Wednesday, December 14, 2011

Wrapping It All Together-- Just in Time for Christmas

We made it!! Another semester done!! This has been a very interesting class that has given me many ideas to consider when creating lesson plans for my classes. These were concepts that I had in the back of my mind but struggled with how to implement in my classroom. Now I have the tools to refer to when I am stuck on "how" to integrate technology to enhance student learning, add lessons on cybercitizenry, or create lessons that are universally designed. View my first unit of "wrapping it all together" called Preparing for an Interview. I hope to create many more units like it!! But until then, it is time to start wrapping presents!!

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year from Santa Luke!!


Saturday, December 3, 2011

Universal Design for Learning-- Am I on the Right Track?

As I was looking at the CAST UDL Lesson Builder website's examples of UDL lesson plans, I thought that when I actually create my lesson plans, I am not too far away of creating plans that are designed to meet the needs of all my students. So I decided to take a unit I teach in my Introduction to Business class where we research different economic systems and what makes a country successful to find ways I can help all my students find success in my classroom.. What I found I needed to improve on was offering different avenues for my students to express their ideas. If we were to have a class discussion, I added ways for the students to express their opinions before the discussion. I also tried to make sure there were two ways for students to view information, whether through audio or visual.

To see what I came up with, click here. And please feel free to add any suggestions!! I hope I am starting to get on the right track for creating lesson plans that are designed for all of my students to learn successfully.

One more thing!! Here is an updated photo of Luke, who is almost 2 months old. Time is flying too fast!! This is one of his first professional photos. Already a model!!