Tool #11-Assessment

1. What are your favorite tools you now have in your personal technology toolbox? Briefly describe a particular activity that you will plan for your students using at least one of these new tools.
My favorite tool is Google Docs. This is out of necessity--I need to be familiar and conversant in this application, as it is replacing MicrosoftOffice in the near future. I want my students to be very comfortable with Google Docs before the switchover comes. We'll be using Google Docs for many different projects this coming school year.
I also love my blog. I have only used it as a reflective tool to this point, but I really want to expand the use to parents and students. I would like to make the blog a "go-to" for parents to get a glimpse of classroom life, as an archive for newsletters, and maybe even a board for homework assignments and spelling words.

2. How have you transformed your thinking about the learning that will take place in your classroom? How has your vision for your classroom changed? Are you going to need to make any changes to your classroom to accommodate the 21st Century learner?
Larger class sizes mean small group instruction will be more important than ever in my classroom. Differentiation will be key to managing the disparity in learners that will be in my class. These tools will make the job of dealing with more small groups and more disparate learners manageable, I hope. I am already rethinking class arrangement and scheduling to deal with these issues.

3. Were there any unexpected outcomes from this program that surprised you?
I got stuck a couple of times, but overall, this was a much easier program than 23 Things. Maybe because I was familiar with some of the concepts, maybe because I'm becoming more comfortable with not always being "the expert" in the classroom. My kids and I are leaping forward with technology, and learning together. It's not always smooth, but as long as we're continuing to learn and grow, then we're making progress, right?