During this past course of Reaching and Engaging All Learners through Technology, I have learned so many new exciting ways of looking at ideas that I can take back to my classroom. Universal Design is the design philosophy of making our spaces work for all people. For an example a building might have a ramp off to the side of a set of steps to make it easier for people in wheelchairs or people with strollers or deliveries to manage the entrance. Taking time to make my classroom lessons more universal in design has also been beneficial. I thought that differentiated instruction was make twenty different lessons for twenty different students but the true is that a lesson can be tweaked here and there simply be implementing a piece of technology or grouping students by interest level or learning style.
With a new school year starting in only days, I can’t wait to get back in to my classroom and try some of these new ideas I have learned about. Right off the bat, I will be opening a dialogue with my students, parents, other teachers in my building to let them know what DI is and how it will look in my classroom. Often times in reading we have an assessment on a novel or book we may have just finished. Assessments this time will include having students work individually or perhaps group students according to their learning style. Using interactive white boards, the internet, iPods, even cell phones, can help students adapt to what is being taught and to help students further learning more about how they learn…and that is a long life skill we can all take with us!
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