Universal Design for Learning

I like the concept of Universal Design for Learning because it is more about the “what” and not the “how”.  UDL lessons also allow each student to operate at his or her own level but still obtain the information they need.  Teaching Every Student in the Digital Age: Universal Design for Learning points out, “New technologies offer us the opportunity to respond to the multifaceted individual differences in our student population by providing more varied media, tools, and methods.” 

I agree technology can play a large role in helping the classroom teach create a environment of differentiated learning in the classroom.  This is so important because of the different levels of ability represented in every classroom today.  It is also important to remember that the students need to be the ones utilizing the technology and not just the teacher.

Teachers complain about the difficulties of providing for the varying levels of ability in the classroom, and I agree it can be difficult at times.  However, if the teacher could focus on creating a lesson in terms of what the students need to know and accomplish by the end and leave the “how” to get to that point to the students through using different types of media, including technology, they would find it a much easier task.

Ultimately, teachers need to shift the focus away from how the students learn to what the students learn.  There needs to be a shift from the teacher being the deliverer of content to the teacher being the facilitator that helps guide students to where and how to find the content so it then can be applied in various high level activities. 

Constructivism, Connectivism, and Cyborg Learning Reflections

As I watched the videos and completed the readings on constructivism, connectivism, and cyborg learning, I found I agree with many of the points made by Abbott and Siemens in regard to how students learn and how learning has changed over the last several years.  According to the Abbot interview, Building Knowledge: Constructivism in Learning, students do not learn facts individually, but build on the knowledge they already have and fit the new information into that knowledge as best they can.  If this is the case, the more life experiences and the more students are exposed to, the larger the knowledge base they bring to your classroom.  It is also important for the teacher to make the learning relevant to the students so they can pull from the knowledge base they bring to the classroom and then build that base through activities inside and outside the classroom.  How students acquire knowledge has changed drastically with the creation of the Internet and social media sites.  Siemens address this in his interview The Changing Nature of Knowledge, in which he points out the connections the learners make with other students, social communities, databases, etc. is the most important source of learning.  I agree with this point of view and believe content is no longer the most important thing I teach in my classroom.  Teaching students where to find the content, how to analyze the information, and how to problem solve has replaced content as the most important things learned in the classroom.

 

Technology can assist in creating student-centered classrooms that allow the students to access their prior knowledge and build on that knowledge base.  Technology also allows the students to investigated new information and helps them build learning communities where they can collaborate and share ideas.  I like the idea of the technology being the source of content for the students and the teacher helping the students with how to interpret, analyze, and evaluate the information they have discovered.