Browse the topics at left to gain some insight into why technology-based tools play an important role in today's classrooms and other learning environments. Explore, enjoy, and enhance how you teach and learn...

21st Century Learners

The New Century School House, from David Warlick, focuses on 21st century learners and how teachers can meet the needs of today's students.

"Educating students for an unpredictable future is one of the greatest challenges that our society faces, and it will take enormous imagination to meet this challenge. This project, New Century School House, is an opportunity for educators to begin to express what our knowledge, experience, and imagination tells us schools should be like, to better prepare our students for their future."

Digital = Flexible

We can use technology in ways that leverage its inherent flexibility, as shown by the process we used with 2nd and 3rd graders to create an investigative report. Note how the same digital material gets modified for different purposes along the way.

Best of Both Worlds

As you become more enthusiastic about technology, don't leave the best of our conventional materials and strategies behind! See how you can combine technology with conventional materials to discover the best of both worlds.

Differentiated Instruction

In short,

“Everyone does their best. Everyone gets what they need.”

– Dr. Ross Greene,
Center for Collaborative Problem Solving

The key here is that both adults and students learn how to take responsibility for managing their challenges and sharing their strengths. This approach builds a strong sense of community in the classroom.

Universal Design

“A universally designed curriculum is designed from the outset to meet the needs of the greatest number of users, making costly, time-consuming, and after-the-fact changes to curriculum unnecessary.” – CAST.org

Universal Design for Learning Involves:

Multiple means of engagement

... tap into learners' interests, offer appropriate challenges, and increase motivation

Multiple means of representation

... give learners various ways of acquiring information and knowledge

Multiple means of expression

... provide learners alternatives for demonstrating what they know

Technology plays a role in universal design because it provides the flexibility to quickly create or adapt curriculum and learning tools to tap into student interests, provide alternate forms of access and give students diverse ways to express their understanding.

When students have access to information in flexible formats, with flexible tools, they can apply all their senses to learning - seeing words and images, listening, touching, etc. In a universally designed electronic environment, students can choose whether or not to see images, how text appears, whether or not to listen to what they read, and more. Providing more than one way for students to express their knowledge gives a more authentic assessment of student understanding, and honors the diversity of all students.

Assistive Technology

The Alliance for Technology Access – a national network of community-based Resource Centers, Developers, Vendors, and Associates dedicated to providing information and support services to children and adults with disabilities, and increasing their use of standard, assistive, and information technologies.

Quality Indicators for Assistive Technology – Quality Indicators, Matrices, and QIAT in Action documents, the QIAT List and searchable archives, and an online form for sharing resources and links of interest

Assistive Tech Ning – an open network of people who have an interest in assistive technology use in Pre-K-12 systems.

Let's Play Projects – Ideas and strategies to promote play through better access to play materials, and use assistive technology to give the children this critical access.

Extend the Classroom

Technology brings more resources into the classroom than ever imagined. Equally powerful, we can now move our tools from place to place, communicate nearly instantaneously, and share our work with people around the world.

Need-to-know Resources

Just a few need-to-know resources to start your journey in the large, flexible, changing world that is educational technology

• www.cast.org - universal design
  ◦ www.starfall.com - online reading, K-3
  ◦ readwritethink.org - excellent literacy resource
  ◦ nlvm.usu.edu - virtual math manipulatives
  ◦ www.oslis.org - search & cite tips
  ◦ www.edublogs.org - free blogs for teachers
• eduwikius.wikispaces.com - a collaborative resource by and for teachers on innovative practices in education
• teachertube.com - online videos shared by and for teachers on a range of topics.