Reaching and Engaging all Learners Through Technology Reflection (6714)

Students come to us with a variety of needs. Being a teacher, I am expected to accommodate those needs; which I do not mind doing at all. However, because of the range of needs that students have, it can be difficult to reach each student individually. Through this course I have learned a lot about how to meet the needs of each individual student through Universal Design for Learning, Differentitated Instruction and technology.

I loved being a part of the Differentiation Station social networking piece of this course. I enjoyed it because I was able to share resources that I had found, look at resources from others and even communicate through chatting with one another. It was fascinationg to discuss our differences in teaching experiences (financial support, schools) and our similarities (goals for students). It was extremely different than using the discussion forum through Walden because I was able to get immediate feedback from someone, and respond right away as well. Through the discussions and sharing I was able to find new resources to use with my students. For example, I found a site that has several games that teach to specific math skills. Those games would be appropriate for all students, because of the variety of levels. There were also sites that teach to other academic skills, such as writing or reading. Not only have I discovered useful websites, but I have discovered different teaching and assessing methods that help differentiate my instruction. Allowing students to choose, or offering a variety of learning methods for them, I am setting each individual up for success. Instrucition that I offer needs to be fair and that does not neccessairly mean equal; it depends on the students' individual needs.

Now that I have a deeper understanding of both Univeral Design for Learning and Differentiated Instruction, I can immedietly implement these methods into my own instruction (as soon as summer break is over). In September I plan on giving my students an inventory of how they learn best and what their interests are. This will ultimately help guide my instruction. Once I have gotten to know my students and their individual needs, I can focus on differentiation and what each of them require in order to succeed. I know that not everyone will be on the same level of success, but if I can help them achieve success on their own learning level, they will become more engaged later on with other subjects. Technology is going to be a big piece of being able to implement differentiated instruction and engagement. I plan on making technology available to all students, each day that they are in school. One way that I did that this past year was a Wiki that I created for the class. For this upcoming year I hope to incorporate a Ning or some other social networking site. I think it will be valuable for the students to communicate with each other through technology.

Throughout all of my courses in this Walden program, I feel that this one was the most valuable to me because in the past I felt like I struggled with differenitating instruction. Now that I have had the opportunity to learn more about it, along with UDL and technology, I have gained a new confidence in my career. I have noticed a great growth in my view on differentiation and feel that I will be able to effectively implement these new found strategies in my own classroom.