Search Universal Design for Learning @ RTC
May 21st, 2011 at 1:23 pm
I am enjoying finally seeing the benefit of a wiki.
May 21st, 2011 at 1:28 pm
Me too
May 21st, 2011 at 1:34 pm
Great to see you again!
Is your baby sleeping through the night yet?
Keegan just started last month at month 11.
May 21st, 2011 at 1:48 pm
She is awesome… started sleeping through the night (10 – 5 at least) at 8 weeks like her sister… I don’t think I would have made it 11 months!!!
May 21st, 2011 at 3:54 pm
Me too!
May 21st, 2011 at 1:24 pm
Hi, I teach science in Anne Arundel County and classes for RTC. I am looking forward to getting to know the people in the UDL class.
May 21st, 2011 at 1:25 pm
Hey everyone. Wondering how to set up a URL at school. Anyone know? …. a yes or no is good at the time…will get details later. Have fun
Judy
May 21st, 2011 at 1:25 pm
Glad to be working with you. Wiki is pretty cool.
May 21st, 2011 at 1:25 pm
I am enjoying this class and learning alot already.
May 21st, 2011 at 1:37 pm
hey melissa… so psyched that you are here!!!
May 21st, 2011 at 1:26 pm
It is so awesome to look at you. I am enjoying sitting here where I have space
May 21st, 2011 at 1:40 pm
Glad to finally meet you, Patty. I teach for RTC, too.
May 21st, 2011 at 1:26 pm
Hi, welcome to the Wiki!
May 21st, 2011 at 1:31 pm
Thanks! Thanks for taking this class!!!
May 21st, 2011 at 1:36 pm
hi Vinnie!
May 21st, 2011 at 1:26 pm
Thanks Doran for a great class and to everyone as well. Heather, I look forward to teaching with you. It has been great fun Doran and everyone,
May 21st, 2011 at 1:26 pm
I am Joanie and taking the UDL course in May of 2011 as part of my Master’s Degree.
May 21st, 2011 at 1:38 pm
Same here Joanie!
May 21st, 2011 at 1:27 pm
Lyniper
Glad to be taking this class and learning new technology with you.
May 21st, 2011 at 1:27 pm
thanks for putting up with us. we think you are awesome. By we, I mean Joanie and I your neighbor.
May 21st, 2011 at 1:33 pm
patty, you are too funny! -Carrie
May 21st, 2011 at 1:27 pm
Thanks everyone for making today so enjoyable. It has been great fun Doran and everyone, Heather, I look forward to teaching with you.
Pat
May 21st, 2011 at 1:28 pm
Hi there!
It’s Heather! This class is great! Dr. Doran is really knowledgeable and models great teaching strategies. He has a dynamic personality, too! I recommend you taking a class with him if you get a chance!
May 21st, 2011 at 1:32 pm
Hi Heather,
It’s great to see you again! How wonderful that you have a little one and that he is teaching you!
I know we will learn a tremendous amount in this class. It’s exciting to learn about technology.
Linda
May 21st, 2011 at 1:45 pm
Yeah it’s a great class! Very informational!
May 21st, 2011 at 1:47 pm
I agree. He explains well and seems really helpful.
May 21st, 2011 at 1:28 pm
I agree… refreshing!
May 21st, 2011 at 1:36 pm
Hi Melissa,
It’s great to be in class with you and exciting to learn about technology. I wish you the best in your learning and all you do.
Linda
May 21st, 2011 at 1:28 pm
Welome to the class! Hope we learn a lot!
May 21st, 2011 at 1:43 pm
i do hope too…
May 21st, 2011 at 1:29 pm
I already know you.
May 21st, 2011 at 1:29 pm
Hi I’m Andrea. Welcome everybody!
May 21st, 2011 at 1:30 pm
Hey Jo knee,
I am having a lovely time sitting here typing next to you and writing stuff. I hope tomorrow is a nice day.
May 21st, 2011 at 1:30 pm
Hi I am Bob and teach government and history in Anne Arundel County. I am excited to learn some new ways to incoporate technology in my classroom
May 21st, 2011 at 1:35 pm
Neat!
May 21st, 2011 at 10:03 pm
Bob, I’m glad to have the opportunity to work with you and your wife again.
May 21st, 2011 at 1:31 pm
Hey Bob! Me too!
May 21st, 2011 at 1:33 pm
dont copy off me Krissy
May 21st, 2011 at 1:33 pm
Hello class! I am a PE/Health teacher and I am excited to learn new things to bring into my class!
May 21st, 2011 at 1:34 pm
Hi, my name is Carrie Connor. I teach ECI at Central Special in Edgewater, Maryland. Prior to 5 minutes ago I had no idea what wiki was… look at me now!
-Carrie
May 21st, 2011 at 1:38 pm
wiki is pretty cool but i dont think i could use this in my class. It might be useful for the faculty
May 21st, 2011 at 1:36 pm
What do you do if a student doesn’t have a computer at home? How do they have enough time to participate in the wiki blog?
May 21st, 2011 at 1:42 pm
Students may go to public library or teachers may bring to the computer lab…
May 21st, 2011 at 1:37 pm
This is awesome…I just need to figure out how to implement it in my Math class.
May 21st, 2011 at 1:44 pm
im sure this would be great for older students if the county doesnt block it
May 21st, 2011 at 1:50 pm
Yeah I have to figure out how to implement it into my English class.
May 21st, 2011 at 1:41 pm
Welcome. What a beautiful day!
May 21st, 2011 at 1:41 pm
Glad to know you.
May 21st, 2011 at 1:45 pm
Hey my UDL family.
I working on trying to learn about UDL and how to incorporate more technology in to the classroom so the kids can stay interested. You have any ideas, hit me up.
May 21st, 2011 at 3:03 pm
“Elevator Speech”
UDL is genuine learning oppportunites for all. It is the idea of everything being fully accessible and able to be used by anyone. It is also a matter of incoporating the 3 branches of learning: 1. What 2. How and 3. Why. ENGAGE, ENGAGE, ENGAGE!!!
May 21st, 2011 at 7:03 pm
*high five*
you’ve got it!
May 21st, 2011 at 3:03 pm
Expanding our minds to look at things in a better light. .Helping all learners at their levels of learning .To encourageminds to think about the possibilties. Looking at the old and the new. Getting the most up to date information
May 21st, 2011 at 4:38 pm
It is wild to take a class with two teachers from other Gratz classes I have taken. Hi Heather. Hi Patty. Cool!
May 22nd, 2011 at 11:51 am
Chapter 3 Activity:
Given your topic, state one traditional fixed media way you would present this lesson and one way you would present this lesson with flexible digital media.
Post your response for your group below using the reply link
May 22nd, 2011 at 4:24 pm
We can help all learners finding different technology methods to increase their compression I is something for all types of learners.
Without the use of technology we are just another paper and pencil teaching to the task can not reach all our students needs.
June 6th, 2011 at 10:09 pm
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June 10th, 2011 at 11:32 am
This is cool that people are able to receive the home loans and that opens up new possibilities.
June 12th, 2011 at 1:48 pm
Reflection #2
What are the benefits of analyzing the curriculum for strengths and weaknesses rather than focusing on the student’s strengths and weaknesses? What are the challenges of this approach?
Analyzing the curriculum is very important because the curriculum obviously drives the course of learning and if the curriculum is not relevant to the current “net generation then we need to adjust, alter, or throw out the current curriculum. This needs to be done with consideration of the vast learning differences between all students in a course and their readiness level as well as their mastery of previous courses if in a similar sequenced course. IE math levels or foreign languages 1, 2, 3. Students will always have different strengths and weaknesses; that will not change. The course curriculum needs to be constantly strong.
Reflection #3
How can using a variety of materials and methods reach more of the learners within your classroom? What are the benefits of doing so? What are the challenges?
If you look at the flip side and only provide one or two methods of instruction, it will not reach all the students in class. The benefits are obvious that through the universal design for learning, all students will benefit through the multiple means of representation, expression, and engagement. The challenge is in the pre planning and implementation of the various methods of learning.
Reflection #4
What barriers are inherent in traditional assessments? What are the challenges in offering varied options for assessment?
Traditional assessment measures only certain criteria and do not take into account
Reflection #5
Given the realities of our modern age and the demands of our children’s future, is it really okay to allow teachers to choose whether or not they incorporate modern technologies into their instruction?
June 28th, 2011 at 2:38 pm
The benefits of analzying the curriculum’s strengths and weaknesses is a way to help in the initial planning process. It is important to know what is lacking and needs more elaboration and what is done well before you are able to begin planning lessons. The biggest challenges to this approach is that curriculum is not one sided. Students might have a completely different set of strengths and weaknesses within the curriculum and your lessons. Things you might find done well are in fact a challenge for students and lead to struggling and vice versa. Utlimately, it is about marrying the strengths and weaknesses of the curriculum with those of the students to have the best foundation.
July 29th, 2011 at 10:31 am
Given the realities of our modern age and the demands of our children’s future, I think that it is important for teachers to integrate technology into the classroom. While some older teachers may feel uncomfortable using certain technology, it is highly important that they learn, even if in baby steps by one lesson at a time. Comparing two different students, the student with the teacher who uses technology will be much more prepared for the future than the student who has the teacher who is focused on the “old ways” of teaching.
July 29th, 2011 at 10:40 am
Reflection #5
Districts should first provide teachers with the training and tools needed to teach with technology and then require it. The most important piece is to provide appropriate and authentic professional development first to foster these ideas. Teacher should become trainers in technology and then train students how to use it independently. We must incorporate technology or become dinosaurs in the eyes of our students.
August 2nd, 2011 at 10:46 am
Analyzing Strengths and Weaknesses
Analyzing the curriculum is part of a four year cycle at Northern Lebanon. As much as I gripe about going through it I have to admit that the process has improved my curriculum. To be specific, I think I have been able to concentrate and focus the strong points. At the same time I have been able to improve or eliminate the weaknesses. The curriculum stays intact from my point of view.
Focusing on the students’ strengths or weaknesses would have a tendency to limit or crop the curriculum. I think I would be inclined to teach to the students’ strengths and avoid their weaknesses.
The challenge is to find a balance. The students should have a voice in deciding what they think is important and what they want to learn. However, it is also important to teach skills and concepts that I know will be necessary regardless of the student’ likes, dislikes, strengths, or weaknesses.
August 11th, 2011 at 8:51 am
Traditional assessments do not accurately asses the skills of all students because theyare not varied enough. This being said, as far as assessments that are large in sclae and meant to give a quick look at a large group of students, they do the job in are relatively quick and inexpensive way. I thin that these assessments are not bad, they just need to thought of correctly. They should not be used to judge individual students. They can be used to judge a given school, or state since the average in each area can be compared to another area with similar cultural makeup. If it is used in this way, it can be helpful. If there is a school with similar demographics that is doing a lot better on the assessments that the one that you teach at, you may want to look at their methods and figure out what is working so well for them. I think learning from each other is a great idea and standardized assessments give us this opportunity. They should be used as a tool for schools and teachers, but not really yo judge individual students. The SAT is designed to assess individual students, and I feel that that is acceptable ass long as it is only one small part of what is being looked at. It is the only easy measure of how one student compares to another, yet it should be low on the list of what colleges look at for acceptance.
August 23rd, 2011 at 11:18 pm
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September 5th, 2011 at 10:34 pm
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September 15th, 2011 at 12:08 am
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September 19th, 2011 at 11:54 pm
I wanted to write a quick note to express my thanks. I’m really impressed by a blog unique and perfectly chosen and organized!
October 9th, 2011 at 3:04 pm
Reflection #5
Before this course I would have told you that I could reach and teach my students without modern technology. I would have seen the technology as a crutch. How foolish! There shouldn’t be a choice. The research indicates the need for the use of modern technology if we are to develop students who are productive members of society. The myriad of technology available can establish new neurological pathways for student who struggle to learn through “what we’ve always done”. I stand corrected.
October 9th, 2011 at 4:01 pm
Reflection #6
A great deal of information was presented in this course, most of which I was not familiar with. I need to spend time with this technology because the class time for me, a novice, was not enough. This isn’t a criticism of the course, but my need to review the language presented. I can see the application to not only my own class but to my sister’s class. I found this course to be very enlightening and I will use the information presented. I almost don’t know where to start. I think that I try one thing this upcoming week and see how that goes; master that and move on.
January 14th, 2012 at 11:13 am
I am excited to take a course on how to incorporate more technology.
February 18th, 2012 at 3:48 pm
Traditional assessments do not take into account the different learning styles or academic abilities of students. As educators, we are told to differentiate our lessons to meet the needs of all of our students. During the school year, multi-sensory lessons or technology – based lessons are designed to enhance student learning and retention. However, when it comes to a district or state test, which assesses a child’s proficiency, all of our students are required to take the same test. These tests also don’t take into account a child who may be classified and functioning two grade levels below their current grade placement.
Challenges to offering various assessments may appear when considering time and money. The amount of different assessments needed to assess different ability levels and the length of each one would be barrier for districts. Parents may also question the various tests and why his/her child is taking one that is different from another classmate.
February 18th, 2012 at 3:49 pm
There are all kinds of learners. That we know. But when we use traditional assessments, students can only demonstrate what they know through linguistic intelligence. Traditional assessments are often given whole class, in which outside distractions can hinder a child’s ability to focus. Some challenges of offering varied options for assessments are the money, time and manpower.
February 19th, 2012 at 5:02 pm
This class has changed my thinking. I have learned so much that I will definitely do things differently in my classroom. I’m excited to try new things and I’m “willing to be disturbed.”