Value Added of Technology / Fit With UDL

Thinking back to eTIPS and UDL articles, what is the “value added” for the uses of technology we have been discussing in class this semester?

So far this semester the types of technology we have discussed in class include: the use of blogs, digital photos and their manipulation with the program Photoshop Elements, concept maps using Inspiration, creation of websites using NVU, Inquiry-based learning, such as WebQuests and digital stories. Dexter’s article entitled, “eTIPS” says that technology provides “added value to the teaching or learning processes when it makes possible something that otherwise would be impossible or less viable to do” (p. 58). Through the lens of my area of concentration in teaching (TESOL/Adult Education), I see value added for blogs in terms of increased opportunities for my students to communicate and interact with others and thereby practice “real-world” writing and reading in English. In a class blog, students would be able to write posts and read those of others, maybe even partner with other classes or schools, utilizing a fresh way to express themselves in English.

Some of the value added from digital photos and their manipulation through Photoshop would be to allow me to create materials that are specific to the needs of my students and my classroom. For instance, by creating a picture using images for the vocabulary on which we are focusing, I could support my students’ learning visually. Similarly, the use of concept maps created through a program such as Inspiration would add value by permitting students to express their ideas visually and would be an excellent way to scaffold those students with limited English because they might be able to explain a complex idea more easily by visual means than they would verbally. With regard to the creation of websites, I doubt that I would ever be teaching adult ESL in a situation where it would be possible for students to create their own websites because of the scarcity of technological resources, however analogous to my thoughts above about blogs, I do see the value that could be added to the class if we had a classroom website. A well constructed class website would give students access to classroom information at their convenience in their free time, further enlarging and enhancing their learning experiences with English and expanding communication and learning beyond the few hours we spend together in class.

Again, since I expect to have limited access to technology in the classrooms in which I teach, I see less value added to the use of, for instance, WebQuests, a type of inquiry-based learning. Nevertheless, it might be feasible to teach students the principles of inquiry-based learning so that they could apply them on their own if they have access to technology outside of the classroom. Likewise digital stories would be difficult for my students to produce, given the lack of technology in the classroom, but it could have tremendous value added in the form of material I personally develop to use in the classroom to teach parts of lessons, to illustrate an important point or story, and / or to display student work.

How do they (or don’t they) fit with UDL?
UDL stands for Universal Design for Learning which is based on the idea that “curriculum should include alternatives to make it accessible and appropriate for individuals with different backgrounds, learning styles, abilities, and disabilities in widely varied learning contexts.” Thus, I think that all the uses of technology about which we have learned this semester fit well with UDL because these uses have potential to individualize instruction for students. For example as noted above, technology would allow me to introduce different, more appropriate and personalized visual materials into the classroom which could better address the learning needs of the visual learners in the class. Further, the use of technology could provide additional practice for those students in need of more attention than I am able to give individually in the classroom and might allow me to directly address the challenge of teaching learners with different first languages (L1) who are lumped together in the same class and require varied approaches based on their L1’s. Lastly, technology such as a class blog or website would fit with UDL because they could empower the students to pursue and practice their learning at their own pace, in their own way, outside of the classroom and thereby address and support their “uniqueness” as learners - an essential premise of UDL.
References
eTIPS - http://sdexter.net/Vitae/papers/etips.pdf
UDL - http://www.cast.org/teachingeverystudent/ideas/tes/chapter3_9.cfm
Inquiry-based learning - http://www.thirteen.org/edonline/concept2class/inquiry/index.html