This Sketchnote was created using Paper53
I have learned a lot in this course. I appreciated being able to take my time and really focus on the resources provided. I found it was very easy to get lost in them! I think what will stick with me the most is the idea of UDL and designing learning activities for students in a different way than I have been. I made a new template that I hope to use next year to get me started. As I am transitioning to a new school, position, and age level, I know there will be new tools to learn and I am looking forward to collaborating with colleagues in this.
I definitely learned a lot about myself throughout this course. I learned that it is easy to get overwhelmed, especially with all of the options available, and that it is best to pick a few tools and go slow. I quickly found myself spread thin over the 'net while investigating more tools besides the ones that were provided with us. I definitely had "too many tabs" on the go and needed to remind myself several times to refocus and stick to the task at hand (a feeling I am sure our learners experience all of the time!) I have taken online courses before, but always in the summer. It was definitely a challenge balancing this course, a full time teaching position, and being 8-9 months pregnant for the duration of this course. I found that I needed to specifically set aside time to look at the content (for me it was Sunday mornings), and that, while we didn't meet too often, I really enjoyed "Blackboard Collaborative" as a way to touch base. I really appreciate how this course was designed in the sense that I got to examine several tools, but didn't necessarily need to go too in-depth with some of them. It was like a "Choose Your Own Adventure" course, and that really resonated with me and gave me some ideas for future learning activities myself.
My biggest AHA! moment was the possibilities provided by GOOGLE which was kickstarted our first night when Google Read and Write was shared. I do have access to Chromebooks where I am currently teaching and have "dabbled" in Google Docs, but I am very excited with the potential that is offered via Google and their focus on education. My district is piloting Google Education and GAFE - I definitely look forward to learning more and trying out more tools as they become available to us.
My toolkit is expanding as I learn more about what is available. The TEST acronym (IRA SOCOL) really resonated with me as a learner myself and I look forward to continuing to build, share, and model my own toolkit. I am a very visual learner, and immediately started to "sketch" my UDL understanding for our first activity - my goal was to be able to complete a visual "sketch" with technology by the end of this course. I researched apps and tried a few out and finally decided on Paper53, which has now been added to MY toolkit and will be something I can share with my learners down the road. My stylus did not arrive on time, so it is not as "polished" as I would like it to have been - I had to test it out with my finger - but I feel that it worked out pretty well in the end! I am looking forward to capturing my thinking this way in the future (but with a more controlled tool!)
I am looking forward to sharing my learning with others in my new setting next year. I will also have much to learn as I make the transition from secondary to elementary - but I will have many new colleagues to learn from and to learn with. I am looking forward to investigating the devices available at my new school and how they are currently being used. We also have wonderful technology support within our district, and I look forward to future pro-d opportunities where I can experiment more. I have a growth plan for next year, and becoming more comfortable with using technology in meaningful ways is a major part of this plan. Twitter is a major source of information for me and there are several people I "follow" who have become my "go-to" sources for technology support and ideas. I look forward to continuing to connect with others (globally!) over technology and how it is being used to support learners of all ages.
My goal in this course was to delve into assistive technology and learn more about how to use technology to support all of my learners. I feel like I have definitely (started) to do that as I have learned about many new tools available. I also realize that, especially given the nature of technology and new developments), this will be something I continue to learn throughout my career. My goal now is to stay current, to learn more about the kinds of assistive technology that is used at the elementary level in my new school and what opportunities exist there to continue to build my toolkit.