Success+Stories

__**ADHD**__ "Overall, I was inspired to change my views and feelings about the ADHD students that I never thought about before taking this class. It helped me to realize the value of these students and the daily struggles they have to overcome. I think I’m inspired to become a better teacher now after taking this class and after learning and analyzing many strategies to help students with ADHD succeed in school and in their futures". - Mike

"Thanks for the valuable feedback as well as your course schedule! I am looking forward to taking more of your courses in the near future---they are awesome!" - Elise

__ **ESR** __ "T hank you so much for a wonderful first experience! I thoroughly enjoyed the class and you were an excellent professor. I walked away with so much information to bring into the classroom. I actually cannot wait for the year to start to implement a few of the activities the first week!" - Courtney

"I really enjoyed your class and appreciate the passion you have for not only the course content but for the profession of teaching". - Janice

" I believe that treating my class as a community will build student morale, self-esteem and behavior. With all of these supports in place, I expect student achievement to improve and the highest level of learning to take place". - Kate

__ **Skills** __ "My supervisor and I have had many conversations about the importance of building strong oral communication skills in students and I feel even more passionately about this after having reviewed the research and taken this course.Thank you so much for such a fantastic first RTC course! You have inspired me to shake things up, rearrange my classroom, and really commit to CL. I have learned so much and had a ball while doing it. I feel like I have a new “bag of tricks” to pull from and can’t wait to implement all that you have taught me. Hope you enjoy the rest of you summer". - Erin

__ **UDL** __

."I will always be the teacher to shovel the ramp for all of my students, no matter what it takes or what obstacles stand in my way." - Kaitlyn F

"The technological advances over the past decade have been astounding. From Google Apps to social networking sites, the information highway is making communication and collaboration faster and easier than ever before. For the first time, a new generation of students are sitting in our classrooms. As a result, the already complex profession of teaching is becoming even more challenging! Now, not only must teachers consider the diverse needs of their students with varying learning styles and abilities, but they must also recognize the unique needs of today’s digital learners." -Sam G

"I am a digital immigrant teacher working very hard to improve my accent."- Jane C

"My focus needs to be on all my students and what each and every one of them needs from me. Without them, I am useless. All of that other clutter will fall into place, but nothing replaces my time in the classroom. I need to make the most of it and fully engage my students. If I can reach my students, then at the end of the day, I can truly say I am an educator." - Brenda A

"Soon into this process, I began to realize that by allowing the students to express themselves in the language of technology, I was providing them with engaging and varied ways of exploring the curriculum of our Creative Writing class. Perhaps I had been stifling some of their inherent creativity with my own inhibitions. " - Cheryl

"In a recent chapter, I utilized Sophia.org to flip my classroom. The learning took place at home, their study hall period, or wherever else the student chose to watch the video and complete the subsequent quiz attached to it. They were given the choice of when, where, and how to complete the assignment. The only thing that mattered was that it was completed before they got into my class the next day. The students stated that they loved it. That it gave them a new freedom. They made fun of the lady’s voice. They made fun of the way she talked with her hands – but never saw her face. However, each and every one watched it. Each student passed his or her quizzes. And each student inquisitively asked if I would be continuing this pattern for the remainder of the year. When it came time for formal assessments, my class averages were around 80%." - Diane


 * Thanks again for all you taught me in the class! The material is still running through my head and it shifted and stretched the way I think about my curriculum! **
 * Chrissy **

Jennifer, Thank you so much!! I am hoping to have them pay for RTC UDL to come to the school...a girl can dream, right?:)) I cannot tell you just how much I have taken away from this class and from you as a professional role model. Thank you. Lori

Jenn, ... you are taking a huge credit for freeing me from my fears of using programs and webs I never used before away (yes, I am "stretching", I am going out of my comfort zone, I am exploring Internet the way I never dared before, I feel like a "new digital me", and it feels just awesome!:) My family noticed this change and they all very grateful for what you did for me...I feel confident, happy and "updated" modern lady now (it was great idea to take this class during summer vacation, to have all this time to practice!)

Many many thanks again and again!

Dear Fellow Educator Colleagues, Family, and Friends,

<span style="font-family: 'Courier New',Courier,monospace;">Let me get up on my soapbox for a moment… <span style="font-family: 'Courier New',Courier,monospace;">This summer I had the pleasure of taking a graduate course on Universal Design for Learning. I sure was at the right time and place for that learning and wanted to share some of that with you!

<span style="font-family: 'Courier New',Courier,monospace;">Since many of us in education are at a crossroads in implementing new standards into our content and curriculum the timing is perfect for some serious reflection about how we are instructing our students of the digital age.

<span style="font-family: 'Courier New',Courier,monospace;">It is time for us to teach to our students’ future – not to our past! Kids today truly are different and we need to adjust to meet the needs of these new brains. UDL provides a framework to guide us as we reflect on our lessons and ensure that we are meeting the needs of every learner in our classroom.

<span style="font-family: 'Courier New',Courier,monospace;">I have created a wiki with a collection of short clips, hotlinks, and tools gathered from the www to support 21st century educators and their 21st century students-

<span style="font-family: 'Courier New',Courier,monospace;">Please visit it - http://mastrianaudlpresentation.wikispaces.com/

<span style="font-family: 'Courier New',Courier,monospace;">Feedback is welcome!

<span style="font-family: 'Courier New',Courier,monospace;">Now stepping off the soapbox…