EDEL 3250 Blog

The definition of coding from the dictionary is "the process of assigning a code to something for the purpose of classification or identification." In a wold full of technology, coding has really taken off, especially for children. According to Tynker, "200 million students around the world were exposed to coding through the Hour of Code event and over 90% of American parents want programming added to their child's curriculum." I think coding can be effectively integrated by using events, like the Hour of Code, that Tynker does and doing different activities like the finch or hummingbird and programming things like that. The main thing is to at least expose students to some sort of coding or programming and allow them a chance to explore and experiment with it. My goals with coding are to look into these different events and have my class be a part of them. I also want to expose my students to coding as much as possible and make it a big part of the curriculum

The Finch Robots are a great tool for teaching students about technology and for integrating technology with any other subjects. They are great for reports, like we did in class with animals and putting costumes on the finch and having it give the details of the animal. They would be great for doing a report on different people as well, like presidents or celebrities or important people in history and dressing the finch up as a person. You can use the finch for different math topics as well. The main thing is the finch helps with computational thinking and helps the children think in a different way and give them a broader perspective and different look on things. My goals in regards with this is be sure to integrate technology into my classroom and give the students a taste of the wide variety of technology and tools that are out there. I would love to have finch robots to use as well and to be able to use them for different projects and reports. This shapes my perspective on empower

Principle II: Provide Multiple Means of Action and Expression covers the importance of providing multiple means and materials to allow all students to be involved and accomplish the different tasks required of them. UDL states "Learners differ in the ways that they can navigate a learning environment and express what they know." It is important that every student is able to express themselves and are able to participate no matter the student or limitations. This becomes really important when it comes to assessments. If there is not a way to give a formative assessment to all students there is no way to assess or keep track and help students succeed. It is important to give a variety and to change it up so students stay engaged and are able to remember things better. UDL says that "Navigation and interaction in those limited ways will raise barriers for some learners – those with physical disabilities, blindness, dysgraphia, or who need various kinds of executive functio

To start off, UDL is Universal Design for Learning. UDL is broken down into 3 different guidelines or focuses, these are to provide multiple means of engagement, representation, and action and expression. These are then broken down even more into sub-section and on to smaller sub-sections. Focusing on Principle 1: Provide Multiple Means of Representation and how this can be integrated into a classroom. There are 3 guidelines: provide options for perception, language and math expression and symbols, and comprehension. These can be integrated by ensuring that all students can understand the material by providing various means of perceiving the material and if needs be adjusting to students needs so they can hear and see the material. Providing different charts and pictures and representations so that all students from different background are able to understand the message. It is also important that students understand how to apply the information to themselves, so that they are able to