Julie+McGloin

Since I am a certified elementary teacher and am pursuing a teacher career, I took the EdTech Locator Self Assessment in the mindset of a teacher, even though I am currently working as an instructional aide. Taking the assessment was a little difficult since I do not have a classroom of my own, I have only been able to observe how other teachers do or do not incorporate technology, and I can only reflect on how I would incorporate technology were it my own classroom.

This being said, the assessment helped me to realize the areas I would focus on most once I have my own classroom: planning and delivering instruction in conjunction with assessing student progress, and parent outreach. These three target areas seem to hold the most importance to me when thinking about creating a classroom that is technology forward and built upon the ideals of UDL.

The area I chose to focus on for my project was parent outreach. Parents are a vital part of keeping students on track in the classroom. If parents are fully involved and have the opportunity to know and see what is happening in the classroom (such as on a class wiki), then communication between teacher and parent becomes less stressful. Also, parents and their children can have more in-depth conversations about what the students have been learning about in school. Having a class wiki also allows for students to better recall what happened in school and show their parents the work and progress they've made.