Course Management System

My presentation can be found on Mixbook at

Online Learning in K-12 Schools



Joe.

My Reflection - EDU 6714

This course has been a huge help.  I do not feel as overwhelmed with Differentiate Instruction or Universal Design for learning.  First I can say I learned how easy it was to actually incorporate UDL into my classroom.  Cast.org has a really awesome webpage that gives you free programs that help with UDL.  It is surely something that every teacher should check out.  UDL helps integrate technology into lessons so students can learn using different methods.  It helps students complete assignments that otherwise they might not have been able to be successful at.  

Creating the UDL PowerPoint presentation that I will be showing to colleagues at the start of next school year was the funnest assignment to complete.  Also creating online surveys to help me review different things in my class.  I used www.zoomerrang.com as my online source for creating online surveys.  It was a blast.  I believe this is surely going to be implemented first thing next school year.  With the data that I collect, I can use it to help start differentiate my instruction.  I can start to see what students like and how they learn best, and place them together.   

Differentiated Instruction was one of my main concerns when coming into this class and as a teacher in general.  My principal has been talking DI for a while now and it is scary for us teachers.  We here it as a threat because we really do not have any clue what it was or how it would be incorporated.  The thinking was a lesson plan for each student.  I will be taking lots of information back with me come next school year and I will be filling in staff about DI.

Overall, I feel more comfortable now then when I first started this class with  UDL and DI.  Teaching a classroom in todays age is a challenge for both teacher and students.  I did not realize that UDL and DI have such a huge impact on student success that what I thought.  Incorporating technology into what I teach everyday helps make it easier to incorporate differentiated instruction and universal design for learning.

Until Next Time, 

Keep It Real Homies!

Mr. B

GAME plan Reflection

My Game plan actually turned out pretty good.  Even though one of my goals I worked on more so than the other goal.  My students knew we were working on a GAME plan and they liked that idea right away.   The students in other classrooms where talking about our GAME plan so I shared some ideas with other teacher’s as well.  This Game plan will only get better as I continue to work out the kinks each year.

I learned that I need to take one step at a time and not to just jump into something feet first all the time. I am a go getter; I do not want to sit around contemplating something when I can just jump right in.  I do this often with new technologies and it gets my hopes up to only find out that I have no money or resources for it.  Which then gets the kids bummed out because I always mention to them the new technology items I learn about.  I will just slow down and go one step at a time.

Well, my immediate adjustment I am making in my instructional practice is not mentioning ALL the new technologies I learn about.  This will cause less of a headache later from my kids, “when are we doing this , when are we doing that...”  Like I said, my biggest downfall is jumping in head first and just throwing it all out to the students.  Although this GAME plan worked really good and I was happy with the outcome, there are other technologies that just do not work out as well as this GAME plan did.  

This course taught me quite a bit about some new ideas for class that I have already started integrating into my curriculum to end the year with.

Until next class, Keep it real homies!!

Mr. Brewer

Using the GAME Plan with students

Using the GAME Plan with students

Using my game plan should be fairly easy with my students year after year.  The more I use my plan the better it becomes.  I can work out the kinks each year.  This year my students have surely responded to the plan in an open arms type of way.  Sure I still had some students who hated the idea of me in general let alone all the assignments I assigned, but overall this is working great.

This plan will help students achieve their goals and help them each and every year after.  It teaches them to focus on creativity, collaboration, critical thinking, citizenship, research, and technology operations. 

Not only have the students learned to promote, support, and model creative and innovative thinking and inventiveness, they have nearly mastered it.  This has been a great year and great class. 

Mr. Brewer

Keep it real homies!

week 6 BLOG GAME PLAN

What have you learned so far that you can apply in your instructional practice? 

I have learned so far that my students really do love working with technology and blogging is their favorite.  I can use an article about something in the news and they can pick it apart, start coming up with questions on how they can help fix the problem.  They love going on and bouncing ideas off one another.  I was very surprised that everyone whole heartily participates. 


What goals are you still working toward? 


I still think the students need a little more help modeling creative and innovative thinking other than in their blogs.  I started to go away from the blog and start using a wiki and it seems to be a slow start to it.

Based on the NETS-T, what new learning goals will you set for yourself?

I think promoting student reflection using collaborative tools to reveal and clarify students' conceptual understanding and thinking, planning, and creative processes will be my next step in my game plan.

If you are not ready to set new learning goals, how will you extend what you have learned so far?

Well I just started working with the WIKI in place of the Blog, so I need to give it time to sink in and produce.

What learning approaches will you try next time to improve your learning?

That all will depend on how far the students come along.  I would like to have them to start using the innovativeness and creativity to model more than just on the blog.  Start using it more and more in everyday class.

Keep it real homies!!!!

Evaluating Game Plan blog 5

I am having a good time with blogging with my students.  I have had a few ups and downs with students who do not have internet access at home.  I guess I really figured everyone had access in the days we are living in now.  I had that student use a classroom computer before he left for the day and first thing in the morning to blog if he needed.  I believe by blogging I am meeting my goal to promote, support, and model creative and innovative thinking and inventiveness.  The students are willing and ready to participate.  Although if I switched and started using a WIKI I believe the students would catch on fast and may even like it better because they can upload things. 

Keeping focused on up to date information in the news, real world issues is tough.  Not always can we find articles about issues we are talking about in class.  That’s where the “on the fly” mentality of changing with what we are given.  Students will always find some article close to what issue is being discussed.  I just tweak it some to spark their interest and off and running we go.

I think I may adjust the plan just a tweak to bring in a WIKI format.  I think this could make the plan more interesting.

I still feel like I am setting my ways in one blog.  I am not trying new blog spots.  Maybe some have more to offer than others and maybe there is a better one out there for what I am doing.

Keep it real homies!!

monitoring blog 2 app 4

Yes I am finding information and resources that I will need to help my students explore real world issues.  I like the idea of using mapping tools to make concept maps about issues they would like to try and work to solve.  I will continue to always change the processes if need be.  Can I do group blogging?  I would like to do group blogging and then blogging between groups.  See if any new and improved ideas will come from it.  Just have to keep assessing what is going on and monitor and adjust on the fly.

keep it real homies