Teaching+with+Technology+2

Week 2 Reflections:

Instead of the quote times flies, I think it should be technology flies. I have learned more new tools for technology in this past week than I have learned in the last year. There are so many examples stirring in my mind: Global Lab, animation sounding boards, problem-solving websites, Little Planet Literary Series, Belvedere System, CoVis Project, GenScope, Newtonian World to name a few. (Bransford, J. D., Brown, A.L., & Cocking, R. R. (2000). How people learn: Brain, mind, experience and school (exapnded Edition). Ch 9, pp194-218. Washington, DC: National Academy Press. Retrieved on Oct 4, 2009 from http://books.nap.edu/openbook.php?record_id=6160&page=194. ) Moreso that just all the possibilities of technology that can be used in the classroom, the effectiveness and the increase in ability of students to problem solve who use technology in the classroom has my mind even more active. Rose & Meyer (2002), opened my eyes to the vast array of implications technology can have for differentiated instruction as it is applied to students with disabilities. “New technologies offer us teh opportunity to respond to the multifaceted individual differences in our student population.....Because of their inherent flexibility, digital technologies can adjust to learner differences, enabiling teachers to (1) differentiate problems a student may have using particular kinds of learning media from more general learning problems and (2) draw upon a student’s other strengths and interests that may be blocked by the exclusive use of printed text.” (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. Retrieved on October 5, 2009, from [|__http://www.cast.org/teachingeverystudent/ideas/tes/__]) Previously, I had never thought of technology as a tool to showcase students learning abilities. Now, however, I think about all the things the ESL, ELL, SPED, disabled students can do instead of what they can’t do. The difference is in the opportunities and varied learning abilities offered to them with technology that aren’t available with plain text. This will inherently change the way that I view “teaching”. In the future, I will look for ways to enhance and differentiate teaching that includes technology as a platform for helping students initiate and create their own learning opportunities instead of working to create my own opportunities. It will be scary letting go of the reins, but I am certain my students will guide me along the way. Back to 5364 Reflections: Teaching with Technology Reflections