Reaching and Engaging All Learners Through Technology Reflection

Over the last eight weeks, this course has provided me with useful information that I can incorporate into my classroom instruction and share with my colleagues. One of the areas that I needed to improve upon was the differentiation piece. As a professional, I think that this course has opened my eyes to the many different ways I can differentiate and how I currently do with realizing that I am doing in it the classroom. Even more apparent now, is how the use of technology can make the differentiation piece easier for me and more motivating for students. There are a plethora of resources that teachers can use on the internet that can aide them during this process. The thought of one size does not fit all in the classroom is now less intimidating because I have access to the ways I can find a shoe size for each student. In addition to the differentiated instruction, universal design for learning is no longer jargon that teachers use in the building that I was clueless about. This course has opened my eyes to the fact that each student is truly a unique individual and the way the material is presented in the classroom should reflect that. Adjusting the material for one or students in the classroom now has a new meaning because the techniques that being used benefit more than that student(s).
Universal Design for Learning is simply providing access to benefit all students. This is no longer scary jargon talk, but a reality that I can provide in my student's instruction.
During this course, I had the opportunity to be a member of a social networking site too. What is really nice about a networking group is the collocation that occurs. I find it extremely useful to see how people think on different levels and interpret materials differently. The end product from that is having a variety of resources, tools, and ideas that I can take and use in the future. Where I would normally not have the opportunity to discuss and meet with people across the nation, this social networking site is not providing that access. It amazes me how powerful of a tool this can be in the classroom too!