Tech Class Reflection

So it has been four weeks of classes now in my tech class and thus far I have learned a lot.  We had the chance to use a lot of different tools so I thought I would take the time to talk a bit about my experiences using them and which ones I liked and how I would use them in my classroom.  Obviously the big class activity has been genius hour.  I've talked quite a bit about my personal genius hour on this blog but I'll give some of my thoughts on the activity overall.  I think it's a great way of engaging student's interests, making a inclusive activity, and relinquishing some responsibility to the students for their own learning.  I feel like for a classroom say for example of grades 7s or 8s, it would be best to show them a lot of examples and clear step by step instructions of what is expected of them for their genius hour project.  If you're interested in genius hour and how it could be used for your class or in a class with low access to tech then check out this helpful guide here.

As for some specific tools that we used, I've loved both Google Slide and Google Form.  I've been aware of Google Slide now for a while but have just never got around to using it, so I'm quite grateful that this class finally gave me the incentive to try it.  For me it is basically an easier and more accessible version of Power Point.  As a teacher I love the idea of Google Slides as my students wont have to be reliant on a specific program to finish their presentations but can just sign into their Google account at home to work on it.  As for Google Form it seems an excellent tool for teachers.  It essentially allows you to quickly make tests or quizzes for your students online.  You can even embed videos and images if they're relevant to the quiz.  I made a simple multiple choice quiz based on the story book book Thank You Mr. Falker.  You can find my quiz, along with a story time reading of the book here.  Google Forms also allows you to easily track the answers your students give as well as the average and questions frequently answered as incorrect. 

Overall I've really appreciated my time spent in tech class when it comes to all these useful tools I've been exposed to.  There were of course many resources and tools that we have used in class, far too many for me to list them all and talk about what I liked about all of them.  Just real quickly and briefly I'll say I've enjoyed using Powtoon for its ease of use and high quality presentation, Popplet for how easy and clean it makes flow charts, and Timetoast because I love timelines.  All I can say is that I'll remember them all I would wholeheartedly recommend them to any teachers.  I personally look forward to getting the chance to use them in my own classes.