Hellllloooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo,
My name is Dale and I teach 9th and 12th grade science at David Brearley High School in Kenilworth, NJ. I also coach our schools ice hockey team that co-ops with Jonathan Dayton High School in Springfield, NJ.
I live in Green Brook NJ which is in Somerset county, it is a very enjoyable hour long drive to beautiful Paramus.
5, 4, 3, 2, 1 Daily Reflection
5 new technologies to try
wordle/tagxedo/wikipages/google docs/
4 ideas to share with others (either that you've learned here or you've learned elsewhere)
wordle/tagxedo/wikipages/google docs
3 principles of Universal Design for Learning
Representation / action and expression / engaging
2 changes in your teaching to reach all learners in the Digital Age
1. start using wordles and tagxedos 2. create a wikipage for my classes
1 BIG idea to implement on Monday
Create a tagxedo as a review for the final exam
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?
I agree that the curriculum does pose barriers in relation to time. Especially now that the end of the year is here and I feel like I am cramming in as much information as I possibly could because final exams start next week. During the year I used lots of time to differentiate my instruction which I saw really helped my students learn the information that I was teaching them. The last week and a half I really did not have time to teach to many different learners because I had to fly through the material in order to hit each topic. This is why I believe the curriculum is disabling and not flexible.
Reflection #2 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?
#1- there are no weaknesses in the curriculum because I wrote it.haha
I think that you need to analyze the students to see what their individual strengths and weaknesses are first and foremost so that you can then manipulate the curriculum in order to help them.
The curriculum is the curriculum, you have to teach the students that specific information in order to be successful. You have to find out how exactly students learn and tailor your lesson towards them. That is the whole point behind "teaching", you should not be that teacher that sounds like the charlie brown teacher "wah wah wah wah", you have to find a way to reach each and every student in some way. UDL and/or differentiation
Reflection #3 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?
Using a variety of materials and methods can definitely help with reaching more of my students. I think that as a high school science teacher I sort of am doing this already because I lecture and do hands on labs. I can see that some of my students do not really learn through lecturing but when I perform a demonstration or when they perform a lab I see that they can finally make a connection.
The benefits of using different materials is so that you reach all the different types of learners.
The challenges with this is finding the appropriate materials and even funding of certain materials. When I run a science lab/experiment it takes a lot of time and preparation so that is a big challenge with all of the "secretarial" work we as educators now have to do. Reflection #4 What barriers are inherent in traditional assessments? What are the challenges in offering varied options for assessment?
The problem with traditional assessments is that ALL students do not learn the same way so why should we assess them the same way. We should differentiate our instruction and our assessment techniques. The challenges in offering varied options for assessment is TIME! I believe most teachers give traditional assessments because it is simply easier to give the basic multiple choice and essay question test. Other challenges may simply be training on how to assess in different ways.
5, 4, 3, 2, 1 Daily Reflection
5 new technologies to try
edublogs/wix.com/schoology/blogger/livebinders
4 ideas to share with others (either that you've learned here or you've learned elsewhere)
edublogs/wix.com/schoology/livebinders
3 principles of Universal Design for Learning
Representation / action and expression / engaging
2 changes in your teaching to reach all learners in the Digital Age
1. start using wordles and xtranormal videos 2. create a webpage for my class
1 BIG idea to implement on Monday
My school year is done, but i would have liked to work on a wordle Reflection #5 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? I believe that all teachers should use some type of technology in their classroom even if it is just simply a powerpoint presentation or a youtube video. Administrators need to train the older teachers that do not know how to use this technology, it should not simply be a veteran teachers problem to "figure it out". I do believe that the teachers classroom is the teachers classroom, meaning that they should be able to instruct in any manner that they should or want to. In saying this I would like to think that all teachers would be willing to try out new technologies because they would also be learning new technologies for themselves. I constantly try new technologies and my best helpers are my students, they know all the little tricks of navigating around certain sites, etc. So to reiterate I do believe that teachers should be able to teach in whatever specific way that they want to but I also like to believe or think that all teachers are here to better their students and give them a better learning experience or environment so they would hopefully include new technologies into their classroom. Culminating Activity #3 Explain who these net genners are- Net Genners are the students of the 21st century. These students have grown up with massive amounts of technology in their hands. They have been surfing the web since early on in their life and they will continue to evolve with the newer and newest technology. They are the future... list 4 people in professional world and 1 in your personal world who you will share this with- 1. superintendent 2. assistant superintendent 3. board of education 4. older teachers that need to know that students learn differently now 1 in my personal world- friends that think all teachers do is put on a video or tell students to read the book and answer questions.
Reflection #6
Great Class! Learned a Looooooooooooooot! I have a lot of links I will be looking through over the summer.
My name is Dale and I teach 9th and 12th grade science at David Brearley High School in Kenilworth, NJ. I also coach our schools ice hockey team that co-ops with Jonathan Dayton High School in Springfield, NJ.
I live in Green Brook NJ which is in Somerset county, it is a very enjoyable hour long drive to beautiful Paramus.
5, 4, 3, 2, 1 Daily Reflection
5 new technologies to try
wordle/tagxedo/wikipages/google docs/4 ideas to share with others (either that you've learned here or you've learned elsewhere)
wordle/tagxedo/wikipages/google docs3 principles of Universal Design for Learning
Representation / action and expression / engaging2 changes in your teaching to reach all learners in the Digital Age
1. start using wordles and tagxedos2. create a wikipage for my classes
1 BIG idea to implement on Monday
Create a tagxedo as a review for the final examReflection #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?
I agree that the curriculum does pose barriers in relation to time. Especially now that the end of the year is here and I feel like I am cramming in as much information as I possibly could because final exams start next week. During the year I used lots of time to differentiate my instruction which I saw really helped my students learn the information that I was teaching them. The last week and a half I really did not have time to teach to many different learners because I had to fly through the material in order to hit each topic. This is why I believe the curriculum is disabling and not flexible.
Reflection #2
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?
#1- there are no weaknesses in the curriculum because I wrote it.haha
I think that you need to analyze the students to see what their individual strengths and weaknesses are first and foremost so that you can then manipulate the curriculum in order to help them.
The curriculum is the curriculum, you have to teach the students that specific information in order to be successful. You have to find out how exactly students learn and tailor your lesson towards them. That is the whole point behind "teaching", you should not be that teacher that sounds like the charlie brown teacher "wah wah wah wah", you have to find a way to reach each and every student in some way. UDL and/or differentiation
Reflection #3
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?
Using a variety of materials and methods can definitely help with reaching more of my students. I think that as a high school science teacher I sort of am doing this already because I lecture and do hands on labs. I can see that some of my students do not really learn through lecturing but when I perform a demonstration or when they perform a lab I see that they can finally make a connection.
The benefits of using different materials is so that you reach all the different types of learners.
The challenges with this is finding the appropriate materials and even funding of certain materials. When I run a science lab/experiment it takes a lot of time and preparation so that is a big challenge with all of the "secretarial" work we as educators now have to do.
Reflection #4
What barriers are inherent in traditional assessments? What are the challenges in offering varied options for assessment?
The problem with traditional assessments is that ALL students do not learn the same way so why should we assess them the same way. We should differentiate our instruction and our assessment techniques. The challenges in offering varied options for assessment is TIME! I believe most teachers give traditional assessments because it is simply easier to give the basic multiple choice and essay question test. Other challenges may simply be training on how to assess in different ways.
5, 4, 3, 2, 1 Daily Reflection
5 new technologies to try
edublogs/wix.com/schoology/blogger/livebinders4 ideas to share with others (either that you've learned here or you've learned elsewhere)
edublogs/wix.com/schoology/livebinders3 principles of Universal Design for Learning
Representation / action and expression / engaging2 changes in your teaching to reach all learners in the Digital Age
1. start using wordles and xtranormal videos2. create a webpage for my class
1 BIG idea to implement on Monday
My school year is done, but i would have liked to work on a wordleReflection #5
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?
I believe that all teachers should use some type of technology in their classroom even if it is just simply a powerpoint presentation or a youtube video. Administrators need to train the older teachers that do not know how to use this technology, it should not simply be a veteran teachers problem to "figure it out". I do believe that the teachers classroom is the teachers classroom, meaning that they should be able to instruct in any manner that they should or want to. In saying this I would like to think that all teachers would be willing to try out new technologies because they would also be learning new technologies for themselves. I constantly try new technologies and my best helpers are my students, they know all the little tricks of navigating around certain sites, etc. So to reiterate I do believe that teachers should be able to teach in whatever specific way that they want to but I also like to believe or think that all teachers are here to better their students and give them a better learning experience or environment so they would hopefully include new technologies into their classroom.
Culminating Activity #3
Explain who these net genners are- Net Genners are the students of the 21st century. These students have grown up with massive amounts of technology in their hands. They have been surfing the web since early on in their life and they will continue to evolve with the newer and newest technology. They are the future...
list 4 people in professional world and 1 in your personal world who you will share this with-
1. superintendent
2. assistant superintendent
3. board of education
4. older teachers that need to know that students learn differently now
1 in my personal world- friends that think all teachers do is put on a video or tell students to read the book and answer questions.
Reflection #6
Great Class! Learned a Looooooooooooooot! I have a lot of links I will be looking through over the summer.