Word Cloud

Chapters 10/11

         I am actually taking a class on UDL lesson plans right now and I am happy that we will also be learning about them in this class. UDL lesson plans are a universal design for learning-okay, I know what you are thinking- "What are differentiation? Not all students think and learn alike!" However, that's the beauty of UDL lessons- they are based on brain research and heavily founded on the principles of unlocking a student's achievement through engagement, representation and expression. I believe the concept is actually very simply, but just difficult to implement and reinforce and of course, being a teacher, there are only so many hours of the day...which is why the incorporation of technology can help this process along.

     Simply teaching via lecturing is not enough; some students need the added support of a visual or auditory aid to color the experience-I know that I am certainly one of those students (I really could not get through math and physics when I was in formal school because a lot of those concepts were abstract and I relied on literal thinking, which is why pictures, models, videos and audios would have helped). So needless to say, it would have benefited me (and other students) much more had my teachers allows us other outlets and media for learning. Simply listening to a lecture and reading from a text book is a very isolating experience and from my perspective, is not conducive to learning. I can only predict that the coming generation will also face similar problems (as we discuss in our class debate about whether or not millennials can still learn via traditional methods).

    In short, I believe that since time has passed and technology has advanced so much, if we have the money and the resources, we should invest in it to help color the learning experiences of our pupils. If not, then we are just depriving them,

Questions:
1. Assessment is a crucial process that drives instruction-are there tools out there that could make this process easier?
2. What about resources such as the Khan Academy movies?
3. Bill and Melinda Gates started a movement where they uploaded free downloadable textbooks for students because they knew how expensive they can get. What does this say about the future of technology in regards to collegiate education?