Intention

After my post yesterday I went away thinking about .....

intention

ɪnˈtɛnʃ(ə)n/

noun

1. 1.

   a thing intended; an aim or plan.

   "she was full of good intentions"

   synonyms:

   aim, purpose, intent, objective, object, goal, target, end;

   I think that it's perhaps important that when teachers are designing lessons and activities for their students to engage in that they have a very clear understanding of what the intention is.  If we take the time to really clarify what it is that we are trying to achieve then I would bet our students would be more successful.  Even more so if the students actually knew what the intention behind performing a specific task was!  

   
   

   If our intentions are clear to us, our students and our students parents/caregivers then perhaps our project /assignment designs would be more universal from the get go.  

   
   

   
   

   The i-pad seems to be integral when we look at UDL in the classroom.  The i-pad should be available to our students just the same way that a pencil is available or a piece of paper or a box of unifix cubes.  We shouldn't tell our students which app to use, they should have the freedom to select the app that suits their need the best.  Our role is to show students what is available to them and then allow them the space and the time to sort it out and solve the problem/complete the project on their own.  In the same way that unifix cubes, calculators, pencils, markers and paper are regarded as tools of the trade that are available to students so that they can complete their tasks.  This is how we need to prepare our students for the future.  So that they can be successful in meeting their goals an accomplishing great things.

   
   

   Because really, failure to do so essentially could bring us back to this....