EQ #2 asked, "how can technology be utilized to design instruction to promote student understanding?" How has deeper knowledge of UbD helped you see new ways to incorporate technology into teaching and learning? How can you try to get past activity based technology activities?
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Technology can be utilized to design instruction to promote student understanding by using programs focused on the evaluation of student performance and then taking these evaluations to guide lesson development. My deeper knowledge of UbD helped me see new ways to incorporate technology into teaching and learning by becoming more focused on relating all of the little parts to the big picture which we want students to understand. The UbD has forced me to stay focused on where I want the students to be by the end of the unit. I can try to get past activity based technology activities by encouraging students to use the technology for research purposes and not just as a word processor. Students need to understand how to use the technology responsibly as a resource for information.
Technology gives teachers the ability to evaluate student data and design instruction specifically targeting the needs of the students. This concept supports the data driven, standard-based classroom that we are encouraged to work toward.
Understanding by Design (UbD) principles may be supported/enhanced by technology use. Technology gives teachers the ability to give a pretest using the Promethean board with Activote, receive immediate feedback on weak areas, and design lessons specifically for the weak areas. Through discussion boards, wikis, and/or blogs teachers can access the knowledge level of students and design instruction targeted toward specific areas of weakness. These technology uses support the "backward design" concept of UbD.
To get past activity based technology activities teachers must first identify the specific desired results of a lesson. The use of technology activities for the purpose of meeting a technology use requirement is not going to support learning. The design of lessons that incorporate students using technology instead of "viewing" technology will also help achieve this goal. As teachers, we must move past our "comfort zone" in technology to move past activity based technology activities.
Thinking backwards in the UbD process helped me focus on the big picture rather than on a collection of fun activities that may or may not get the end results I intended. Activity based technology has its place, but I've learned there is so much more. With Special Education students I admit at times it is easier to just tell them the answers and give them tricks for remembering them. Now I see the real value is in letting them find the answers themselves. Then they don't need the "tricks".
I think a primary way of using technology to promote understanding is that it offers additional methods, along with traditional ones to help students garner the desired understandings. Some students will gain some level of understanding through reading material (i.e., textbook, web page), others may appreciate an image or diagram, while others have more success with audio or video files (i.e., streaming video, podcasts). Using technology to create, build, or manipulate information through the use of web page design, blogs, wikis, and such may also be effective means toward understanding.
With the pressure mounting even higher as Georgia considers making passing 9 EOCT exams a graduation requirement, there is no way we teachers can incorporate any activity that does not help teach a standard. UbD planning forces you to only use curriculum that will lead to the end result that you have in mind. We have been clearly told many times if our curriculum does not reflect the standards then do not use it. Technology has the possibility of streamlining teaching so that students are engaged and therefore being more active learners. Teaching for the moment or for a unit test in a couple of weeks is no longer acceptable. Students can no longer fail the final exam because they have forgotten early units of work. This class has helped me obtain a knowledge base so that I have a wider variety of choices as to how to present curriculum to students.
Technology can be utilized to design instruction to promote student understanding by simply using it in the delivery processes. The backwards thinking approach that understanding by design offers enables the teacher to creatively think of ways to deliver content that will assist students in answering essential questions related to that unit or topic. Technology can easily be added into this in the means of videos, multimedia, wikis, blogs, Podcasts and other more modern tools. In addition, using the same tools and others such as software, video streaming sites, and webpage design can enhance student activities and assignments.
Teachers have many different types of technology resources and devices to incorporate into instruction. The focus of education today is to design instruction so that students have a deep understanding of concepts. The UbD process can help teachers as they design their units because they must focus on the final projects or activities students will complete to show their understanding. This backward design process can allow teachers to carefully plan and implement more technology into their instruction. Although I teach really young children, the UbD process has helped me explore new ways of implementing technology into my instruction. I used computer games and activities, but now I am more familiar with online videos, webquests, wikis, blogs, etc.
Teachers can get past activity based technology activities by using the new Web 2.0 tools. Students read and access information about topics through wikis, blogs, podcasts, etc. They can research and explore concepts, communicate with their teachers and peers, etc. As teachers and students become more familiar with these technology tools, hopefully they will become a natural part of instruction.
Technology, for the most part, for students can be very fun and interested. Once they are hooked, learning can begin. Programs can be used to enhance instruction, as a supplementary mini-lesson, and to provide clearer explanations that may not be gained during instruction without the use of technology. The UbD has helped me to focus on the end result. It makes me stick to what I want the students to have learned by the end of the unit. Each time I am instructing, I am focused on what the students will need in order to achieve understanding. For my students with disabilities, it is hard to get past activity based tech. activities, but I constantly try to remind them and encourage them that technology is like a gateway and they need to learn skills such as researching, too.
Technology I don't think can be utilized. It MUST be utilized to increase student performance in order to create students who are able to compete in the modern world. The biggest and hardest thing for me in th is class was designing my UbD. Thinking backward using the ideas in the Learning by Design text cost me at least 5 million bottles of Tylenol. It did help me create what I think is more of an effective lesson that will have a greater impact on my students, and the technology incorporated will help create more of the standard based classroom atmosphere that we are supposed to be striving for in education.
I believe technology use in the classroom is a must. Because we live in a technological world children should be come used to using technology. Technology in the classroom supports and enhances learning which is so crucial in the state of Georgia today. Our students have to pass more and more tests to move on to the next level and it is our job to prepare them. By utilizing technology and designing our classroom instruction to promote student understanding hopefully we can get students to a level where they can succeed!
This semester I have gained a much better understanding of UbD. It is a must with the new GPS. UbD requires teachers to have a focus and end result in mind when planning a lesson or unit. The process keeps you focused on building understanding, rather than going off on five "really neat" activities that just brush over the content. I think this has affected my ideas of effective technology implementation by requiring me to ask myself if I am adding in the technology to build understanding or fluff up my lessons. There are lots of wonderful technologies out there that can really make your lessons look good, but don't really contribute to building understanding. There are also many technology options available that can enhance student understanding. This course has helped me to become better at distinguishing between the two.
From the O'Neill article we read this semester, technology does have a positive influence on achievement. Educators would be doing a great disservice if they did not incorporate technology in every facet of their lessons. I taught a unit on genetics and was able to incorporate Internet research projects, virtual labs, and wiki design. Students seemed to have the most postive feedback when technology was invovled somehow.
Technology can be used in many ways to promote student understanding. Teachers can use technology, which children today use for fun purposes, in lessons that engage and motivate students to learn. Podcasts and even cell phones can be used to an educator's advantage to promote understanding.
Through learning about UbD, I have envisioned many way to use technology in teaching and learning. UbD enables the teacher to focus on what he/she wants students to walk away with. In knowing this information, the teacher can plan what technology resources should be included in order to meet that final goal.
I can get past activity based technology activities by keeping in mind the standard, essential question, and big idea. Technology resources such as wikis, blogs, and SMART board interactive lessons can help me to achieve my goal of student understanding concepts in my class.
I think that UbD principles necessitate the use of new technologies to help with teaching and learning. When you first decide what it is you want the students to learn or do, it then follows that you pick the best methods known to you to get the job done. When you as a teacher are familiar with many of the new technologies, in particular Web 2.0, it becomes easy to see how they can be used to further the goal of student learning and achievement. I've never been one to use an activity simply because it would be fun to do. If it doesn't serve an educational purpose, I won't mess with it. So doing activities just to be doing them isn't a problem here.
UbD is at the root of Georgias new GPS. I remember unpacking the standards and refering to the UbD design constantly. For me incorporating technology into teaching is a given. Technology is a way to help foster a greater understanding of what is being studied. The UbD design brings everything together. Understanding where you want the students to end up is the best way to design the lessons. Technology is not only necessary now a days but it makes learning more interesting and fun. Teachers who do not use it are at a great disadvantage.
The UbD textbook has helped me understand the significance of the GPS. The intent of the UbD is for educators to enhance student learning and design a more effective curriculum. The technology that we discussed in this course has been very effective with my students. The UbD method combined with the latest technology has certainly motivated me to be a better teacher and learner.
Incorporating technology can offer so much more depth of understanding to students than the traditional method of teaching. Not only will the use of technology address different learning styles, but it also puts most of the learning in the hands of the student. Students have the option to continue with the study of what interests them without the constraints of a classroom or textbook.
Adding technology to lessons brings so much more to the students' experiences and learning styles. Students can expand from just a word processor to a whole new technology world.
As a teacher, working backwards and seeing the big picture helps put everything into perspective. Teachers and students have a deeper knowledge of the content and the students seem to enjoy learning.
Using technology based instruction/activities directly correlates to GPS. Not only can a teacher move away from pen and paper, but we now can move forward to more activities online. Hopefully this will help students with EOCT and GHSGT by giving students a deeper understanding of the subject matter.
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