charlotte

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Day I Hi fellow educators, I live in Sussex County which is in the north western corner of NJ where NJ abuts NY and Penn. I have a son and two daughters who are all married. Our son and daughter in-law are expecting their first child ..our first grandchild...YaHoo. We will be using webcam with the baby early on. We already get a scientific weekly e-mail detailing how the baby is developing. I have been working in the Vernon School district for 10 years as an LDTC. Prior to Vernon I worked for 6 years in the Dover School system which has a diverse student population including many students with a second language and culture. Just this week I received a call that my work assignment has changed to highschool with a 7AM start time!!. I enjoy Yoga, walking, going to the gym, gardening,and reading.

I have not been exposed to UDL prior to this class but was especially interested in reaching learners in the digital age through technology. As an LDTC, my job naturally involves working with student's learning differences and providing multiple ways to modify the way they receive informaton, how they respond to informtion and how they are assessed. This school year we began using the Web based IEP system TRACKER. I have had some Multiply disabled students who received Assistive Technology assessments to determine what technology could be incorporated to increase their independence and modify and enhance presentation of material, assessment, etc. After this class I should be a lot more knowledgeable about what free technology is available.

I have taken about 5 other RTC classes, this course is very different for me and is strecthing my comfort level. I know I will need much more practice time and assistance. I will not give up. I am challenging myself for the benefit of the students I work with.

Day 2

I have increased my comfort level and want to spend time exploring the many websites we have been exposed to. I was especially excited by the the National Center on UDL. This course is a good example of UDL with a caring teacher who is aware of the emotional component and is very encouraging.

Activity: What is UDL? UDL is a framework to reach diverse learners with flexible representation through multi pathways for student action and expression and multi-media opportunities to engage interest and motivation. Actually this design was an initial component of early special education but the digital age has advanced the options in multi-media. Implementation has advanced through neuroscience, digital media and assistave technoliogy developments. We have learned that there no regular students and all studentd learn differently although many classroom still represent the early Industrial Age classrooms where one size fits all!!The emotional /affective network has been gicven the least emphasis on formal learning and change is necessary. The application of UDL is done through setting goals, individualizing presentation and using multi methods of assessmen, reflection and engagement. UDL breaks down the BARRIERS to allow learning of all students. I viewed several Youtube videos on UDL and tried to link that to my reflection.

I Googled 'how to put a link in a blog' as well as sought tech support from family and friends. We found some HTML info to help attach the link. This will take you to a YouTube video about UDL:





I attempted to reference the textbook to add a link to my comment and had a classmate help me. I know that I can add links to presentations to access original information or charts quickly without having the hard copy. I would click on the direction I just added to my comment [|click here to view textbook reference]

-YouTube - GoogleDocs -Blogs -Social bookmarking -Skype -WordleSign up for both a Google and a Yahoo account
 * 5 New Technologies for me to try**


 * 4 or more ideas to share with others**:

The Smart Board and clicker allows students to respond without having to raise their hand and teacher knows who is getting the concept and who is not. Provide the assitive technology a learner needs to perfrom ( calculator, laptop, text to speech, digital pen ) Share UDL website udlcentor.org Try to use at least one new use of multi media a month and pledge to use it several times a month to increase comfort level Consider a teacher techie group every month to share new use of multimedia check edutopia.org site and join to receive teaching tips Have other teachers take the TECh status quiz ( I am at a high beginner to low intermediate) Share Class Learning Profile Template Form 1B (from textbook) Share Examples of Prevailing Methods and materials Template Form 2B to encourage teacher attention to variety of Presentation/ Methods/ Response

Day Three

edutopia.org polleverywhere.com ( free site) Photostory site Google earth exambuddy.com Skype Inspiration ( Organizers) I need to practice tagging and linking sites to a wiki or blog
 * 5 or more technologies to try**

Multiple modes of Representation Multiple modes of Engagement Multiple modes of Expression
 * Principles of Universal Design**

Help teachers find the barriers in their lessons I would like to sign up with edutopia.org and weekly check the newsletter. I need to check microsoft.com.education for microsoft education tools.
 * 2 new changes in you teaching to reach all learners in the digital age**

Big Idea to implement on Monday... working on this

I found this on Google Tools and liked the way a description is provided and how to use the application.


 * Google Certified Teacher Institute: []**
 * The Google Teacher Academy is a FREE professional development experience designed to help primary and secondary educators from around the globe get the most from innovative technologies. Each Academy is an intensive, one-day event where participants get hands-on experience with Google's free products and other technologies, learn about innovative instructional strategies, receive resources to share with colleagues, and immerse themselves in an innovative corporate environment. Upon completion, Academy participants become Google Certified Teachers who share what they learn with other primary and secondary educators in their local region.

Below are some Google tools that I copied and pasted from the class UDL site\;
 * []**
 * A brief description of education programs offered by google.[]


 * Picasa: []**
 * [|Picasa] is a free software download that enables you and your students to find, edit and share all the pictures on your PCs. It also offers the Web Albums feature, which enables you to easily upload photos from your computer to the web for sharing with others.


 * Google Earth Education: []**
 * Welcome to Google's Geo Education site, where you will find helpful information on using Google Earth, Maps, Sky, and SketchUp in your K-12 classroom.


 * iGoogle: []**
 * You and your students can collect useful content from across the web and see it all in one place on[|iGoogle]. From current events provided by numerous news providers to local weather and your school's events calendar, you can select any number of customized items and place them on a page that's specific to all of your own personal interests.

> This is the culminating group project Activity# 2 which I completed with Fran. This is a previousl prepared lesson which we restructured using UDL components which are the highlighed points.
 * Google Notebook: []**
 * If you spend a lot of time online, chances are you've come across information you wish you could revisit later, whether to digest it more slowly, investigate it further, or share it with a friend or colleague. With[|Google Notebook], you can
 * []
 * []
 * and organize information from across the web in a single online location that's accessible from any computer. Crafting a lesson plan? Researching a topic? Just add clippings to your notebook. You don't even have to leave your browser window.
 * and organize information from across the web in a single online location that's accessible from any computer. Crafting a lesson plan? Researching a topic? Just add clippings to your notebook. You don't even have to leave your browser window.

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Day 4 Culminating Activity #3