Apply and Discover- 10.1

This week I viewed screencasts from 3 of my classmates.  The screencasts were developed to go over WebQuests that they had previously developed.  These screencasts were excellent ways to review the WebQuest because it added little explanations to why particular components of the WebQuest were present, so a more thorough understanding of the objectives of the WebQuests could be attained.

In Jennifer Richard’s WebQuest, high-school students were to create a biographical Power Point presentation.  Jennifer explained that this activity was not only a way for students to learn how to make a Power Point, but also a great way for everyone in her computer class to get to know each other, and so that she could get to know her students, so it is typically used at the start of a semester.  I like how Jennifer had the students create the Power Point about themselves.   Not only are today’s students very interested in talking about themselves, but by having the Power Point be a biography, the students did not have to concentrate on superfluous content, like they would have to if she for instance asked them to create a Power Point about some historical technological advance.  This way, the students could fully concentrate on the actual objective of the lesson, which was how to create the Power Point.  Jennifer had her procedure listed in a very clear and ordered way, with straightforward directions, so that students, no matter how disorganized, could follow the steps. I also liked how Jennifer added a speaking component of this project, to touch upon more learning styles and skills.  I am sure that Jennifer’s students became very adept at Power Point creations by the end of this WebQuest! 

The next screencast that I viewed was Angela Bellantone.  I chose to view this screencast because it was directed at 8^th grade Language Arts students, so I thought that there might be some ideas that I could steal to possibly use in my 7^th grade class!  By the 3^rd minute of the screencast, I was very impressed how Angela did not just have a good idea for a WebQuest, but she had incorporated small details that showed she knows exactly how her students think and learn.  What seem like small details, like planning her color scheme for the WebQuest to reflect professionalism, or by making key vocabulary words in a larger font so that they “pop” were actually carefully selected choices to better show the students what was expected of them.  Even her emphasis on group member roles (or planning for individual grades to compensate for possible poor group dynamics) was thought out so that her students would be as successful as they could possibly be in this project.  Angela has already reflected on her WebQuest and already knows that she wants to do in order to make her WebQuest even better!  So many different learning styles and ability levels will be able to do well during his project, because Angela has information presented with organization, and in a variety of methods- written, visual, etc.  She even has a section that answers the most typical student question:  “Why do we have to do this?”  I do not know Angela, but from this WebQuest, I can tell that she is a seasoned professional who knows just what details to emphasize to further her students’ understanding.  I was correct in my prediction before viewing- there are definitely some ideas in this lesson that I would love to steal!

I also viewed Dawn Glidden’s screencast of her WebQuest that had students create a podcast of their own true stories.  This was a great activity to practice the steps of the writing process, but also helped develop students’ speaking skills by creating a podcast.  Dawn built in motivation for her students, in that some podcasts would be uploaded to the school’s website.  I like how Dawn’s WebQuest had so much technology incorporated into it, especially how the students were able to brainstorm on the linoit, which is a great alternative to webbing or outlining by hand.  In the processes, Dawn had all of the steps that the students needed to complete written out in an organized way so that they could work at their own paces, with examples of good work for them to view so that they could meet Dawn’s expectations.  I also admired how Dawn thought through her decisions to use particular resources, like she did with “Voicethread.”  Dawn didn’t just decide to use Voicethread just because she knew about it, but because it had qualities that worked the best for her students.  By viewing Dawn’s screencast, I was able to see examples of technologies that I had not seen before, and have some ideas as to how I might want to use them for my own classes in the future!

Apply and Discover 9.1

What does it mean to “provide equal access to the digital world?”

To me, this means that teachers need to provide multiple and various technological experiences in their classrooms for students.  This first means that teachers need to have knowledge of the digital tools available to them in their classrooms and buildings.  Even if a school was limited with its available technologies, a teacher just needs to know what tools are available, and then find a way to incorporate those tools into his or her lessons- not only to meet the needs of the students in their rooms, but to help students demonstrate their learning in methods that may not be traditional, but are just as effective.  This method of providing multiple formats of learning and assessing students in multiple engaging ways is called Universal Design.

Universal Design does not have to be “something else” for a teacher to do.  Many teachers feel overworked because of all of the demands that are being put upon them.  One such demand is to meet the needs of all students in the classroom.  Most classrooms are very heterogeneously grouped, and teachers have a wide range of learning styles and abilities that they have to accommodate.  Students are put into the least restrictive environment, meaning that there could be students with quite severe disabilities in the regular education classroom- and the teacher is responsible to meet all of their needs.

Providing technological experiences to all students in the classroom can actually help teachers meet the needs of the students in front of them.   Web 2.0 tools such as podcasts, wikis, video sharing, etc., can be alternate ways of assessment and instruction that is not only more interesting for our “digital natives” in the classrooms, but can meet the accommodations and modifications that are written in students’ IEPs.

New Hampshire Rules for the Education of Students With Disabilities. (2010, December 1). Retrieved March 15, 2012, from New Hampshire Department of Education: http://www.education.nh.gov/instruction/special_ed/documents/nh_rules_amendment_november2010.pdf

About UDL: What is Universal Design for Learning? (2012). Retrieved March 15, 2012, from CAST: http://www.cast.org/udl/index.html