Final Blog-679

Assessments can be found in many forms and be used for multiple purposes.  No one likes taking a quiz or a test or even hearing the word assessment, but it’s part of learning and reflecting.  One of the biggest things I will take away from this course is that I have found more engaging ways to assess my students.  I can even have them be part of writing their assessments.  Quizlet and Quizzes are two ways to do this and I can’t wait to try it with my students.  I think they will love it.  By analyzing different types of assessment tools, I was able to explore the different components and find the best way to use them.  This link will show the comparison of two tools and feel they offer comparable opportunities for assessment:  https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1jF6ZJp_irAc_TIDUwV8Bi3b1_OoAD7b5VNERbmRVqFs/edit#slide=id.p

Rubrics...as stated in class, I have a love-hate relationship with them.  I dislike writing them and feel that it can limit student creativity.  However, I absolutely love how students have a set expectation for the assignment and can reflect back to make sure they have met those expectations.  This link shows our process standards for students to self-assess where they feel they are as a student in regards to behavior and study habits. There is also a link to a rubric for math problem-solving.  Rubistar was amazing to use and was so easy to connect the activity to a grade level standard.  In the future, I would like to incorporate more tech and Canvas might be a good avenue to do this.  Link to Rubric

Finally, Genius Hour. This is probably one of the things I am most excited to try out next year.  After watching how much our class enjoyed that time to research a concept of their choice, I can only imagine how my students will feel.  Genius Hour also closely relates to how we as adults would research something.  For example, I needed to dispose of a bunch of paint cans but wanted to do it the right way.  Having that time in class allowed me to figure it out. I would like to come up with a format for students to share what they learned without taking up too much class time.  Link to Genius Hour

Overall, I learned a lot of new assessment tools to implement with my students next year so they are not only taking an assessment but also learning and reflecting back on their learning.   In addition, I can reflect back on my teaching and alter teaching strategies if necessary.  

Course Reflection-679

There were three takeaways from this course that I feel will help me as an educator when incorporating technology into my classroom.  The first was learning about Genius Hour. It was nice to participate in our class while learning from others and our specific topic.  I have now properly disposed of all the extra paint I had in my house! Learning about Genius Hour was also nice to think about how to integrate this for my students.  When we first went 1:1 and students received their Chromebooks, they naturally wanted to jump right in and check it out but didn't quite know where to start.  I had the students explore the site “Wonderopolis” and they had fun researching random questions they didn’t have the answers to.  When given a choice in our learning, we tend to be more invested and create a product of pride rather than just checking boxes off a to do list. Another thing I am excited to use next school year is Quizlet.  I feel this will be so engaging for students and allow them to learn and study content in a way that best fits their learning. Finally, I really enjoyed working with Rubistar. Depending on the assignment, I feel that rubrics can provide a lot of foundation for students.  It gives them the expectations so they are able to make sure all the components of their work are secure. As a teacher, I despise making rubrics because there can be so many loopholes if something is not worded properly. By clicking a grade level standard, Rubistar generates a rubric which can then be modified based on what is needed.