Christine+P.





**My niece Maggie & I ** ===My name is Christine Piazza. I received my Bachelor's Degree from Montlcair State University in Elementary Education. I hold dual certifications, K-3 and P-8. In 2007 I earned my Master's Degree in Educational Technology from Ramapo College. I am currently completing my tenth year as a fifth grade teacher at School Three in Clifton, New Jersey. I began taking courses in September to obtain +30 credits for my 6th year level. I have been taking a combination of online and on-site courses. This is my first experience taking an RTC course. === ===In my spare time I am very active. I babysit and tutor during the week. I love running, kickboxing, and any other athletic classes. It is my stress reliever and how I unwind. I am a summer baby and am the happiest on the beach soaking up the sun. I have 2 nieces and 2 nephews who are a very significant part of my life. No matter how busy I am I make sure that I spend a lot of quality time with them. ===





=__**5, 4, 3, 2, 1 Daily Reflection** __=

===__ 5 new technologies to try __===

-LiveBinders, Wix, Weebly, Glogster, Kid blog, Tumbler, United Streaming, Discovery Education
===__4 ideas to share with others (either that you've learned here or you've learned elsewhere) __===

-Discovery Education, Brain Pop, Bottom-Up vs. Top-Down Processing, zone of proximal development, and the beneifts of social bookmarking
===-"Pay Attention PowerPoint", Classroom websites, How to vary lessons using UDL principles, How to make technology more accessible, parent-teacher conference video (xtranormal) === ===__ 3 principles of Universal Design for Learning __===

-Represenation, Expression, and Engagement
===__ 2 changes in your teaching to reach all learners in the Digital Age __===

-Integrate technology more and allow students more choice
===__ 1 BIG idea to implement on Monday __=== ===-To make a class website that is easily accessible for my students and their parents where they can find various class information as well as links to suggested websites ===

__<span style="color: #000000; font-family: Georgia,serif;">Reflection #1: __
===<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">At the core of UDL is the premise that often the curriculum is disabled (and disabling!). It is not flexible; it often poses barriers, and consequently prevents rather than supports optimal learning experiences. Do you agree or disagree with this view? Why or why not? ===

===<span style="color: #800080; font-family: Georgia,serif;">I completely agree witht the statement that the curriculum is often disabled and is not flexible. The immediate thought that comes to mind is the pacing charts put into place by my district. We are required to follow pacing charts for all of our core academic subjects. This looks great on paper, but in reality it is not ideal. Along with pacing charts come district mid-year and end of the year benchmarks which correlate to the topics and units on the pacing charts. However, as the pacing charts are created, they are not done so with many factors in mind. === ===<span style="color: #800080; font-family: Georgia,serif;">First off, children are not being given enough time to master concepts and skills in subject areas. For example, the time alloted to cover a math unit may not be feasable in terms of the different learners in the classroom. I have a very diverse group of learners and it becomes a huge struggle when I am trying to cover a topic and move at a reasonable pace to keep on track. I think that the term mastery has really gone out the window in education. I feel guilty as an edcuator when I am forcing myself to move on from a topic because I am trying to stay aligned with the pacing charts and I know there are students in my room who need an extra few days on a topic. It is extremely frustrating! I feel as though this is why we hear that so many teachers are begining to"teach to the test" so that they can guarantee high scores on benchmarks and other standardized tests. ===

__<span style="color: #000000; font-family: Georgia,serif;">Reflection #2: __
===<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">What are the benefits of analyzing the curriculum for strengths and weaknesses rather than focusing on the student’s strengths and weaknesses? What are the challenges of this approach? ===

===<span style="color: #800080; font-family: Georgia,serif;">The curriculum is the backbone of education in the classroom. Every teacher no matter how many years of experience must follow the same curriculum. After reading and reflecting upon the text and various articles in class the past three days, I believe it is extremely beneficial to analyze the curriculum for strengths and weaknesses as opposed to focus on student strenths and weaknessses. We can clearly see that all students learn in a variety of ways. In order to break down learning barriers and make retaining information more easily accesible for our students we must start with the curriculum. If the curriculum was reassessed and designed to reach all learners it would make much more sense than analyzing each individual student. We have to start at the heart of the matter and that is our school district's curriculum. If more emphasis was put on the curriculum there is more chance of students mastering differnt concepts and skills. The curriculum needs to be flexible to address the needs of our diverse learners. If it was centered on a Bottoms-Up Approcah, teachers could spend more time implementing the lesson rather than preparing for them. I honestly do not feel that there are weaknesses in analying the currciulm rather than the students. In conclusion, we need to accomodate the needs of the studnets, the student should have to bend to meet the needs of the curriculum. By no means am I saying students should not be pushed out of their comfort zone, but we cannot expect them to do what they are not capable of doing. One aspect that I do think is imperative is that the curriculum should be uniformed acrossed the school districts so all children are given the same opportunity. ===

__<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">Reflection #3 __
===<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;"> How can using a variety of materials and methods reach more of the learners within your classroom? What are the benefits of doing so? What are the challenges? ===

===<span style="color: #800080; font-family: Georgia,serif;">After class discussions and reading various research articles it is evident that using a variety of material and methods in my classroom will help reach more learners. It is clear that all students learn in different ways. If a teacher only presents material to the class in one way than they are only catering to one type of learner. In a classroom of approxiamtely 25 or more students not all of them will connect or absorb information in the same way. For example I consider myself a kinesthic learner. There were various time in school when I lost focus because the teacher only presented information through lecture. I found myself having a very difficult time retaining the information being taught. If I present my lessons in various ways there is a greater chance that I will be reaching most if not all of my students. Also, if I present the lesson in more there will be a greater chance of the students mastering the concepts and skills being taught. I would say the greatest challenge will be time. First, greater planning time will be necessary to prepare for lessons. Second, it will be difficult to spend more time presenting material when you are restricted to following a pacing chart from your district. ===

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">What barriers are inherent in traditional assessments? What are the challenges in offering varied options for assessment?
===<span style="color: #800080; font-family: Georgia,serif;">The main barrier in traditional assessment, is they type of questions in the assessments. For example, some teachers will only create assessments with multiple choice questions or perhaps short answer questions. It is a well-known fact that not all students learn in the same way, therefore they all shouldn't be assessed in the same way. Some students know the information but may freeze on a test when they see essay questions, or others may excel at multiple choice or matching questions. I truly think educators need to design assessments with various types of questions so all students have the opportunity to excel based on their capabilities as learners. I feel that the main challenge educators face in offering varied options for assessments is time. We want to make our cater to our students' needs, but finding the time to create multiple assessments for one topic is extremely difficult. This is why although I think teachers have their students best interest at heart, they stray away from varying assessments. ===

__<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">Reflection #5 __
===<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">Given the realities of our modern age and the demands of our children’s future, is it really okay to allow teachers to choose whether or not they incorporate modern technologies into their instruction? ===

===<span style="color: #800080; font-family: Georgia,serif;">This is definitely a controversial issue educators are faced with. In this day and age with all of the modern technology we have I don't think teachers should be allowed to choose whether or not they implement technology into their everyday instruction. We are living in an age of digital learners. Our students lives are based around technology from when they wake up in the morning to when they go to bed at night. Our goal as educators is to allow our student access and opportunities to achieve success not only in the classroom, but life in general. If we don't use technology we are putting our students at a disadvantage when they move onto higher education and eventually into the workforce. As educators we need to strive to prepare them for the future. That means we need to keep abreast of the current advancements in education, technology being the most dominant. There are so many benefits of using technology in the classroom. As we have learned in this class all students learn in different ways. By integrating technology into our teaching instruction we have a greater chance of reaching all of these learners as opposed to the traditional teaching methods that most of us are accustomed to. Also, there are so many advances in technology that can be used for special education students, whether it's a microphone or switch, we are providing all students with the resources necessary for them to learn and succeed. I think I honestly think we would be doing our students a disservice if we didn't incorporate technology into our instruction. ===

__<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">Reflection #6 __
===<span style="color: #800080; font-family: Georgia,serif;">This class was extremely enlightening. As a kinesthetic learner I loved all of the hands-on components and culminating activities that we did. I think I learned a lot of insight about what UDL is and the defining principles. It was definitely an eye opener and I learned many great techniques and strategies that I will take back and use in my classroom. There are so many great ideas I can't wait to implement in my classroom and share with my colleagues. I think the environment was very conducive to learning and I thoroughly enjoyed being here. ===

__<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">Culminating Activity #3 __
===<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">The Net Genners in my classroom are students who's lives revolve around technology from the minute they wake up unitl the minute they go to sleep. Everything these students do is based around technology. Whether it be communicating with friends, doing homework, listening to music, or watching movies, etc... These students thrive on the stimulation from technological devices. They seek instant gratification and rely on technology to give them access to almost everything they need. They are up-to-date with the newest advances in technology before most adults. ===

__<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">4 Professionals I would share this with: __

 * ===<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">My Principal, ===
 * ===<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">My Superintendent, ===
 * ===<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">Board of Education Members ===
 * ===<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">my colleagues ===

__<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">1 Person from my personal life to share this with: __
===<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">My sister, she has three young children who are already digital learners and part of the net generation. She should be aware of the resources available for them pertaining to education. ===