TRIG: Classroom Readiness T3 January - March 2014

I knew some of the tools that were mentioned inthe quiz.  There were a lot of them I was not familar with too!  I discovered as I took the quiz that I need to invest time in learning what all is available for me as a teacher but also my students.  I have learned moving through this model that I need to increase the exposure my students have to technology.  This will become easier as my school is investing in IPADS for the teachers and use in the classroom.  This will help me to be pushed to incorporate more technology in my room.  I found very valuable to me the K-12 tools link provided.  It is hard as a kindergarten teacher to incorporate a lot of the ideas found in this class but it has made me aware of how much I need to grow my technology.  I will be looking for ways to incorporate the teacher connector link found in this section.  It would be great to link my students with another class in the United States or overseas.

As mentioned in my last assignment post, my score was 1000/1000 on the Webtools 2.0 Quiz.  I do not think I would have been familiar with all of the tools, but since I took 21 Things for Educators and I teach online, I was familiar with all of those tools listed.

Some thoughts that came to me looking at the choices is I should be offering a little more flexibility for students to show me what they know.  It doesn't have to be just answering questions from a book because that is so boring!

I found the mind map most helpful and I think that would help others as they try to incorporate technology in the classroom, it gives you choices of what to do and then if you click on it, it gives you the tools you need to do it.

I scored a 1,000 out of 1,000.  I was fairly familiar with some of these tools.  If I hadn't used them, I had at least heard of them.  There was one I hadn't heard of, but because I knew the others listed, or was able to deduct what it could be based on my understanding of words in technology, I was able to get it correct.

I think it would be great to incorporate google docs in the classroom.  This is a tool that everyone has access to, and it also allows the students to share and collaborate.  Another tool that would be beneficial would be a simple calendar.  This would allow the students to have constant reminders of due dates and expectations.  This would help keep them accountable for their own learning, preparing them for college.

I think it's best to start small.  Start with something that others are semi-comfortable with.  That way, it will allow the other teachers to build a confidence on which they can build on.  Once they fully understand the technology or tool themselves, they can then become masters and teaching our students how to successfully learn and navigate the tools themselves.

1000/1000 was my score but I will be honest there were many tools that I would like to look more into as I took the quiz. I felt very familiar with many of them that I could choose or eliminate them from the answer. I plan on looking more into the mapping sites and presentation sites that my students might use as part of their presentation of their Action-Adventure narrative.

I plan on investigating more of the collaborative learning sites something my students can work on together and thoughout the year.

I managed to earn a 100% on the quiz, though I did have to guess on one question.

As I posted in the previous section, I searched for tools that would be fun and intuitive to my 7th graders.

I came across www.ToonDoo.com  

This website allows for the easy creation of comics, via the use of a huge assortment of pre-designed characters and backgrounds.  Off the top of my head I can already see this site as being a fun way for students to "describe the life of an average person in Ancient Egypt."