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Teaching with Technology Week 4 Update
This week we learned about cooperative learning and the role technology has in allowing students to work together in projects. We learned that the most effective way to have cooperative learning is in small groups, and should be used regularly and systematically along with other classroom structures. We learned that multimedia is an excellent tool for cooperative learning, students work together and divide responsibilities and roles among themselves to complete the project. Teachers create rubrics that are introduced to students prior to beginning their projects; this allows students to be aware of what they need to do for the project. At the end of the project each group presents their project to the class thus allowing all the students to learn from each others presentation. Pitler quotes Wong & Wong (1998), "Cooperative learning is not so much learning to cooperate as it is cooperating to learn." Pitler, H., Hubbell, E., Kuhn, M., & Malenoski, K. (2007). // Using technology with classroom instruction that works. // Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development, p. 143. I feel this is the main point to cooperative learning, students will learn through their cooperative learning efforts. The technology tools available for cooperative learning include multimedia such as Movie Maker, Web resources such as Keypal and WebQuest, as well as Web site creation programs such as Microsoft Office Publisher. Still other resources in technology are shared bookmarking, Web-enabled Multiplayer simulation games and communication programs such as Skype.

In Chapter 7: Using UDL to Accurately Assess Student Progress, we learned about the barriers that hinder accurate and accessible assessments. One barrier is individual learning differences, students learn in different ways therefore we must provide options for them to choose when assessing student learning. One factor or barrier is individual learning differences, a student may have difficulty comprehending what he or she reads or a student may have a physical disability and is unable to test on paper and pencil, and some students may have anxiety and not perform to their potential. Assessments should provide options for students to show their knowledge, such as a media presentation, oral assessment as well as paper and pencil, thereby addressing students learning differences while testing for understanding. Another factor is media constraints, usually assessments are given in paper and pencil this prevents teachers from truly knowing what every student has learned or comprehends about a topic. Multimedia allows for students with individual learning differences to express their knowledge of the content in formats they feel comfortable using. Lack of Appropriate support during an assessment is also a barrier in assessments, for example not allowing students to test using a word processor as technical assistance significantly affects students’ scores. The last barrier we learned about was lack of integration with curriculum we as teachers should assess “…the interaction between a student and curriculum over time assessing performance and the factors that underlie it.” (Rose, D., & Meyer, A. (2002). //Teaching every student in the digital age: Universal design for learning//. Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development. Chapter 7. Available online at the Center for Applied Special Technology Web site. Retrieved October 5, 2009, from [|http://www.cast.org]/te achingeverystudent/ideas/tes/). Teachers need to have ongoing assessments such as observing and talking to students this will ensure what students are learning.