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,
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?
The Bill and Melinda Gates movement is incredible! I think universities can lose sight of how expensive all the materials can be for a college student, and it's great that in a society that is increasingly pushing all students to attend college, that we are making the learning resources more readily available. It's expensive enough to pay for tuition, you would hope that you would be able to actually learn regardless of how much money is in your bank account. There is always a discussion about the negative effects that technology has on society, but this is a great example of all the good it can do as well.
ReplyDeleteI think your post is great! Thank you for bringing in knowledge from your other class and your own personal experience. I feel videos are a great way to learn too! Even if you spend like 10 minutes a day to create a video for your students they can watch it at home and when they do their homework to excel!
ReplyDeleteHi Shina,
ReplyDeleteGreat post--particularly with the discussion of Bill and Melinda Gates. I believe Stanford also has an initiative where they provide free access to online journals and books. I am all for free textbooks, since I don't believe knowledge should be only available to those who can buy it! I know that textbooks are big business and Pearson and other publishers have a stake in keeping them around; that being said, I do hope we can reach a compromise where learning is not only accessible to those with money.
Hi Shina,
ReplyDeleteGreat post--particularly with the discussion of Bill and Melinda Gates. I believe Stanford also has an initiative where they provide free access to online journals and books. I am all for free textbooks, since I don't believe knowledge should be only available to those who can buy it! I know that textbooks are big business and Pearson and other publishers have a stake in keeping them around; that being said, I do hope we can reach a compromise where learning is not only accessible to those with money.