Why Coding?

Why Coding? 

Coding can be integrated into teaching in many different ways, it can be used for any subject, especially science and social studies. The first step in integrating coding into your classroom is making sure that students know what they are doing and that you trust them with these tasks. Students that are given the chance to learn about coding robots are able to use their knowledge and creativity to create something new and exciting each and every time. Coding needs to be introduced to students in a fun and exciting way in order for the students to enjoy the process. I would integrate coding like we did in class where we first made an animal with the finch robot and then we just the hummingbird robot to make something that moved. Students would love the process of learning and creating with coding and different required subjects. 

Coding is great for students because it allows them to use their creativity and stretch their decision making skills. Students use their creativity when creating the outside shell of the coding robots and then they use their decision making skills to do the coding part where they have to decide how they want their robot to move. I would like to use coding in my classroom because students will enjoy every moment of this process. Students can use different materials to create different aspects of the robot and students will really enjoy having that freedom. Coding in my classroom would be a great way to assess how and what students have learned, it is a great non-intimidating way of testing students knowledge. I think that coding would be great to have in a classroom and students will definitely enjoy it.

To find out more information:
https://www.edutopia.org/blog/add-coding-elementary-curriculum-now-matt-harrell

UDL Action & Expression (Summative)

UDL Action and Expression (Summative)

Using Finch Robots when teaching would be fun and interesting for students of all ages. How I would integrate Finch Robots into my teaching would be to have students learn about what the robot does and then give them a demonstration on how to make them work. Once students are taught the basic steps of the process of getting it to work they will be able to do it on their own or in partnerships. I liked the activity that we did in class where we made these into different animals found in Utah. This robot could be used for anything really, it could help with angles (when it turns), you could use it on a number line in math, there are so many possibilities. I would make using these robots a usual thing, have students use them often for different subjects so that they can master the controls and have fun interactive assessments so I can see what they learned.

As a future teacher, my goal with regard to the Finch Robots is that students have fun learning with them. Students will have another avenue to show what they have learned, they can present and talk through the robot. I would like my future students to be able to use these often because they are so versatile that they can be used for many different subjects. This is great with empowered learning because when students are able to not only be creative, but create something themselves they will learn more than they normally would. I also think that when students are given the opportunity to show what they know and learn through different ways they are able to feel more confident in what they have created and confident in themselves.
https://finchrobot.com/teaching/grades-k-5 

UDL Action and Expression (Formative)

UDL Action and Expression (Formative)

How Principle 2: Action and Expression can be effectively integrated into teaching is through making formative assessments interactive and interesting for students. It is also very important to remember that there are so many different types of learners and I need to be diverse in the way that I teach my future students so that they can effectively show us what they know. I would also like to integrate formative assessments by showing the students how fun it can be to create things to show what you know, it would be wonderful to model or "figure" out how the tools work, as a class, so we are all learning together.

Principle 2 will help my students because they will be more enthusiastic to show me what they have learned if they are enjoying the formative assessments that they are doing. It would also help my students to be able to choose from a few different types of tools to show me what they have learned, I think that giving students a bit of restricted freedom, by having a few different options will help them as well. I would choose about 4 different options and then my students can have a choice between the 4. By giving a variety of ideas or tools they will be able to create a project they would enjoy. I could also have the students vote together as a class on a tool that they would like to use. My goals in regard to this topic is that I will be able to create a classroom where my students know that assessments don't have to be scary tests, but that they can be really fun activities and projects that they will enjoy. 

http://castprofessionallearning.org/project/top-10-udl-tips-for-assessment/

http://www.udlcenter.org/aboutudl/udlguidelines/principle2

UDL Representation

UDL Representation

Universal Design for Learning Principle 1: Multiple means of Representation 

This principle can be integrated into my teaching similarly to the project that we created in class. It means that I need to give my students different forms of representation that  will help them to do their best. It can and should be integrated through making and using videos or other forms of media that have text, visual aspects, and or sound. I would also like to be able to give my students information in multiple ways that will make sense to all my students. Students should be given the best chance at succeeding and this is a great way to help them along to that process. 

This principle will help my student because they will be able to learn in different ways that they can understand. Representing information differently is important because every child will learn in a different way and a great teacher should be teaching to help all children to learn their best. As a teacher, my goals regarding this topic is that I will teach using different types of representation so that my students will be able to succeed. I would like to also integrate representation into my teaching because it will enrich the whole school experience. 

http://www.udlcenter.org/aboutudl/udlguidelines/principle1