Culminating+Activity+III

=Create and post a short, persuasive essay or paragraph convincing your building or district administration to embrace the Net Generation.=

Dear Administrator;

The future is passing us by every day. At this moment the digital highway is moving at an exponential speed. As one of the top school districts in the area, we need to keep up with the times. Student’s needs are different they need more technology; as a district teachers need your support. We need more digital media to help provide our students with more learning opportunities. The cost for this digital media is minimal since most is online in the cyber space. The support of this project from the administrative side would be the public support for using technology and being able to give us the freedom to create new and inventive ways to help our students learn. As our students get older the needs for technology savvy people will grow. By allowing us the freedom and flexibility to grow as a district you are also helping to build the framework for our students for the next millennia. Thank you for your support.

JimB

To Whom It May Concern:

You should allocate funding to provide better resources for the 21st century classroom. Universal design is the present and future. Students today learn in ways that you or I couldn't have imagined when we were students. Today's learner is inundated with constant technological application... however, usually outside of the classroom. Today's learners need to be a part of the process, not just the product. They need to create. They need to share. They need to apply their learning in a way that best suits them as an individual. Studies have shown that the brains of today's learners have changed. They process information differently. It is our responsibility to facilitate methods in which they can be "active learners" in every sense of the term. In order to successfully meet their needs we need to use technology; not just computers but smartboards, digital cameras, interactive websites, video tools, file and media sharing, etc. Educators will also need ample training to feel secure in teaching children who will most likely already understand the technology better than the person presenting it. We are taught as undergrads to always be aware that we tend to teach how we learn. This is especially true for the 21st century educator; we can't be satisfied with outdated methods. It is our job to prepare our students not only academically, but socially, to be successful in a society that revolves around technology. It is an injustice to continue to go along idly with textbooks and workbooks and paper reports; our students should hear ebooks, complete online surveys and create podcasts.

Sincerely,

A teacher in-tune with the 21st century learner

Participating in the Universal Design for Learning course over the past two weeks has opened my eyes to the new universe of technology that many of our students use every day, and that I knew almost nothing about. Our students have grown up in a digital world - they are the digital natives. When I think about a typical school day for these students, much of their time is spent sitting at desks, listening to a teacher talk, and writing answers on paper. The most high tech thing may be a teacher using a PowerPoint presentation. And we wonder why they are bored and not paying attention. To take advantage of internet technology, we must have more computer resources for our students. And we must train our teachers to understand and use internet technology. One laptop cart shared among six or more teachers does not promote technology integration on a large scale. As the price of computers, IPads, etc. continues to fall, we need to invest more in computer technology, and less in printed textbooks, many of which are obsolete shortly after printing. Donna

// Dear Principal, // // I am writing to share with you what I learned in my recent class Universal Design for Leaning with the Regional Training Center. Universal Design for Learning (UDL) is based on the reality that learners are coming to school with increasingly diverse needs. Due to inclusion we have more students in mainstream classes with vision, hearing and physical handicaps. There are also more students being identified as learning disabled or having various special needs that must be addresses. Of course we are also all aware that there are many different modalities for learning and students have their own strengths and weaknesses. UDL brings together ideas of differentiation and digital learning to provide flexible learning opportunities to meet the needs of every child. Teachers must be able to represent ideas in different ways and engage students on may levels while also allowing students to express their learning in a variety of ways. Digital media supports UDL because it provides a multitude of tools that allow teachers to support students in differentiated learning. In UDL the teacher carefully plans learning experiences that meet the needs of the marginalized students in the room. Developing lessons that work for the students on the “fringes” inherently provides multiple access points that meet the needs of all the students in the classroom. Technology provides new assistive technologies for learners with disabilities as well as engaging representations of information for students to interact with. Most importantly, students are able to showcase their learning in a variety of dynamic ways that meet their interests and abilities. Our children are growing up in a digital world and will need to be able to navigate the information superhighway and develop their own creative expressions of learning. It is no longer acceptable that schools to do not provide students with the opportunities to interact with technology. Using digital media within the context of UDL is the only way we can support our learners for a future we cannot imagine or predict. I would like to share with you and the staff some of the tools I have discovered that will assist our teachers and students to learn in the digital age. //

// Thank you, // // Katie //


 * Dear School District, **


 * We need to make some drastic changes in the way that we teach the students of this district if we want to get them ready for life in the 21st century once they are done their schooling. Right now we are using a model of teaching that has been used for the last 100 years That model is very teacher centered, and does not involve the digital strengths of the students. The students come to us already being constantly exposed to many types of digital media even before their first day of school. Studies have shown that their brain is different then ours physically because of the digital media that they are exposed to at home. It is doing them a disservice to “power down” as soon as they get to school. Our curriculum needs to offer many ways of doing an activity (including many digital ways). I believe the best way to accomplish this would be to give every student a tablet PC. Yes I know it will be expensive, but imagine the money you will save on not having to buy text books every few years. Plus, there is a huge list of amazing educational activities that they could do on a tablet. The students will be motivated to learn, and in the end, will help them more in their lives then just handing them a text book. **


 * Sincerely, **


 * Tyler **

It doesn't feel good to be in last place, does it? Of course, not! Be a trailblazer with UDL, Universal Design for Learning. Today's learners receive information quickly, process pictures and sounds before text, network simultaneously with others, and thrive off of instant gratification. Are you up for the challenge of educating the Digital Generation? Well, it's not an option!

Present ideas in multiple ways. Instead of limiting students to a textbook, enhance the curriculum with enlarges text, speech, sound, and visual aides. Bring the book to life. Give students options for expressing themselves. Let learning become an adventure that students and students can create their own map to their destination. Utilize technologies like Wikis, You Tube, and more. The world is at the "screenager's" fingertips. Engage students in multiple ways to capitalize on their strengths. Offering one means for representation is not acceptable to the Digital learner. A Tic-Tac-Toe, Wordle, Prezi, or Power Point offered as an option is much more relevant. Options, options, options!

Have you migrated to the digital age? Get on board or miss the boat!

-Ashley A.

Universal Design for Learning (UDL) is a flexible and student centered framework for teaching. This framework is a vehicle for teaching and reaching all learners. The three principles of UDL are: To support recognition learning (through flexible methods of presentation); to support strategic learning (through flexible methods of expression and apprenticeship); to support affective learning (through flexible options for engagement) UDL is a way to structure differentiation and to support the acquisition of knowledge for students of all cultures and abilities. The digital learners of today’s schools require all our teaching to be flexible and student centered. When teachers present content in multiple ways and give students’ choices to demonstrate learning, the students will be more likely to be engaged. UDL is the student centered framework that helps to ensure the success of our current generation of students that must be adopted in our schools. Peg C.

Dear Administrator, As a special education teacher I spend many hours trying to adapt the general education curriculum to make accommodations to allow our students to successfully learn in today's classrooms. Often it entails retrofitting old ways and philosophies with current tools and technology. We need to start looking at education and serving diverse learners for the start. There is no longer one way to LEARN so why do we continue with the antiquate notion that there is one way to TEACH. Today's students are growing up in an ever-changing technical society. We as educators needs to incorporate the student technical knowledge as use it as a tool for learning. Technology is such an important part of our students lives, so should the lessons and strategies implemented by the teachers. A school wide initiative embracing digital technology is necessary in order to incorporate technology into the classrooms. We can utilize the World Wide Web, and the common use of Ipods to engage students, as well as low tech means into the lessons, interactive and hands on collaborative learning must take place, to help the learner find meaning in today's classroom. Sincerely, Roseann M.

Dear Administrator, Today’s generation of students are growing up in a world where technology is changing very quickly which in turn is changing the world. Our students are growing up utilizing the latest technology and adapting to this evolving technology. We as educators must strive to evolve or be left behind. We need staff development in the latest technology that allows us to keep our students engaged. The teachers of today need to understand and utilize the Universal Design for Learners (UDL). This design aligns with no child left behind as well as 21st Century Learners and meeting the needs of not just some of our students but ALL our students The UDL allows for various media in our classrooms helps us help our students with what the future may bring. By providing our staff and student’s with these opportunities, we are helping them maximize their learning and preparing them with lifelong skills. Please consider creating an inservice on the UDL. ~ Taylor