EDLD+5364+Week+5+Course-Embedded+Reflection

As I reflect back over the group assignment in my EDLD 5364 Teaching with Technology course, I realize that I have increased my knowledge in many areas. In order to plan as a team, we decided to set up a google chat once a week to discuss the team solutions for the scenario. This was a new experience for me, but was a very effective means of communicating with each other. Being a part of this kind of cooperative learning group enhanced my learning of the subject matter as well as the usage of some new technologies. I was able to “make sense of, or construct new meaning for, new knowledge by interacting with others” (Pitler, 2007. p. 139). Another area where I gained new knowledge was in creating a UDL lesson. I was able to draw upon my prior knowledge of creating a lesson and combine that knowledge with the new learning of making lessons more adaptable to meet the needs of diverse learners. The CAST website was a great source to accomplish this task. I used the CAST UDL lesson builder to “create and adapt lessons that increase access and participation in the general education curriculum for all students” (CAST). I approached creating this lesson with the team solutions in mind. As our group brainstormed ideas and divided up roles and responsibilities, I was able to complete my UDL lesson to fit in with the unit of study that we had created. I was using technology to solve problems and to create a product (lesson) for this course assignment, just as I will have my students do when I create with my colleagues a unit of study similar to this project. Because I am a visual learner, creating the ebook sample was interesting and engaging, yet challenging. I was “using the technology to learn how to use the technology” (Solomon & Schrum, 2007, p. 111). In the past, I might not have taken the time to learn this new technology, but having completed the task, I see the value that these ebooks can bring to reaching a group of diverse learners. This has taught me the important lesson that time spent learning the new technology is well worth the pay-off that results from the new learning and from the use of the finished product. The ebooks are definitely a technology feature that I can apply to my Kindergarten classroom in the future. Being a part of a cooperative learning community impacted my learning in a positive way. The interaction that occurred with the team members allowed me to share my classroom experiences with the group and how those experiences might help solve the scenario. The same was true with the other members of the team. Each team member taught different subjects and some had more experience working with special needs students than I did. It is the culmination of each team member’s experiences that helped us create solutions to the scenario and that resulted in a positive performance on the assignment. This cooperative learning experience has impacted my future learning in that I now respect the effectiveness that group collaborations can bring to a project. This assignment gave me the opportunity to grow as a learner and as an educator. I believe that my performance on the project was successful. I can attribute some of that success to the effectiveness of the cooperative learning group. Improving this project and the experiences gained from it would involve allowing more time to complete the learning activities in order to become more experienced with the technologies involved. As a lifelong learner, it is important to me find more technology applications that are age and ability appropriate for the Kindergartners that I teach. I plan to challenge myself to research different software and sites that might be integrated into my classroom. Overall, this learning experience confirmed what I have been learning in all of my Lamar courses. Integrating technology into curriculum is needed in order to keep and maintain student’s engagement in learning and in order to bring about greater student achievement. Pitler, H. H. (2007). //Using technology with classroom instruction that works.// Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development. P. 139. Meyer, A. (2009, August 24). //Cast udl lesson builder//. Retrieved from []  Solomon, G., & Schrum, L. (2007). //Web 2.0 new tools, new schools//. International Society for Technology in the Classroom. p. 168.