Reflection EDUC6714

After completing EDUC6714, Reaching and Engaging all Learners through Technology, I have realized that the amount of resources I have gained will help me successfully implement differentiated instruction and principals of UDL into my classroom and my lessons. Throughout the course, I was put into a differentiation station group where every member contributed their thoughts, ideas and work along with resources for everyone else in the group to view. Every member collaborated together and shared helpful information, which allowed me to learn from everyone else.
Some of the resources that I gained from my differentiation station group members are different websites, which will give me new ideas about how to incorporate new differentiation tools in my lessons and add the principals of UDL to my classroom and lessons. One website I have already used is www.voicethread.com. This website is amazing because it allows the teacher to create an account and add students to groups. Each group of students can work on a digital story, at their own pace, using technology to differentiate the instruction. Students can work in class or at home, because it is a web-based program. This website will work beautifully with my Spanish classes, because I can have them talk about certain topics being studied in class, personalize their stories, create stories for an authentic audience, and the coolest part is that students can comment on each group members’ product, allowing for communication in the target language outside of the classroom, using Spanish for pleasure.
Another website I found useful is http://udltechtoolkit.wikispaces.com/. This website has different ideas for incorporating UDL into classrooms and lessons. It has an abundance of ideas to use, and I have found two ideas particularly useful. The first idea is incorporating the web-based presentation program called Prezi. I gave this website a trial run during my open house for parents, and they really loved it. I told them that their students would be doing presentations similar to the one I presented to them for open house night and they really seemed to enjoy that idea. The second resource I found from the UDL toolkit website is the website called bubbl.us. This is an online graphic organizer creator, where students can make their own graphic organizers and show the teacher how they understand a concept according to their own minds. Students will be able to work at differentiating levels, creating their won graphic organizer and explain their knowledge via an online tool.
I have a lot of immediate adjustments I have already done in my classroom in regards to using new technology tools to implement principals of UDL and differentiated instruction into my lessons. One adjustment I started last week was starting a VoiceThread project. Students had to go out to eat at a restaurant of their choice, but then critique the restaurant in Spanish. They had to take photos and create a digital story. All students will comment on their peers’ presentations as well, which will be a good way for students to use their Spanish outside of the physical classroom. Another adjustment I have already started is planning each unit with at least one project per unit, which allows for differentiated instruction and incorporates technology. My next project for next quarter will require students to collaborate through a wiki, uploading projects using voki.com. This class has opened my eyes to many different tools that are available to help differentiate instruction and allow for all students to learn in their own way and at their own pace. It has been extremely helpful to me because I have already started to change how I do things in my classroom.