August 1- Design and Develop Digital-Age Learning Experiences and Assessments

August 1- Design and Develop Digital-Age Learning
      
     At the bottom of my post is the standard that I will comment on today.  I am behind on the blog post/Summer Institute correlation.  I will probably work backwards on the ones that I've missed.

     Our session goals today included discussion and exploration of collaboration and quizzing websites like todaysmeet.com, secretive.com, and quiz.com.

     I used todaysmeet.com quite a bit last year and I feel like it really addresses a good part of this standard because it forces learning to be authentic through real-time feedback and collaboration.  Most often, I would use todaysmeet.com to have kids post one crucial sentence from their writing (paragraph, essay, some rough draft, etc.).  Then, I would start to "blast" feedback on writing traits to every individual in the classroom.  It gave me the opportunity to provide quick formative feedback and encourage students to fix their work on the spot.

     Other students could observe the feedback that I gave their peers while providing feedback to one another.

     The room was always silent (unless someone got off topic or inappropriate).  Next year, I will try to develop other ways to use this forum besides writing feedback (yet still use it for this too).  I think I could use some it for question and answer during self-paced lessons around project based learning.      Next year, I will teach more norms and rules around all aspects of digital citizenship including how to participate well in these forums.

     What are some other ideas from English/Humanities type teachers for how to use todaysmeet?

     We also looked at Quia and Socrative.  I'm really interested in both of these, but have to figure out which one would be best in my classroom.  I've only used Quia for the free quizzes.  They have been great for my students to review topics like capitalization and literary terms (but lots more are available- I just used these).


Teachers design, develop, and evaluate authentic learning experiences and assessment incorporating contemporary tools and resources to maximize content learning in context and to develop the knowledge, skills, and attitudes identified in the NETS•S. Teachers:

• design or adapt relevant learning experiences that incorporate digital tools and resources to promote student learning and creativity.
• develop technology-enriched learning environments that enable all students to pursue their individual curiosities and become active participants in setting their own educational goals, managing their own learning, and assessing their own progress.
• customize and personalize learning activities to address students' diverse learning styles, working strategies, and abilities using digital tools and resources.
• provide students with multiple and varied formative and summative assessments aligned with content and technology standards and use resulting data to inform learning and teaching.