michellef

My name is Michelle Freeman. I'm a 7th grade Math teacher at MacKinnon Middle School in Wharton, New Jersey. Prior to my employment with Wharton Public Schools, I taught 5th grade at St. Michael School in Netcong. I've been teaching for thirteen years. I live in Hackettstown with my husband Bryan and our two children, Brielle and Joseph. This is my first RTC course and I'm excited to learn more about UDL so I can bring more new and innovative ways to meet the needs of all my students.

5 new technologies I would like to try are flickr, prezi, wikis, podcast and google docs. 4 ideas to share with others: All of this will come in time, this is a framework that takes time to embrace something new. Learn from your students, they love when they can teach the teacher a thing or two. Share some UDL experiences we have had at our school.

3 principles of Universal Design for Learning are: 2 changes in your teaching to reach all learners in the Digital Age:
 * Multiple Means of Representation
 * Multiple Means of Expression
 * Multiple Means of Engagement
 * give the students more options for assessment
 * try and explore new techologies: blogs, wikis

__Reflection #1__ What is UDL? We have hear that books are disabling the who, what and how they teach. The Universal Design for Learning is not a "one size fits all" approach to learning. The teacher and the curriculm must be flexible to meet the needs of all students. By using the 3 UDL Principles: Multiple Means of Representation (What), Expression (How) and Engagement (Why) we can do just that. In this digital age, there are many means to reach all learners, no matter the physical or learning deficits they may endure. Here's a cool video about UDL - []

__Reflection # 2__ What are the benefits of analyzing the curriculum for strengths & weakness rather than focusing on the student’s strengths & weakness? What are the challenges of the approach? The benefits of analyzing the curriculum for strength and weakness rather that focusing on the students strengths and weakness is due to the simple fact that all kids need variety when learning and being assessed. The challenges of the approach would be the development. These things take time. In order at add digital tools where deem fit, it would take years to develop a strong curriculum.

__Reflection #3__ How can using a variety of materials and methods reach more of the learners within your classroom? What are the benefits of doing so? What are the challenges? Using a variety of material and methods to reach more of the learners within my classroom will help elliminate some of the barriers, allowing students to feel that the classroom is flexible and set to meet their needs. As for the materials and methods, the benefits will be that all students will have the ability to demonstrate their understanding in a way that works for their learning style. The challenge is the development of the materials and trying to within the Digital Age.