What are your overall take-aways from the
methods/tools that you might use to differentiate the classroom
environment (for teacher productivity and student progression)? Which of
these may you use in your classroom in the future?
Wow has this module been FILLED to the Brim with new tools/programs/ideas to use! Investigating so many tools and programs has left me feeling the same way I do when I venture on Pinterest and oooh and ahhh at all the cute ideas I could be doing within the classroom. Where am I going to find all the time? There are sooooo many interesting tools out there that I wish I had time enough to master them. But alas, I do not. So for now I have chosen to narrow my focus down to a more manageable amount of about 2 or 3 programs.
Recently (in the last couple days in fact) I have been investigating the use of Blogs within my classroom. Particularly I have focused my energy on a blog host called 'edublogs'. This site is dedicated to teachers and students alike. I have yet to introduce it to my class, as I want to become someone proficient in this tool before I do. I believe that by have students use something like a blog, log or diary, they are better able to reflect on what they have learned the past day/week/month. Just as we do in this class. Using blogs is an effective and useful tool in student self assessment, therefore I have to say that this tool has definitely become one of my take-aways.
Another method I feel I will use past this technology class experiment is the idea of using a 'cloud'. Although I am unsure as to which program I will use (whether it will be google docs or drop box, i will let you know!) I like the idea of being able to access documents anywhere, as well as being able to provide more immediate feedback to my students.
Lastly, a tool I would like to take with me would be the use of a student response system. My school does have the SMART response products, therefore I really should start using it. In fact, just this last Wednesday people from our Tech department at our district came to our school and TRAINED us on this tool, so why not use it? This tool will be a great indicator of success and a great indicator of whether or not a students is understanding the material being taught. I look forward to experimenting more with all three tools listed above. 3 is enough for now, but who knows...perhaps I'll throw another one in there as the months progress!
The smart response system is great for formative and summarize assessments. The students get immediate feedback and the teachers reduces the prep. However, expensive student response systems might be outsourced to the smart phones, laptops or iPads. Tudent response systems can only do one thing where an iPad or smart devise can do many. I see a time in the foreseeable future when each student has a smart devise they bring to school everyday for reference.
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