Megan+F.

My name is Megan. I am 25 years old and live in Clifton. I was born and raised in there. I enjoy reading, shopping, and going to the beach in the summer. When I am not teaching, I like spending time with my family and friends.

I attended Manhattan College in Riverdale, New York where I enrolled in their five year master’s degree program. I majored in elementary/special education and decided on English as my concentration. In 2009, I graduated with a bachelor’s degree in Elementary Education. In 2010, I graduated with a master’s degree in Special Education. During my time at Manhattan College, I completed a year of student teaching for my bachelor’s and master’s degrees in two different New York City public schools. I also performed numerous hours of observation in various other public and private schools in the New York City / Riverdale / Bronx, New York area.

After graduating with my master’s degree, I obtained a job with the Clifton Board of Education in my home town in their public school system. I am currently in my 3rd year teaching at School 9. I am the 2nd and 3rd grade Behavioral Disabilities Special Education Teacher. In my three years, I have worked with students who are classified as Autistic, Emotional disturbed, traumatic brain injury, learning disabled, and other heath impairment. During the last two summers, I have taught a class in the Board of Education’s “Extended school year” summer program. During this program, I worked with a non verbal Autistic kindergarten class and a multiple disabilities pre-school class. I have really enjoyed my time spent in the Clifton schools district and feel fortunate to have worked with such inspirational children. I am looking forward to many more years working in School 9. **__5, 4, 3, 2, 1 Daily__** __Reflection__ (weekend one) __** 5 new technologies to try **__ edmodo, schoology, stixy, wordle, wiki

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__**4 ideas to share with others (either that you've learned here or you've learned elsewhere)**__ =====
 * 1) wordle
 * 2) discovery education
 * 3) brainpop.com and brainpopjr.com (for Elementary school teachers)
 * 4) Google sites (FREE and great for making a classroom website)

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__**3 principles of Universal Design for Learning**__ =====
 * 1) multiple ways of representing content
 * 2) multiple means for expressing what they learn
 * 3) multiple pathways for engaging their interest/motivation

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__**2 changes in your teaching to reach all learners in the Digital Age**__ =====
 * 1) patience
 * 2) differentiation

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__ **1 BIG idea to implement on Monday** __===== Edit my classroom website to include new technology we learned this first weekend (edmodo, schoology) for my students and parents.

** __Reflection #1__ **

// 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="background-color: #ffffff; color: #404040; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 13.2px; vertical-align: baseline;">As a special education teacher, I often face the challenge of taking the pacing charts provided for us to use and remolding it to meet the needs of my BD students. I feel very comfortable with technology but am often disabled from using it because I have to teach two grades daily. My students love technology and are native technology users. They are often very engrossed and entertained by technology, which is a blessing and curse for me. Since I do have to teach two grades and two curriculums, my students get distracted easily by what else is going on in the classroom, especially the technology I'm using with the other grade they are not in. Therefore, I feel that in a sense my two curriculums are disabling me and my students from fully using the technology I would like to use. My time with each grade for each lesson is limited and I also have to be cautious of my students disabilities and their needs as a learner. <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #404040; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 13.2px;">Moreover, I do like each curriculum program we use and think each allow for optimal learning experiences. Each program provides hands on text, online resources, and an opportunity to add in digital supplements. Each also gives the opportunity to enhance each lesson with engaging activities. Due to the various learners and levels in each classroom, these programs are also built to meet the needs of each learner whether they are below level, on level, or above grade level.

__** Reflection #2 **__

<span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: inherit; font-size: 13.2px; vertical-align: baseline;">// 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="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 13.2px; vertical-align: baseline;">The benefits of analyzing the curriculum for strengths and weaknesses is it allows the educators to be familiar with what content of the curriculum needs more support and where they can best implement a UDL approach. It is important to know in your curriculum where you can implement differentiated instruction and how you can model/stretch your curriculum to allow for this differentiation to take place. While I do feel it is extremely important to know immediately the students' strengths and weakness and to tailor the curriculum around what best fits them, it can also be beneficial to know the flexibility of the curriculum and know your limits with it. The challenges of this approach is you may have a pre set connotation of your students needs, especially if your working in a special education program. This pre-notion may make it difficult to look past the students' strengths/weaknesses and focus on the curriculum's strengths and weaknesses. Furthermore, it takes time to know your students needs especially at the start of the school year. Hence why it is important to know what you can do with your curriculum to met the need of any learner.

__** Reflection #3 **__

<span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: inherit; font-size: 13.2px; vertical-align: baseline;">// 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="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 13.2px; vertical-align: baseline;">Using a variety of materials and methods in the classroom has many benefits for the learners in our classrooms. <span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Using a variety of materials and methods also accommodates the various learning styles in our classroom. <span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 13.2px;">It allows for them to learn in more than one way, rather than using only one method. Furthermore, the use of various methods and materials also allows helps a teacher differentiate their instruction for any special education students in the class. The challenges of using such various methods and materials are: teaching the students how to use the materials properly, having the funding to buy/obtain various materials, and using them as smoothly as you can with your curriculum/standards/pacing charts. In a special education classroom like my own, where each student has a different need or learning style, at my be challenging for the teacher at first to incorporate a different material/method for each individual in their classroom.

<span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: 'times new roman'; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline;">** __Reflection #4__ **

<span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: inherit; font-size: 13.2px; vertical-align: baseline;">// What barriers are inherent in traditional assessments? What are the challenges in offering varied options for assessment? // <span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 13.2px; vertical-align: baseline;">Tradition assessments have pros and cons. Barriers that are inherent in traditional assessments vary by age group and include: not assessing the students in a way that meets their individual learning style, that they are "one size fits all," and often are not created with special education students in mind. If these traditional assessments were varied, there are challenges that come with this variety. While tradition assessments usually include the paper/pencil approach, if these assessment were alter to be done on a computer to meet the digital learners of today it may still be a disadvantage to some students. I feel this challenge present in my own classroom. Our district is currently doing an online reading assessment to find the students reading levels. This is a disadvantage for my students. They are digital natives who are engrossed with technology and the 'fun' they can have playing games. So when they are on the computer, they do not take it serious and understand the importance of this assessment because its not a 'normal test.'

__** Reflection #5 **__

<span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: inherit; font-size: 13.2px; vertical-align: baseline;">// 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="font-family: Comic Sans MS,cursive;">The demands of our children's future puts a greater demand on teachers. I think it's important that all teachers use some form of modern day technology in their lessons daily. I think it should be up to the teachers what they pick and how they use it, but I feel that at-least one form of technology should be used in each lesson. For example, in my school each classroom has a smartboard. We are told that for every lesson observation we receive the smartboard must be used. This did anger some of the older teachers who do not use it frequently, but luckily for the students they are force to include this modern technology. Since this is required for lesson observations, these teachers may not use it any other time besides that which is a disadvantage for students. Luckily, with our new evaluation system being implemented in the fall, most lesson observations will be at random and will require teachers to be using technology constantly.

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** 5 new technologies to try ** =====
 * 1) <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">edublogs
 * 2) <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">glogster
 * 3) <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">voki
 * 4) <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Live binders
 * 5) <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">CAST UDL exchange

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**4 ideas to share with others (either that you've learned here or you've learned elsewhere)** ===== <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">pay attention video <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">"learning to change, changing to learn" video <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">8 Net Generation Norms <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Don Tapscott Video <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">"Selective Attention" test

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**3 principles of Universal Design for Learning** =====
 * 1) <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">multiple ways of representing content
 * 2) <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">multiple means for expressing what they learn
 * 3) <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">multiple pathways for engaging their interest/motivation

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**2 changes in your teaching to reach all learners in the Digital Age** ===== <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">1. use various forms of technology in the classroom <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">2. ask students what helps them learn best (re: technology, assessment)

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**1 BIG idea to implement on Monday** ===== <span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">"The bottom line is..." carousel activity as a wrap up at the end of this school year (what we learned, favorite thing we learned, favorite memory, what we will be doing this summer, favorite stories we read, etc)

**__<span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">CULMINATING ACTIVITY #3 __**
<span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Net Genners are today's students. They are the kids in every high school with a cell phone in their pocket, locker, or backpack. They are the middle schoolers who talk about angry birds and instagram at the lunch table. They are the elementary school students who ask if you are on Facebook and say "My mom and dad are on Facebook! I want a Facebook!" They were born and raised with technology. They use it every day and feel 'disconnected' when they don't use it. They can probably help their 'digital immigrant' teachers fix any tech problems in the classroom. They are who we are now teaching and who we will continue to teacher for many more years to come.
 * <span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Who are Net Genners? **

<span style="font-family: Comic Sans MS,cursive;">**1 person in my personal life I would share this with**: EVERYONE! (But if I had to pick one, my friends who think teaching is easy) <span style="font-family: Comic Sans MS,cursive;"> <span style="font-family: Comic Sans MS,cursive;">
 * <span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">4 people in my professional world I would share this with: **
 * 1) <span style="font-family: Comic Sans MS,cursive;">elder colleagues
 * 2) <span style="font-family: Comic Sans MS,cursive;">My principal
 * 3) <span style="font-family: Comic Sans MS,cursive;">Para Professionals in my classroom
 * 4) <span style="font-family: Comic Sans MS,cursive;">Superintendent

<span style="font-family: Comic Sans MS,cursive;">Last thoughts about UDL and our class.
<span style="font-family: Comic Sans MS,cursive;">This was my first RTC class and I really enjoyed the entire 5 days we spent together. It was interesting to hear the various outlooks from so many wonderful fellow educators from different districts and grade levels. I'm eager to explore UDL in my classroom and use the technology we learned to help better my students.