Claire Molony Educational Blog

 Part 1: Digital Tools and UDL-Based Instructional Strategies to Support Students with Disabilities Online With so many options for online and digital tools, it is often hard to pick which will help move students towards the learning target. This article helps identify various digital tools that can be used in meaningful and intentional ways to support all students, especially those with disabilities. Then it continues to tie these tools into the three principles of UDL which are: representation, action and expression, and engagement. One part of UDL is considering when and how barriers may arise and how to plan for them. We need tools to facilitate learning when those barriers are present. In Representation online, students tend to struggle with so much information thrown at them without frequent checks from the teacher. To help with this teachers can create step-by-step directions with screenshots, post screencast videos, or use an online form to offer chances for reflections (Ra...

 Part 1: Link to Levels of Organization Lesson The lesson provided from Magic School AI is a good starting place. It is nice how it gives you all aspects of a lesson. Currently our initiative at school is to do the Gradual Release Model. Meaning every day we need focused, guided, collaborative, and independent learning. This lesson has all of that. It does a nice job of tying to the standard HS-LS1-2: Develop and use a model to illustrate the hierarchical organization of interacting systems that provide specific functions within a multicellular organism but not to the ISTE standards. It has students learn the levels, create their own model, and then share their model with others. I do not feel like this lesson is rigorous enough for sophomores in high school because they need more than regurgitate information I tell them. The assessment does not align enough with the standard because the assessment has them making their model with different levels in it. They need to be able to sho...

This week Chapter 5: Knowledge and Reasoning has readers reflect on how knowledge are reasoning are obtained. It mentions the art of learning the skills and how they need to be practiced. The reading ended with providing strategies for educators on how to improve these skills in their students. Tying this to technology and creative learning provides a well rounded education for students who are able to improve their 21st Century Skills and learn more about how they learn along the way. As educators we need to promote creativity in the classroom so students are able to think for themselves and solve new problems as they arise. The more knowledge and reasoning they have, the more creative they can be. This graphic will take you through the key points.  Here is a link incase the picture is blurry.  Infographic