We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all students are created equal...

According to the Center for Applied Special Technology (CAST), the Universal Design for Learning "is a set of principles for curriculum development that give all individuals equal opportunities to learn. UDL provides a blueprint for creating instructional goals, methods, materials, and assessments that work for everyone--not a single, one-size-fits-all solution but rather flexible approaches that can be customized and adjusted for individual needs." Basically, this ideology states that teachers should design each lesson around the needs for every student, thereby ensuring that each student is given the tools to learn and succeed every day.

This is a topic that I believe in whole-heartedly! I believe that one instructional method for all lessons every day just isn't good enough. I have always focused on differentiated instruction within my classroom and worked to incorporate its principles into all of my lesson plans. This does take time, effort, imagination, and organization among other things; but, I believe my students deserve nothing less. In learning about UDL, I was surprised to find how closely I adhered to their guidelines in some areas and how far off I was on others. As part of my assignment in one of my classes I was to apply the UDL Guidelines to a previously completed Goal-directed Instructional Design Plan and take note of the lessons strengths and barriers under the principles of UDL. I was pleasantly surprised to see that my lesson stood up to these guidelines in the majority of its elements. This activity also gave me moments of reflection where I saw areas of weakness in my lesson design; you can see a copy of my completed checklist here -My UDL Checklist.

The ideology of UDL and its guidelines are an important tool in the educational practice and I strongly urge you to use the guidelines in your lesson plan creation; the guideline checklist can be found here - http://www.udlcenter.org/aboutudl/udlguidelines/downloads.

To Serve and Protect!

My favorite item in life is my computer. No, I am not one to sit for hours in front of my computer tweaking it and rebuilding and configuring it to run at optimal performance; nor am I an expert on all-things security related. However, I do sit in front of my computer for hours doing work, surfing the net, networking with friends, playing games, watching movies, and all of the other fun stuff that keeps me glued to my motherboard. For all of the time I spend on my computer, I rarely take time to maintain my computer. I perform the general maintenance tasks once or twice a year and I invested in what I consider a strong security system (Norton) for my computer. For all of that great effort on my part (I say sarcastically) I simply expect my computer to serve and protect me without fail! I admit, I am the last one to take care of my computer and the first to complain when it is running slow! It's not because I don't know how, it’s simply because I don't take the time.

Well, I recently completed a lab on PC Maintenance and Security for one of my college courses by completing tutorials on this subject through Atomic Learning. The main thing I noticed was that I did know more about PC maintenance and security than I would have guessed which just makes the fact that I don't maintain my computer any better than I do more of an embarrassment. However, I did find several tools that caught my eye and will provide for better upkeep and safety on my system while requiring little more effort than I am giving now...AWESOME!

I focused on three areas; Clean Up & Speed Up Your PC, Blocking and Killing Spyware and Adware, and Helpful Website Resources. I felt that each of these areas could provide me with knowledge that I didn’t already know and would show me some helpful hints and resources to bolster my computers performance and increase my online security. The first gems I found were in the area of Clean Up & Speed Up. One of the maintenance tasks I actually do perform is the MSConfig function; however, I am not always sure what I can remove safely. Well, I found this website called Startup Programs and Executable Listing. This is a site where, if you are not sure about a program in your startup you can find out what it does and if it is safe to turn it off. You simply search the filename and it gives you all you need to know about it and then tells you whether or not it is safe to turn off. That is a handy piece of information to have! The second gem I found was another website called Windows Cleanup! This is a free utility that you can download that will help you clean and maintain your hard drive. I highly recommend it; I was surprised at what it did for my system.

Under the Blocking and Killing Spyware and Adware, I found an incredible tool called Spybot Search and Destroy. This is an amazing program. Again this is a free download and protects your system from spyware and adware. Anyone who spends anytime on the internet needs to go out and download this program. When dealing with your personal information and internet security, you can never be too careful!

Finally, the last program I found that I downloaded was PCPitStop.com. This program is exactly what it sounds like; it is a NASCAR pit stop for your computer. You pull in, let this program look under the hood of your computer, and then optimize its performance. I was amazed at what this program found and changed in my systems configuration. I won’t say that it brought my computer back to out-of-the box speed, but it is very close!

I recommend that you do better than myself and take time to ensure that your computer is maintained and secure. I hope these websites and tools are as helpful to you as they have been to me already!

Feed Me Seymour...

I love news. I love all news. I can't get enough. I enjoy news from all areas; social, economic, political, foreign, domestic, entertainment, sports, and I even catch myself reading the sensationalistic headlines while waiting in the checkout line at the grocery store. Not only do I love news, but I enjoy different types of news media. I enjoy my subscriptions to Time and U.S. News and World Report. I watch CNN, MSNBC, and FoxNews in order to get all three sides of the same story, I like local television news, I listen to NPR and AM radio news, and I use the internet to track and stay in touch with news all over the country and the world. However, nothing beats sitting down with a hot cup of coffee in the morning and reading the newspaper. For me, my morning coffee and the newspaper is the perfect way to begin the day. In the perfect world I would start my day with coffee and the newspaper, continue through the day listening to news on the radio, watching it on television and the internet, and then come home to watch it on television. Unfortunately, this is not a perfect world and I may get to do one of those activities on a daily basis...maybe. The truth is that I may catch 30-45 minutes of news in a day or read the newspaper in the evening. I just don't have the time and means to collect all of the news from all of the media outlets that I would like. If I did, that is all I would ever do!

Well, that has all changed for me. In my studies for one of my classes at Michigan State University we were introduced to RSS pages and instructed on how to locate these feed connections on our favorite websites and then collect and organize the feeds into one website where we can review them all. In this lesson we were to create an account and set-up our own RSS Reader. Then, we were to locate specific RSS feeds and add them to our page. Through this exercise we learned how the system works and how to expand our page on our own. Let me tell you...for a news junkie, this is awesome! I chose to set-up my account using Netvibes (www.netvibes.com). Through this site, I have set up a page for educational news, sports news, and I have set up one for my class that I will continue to grow and use in my own educational classroom. This is the page that I am focusing most of my attention towards and the one I am finally feeding my passion for news with. So, what is an RSS page? Well, it is basically a one-stop shop for information. As you visit your favorite sites, you simply look for the little RSS feed icon, click it, copy the URL into your RSS page, and subscribe to that feed. Once you have subscribed to the feed, you can check your page whenever you want and browse the latest updates from that page. It is a way to literally put all of the news from all subject areas you are interested in from all media sources you follow into one spot for easy and quick access.

The majority of my feeds fall in to three categories; educational news and information, professional organizations, and general news. I follow several different sources covering education as a means to stay informed on trends, ideas, news, and information that is pertinent to the educational field. It is important to stay ahead of the curve professionally and this helps me to stay informed. The second area that I follow is feeds from professional organizations such as the National Council for the Social Studies, the National Education Association, and the Society for Information Technology and Teacher Education. Each of these organizations works to promotes ideals that I believe in and I enjoy visiting the sites to find new information and upcoming events. I believe that it is important to join and participate in organizations of this nature for professional development. The third area is by far my largest; general news and blogs. This area of my page is where I find myself spending a lot of time and focusing on how I can use this amazing tool to benefit my instructional practices and my students learning.

I follow several blogs and I have subscribed to feeds from several news outlets, as well as the White House, the State of Michigan, and political parties. Each of these sites provides content that is pertinent to my subject area and provides me with unlimited educational possibilities. I have found myself creating lesson plans that incorporate this RSS page, my blog, WebQuests, and several other instructional styles and tools. From all of these resources and possibilities, I have found one blog that I tend to check over and over and that I have incorporated in several lesson plan ideas. That is the blog from the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History entitled “O Say Can You See?” This site is dedicated to bringing its subscribers information and ideas pertaining to the education of American History. One such post that I recently responded to was informing people of an upcoming event to celebrate Black History Month. This event, titled “Bringing Heroes to the Classroom” was a live webcast brining secondary students and Freedom Rides veterans together for an interview session. This is one of many interactive events sponsored by the museums online teams.

RSS feeds and pages are an amazing source if organized and used properly. I invite you to visit my page, explore some of the feeds I subscribe to, and then look at creating a page of your own. You will be amazed at the time it will save you, the benefit you will find from staying informed, and the fun you will have exploring new feeds!

To Be, Or Not To Be Organized...That Is The Question

Organization...hmmmmmm...I am Totally organized in my personal and professional life...ok, I'm pretty organized...well, I do an average job...honestly, I am organized and then I am not and then I am again...LOL!

Organization is one of those "time" things. When I have time to sit down and work at being organized, I am very good at it. I will take a weekend and organize my office, my desk, my calendar, my to-do list, my work and my life. By Monday morning, I am organized and I have a plan of attack...I will stay organized this time! By Thursday, it's all over and I am back to my old ways. I don't think I am only one here, right? Please, tell me I'm not the only one...

I think organization is a very important part of life. We have to remain organized or life would screech to a sudden stop and the world would cease to exist. The problem is getting organized and staying that way. I consider myself a fairly smart guy and capable of many things...so, why is staying organized so hard? There, ladies and gentlemen, lies the BIG question! Why do we struggle so much with staying organized in our daily lives?

I was recently introduced to a technique that David Allen discusses in his book "Getting Things Done." David's "Mastering Workflow" techniques seem quite simple and easy to accomplish. As I read it, I thought to myself...so what's the big deal? I do all of these things and it never works for me. Then I began to really look at what he was saying and began to be honest with myself. Yes, I have done all of the things that he discusses; but, I have never put them all together in the manner he describes. What he was saying began to make sense and I started to see that light brighten above my head...this just might work! So, I'm going to share with you his technique.

David's "Mastering Workflow" technique is a five step process; you have to Collect, Process, Organize, Review, and Do. Sounds simple? Well, it is. That's the beauty of it!

First, you have to collect. This means everything...you have to get all of your "eggs" in one basket, so to speak. To begin the process, write down everything that you have on your plate. This means daily tasks, weekly, tasks, long-term projects, personal and private. Get everything you need to control in one place. This can be a list, papers and notes in a shoebox, or collected electronically. The method is not important; accomplishing the task of collecting everything is all that matters at this point.

Once you have collected everything, you need to process it. Basically, as David puts it, this is where you make decisions on everything you have collected and he suggests that you go through a list of questions for everything you collected. These questions are: What is it? Is it actionable? If no, toss it out or put it in a file for a later time. What is the next action to be taken? Will that action take less than 2 minutes? If yes, do it. No, then...defer or delegate. This will take some time in the beginning, but from what I have seen, it is key to the success of this process.

Now that you have processed everything, you have to organize it all. David expresses that in the Process step you decided what each item was and whether or not it was actionable. Now, you have to decide where each of your "actionable" items belongs in your organizational system. The organizational areas that David proposes are: Projects (things you have made a commitment to finish), Calendar (actions that must occur on a specific day or time), Next Action (actions that need to be done asap), and Waiting For (projects and actions others are supposed to be doing, which you care about or have involvement in). From these four main categories you can create sub-categories, lists, checklists, or any other method you need to use to help you organize all of your items.

The fourth step is to review - which is what Davis says holds the entire process together and makes it work over the long run. You have to commit and follow-through with a weekly review process where you "make sure your projects, calendar, and next action steps are clean and up to date."

Finally, you actually have to do. Yes, unfortunately once you have collected everything, processed it all, and organized your actionable items...you have to do these things on your calendar and lists...LOL! This is based on things such as the priority of your actionable items, the amount of time you have to accomplish tasks, and the energy you have to put towards completing items. This is personal and changes minute to minute, so David recommends that you be flexible in this step.

After reading this system and David's ideas, I decided this was well worth trying. I will be honest, it was not easy in the beginning and took some time to get everything collected, processed, and organized. But, so far it is working well for me and I am following through with reviewing items and making sure things get done.

The one thing I found is that paper and pen, organizers, calendars, nor my laptop worked for me to use this process. I found that I never had my paper lists with me or my laptop was unavailable. I am a minimalist and to carry an organizer or a calendar of some sort for me is just not going to happen. The tool I found most useful was my phone! My phone has a calendar complete with alarm reminders, it had a notepad section where I can create my lists, and I never go anywhere without my phone...so it was always there when I needed it.

Now, this is where I need my friends and colleagues to chime in. Currently, I have the EnV Touch and it is a great phone. I like the “flip” feature and the full QWERTY keypad. However, I am finding that I am as the threshold of its capacity. It is now time to move on to the next generation…so; I am seeking your knowledge, advice, and input. What are your thoughts on the IPhone, Droid, and Blackberries? I am with Verizon and I will not switch…I am a Verizon customer for life! However, the nice thing is I can choose from any of these phones since Verizon now offers all 3!!! So, let me know what you think…which one is your tool of choice and why?

The Social Network

Social Networking is nothing new...it has been around since the dawn of civilization. However, the platforms and the methods of social networking have changed dramatically over the years. My grandmother loved to sit and write letters to her friends and family on beautiful stationery. My parents spent hours talking to their friends on the phone. My generation...well, we have the internet! Social networking has taken on a whole new persona with the internet. We now have immediate connection with anyone, anywhere!

Sometimes I wonder if I am surgically attached to my social network…haha. Seriously, I am not one to spend hours or even minutes on a telephone. If you get me to talk on a phone for more than a half hour once or twice a week, you have truly accomplished something. Write a letter? Not since I sent my last letter to Santa Clause telling him what I was hoping to find under the tree Christmas morning. But, Facebook...I think I may be addicted...LOL!!!

So, how did I get to this point...well, it's my students fault! No, really, it is! While teaching a few years back (ok…5 or 6 years back), I noticed that my students were always finishing their work early and taking advantage of the free ten minutes at the end of class on our computer lab days. At first I was excited that they were all engaged in the lessons I was creating and working so hard to learn what I was teaching. Then, I quickly realized that they were all finishing their work and hitting the same website for ten minutes...what was this MySpace anyway? As any good teacher would do, I investigated. MySpace was a site where individuals could create a personal page and interact with one another over the internet. I began to watch and I realized that even my quietest students were communicating via MySpace. I also realized that often times they were posting back and forth with people that were in the same room! Well, my first thought was to stop this behavior immediately. But, I stepped back and looked at the big picture. This was something that every one of my students seemed to enjoy. They were excited to have the opportunity to spend even ten minutes on the page. More importantly, they were quiet, behaved, AND engaged. There must be a teaching moment here...right? Well, I found several teaching moments. We were able to open up a class dialogue on how we communicate and why it is easier to talk to one another via the internet vs. face-to-face. Through this I actually found the spark that brought "all" of my students into class discussions. Also, I had my students create a lesson where they taught me how to use MySpace and to create my own page. That has stood as one of my favorite lessons...to see my students engaged and excited to teach me something...I wish everyday could be like that!

From this simple observation I found a new venue that would work to benefit me as a teacher and in my personal life. When it was all said and done, I had two MySpace pages. My "Mr. Brumbelow" page was a professional page that I used to interact with my students on a more personal level. With this tool, I was able to see a new side of my students, connect with them, communicate with them, and grow with them. Students would send messages to say hi and see how I was during breaks and over the weekends, they would post questions they had or share difficulties they were having with an assignment, and they communicated with one another. Often times, before I could respond to help one of my students with their problem, several of their classmates would respond and assist them. This is when I began to realize the educational power of the internet and social networking and its relevance to my teaching practices.

The second MySpace page was my personal and private page. While I was building and growing my "teacher" page, I realized that a lot of my friends had pages. So, I created a personal page that was separate from my student's where I could interact with my friends. I have moved on from MySpace and I am now a part of the Facebook community. The only issue is that I am now constantly tracking and posting with my friends. As soon as I sit down to any computer the first thing I do is open my email. The second, log in to Facebook and check to see what my friends are up to. It is now to the point that I get Facebook posts delivered directly to my phone as text messages. Texting…we won’t even go there…LOL!!! Let’s just say that it is a good thing I have unlimited texting…hahaha.

MySpace, Facebook, Skype, Twitter…each of these tools allow me to remain in contact with family, friends, and former students. I am able to connect with each of them anywhere in the world instantaneously. I can sing happy birthday to my friend’s son in Washington D.C. on his 3^rd birthday via Skype. I can talk with my former students deployed to Afghanistan and Iraq via Yahoo Instant Messenger. I can stay in touch with family, friends, and old classmates from high school and college daily through Facebook. I can now “Tweet” with my best friend’s 16 year old daughter who has called me Uncle Gary since she was 5…she loves the fact that I am now on Twitter and that it was because of a homework assignment!

On a professional note, I am now able to meet people from all over the world and make new contacts via social networks. I now have the opportunity to learn, share, and sometimes help people that I would have never met otherwise. I am just beginning to tap into the professional side of social networking, but I know the possibilities are limitless.

In the classroom, I have found social networking to be a powerful tool to connect with my students and increase their learning opportunities. From that first day that I noticed my students on MySpace…I am convinced that social networks, used properly, are one of my best tools I have in my teaching chest and I intend on using that tool to its fullest potential.

Social Networking, whether for personal or professional use, is a powerful tool. You can find the good and bad in these networks…I admit that. But, you can find the positive and negative side of most anything if you look hard enough. It is not the tool that is good or bad…it is the method in which you use it! I hope each of you reading this post takes the time to look for new and positive ways you can use these networks, for your personal and professional lives.

MERLOT!!! :)

No my friends, I am not blogging about that wonderfully fruity medium-bodied red wine that we enjoy so often with a well prepared steak or piece of salmon cooked on the grill with a side of steamed fresh vegetables...although that does sound really really good! I am speaking of MERLOT, as in the acronym for Multimedia Educational Resource for Learning and Online Teaching. While these are two very different "MERLOT's"...they both are two of my favorite things. As a teacher, I have always enjoyed a nice glass of Merlot wine at the end of the day (LOL) and I am quickly becoming a HUGE fan of the MERLOT website.

According to their website, MERLOT is a "free and open online community of resources designed primarily for faculty, staff and students of higher education from around the world to share their learning materials and pedagogy. MERLOT is a leading edge, user-centered, collection of peer reviewed higher education, online learning materials, catalogued by registered members and a set of faculty development support services." This site is packed with excellent ideas and resources and I highly recommend you check it out; here is the link: http://www.merlot.org/merlot/index.htm

As part of my class activity in CEP811, we were to explore this site and choose one resource that we felt would benefit us in our classroom or work. Well, I found tons of resources in a very short time period. However, I am only going to review one here for you today...WebQuest.org.

I chose this resource for several reasons. First, I know that we are doing WebQuests in CEP811 and I can use this resource to help me with my homework...hahaha! Second, I would like to use WebQuests more and I feel this would be an excellent resource to help me learn about this teaching tool. Finally, I felt that this was an excellent resource for other teachers and wanted to share it with all of you!

First off, WebQuest.org is operated through San Diego State University Department of Educational Technology and the site administrator is Bernie Dodge, PhD. For those of you who do not know, and I was one of you before I found this site, Bernie Dodge is the creator of the WebQuest! He is the Grand-Poobah of the WebQuest...the WebQuest is his baby! So, what better resource for learning about and utilizing this tool than from the creator himself.

Ok...you’re not sold yet...so what if it is run by the creator himself...is it a strong site? Does it have the necessary tools to benefit me? Is this something I can use and get the educational "bang for my buck" that I am looking for? The answer to all of those questions is...YES!

Let's get to the meat of this review. First, what is a WebQuest? Well, according to the site, a WebQuest is "an inquiry-oriented lesson format in which most or all the information that learners work with comes from the web." It basically is like sending your students on a discovery mission for information using the internet and web-based tools. This is an instructional tool that can be utilized from elementary to college classrooms and has relevance within all curriculum areas.

I think that it is safe to say that the internet is not going away anytime soon...so, shouldn’t we incorporate it into our educational practices? This tool can be used with students to educate them on how to actually use the internet and web-tools and then later as an instructional method to have them seek information on the web independently. That's where this website comes in. With this website the novice to WebQuests can search, find, and use quests that have already been developed and successfully implemented in the classroom or use tutorials and templates to learn how to create their own. So, while you are learning about quests and how to build them, you can use the ones developed by other teachers and see how they work for your students. With this site...you are up and running immediately and the work has been done for you! I don't know of a teacher anywhere that doesn't love quality, proven lessons that can be used "right out of the can."

This site is also valid for the average users, providing new tools and information on how to further you WebQuest knowledge. Through the "Useful WebQuest Resources" tab, you can find information in areas such as Concepts and Definitions, Development, and Implementation. Once you have created successful quests, there is a section for you to upload and share them with other teachers. Finally, there is a Communication section where you can participate in the WebQuest Dialogue Ning, the sites Forum, and join their Yahoo List.

Overall, this site benefits students in every grade and teachers at all WebQuest experience levels. I highly recommend it and look forward to hearing your opinion...May The Quests Begin!