Universal Design for Learning is a tool and resource that all educators should be aware of. The idea behind UDL is that we should find ways to make the curriculum fit our students, not the other way around. By using assistive technologies and creativity, we can modify lessons to meet all of our students needs.
Earlier this month, I created a lesson titled, Menu Math. What I thought was a good lesson, is becoming a great lesson with help of the UDL checklist. The checklist allows you to look critically at your lesson. "The UDL Guidelines are organized according to the three main principles of UDL (representation, action and expression, and engagement)." By responding to all three principals, the lesson becomes student focused.
Take a look at how I used it to identify the needs of my lesson.
Showing posts with label learning styles. Show all posts
Showing posts with label learning styles. Show all posts
Thursday, November 17, 2011
Saturday, October 29, 2011
Where Am I Now?
Where am I now? Well, after seven fast weeks, wow! I feel that I have learned so much in a short period of time.
It's important to reflect on all the things I have learned in this class:
- The article about learning styles helped remind me how important it is to be aware of how different out students are from one another
- Twitter! I never would have gotten interested in Twitter if it was not for this class! I now see it as an excellent way to connect with other teachers and even students!
- RSS READERS! LOVE MY READER! I have been hooked ever since I created it. It is so helpful to have everything I am interested in, in one spot.
- Blogs! I never paid much attention to blogging. Not only do I love blogging (and I can't wait to use it in the classroom), I learn a lot from others' blogs.
- Learning about Copy Right laws and how to stay safe was very helpful. I never really knew what I was doing in that area and I now I feel confident.
- PC Maintenance and Security. I will definitely continue to use what I learned in this lab. Since performing some of the tasks from the lab, I have noticed an improvement in my computer speed and performance.
Our last project, The Personal Technology Plan, helped me reflect on what I learned in this class and my use of technology. Because of this class, I feel that I now look at technology in a new way. I see it as an opportunity as well as our job to prepare and teach students. Technology is going to continue to advance, which means new jobs for the future. We have to prepare students for these new opportunities. By using technology on a regular basis, students will become comfortable with it. Incorporating technology to our daily lessons will also make learning more interesting and engaging for students.
One thing that would have been helpful for me is for me to see some of the great ideas we learned in lesson plan form or in action. A lot of the videos and articles talked about using things like blogs, social bookmarking sites and Twitter, but there were not many examples of these tools in action.
I look forward to my future with technology. In regards to teaching, I am excited to use all of the things I learned in this class. For example, I want to use blogs in the classroom. I have loved blogging and I think it is a great resource for students. I also want to use social bookmarking sites for research or an on going class site. Everything I have learned can also be used to streamline my life and making teaching easier. I have founds ways to be more organized through Google Docs and Google Calendars. I also feel that a class wide Google Calendar would be a great way to keep everyone on track.
Have I met the goals I set? Definitely! I feel that I have taken advantage of this course and I have challenged myself to go above and beyond. But, I am nowhere close to being done. In my original growth plan, I stated the importance of me keeping up with everything I learn in this course. I will continue to use the resources and tools I learned in this course, in addition to exploring what else comes my way.
It's important to reflect on all the things I have learned in this class:
- The article about learning styles helped remind me how important it is to be aware of how different out students are from one another
- Twitter! I never would have gotten interested in Twitter if it was not for this class! I now see it as an excellent way to connect with other teachers and even students!
- RSS READERS! LOVE MY READER! I have been hooked ever since I created it. It is so helpful to have everything I am interested in, in one spot.
- Blogs! I never paid much attention to blogging. Not only do I love blogging (and I can't wait to use it in the classroom), I learn a lot from others' blogs.
- Learning about Copy Right laws and how to stay safe was very helpful. I never really knew what I was doing in that area and I now I feel confident.
- PC Maintenance and Security. I will definitely continue to use what I learned in this lab. Since performing some of the tasks from the lab, I have noticed an improvement in my computer speed and performance.
Our last project, The Personal Technology Plan, helped me reflect on what I learned in this class and my use of technology. Because of this class, I feel that I now look at technology in a new way. I see it as an opportunity as well as our job to prepare and teach students. Technology is going to continue to advance, which means new jobs for the future. We have to prepare students for these new opportunities. By using technology on a regular basis, students will become comfortable with it. Incorporating technology to our daily lessons will also make learning more interesting and engaging for students.
One thing that would have been helpful for me is for me to see some of the great ideas we learned in lesson plan form or in action. A lot of the videos and articles talked about using things like blogs, social bookmarking sites and Twitter, but there were not many examples of these tools in action.
I look forward to my future with technology. In regards to teaching, I am excited to use all of the things I learned in this class. For example, I want to use blogs in the classroom. I have loved blogging and I think it is a great resource for students. I also want to use social bookmarking sites for research or an on going class site. Everything I have learned can also be used to streamline my life and making teaching easier. I have founds ways to be more organized through Google Docs and Google Calendars. I also feel that a class wide Google Calendar would be a great way to keep everyone on track.
Have I met the goals I set? Definitely! I feel that I have taken advantage of this course and I have challenged myself to go above and beyond. But, I am nowhere close to being done. In my original growth plan, I stated the importance of me keeping up with everything I learn in this course. I will continue to use the resources and tools I learned in this course, in addition to exploring what else comes my way.
Tuesday, October 18, 2011
Learning Styles
It's funny to me that I am so aware of how everyone else learns, but I don't really know what my learning style is. I have loved learning about the ways people learn. But, can I be a great educator without knowing how I learn?
So, I took a few quizzes and read a few articles to find out that I am an auditory learner. An auditory learner is one that learns best through listening. I was a bit surprised by this because I live by my planner and I love to take notes, so I assumed I was a visual learner. A visual learner is someone that learns best by seeing, taking notes, writing things down, looking at pictures, etc. However, after doing research and thinking about my habits I realized I do learn better through spoken word. With my online class, at first I thought it would be easy to simply read directions and prompts and complete assignments. However, I quickly found that I had many questions that I wanted to ask someone. I wanted someone to explain to me how to do things. In addition, I have found that I enjoy watching videos and clips more than reading articles. I also take more from the videos than I do the readings. These characteristics help define what an auditory learner is.
One style that can be a challenge for me is kinesthetic learning. It is not that I do not enjoy doing things, however, I do not like to fail. So, I would rather have someone show me and explain for me how to do it before hand. Once I have the ground rules, I am ready to get my hands dirty.
Want to learn more about learning styles? Click here!
I think that we are all a mix of each type of learning style; it's just that one is more dominant than the others. I think it is important to remind our students that. It is easy to become dependent on one way of learning, and it is important to know what works best for you. However, it is also important to learn how to make the other styles work for you. For example, even though my preferred style is auditory, I still enjoy writing things down and I am learning to be successful with only reading material. As teachers, we need to guide our students so that they become comfortable with their learning style. I think it is important for us to give students chances to learn how they learn best. In addition, it is also our job to challenge students to learn all learning styles so that they can be successful in the future.
So, I took a few quizzes and read a few articles to find out that I am an auditory learner. An auditory learner is one that learns best through listening. I was a bit surprised by this because I live by my planner and I love to take notes, so I assumed I was a visual learner. A visual learner is someone that learns best by seeing, taking notes, writing things down, looking at pictures, etc. However, after doing research and thinking about my habits I realized I do learn better through spoken word. With my online class, at first I thought it would be easy to simply read directions and prompts and complete assignments. However, I quickly found that I had many questions that I wanted to ask someone. I wanted someone to explain to me how to do things. In addition, I have found that I enjoy watching videos and clips more than reading articles. I also take more from the videos than I do the readings. These characteristics help define what an auditory learner is.
One style that can be a challenge for me is kinesthetic learning. It is not that I do not enjoy doing things, however, I do not like to fail. So, I would rather have someone show me and explain for me how to do it before hand. Once I have the ground rules, I am ready to get my hands dirty.
Want to learn more about learning styles? Click here!
I think that we are all a mix of each type of learning style; it's just that one is more dominant than the others. I think it is important to remind our students that. It is easy to become dependent on one way of learning, and it is important to know what works best for you. However, it is also important to learn how to make the other styles work for you. For example, even though my preferred style is auditory, I still enjoy writing things down and I am learning to be successful with only reading material. As teachers, we need to guide our students so that they become comfortable with their learning style. I think it is important for us to give students chances to learn how they learn best. In addition, it is also our job to challenge students to learn all learning styles so that they can be successful in the future.
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