Reflection on Reaching and Engaging Learners Through Technology

Working with Differentiated Instruction and Universal Design for Learning can seem like a daunting task at first, but as I discovered, it can be done effectively and seamlessly thanks to technology integration. A major way to eliminate the potential hurdles; including time constraints, accessing tools, finding resources, as well as applying strategies in a real classroom is to use social networking sites such as the Ning network established by my classmates and I.

Two main components of both UDL and DI are to be flexible and to also have an open mindset when working to apply these frameworks in class. The many resources my classmates and I gathered included articles informing teachers of the basics and history of these revolutionary ideas so that we can understand in what direction we should be working. We took it to the next level by contributing sources for UDL and DI lesson plans that were already prepared so that we could practice and get an idea of how to create model lessons of our own. Then resources that expanded our repertoire of technology tools that could be used in our classes to do a variety of tasks such as translate text to speech, pronounce terms, magnify information, and organize it graphically, along with many other amazing differentiation possibilities. And finally we presented our own lessons and gave each other feedback, which is invaluable for teachers as they prepare to use DI and UDL in their own class.

As far as immediate changes I plan to make for increasing technology in my class, I would have to say that I need to 'just do it'. Working on graduate courses as well as our recent freak snowstorms have caused me to have less time for putting the many ideas I have been getting in this course into action. I am excited and encouraged thanks to the hard work of my coursemates and look forward to moving forward in integrating even more technology.