Digital Badge #L- Chapter 6

There are so many wonderful educational websites and apps that allow teachers to foster online learning. In todays digital world the library for applications that can assist a student in their education seems to be endless. Go to the app store on your phone and type in "education" and thousands of search results come up. Same can go for educational websites, any search engine will open the door to thousands of hits that can assist you in your lesson planning. There are many wonderful tools to be used at your disposal. One of which is Social Bookmarking. Social bookmarking expands the concept of bookmarking from one user at one computer to a community of users on many computers. Instead of a private resource library that can be viewed by one person social bookmarks create a public list that can be by many readers. This can allow teachers to set up bookmarks she finds educational for all of her students to utilize. It allows new ways to sort and search all kinds of information.

Another cool tool is Information Alerts. Information alerts are electronic notices that new information about a topic has just become available in some electronic publication format. Information alerts allow busy teachers a convenient way to notify all students that new information about a certain topic area has just become available online. Google alerts, which is free, is one of the many options for this particular tool. You enter a keyword and Google search automatically sends you an email whenever there are new result for your term. I think this is really neat because if you are working a particularly time consuming lesson plan for your class this can help the students with their research as well as the teacher. Google Alerts can be a time saver because instead of searching for yourself Google Alerts will do it for you, generating 5 types of alerts

1. New
2. Video
3. Blog
4. Discussion
5. Book

So not only does it help you manage your time, its gives a variety of sources for your topic.

Credit to: cambodia4kidsorg at Flickr

Another tool that I had personal experience with this week is the creation of your very own WebQuest. I personally had a lot of fun creating my web quest, this tool allows educators to get really creative with their lessons. You can ask students to go on an adventure, whether it be virtual or somewhere they physically have to go. You can ask students to create diaries, whether they are video or hand written. The web quests really allow you to go above and beyond and break the limitations of a boring old assignment. There are thousands of links and other resources that can hep you beef up your web quest and make it more interactive for the students. There are 5 steps to creating a successful web quest:

• Stage setting
• Task
• Process
• Evaluation
• Conclusion

This type of lesson planning lays out exactly what you want the student to complete and how they will be graded on it. This helps lead the student to success in whatever the task you assign may be. There is little room for misunderstanding or confusion, unless you don't know how to write a step by step activity. I actually had a lot of fun creating my web quest because it was an assignment I would have personally loved to have in high school on a topic I think most kids find interesting. 

Resources:

Maloy, R., O'Loughlin, R., Edwards, S., & Woolf, B. (2013). Transforming Learning with New Technologies. 2nd Edition. Boston, MA: Pearson Education Inc.

Digital Badge #K- Chapter 11

The role of assessment is central to the work of teaching. Every teacher evaluates a students learning and that is one of the most important aspects of the job. In order to teach effectively one must asses effectively so they know the most effective way to teach each student. Assessment is multi factored, not a singular process of just giving grades after a test, it features 3 elements:

• New Teacher Assessment: How supervisors will asses your work
• Student Assessment: How you will assess students' learning and your own effectiveness as a teacher
• Student Self Assessment: How students will participate in the assessment process

These are all very important elements to take into consideration as an educator. Properly assessing all areas is crucial to any lesson plan and curriculum. The ability to engage in self reflection is a crucial skill for any teacher. If we can not evaluate ourselves and the effectiveness of our own teaching methods than it is nearly impossible to ever approve upon them. Technology can help new teachers with this ordeal in two ways: as part of projects that show evaluators your skills as an educator, and through tools that evaluate what the students learn and are able to do. Technology offers great support to teachers when it comes to all forms of assessment. 

Photo credit to: Bunches and Bits using Flickr

An important thing to do as a new teacher, knowing that you will be evaluated throughout your career, is developing a digital teaching portfolio. A digital teaching portfolio is a collection of educational and professional materials stored in an electronic format. This is a great organizational tool that can showcase your growth and development over time as an educator. It can contain digital copies of paper materials but also fun multi media aspects such as video, picture, power point, and audio. It is a way to use all of the ideas and activities learned in the classroom, field experiences, summer work, and community volunteering while obtaining your teaching license. This is an impressive way to track who you are as an educator and a wonderful edition to any resume. Common elements found in most new teachers digital portfolios are:

• Resume
• Philosophy of Education and References
• Lesson or Unit Plans and Reflections
• Academic Courses and Research Experiences
• Teaching Experience 

Involving students in learning and assessment is a very important element in teaching. Letting the student in on what they get to learn is a wonderful way to keep them engaged. In many classrooms students do not get an option over the curriculum but developing a way that allows them to truly assess what they want to learn gives them a voice in the educational decision making. Schools and classrooms that push for this are know as "Democratic Schools" In democratic schools and classrooms input and involvement require teachers and students to engage in open and frank discussions about how their classroom operates. I think this is a wonderful idea because the teacher is still in control but it becomes clear to the students that he/she really cares about teaching them what they want to learn.  A mutual respect is formed and students becomes more engaged and participation becomes higher. I believe that all classrooms should model themselves from this. 

Made by: Allie Sofos using Canva

Resources:

Maloy, R., O'Loughlin, R., Edwards, S., & Woolf, B. (2013). Transforming Learning with New Technologies. 2nd Edition. Boston, MA: Pearson Education Inc.