Self Assessment

                  Over the course of the summer I have found a new energy and excitement for the upcoming school year, which will be my eighth year of teaching.  I have learned and researched education philosophy, news apps, and techniques that I will be implementing in my 10th grade U.S. Contemporary History class. 

                  One of the first things that really hit me with this class was the importance of teaching students the skills of the 21st century learner.  And that we need to do all that we can as educators to prepare them for life and the jobs that they will doing in the new American Economy.  Stressing such items as media fluency, communication, creativity, collaboration, and critical thinking.  I think that being that we are moving into our third year as a 1:1 iPad school, this device and the tools that can be associated with it are a wonderful medium in assisting in stressing those items.      

                  At Minnetonka we have been very blessed with being given so much technology to use in the classroom to help enhance student learning and engagement.  Although I do not believe that our district has trained us well, nor given us the time to spend time with this technology to implement it well.  I really appreciate the time and recommendations of the apps that this class has given us, and have loved the time given to explore them and figure out if and how we could use them in our classroom. Through this class I have been able to put some pieces together, where I feel the most excited and prepared for the fall with regards to implementing a technology plan in my History units.

                   With regards to student organization and handing in assignments, I will be going over a variety of apps that the students will have on their iPads at the beginning of the school year.  I had never heard of the CloudOn app before but this class but I love the way it can all of your online file storage locations (Drop Box, Google Drive, Box).  It is also wonderful for  students to create a Microsoft file and be able to share it with me, or post it to our online class website (Schoology). I will also go over Evernote with my students as an option for them to take and organize their notes. Many students already use Notepad or Remarks, but with the use of "tags" this could be a great benefit for my students.

                  As a result of this class as well I will be using two other mediums to connect with my students and try to enhance learning outside of the classroom.  The first way is that I am going to create a Twitter account for instant updates, assignment due dates, links to resources, and a place for students to answer questions.  I also think it will be used for some in class simulations/activities and am very excited to explore the possibilities with this app! The other way is through Educreations, in which I plan on creating a 5-10 min video clip at the end of each week recapping what we covered in class and posting it on our Twitter account and on Schoology for students to use at home or if they were sick. 

                  Through these items that I have learned through this course, I want to enhance 21st century skills and learning with my students, but most importantly I want grow and foster motivation and passion for American History.  When class ends after 56 minutes, I don't want that to be the end of their learning, but just the beginning.  Hopefully through varied usage of apps on the iPad and online, collaboration, creativity, and communication will continue on well into the night.  As students interact with each other and the material fostering their curiosity and interest.  The possibilities are quite endless, but I am the most excited I have been since year one to teach this fall!