UDL at CMSCE, Rutgers University

Last year you took technology to the teachers, now let’s take it to the classroom.  This year, you will have the opportunity to work with students in classrooms and model lessons for your colleagues. You will have the dual responsibility of teaching students and inspiring teachers.  Take a look at 32 Technology Integration Tips from Richard
Byrne

Share the tip you find most valuable to you, or your colleagues, as we work to increase the use of technology throughout the district.  Explain why this tip is so valuable.

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On our last day together we have decided to focus on promoting multiple means of representation from students in our classrooms. There are so many wonderful and engaging options out there for our students, but as a group, we decided to focus on images and wikis.

Here are our resources for the day. Make sure to add them to your Delicious bookmarks.

http://pics4learning.com/

http://www.cooliris.com/

ThumannResources – Fun With Flickr

http://bighugelabs.com/

http://animoto.com/education

http://flickr.com/

http://sites.google.com or http://www.wikispaces.com/

We’re going to revisit Twitter today. Twitter is just one of the many ways to network with educators.

There are several things to consider before you dive into using Twitter though:

Look at the image of the “Networked Teacher”. What other tools appeal to you to communicate, collaborate and share resources with fellow educators? Share or Tweet your comment.

Lisa Parisi, is a 5th grade teacher in Long Island. After years of both good and bad experiences in working in a co-teaching situation, she has compiled her 4 rules for a successful inclusive classroom. Is there anything that you would add to this list? Would you take anything away? Please comment here.

Though all the districts we are working with in New Jersey will benefit from watching this video, I thought that it would make for great conversation when we meet on May 27. Please leave your comment below.

This past September, we embarked on a professional development journey designed to help us think more creatively and deeply to build skills utilizing flexible, digital media to engage all learners and promote learning in the classroom. We have identified tools designed to engage learners in the various content areas. We have also explored tools to promote collaboration with students, colleagues, and parents. Along the way, we have used surveys to understand how colleagues and students use technology with the goal to turnkey information and invite other teachers to join us on the journey.

The question that remains to be asked is, “How has UDL changed your job?”
Read Anita’s blog post and then share your thoughts on Anita’s blog and on our UDL blog. Let’s celebrate how far we have come and how much we have grown.

Today we will review the nominees for the 2008 Edublogs Awards. Make sure you visit the Best New Blog category and vote for our own Lisa Thumann.

After reviewing blogs created by educators from around the world, identify
the blog that you predict will be the most valuable to you. How will this
website contribute to your professional learning? How will it ultimately
impact student learning? Who would you recommend read this blog? Finally,
describe the type of blog you are looking for and maybe someone can
recommend one for you to check out.

We’ve spent a lot of time working on our Toolkit today. You’ve reviewed a handful of tools that you may or may not want to use in your classroom.

Please, before you leave, do one of the following:

1. Leave a comment here discussing which tool was your favorite, why and how specifically you see using it with your class.

2. Visit Ira Socol’s blog and read his post from April 9 called Not Getting to Universal Design. Please leave Ira a comment on his blog.

3. Visit Heather’s Delicious links and/or Lisa’s Delicious links and choose another tool tagged “UDL”. Leave a comment here letting us know which tool you selected. Be prepared to demonstrate the tool the next time we meet as a group.

We hope the theories behind Universal Design for Learning are all coming together for you and that you are excited to implement the strategies in your classrooms. You can find a digital copy of today’s presentation at Slideshare.net.

Well if you’ve made it as far as this blog then you’ve made it past the first couple of hours of UDL training. Congratulations! You now have the basic understanding that Universal Design for Learning is the framework for something that you’ve been working so hard as an educator to do for your students this year and possibly for many years past as well.

Please read the article, “Burbank Students Use Blog to Learn English”, by Kim Minugh found at http://www.sacbee.com/220/story/846880.html and comment on the The Best Reference Websites For English Language Learners that Larry Ferlazzo shares in his blog to help educators meet the needs of all students.

Please consider joining educators from around the world in an online collaborative group to discuss the theory of Universal Design for Learning, what’s working and not working with students, and a selection of some of the best (and worst) digital tools available to help you meet the needs of all of your students.

If you are ready to explore more tools and collaborate with more educators before we meet again, you might consider joining the UDL Ning at http://udl4all.ning.com/