EDLD+5364+-+Teaching+with+Technology

Teaching with Technology introduced me to a number of online tools that promoted a collaborated working atmosphere between class members. I learned how effective Web 2.0 tools would be within the corporate world, as well as an educational atmosphere. Technology tools such as Google Docs and sites; wiki’s, blogs, rubrics, graphic organizers, and self-assessments were just a few of the examples provided (Pitler, Hubbell, Kuhn, & Malenoski,2007).

Since I had never worked in this type of collaborative atmosphere and especially using this type of software or web tools, I found the possibilities very exciting. I thoroughly enjoyed working in a collaborative team with members that were scattered to all ends of the state of Texas. The process reinforced the ideas that being able to instruct a classroom of students no matter what their home base location might be, whether rural, or interurban, would give them a much broader perspective on their homework assignments. Watching the You-Tube presentations about the classes in Alaska and how they are able to collaborate with other schools even with their remote location was fascinating, as well as informative.

Our creative assignment in using the CAST UDL’s e-book builder was interesting in that it allows teachers easily create online multimedia lessons, or “books”, that use a variety of instructional strategies in addressing multiple learning styles. I had to concentrate on the third grade audience level that this project would be viewed by, as well as learn new software to build the presentation. My strengths were evident in manipulating the software, however my weakness was in gearing my presentation toward a class of third graders and not to overwhelm them with adult viewpoints of the subject matter. < [|Book Builder – Nature's Food Chain] >