What I have learned...
Over the course of this Summer, we have completed several projects in an effort to meet the ISTE Standards for Educators. Although some of these standards are focused on student engagement, which was not possible over the Summer, I fully believe that I now have the knowledge and tools that will allow me to meet these standards in my classroom. First and foremost, the first standard states that educators will improve by working with others, which was accomplished nearly every week with the group projects. Each week our group worked together to create and revise our projects in order to meet this standard. Moving forward, I have no doubt that I will be able to take what I have learned and collaborate with my colleagues at the school I teach at to design and facilitate quality and technologically advanced education to our students. The Tools Google Docs/Slides: Throughout the semester, our group utilized Google Docs and Slides for several projects. We used Docs to create our grant proposal, lesson plan, and instructional materials. We used Slides to also create instructional materials. I personally love Google Suite applications because everything you create saves to your Google Drive. Google Drive can be accessed from anywhere on any computer or device, which makes it so easy to work from anywhere. The district I work in uses Google accounts, so I already have experience working with it and will continue to work with these applications going forward. Google Forms: Our group utilized Google Forms for the survey project. Forms allows you to create many different types of questions and view the results all at once. These are both features that I really like, and I already use Forms in my class very often. I am able to use it for many different types of things, from gathering student information, giving tests and quizzes, and even allowing student to cast votes for non-curriculum activities such as Homecoming. Google Sites: The last Google application we used was Sites. This was by far my favorite Google application that we used this semester. Sites allows you to create a personalized website where you can upload everything students may need to be successful in your classroom. I have mentioned before that I have tried to create a Google Site before for my classroom but found that I did not have the time to play with it effectively enough. However, now that I have used it in this class, I feel that I am much better prepared to use it going forward. Podcast: To record my podcast project, I used the website Vocaroo. Personally, I do not foresee myself using podcasts in my classroom. The current generation of students do not seem to be interested in learning in this manner. Although I personally love listening to podcasts on my drives to and from work, the age groups I teach are more interested in the videos that are provided from apps like TikTok and Snapchat. Screen Capture/iMovie: I used Loom to record my screen capture video and then used iMovie to edit it. Loom is a free Chrome extension service that allows you to record yourself or record your screen. I find Loom extremely easy to use because it has fast processing speeds and allows you to pause and restart your video at anytime without having to start over. It also allows you to share the videos you produce by sending a link or downloading the video file. iMovie is also a very beneficial software that is free when you own an Apple product. I use it regularly, but I actually found myself exploring it even further when using it for this class. I suppose that is because I was being graded and wanted to ensure I produced quality work. I already utilized these softwares and will most certainly continue to do so in my class moving forward. Edpuzzle: Edpuzzle is one of my favorite teaching tools from this year. There were times that it was easier for me to assign a video to my students learning virtually than to just simply make them read something. However, this project was the first time I produced and uploaded my own video to Edpuzzle. I found it very user friendly, and I really like how easy it is to create questions. I did, however, dislike that a class cannot be edited much once it has been created. That is a feature that I wish was present. Otherwise, I most certainly see myself continuing to use it this year, and I also intend to do more uploading and creating of my own with it this year. Quizizz: Quizizz was by far the best thing I learned to use this semester. In the past, I have always used Gimkit, which requires a paid subscription. Using a free tool like Quizizz that is so easy to create on was a real game changer for me. I see myself using it for reviews, quizzes, and to provide things like bell ringers and exit slips. I love that it allows me to collect and review student work while also grading it for me. I cannot wait to use it in a few weeks! Rubistar: Rubistar is a rubric creating website that allows you to download the rubric as an excel file when complete. Although it has many advantages, I do not intend to use this site in my own class. My main issue with it is that it does not allow you to set different point amounts for different criteria prior to downloading it. Once I download the rubric to excel, I do not want to have to continue to edit it to my liking. Although there is an obvious benefit of having preset criteria descriptions, I simply found that I was editing it more than I would have liked. Also, we use Google Classroom in my district, which has a way for your to build in rubrics on assignments. I have grown accustomed to this feature and intend on continuing to use it. Padlet: Padlet is a tool that allows you to post links in a Pinterest board set up for students to use. It also allows students to post resources and contribute to the board as well. I personally really liked that tool and anticipate using it in my Zoology and Human A&P classes this year. These two classes are designed to be more research based, so I hope to create a project where students must upload their resources to the class Padlet to answer specific questions. Thinglink: Thinglink is similar to Padlet, but it does not allow for collaboration. Therefore, I would have to use it as a pre-made lesson tool, unless I assigned students to make their own Thinglinks. Regardless, I still hope I can somehow incorporate this tool in my class. I think it may be possible to use it for some type of online scavenger hunt, such as with lab safety rules during the first week of school. Weebly: The overarching tool for this entire course has been to create a blogfolio using Weebly.com. During Week 1, I found this task very overwhelming and questioned whether or not I would be able to produce a quality blog. However, 9 weeks later I feel like I have executed this task very well! Although I do not think I will be using Weebly in the future, as I prefer the interface of Google Sites, I did find that I was able to learn how to use it effectively during this course. Strengths and Weaknesses I have actually learned a lot about myself throughout this course. I learned that I seem to be able to work well with a group and a I am able to take on a leadership role when necessary. I am much better at learning new technologies than I originally thought I would be, and have strength with these technologies once I understand them. Perhaps my biggest weakness that I have established is having a lack of confidence in myself. I began the semester with a lot of doubt, but here I am at the end feeling as if I have accomplished exactly what I felt like I could not! Future Learning Goals As I have mentioned on each individual technology above, I do intend on utilizing many of these technologies in my classroom moving forward. My reasonings behind using or not using each tool is also mentioned with each individual took write up. As for the future of my technological advancements, I am excited to dive deeper into my chosen tools, as well as begin exploring new ones. I hope to sit down with fellow teachers and learn new technologies from them, as well as acquire new resources through professional development opportunities. The new school year seems to have many exciting opportunities coming into view, and I cannot wait to take them all head on.
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Sarah HolderA quirky science teacher with English teacher handwriting. ArchivesBlog Reels
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