UDL Engagement

• How will WebQuests help your students? I feel like it will help them in a way of having everything organized, and also having everything online so that they can access it anytime. The world is only getting more and more technological. So I feel like using it like this would be very beneficial. For those of you that do not know what a WebQuest is the definition found on google states: "A WebQuest is an inquiry-oriented lesson format in which most or all the information that learners work with comes from the web. These can be created using various programs, including a simple word processing document that includes links to websites" So I think it would also be helpful for chronically ill students that might miss a lot of school, because they would be able to log onto a computer and be able to complete assignments and learn just the same as if they were in the classroom. Or even if a students family is going on a longer vacation, the student would be able to complete homework and learn the lessons so they would not get behind. I also like how it leaves a responsibility to the students to work at their own pace, and to get assignments done, and to be able to learn and search for the answers to questions themselves.
• What are your goals with regard to this topic? I am a big fan or trying to accommodate to as many students as possible. So the fact that I could create WebQuests for students who are sick and miss school and do not want to get behind would be great. I also like this because I feel like a lot of parents are always wondering what is being taught and how, so this would also allow parents to get on and also see what their child is learning. I do want to make a handful of WebQuest's so that if I do have a student who is sick for a long period of time that I could get them the information they needed to stay with the class and not fall behind. I know it can be a lot of work on the teachers part but I do feel like it is important. Again I do also like that it helps students with discovery and how to find answers to problems themselves.
• How does this shape your vision for empowered learning for your students? It gives the students a lot of responsibility to keep up with the learning and to do the assignments. I do feel that is important because that is a lot of what you do in college and also just in general in the real world. It is helping them become problem solvers and to search for the answers on their own. I like that students are able to go faster if it is an easier subject for them, or vise versa that students can repeat videos, or re-read content if they do not get it the first time, or if they are having a harder time understanding it. 

I found this website that had a bunch of free WebQuest lesson plan ideas. I definitely want to save this site because it is full of great ideas and free printables!

https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Browse/Price-Range/Free/Type-of-Resource/Webquests

Why Coding?

• How can this be effectively integrated into your teaching? The world is becoming more reliant on technology. It helps with problem solving as well. I liked how during class we talked about how it incorporated the core, like Math. Also gives students the opportunity to show what they have been learning about in a fun and creative way. I do feel however that this would be an activity for the older grades. A chance also for those students to show off a talent of maybe already knowing how to code, or seeing that it comes easy to them, and they develop that talent that they did not know they had.
• How will this help your students? This will help them make the lesson they learned more memorable. Gives them a chance to have fun, and get creative. by still showing that they have learned something. Reminds me of the Social Studies Robot assignment we did. We showed our knowledge of native Utah animals in a fun creative way. You could do this with the hummingbird robot as well. I also think this could be a HUGE confidence boost for the students. Because I know myself when we started pulling out cords, mother boards, and different types of motors and sensors, I straight up told myself I was not going to be able to create a robot and figure it out. But as we were taught, we were able to figure it out, and it was and is cool to be able to say that I created a robot. I don't think many people can say that they have. 
• What are your goals with regard to this topic? I would like to mess and play around with it a little bit more. I would not really use this particular robot with students 3rd grade and under, just because me as a 24 year old was having a hard time figuring out the commands and such. I feel like maybe the 4th grades could figure it out, that the 5th grades would probably be able to do it too. But if I had 6th grades I would do it with them and have them play and mess around with them and be able to create something with them.

This is our Hummingbird Robot Elli the Elephant. She was connected to a sergo that made her trunk swing back and forth. 

UDL Action & Expression (Summative)

How can effectively integrate Finch Robots into your teaching?
I feel like this is easy enough that younger grades could also use the Finch Robots. I think you just create your lesson age appropriately and your expectations also age appropriately and you can use the same app. from grades 1st-12th. Obviously the 12th grades Finch Robots are going to be more complex, then the 1st grades who were more simple.

What are your goals with regard to this topic?
I think this topic helped me step back and see that there are so many different ways we can assess our students knowledge of a subject. That we can do fun assessments that require creative thinking and problem solving, and that by doing so you are incorporating so much more into that lesson. Like you brought up with our Finch Robots, we were using Social Studies, Arts, English (Writing), and even Math. So I thought it was fun to see all the different things you can connect these assessments too.

How does this shape your vision for empowered learning for your students?
I feel like it helped me see that our students are capable of doing so much more than just writing a paper, or giving them a test to assess them. I know that for myself when you told us we were going to create this robot and make it move and talk, that I started thinking, "no way. I can't do that. This is way to hard, and I have never messed with this stuff before." But as you demonstrated, and showed us the app. to do so, it made more sense and I was able to change my attitude and start positive thinking like, "This will be fun! I have learned something new! This is not as hard as I thought it would be." I feel like this class is so great in showing us that you can take this creating robots and making them move, and talk and simplifying it to fit your classroom and making it age appropriate. It is nice to push your students to create things they never thought they could so I really enjoyed making our robots.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1rKwgk8JW7rNtkfyj1s3FLv_DM82nDIR4/view?usp=sharing

UDL Action & Expression (Formative)

1. How can Principle 2: Action & Expression: Formative Assessment be effectively integrated into your teaching? You can allow students to show you what they already know about a certain subject. If you do those pre assessments, then you do not need to re teach a subject that the students already know, you can spend that time doing something fun and teaching something the students do not know as much about. I like the action formative assessments that we got to play around with in class today. I feel like letting the students use some of these tools can help them gain and even deeper understanding of a subject. I would love to let my fast finishers do a lot of these tools to express what they have learned. Sometimes I feel like its harder to let the slower learners do some of these tools so maybe having them buddy up with someone who is a little faster can help with that. 
2. How will this help your students? Like I said before I feel like it helps them gain a deeper understanding of a subject. But I also think that it helps a lesson be memorable to those students. They get to be proud of something they have created. And in doing so with the buddy system, helps them learn how to work with others, and maybe helps them teach another person, or learn from another person something about the subject that maybe they had not thought of before. 
3. What are your goals with regard to this topic? My goal is to let the students do a fun action formative assessment as often as we can. I know sometimes it is hard because you have so many things you need to teach and test students on but allowing them to do these fun assessments can help with those students who have test anxiety like I had as a student but still shows what the student knows, just in a different form so they are more comfortable with it.  

Here is a ThingLink I created as I could test my students on and have them fill in what the bubbles would say once you clicked on them, to test their knowledge of the Water Cycle.