EDLD 5364 - Week 5 Course Embedded Reflection

                   I had never used the UDL Book Builder before this class: Teaching with Technology.  I thought that the site was not very user friendly, and it took so many clicks to complete just 1 page for the eBook.  The little characters that I made speak at the bottom of the screen were cute and funny!  I know that elementary school students would love to create e-books, but I don't think they would be able to utilize this site without a lot of teacher direction.  It does not have high def graphics, and it is not very visually appealing to the eye.  I really like the idea of the students being engaged  through reading, pictures, and audio.

I passed this site along to a few of our teachers in the building.  They created their own eBook to go along with a lesson last week.  After conferencing with them, I learned that they agreed that the Book Builder was not as practical for classroom use as they had hoped.  They noted that compared to the video game technology that they were already using in their classrooms, the Book Builder was not up to speed with graphics and interactivity.  
                 

All in all, I love the idea of creating your own eBooks to utilize in the classroom, and allowing for the student to use their creativity to create their own eBooks as well.  However, due to the lack of engaging graphics, and the amount of time it takes to create one eBook, I don't see myself using this in the classroom at my school.  
                 

The best part about this experience by far has been working with my team using the scenario to create a website that focused on using differentiation and modifications to create UDLs and technology activities that would meet the needs of all the students in the scenario.  Our team worked so well together again.  We each have different backgrounds, as well as, a strong work ethic.  This made for a positive and high engaging work experience throughout this course.  

Click below to view my eBook created using the UDL Book Builder:UDL Book Builder eBook Link