UDL in 6th Grade Tech
6th Grade Tech
Liz Reale
Problem Identified: For our most recent unit, students were tasked with creating book trailers using the Clips app. While students had choice over which book they chose, some expressed the desire to use different applications to produce their book trailers.
Hypothesis: If we provide more options for topic of interest and final product creation across several modalities then fewer students will struggle to maintain focus as measured by increases in student engagement.
Plans for UDL Strategy Implementation: We created a research project that allows students to choose a topic of interest based off of one of these three questions:
Once they choose their topics, they will research, gather information, and take notes using note-taking strategies like Boxes and Bullets, the Author Says/I think, and What Surprised Me. Once they have accumulated all of the information they need, they will explore the different potential platforms (ThingLink, Clips, iMovie, iBooks, Powtoons, Buncee, and Google Slides) that they can use to create their final work product. Students will then self-pace their instruction using screencast playlists to guide them as they develop their final presentation.
Actionable Step: The biggest step in implementing this UDL strategy is having students choose their topics and reviewing them to ensure that they will provide sufficient information for a research project. Also, creating sample work products for each of the different applications so that students understand the capabilities of each before they select their modality.
Overall Findings/Impact of a Planned UDL Strategy: I'm hoping that my students will be super engaged in this unit because they have so much choice in both topic and work product. I also hope they gather new understandings of how to appropriately search for information on the Internet and take notes using a strategy that works best for them.
