Differentiated Instruction and Universal Design for Learning can be an intimidating concept for educators. Teachers see those educational terms and assume they involve exhaustive planning, hours of developing individualized lesson plans, and frustrating sessions learning complicated technologies. But incorporating DI and UDL in the classroom, as I have learned from this course, is far from it.
At the beginning of this course, I saw DI and UDL as concepts that were foreign to my art classroom and would be difficult to apply to my curriculum. But when researching DI and UDL for my group's "Differentiation Station social network" I learned that many of the tools and techniques I already use in my classroom, help me engage all of my students. Simple technologies like using my digital projector and document camera allow me to differentiate instruction daily. I also learned about a variety of learning technologies that will help me develop differentiated learning opportunities for my students, web-based art applications on art museum websites like The Getty Institute (http://www.getty.edu/gettygames/) and Mr. Picasso Head (http://www.picassohead.com/).
Along with researching learning technologies to differentiate instruction I also learned about technologies to help me learn about my students' interests and learning profiles which can help me develop lessons that will be engaging to all learners. By taking the time to have my students fill out learning profile and interest surveys, I can create a more comprehensive picture of who my students are and how they learn.
Differentiating instruction, student learning profiles, and integrating technology are all ways great ways to customize a classroom to reach all learners but it is important to remember that differentiating a classroom or a curriculum doesn't happen over night. Teachers can take "baby steps" when it comes to incorporating technology into the classroom. The first steps I am going to take with in my own classroom is to start providing students more opportunities to use technology as a creative tool and as a way to assess my students' progress and readiness.
This course has taught me a lot about DI and UDL but it has also giving to opportunity to use a technology I had no experience with, Google Groups. It was a great way to collaborate with group members and I can see myself using this technology in my own school and district to work together on curriculum and educational resource development.
