EDLD+5364++Week+4

=Week 4 Reflection=

We focused this week on designing student-centered learning experiences with technology. As part of our group project, we were required to create technology-based activities to deliver required content for a designated grade level. As I researched what is available, I encountered a vast array of educational activities that would engage students and could be tailored to individual needs. I was particularly impressed with the Inspiration software that allows students to create graphic organizers on selected subjects using text pictures. It is a great tool for planning science labs, sequencing historical events, prewriting for a composition, and developing stronger reading comprehension.

Another helpful aspect of this week’s materials was the focus on allowing students to be assessed in various ways that are conducive to their learning difficulties to accurately measure all students’ learning. So many teachers are tied down to the myth that everyone has to take a test the same way. In essence, they could be hindering themselves from truly knowing a student’s learning capacity due to their lack of flexibility. In //Teaching Every Student in the Digital Age: Universal Design for Learning//, Rose and Meyer (2002) state, “The simple truth is, the natural variety of recognition strengths and weaknesses within a typical classroom prevents any //single// presentational medium from yielding an unbiased, accurate assessment for the entire class.” We do our students an injustice to mandate they all learn in the same way and are assessed in the same, uniformed manner.