home

Week Three was productive but frustrating. In addition to reading Week Three’s material, I participated in the synchronous web conference. Although AdobeConnect experienced audio and visual problems due to inclement weather, I think the class received a lot of valuable information from the instructor and IA. In addition, I learned how to create a UDL lesson plan and an ebook. The UDL lesson plan was easier to navigate than the UDL book builder tool. I can see teachers utilizing both tools in a classroom, but they may initially become frustrated because both programs are very time-consuming. Some of the features in the book builder can be a great help to students who have different learning needs.

Before taking this class, I did not see the benefit of using blogs and wikis. Solomon and Schrum (2007, p. 81) proclaimed that blogs are natural tools from brainstorming to organizing in writing, revising, and peer review that lend themselves to the writing process. Students can maintain individual blogs on a site designed for writing, and because teachers can monitor the students’ pages the students are able to write openly and get thoughtful feedback on their ideas.

On the other hand, Solomon and Schrum stated that wikis are better suited for projects in which collaborative teams write, revise, update, and contribute on a regular basis. Wikis are a great benefit for a teacher who has assigned students to work on a project. They don’t have to listen to complaints from the group members about who is not participating. The teacher can instead monitor the students’ progress to see who is taking over the discussions or who is not doing his or her fair share of the work (p. 81-82).

The quote that caught my attention came from the textbook in which Pitler, Hubbell, Kuhn and Malenoski (2007, p. 51), stated that the best resources for games and simulations not only provide the student with judgment-free practice and immediate feedback but also make the activity fun. The authors went on to recommend a website to use as a resource which is found at www.iKnowthat.com. I visited the site and discovered that there are activities set apart for each grade level. Other resources were listed that I have seen my grandchildren visit in order to work on different games and simulations. Just as the authors stated, “Many educational and entertainment games encourage 21st Century skills such as solving problems, collaborating with other players, and planning. I have observed students who were struggling in math practice the different games on the computer in order to master the concept.

Reference

Pitler, H.; Hubbell, E. R.; Kuhn, M; and Malenoski, K (2007). Using technology with classroom instruction that works. Alexandria, Va.: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development.

Solomon, G., and Schrum, L. (2007). Web 2.0: new tools, new schools. Eugene, Or.: International Society for Technology in Education.