Chapter 10

Technology supports the learning of diverse students across the board, whether they are linguistically or culturally diverse. Multicultural education is a strategy in which teachers go about adapting their lessons and everyday activities to fit the needs, talents and interests of diverse students. One way in which this can be done is to create culturally relevant curriculum and instruction. This diversifies the content of the lesson and gives the entire class a new insight on a previously taught time period. Using technology with linguistically diverse students is monumental when it comes to adapting the curriculum to fit the needs of diverse students because of the wide array of resources available on the internet. It would be nearly impossible to have a physical dictionary in every student's language in the classroom, but there are online language and translation services available at all times. There are multilingual web resources that allow for all students to view a website together in real tim without having to pause to translate text, and there are also international newspapers and other resources that offers translations of more than 10,000 news papers around the world.

 Differentiated instruction and universal design for learning are strategies for adjusting the curriculum and instruction for the needs of the students during the same lesson. differentiated instruction is when a teacher may change the lesson for individual students based on their academic abilities. Universal design for learning is also a strategy to accommodate for different student's learning, however it is focused more on ways to benefit groups of students as opposed to individuals, without diminishing or reducing opportunities for any students. the main difference for DI and UDI is that one is for the individual student, and the other is for the class as a whole.

Teachers can adapt their classroom learning environment  by using different levels of technology. Low tech accommodations refer to easy changes that are inexpensive and don't apply digital materials. Mid tech accommodations involve moderate shifts in the organization and delivery of lessons and activities that may include digital materials. Finally high tech accommodations utilize the integration of computers and other technological tools in the classroom. One way a teacher can adapt their classroom learning with technology is through the use of a word cloud. Word clouds are visual representations of text that are engaging to the reader. This can be particularly useful in a diverse classroom because it breaks apart text in an appealing format that is easy to read.

1)If all classrooms applied UDI in their lessons, would there be a need for individualized differentiation?
2)Would the investment of high tech classrooms help or hurt a school in a lower socioeconomic neighborhood?
3) What are ways in which teachers can adjust the writing process to fit individual needs?

Chapter 7

Chapter 7 is different than the past few chapters in that  discusses ways that technology can assist in problem solving. The chapter begins by breaking down the steps to problem solving, starting with understanding the problem, using problem solving strategies and finally checking your results. Adhering to these steps is particularly important when thinking about real-world issues because as the text states, they are often called ill-structured problems; problems that have no clear solution or simple formula to work through.

This being said, it is often these ill-structured problems that are the most satisfying to solve due to their complex nature and provide the greatest learning opportunity. The chapter then explains the differences between hardware and software as both are further discussed as methods/tools to use for problem solving. They key is utilizing technology to problem solve, is to determine what type of software is appropriate for the students needs.
Evaluating possible software and applications is imperative to ascertain the program's validity. Criteria such as, having a complex story line with open ended activities, meaningful and age appropriate characters who are learning companions, and opportunities for replaying the game with different outcomes, are all characteristics of a computer program or game that encourages higher order thinking skills as opposed to playing a game that is more of a time consumer. there are several recommended resources to aid in the selection process such as stopbadware.org which allows the user to determine the safety of the programs being used.

The chapter also discusses the three types of problem solving and inquiry learning software. Composing and calculating software refers to writing and mathematics programs. Writing programs can forgo the immediate use of moving past a pen and paper, but also learning how to write for a website or how to communicate by email. Building inventing and creating software, is related to hands on materials as it provides students with environments for interactive and engaging explorations. Examples of building, inventing and creating software are google earth and kid pix. Visual thinking and concept mapping software are programs that let teachers and students outline ideas visually.

Questions
1) Should the social deficiency acquired in gaming be considered when using educational computer games?
2) How early is it to begin instructing students to build their own software?

Chapter 6

In a world where technology is becoming incorporated more into everyday life it’s only appropriate to continue to absorb technological culture into classrooms. Chapter 6 explores information management by means of URL bookmarking, social bookmarking, information alerts and e-newsletters as was to organize information in the traditional classroom setting.

URL bookmarking is a way to collect websites that are frequently visited in a single simplified list format. These lists can be used as a way to quickly go through a routine. For example if the class has a song on YouTube that they use as a part of their morning routine and then the class immediately jumps into an online based activity, the teacher can simply go to the bookmarked pages and easily jump from site to site.

Social bookmarking is similar to URL bookmarking but the lists are shared by a community of users across many computers.  Social bookmarking creates a public list of websites that the contributors can add or remove from.  Contributors can also decide whether or not set pages are viewable by all participants. This can be utilized by several teachers in the same school building who use a set list of approved websites.

Information alerts and e-newsletters go out to groups of individuals regarding information related to curriculum or an individual’s interest. They may appear automatically through an email subscription or through another platform. A science teacher may be teaching about the lifecycle of a plant or butterfly and can receive weekly e-newsletters about the progress of a butterfly sanctuary in another state.

Is it appropriate to share lesson plans online?

Should teachers ‘add’ parents on social media for the purpose of sharing information about the students?