Lisa+Gonzales

=EDUC 6715=

Week 2 Learning Community Assignment
In this week’s application I chose Cloud computing as an emerging technology. This is a new technology for myself and it took some research about this computing system. I found out that Cloud computing is a way to promote global collaboration, open up resources for our students and encourage students who have special learning needs to continue their education. Here is an overview of Could Computing in McLuhan’s Tetrad


 * Enhances learning for those with nontraditional learning needs, and enhances collaboration amongst peers. || Obsoletes usual computing systems due to power, cost, space (memory) and time.  Also has the potential to obsolete text books (book based curriculum). ||
 * The level of comfort and  appropriateness for face to face  interactions. || Retrieves and rekindles discovery learning. ||

With Cloud computing we are not only able to store information and data, but also share that information either privately or publically with peers. To make this even better, many types of Cloud computing is free. I am interested to see if any of you have experience with Cloud Computing and if so, what has this experience been like for you and your students.

Input to Lisa Gonzales - June 8, 2012
Lisa - I do not have any education experience with cloud computing; however, I did use a version of this during my time in business. We defined cloud computing as anything outside the firewall, so anything we used remotely was part of the cloud. Although are our servers acted as the host, or cloud, we relied on the home server whenever we would travel or be on a remote location. I understand this cloud computing has expanded its reach now to third party providers being the providers, and they can have just about anything a person or school would desire available. I always thought this was shifting costs from the user's computer (or laptop, smartphone, tablet) to the subscription or enrollment fee. I guess it would depend on the individual school district, but there may be issues with the procurement and ongoing costs. I am fascinated by the term "cloud". I seem to ask people who throw that term around what it means to them, and most people say, "It's out there - I don't know what or where it is, but I know it works". I saw a website that said if it was on the cloud, it means the cloud was bigger and fuzzier and we really do not know what is in it. I would imagine an entirely new set of issues with cloud computing, especially with troubleshooting. But I could see an entirely new realm of possibilities for new applications, information sharing, and availability of information. Todd Deschaine

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=EDUC 6714=

Week 2 Learning Community Assignment
Each survey type below was easy to locate on the internet. However, it was important to find a survey that I could foresee using with my fourth grade students. When I found the interest survey I was sure to find one that was focused on students. This survey asked informative questions about the students interests both during and outside of school. This survey would be appropriate for the third grade or older as it does require full sentences with explanations of answers. The URL for this survey is []

The learning style survey worked off of a rating scale that could be difficult for some students to determine which answer they fall into, however it was visually appearing and was less overwhelming as it presented only a certain number of questions at a time. I would say that this would be appropriate for any students in third grade or older. The URL for this survey is [].

The multiple intelligences survey was quite lengthy and could be overwhelming for students, however, I do believe that fourth grade on up could successfully complete this survey. This survey consists of check lists in regards to career interests, favorite subjects and statements that you can agree or disagree with. The URL for this survey is [].

The learning profile inventory was by far the most useful survey that I found. It asked easy to answer questions that I believe could be answered by second graders on up. There are a mix of question types including multiple choice and short answer as well as rating scales. The URL for this learning profile inventory is [].

In the past I have learned about each of the surveys listed in this week’s application separately from each other. It was so beneficial to look at all of these surveys and take the pieces from each to build a survey that best fit the needs that I foresee in my classroom. The URL for the survey that I created is []. I am looking forward to using this survey in the future with my students!

**Week 3 Resources**
[] Gives great background information and access to free applications to help in building a classroom centered around UDL instruction.

http://udltechtoolkit.wikispaces.com/ A wiki that offers excellent resources for all subject areas that give excellent ideas as to how to reach learners of different ages and needs.

[] Gives excellent, simple suggestions for incorporating the principles of UDL in the classroom.

From the Walden Libray:

Education Research Complete Database Kumar, K. (2010). A journey towards creating an inclusive classroom: How Universal Design for Learning has transformed my teaching. //Transformative Dialogues: Teaching & Learning Journal//, //4//(2), 1-5. Speaks about one teacher’s experience of adopting UDL for her classroom.

Week 4 UDL Presentation
Here is a link to my UDL presentation: []

I look forward to your suggestions for enhancing my presentation!

You have a great presentation here!! I especially like the slide where you have summarized the 3 areas of the brain and gave a detailed description of each. If this presentation was going to be presented to the staff I would say that it is great in the way that you present each area. If there were teachers who may not be able to attend a meeting, it might be nice to have some of the links you have discovered in the first few slides where you have shared how they could incorporate each area on each slide. That way they could look at areas that they need to improve on and find resources to help them attain that knowledge/understanding. Other than that the only other thing I would suggest is to break the slide “Central Role of Technology” into 2 slides, because the font may be hard to read. Once again, I think you have a great presentation here, and I look forward to hearing about how your staff responds to your information.

Katie

Todd to Lisa - I agree with Katie, this is a nice presentation. You do a nice job of detailing the aspects of UDL, and going into greater detail about the three types of learning. The only slide that I might change a bit is the one titled "Learner Differences Within Each Network". It seems quite busy, and I might break it up into three separate slides depending on your target audience, the allotted time, and the message you are trying to transmit to the group. If you are handing out copies of the presentation, then this slide should be fine. I also like the examples of UDL that were included at the latter third of the presentation. They give the audience more details and explanations of the message of UDL into the classroom. Todd Deschaine

Week 6 Differentiation Links
http://differentiate-with-technology.wikispaces.com/ This is a great wiki! There are many instructional strategies listed that support using technology for differentiating instruction and has an area to upload lessons for different levels and subjects in education. There is a great article about blogging and a “How to” section. These strategies and resources can be used for any grade level or age.

[] This article above gives a great summary of what we have been learning. There are also links to go to more resources about differentiating our lessons with technology and meeting the needs of diverse learners in our classroom. This site contains strategies for any grade level or age.