Week+2

= Week 2 =

=== According to the articles seen this week, not all the technology used on the classrooms was successful. Schacter (1999), for example, concludes that in an analysis from 700 research studies there is evidence that on 4th to 8th grade students there is a positive gain in achievement on researcher constructed tests when those students have access to educational technologies. However, what it seems interesting to me is the fact that those same studies show signs of negative or no effects of technology on several variables measured. This reinforces the idea that technology had to be integrated into the learning environment with special care for the objectives that want to be fulfilled. Planning the activities where technology will be used is important because the results obtained will depend of the type of technology, the software, the student we want to help and his/her knowledge of the technology we intent to use. ===

=== The Universal Design for Learning (UDL), proposed by Rose and Meyer (2002), appears to be one of the best frameworks created to be used on schools where student diversity makes difficult the management of learning activities to accomplish new educational standards. The EDL framework provides a way to make various approaches to educational change more realistic by incorporating new knowledge on learning and new applications of technology. The materials and methods teachers use can either present students with barriers to understanding or boost their opportunities to learn. The task for educators is to understand how students learn and use the technology available in this digital age to provide special supports where they are needed and position the challenge properly for each learner. The UDL framework proposes that educators should be flexible on representing the information in multiple formats and media, offer multiple pathways for student action and expression, and finally, supply multiple ways to engage interest and motivation. ===