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TASK 7: UDL Guidelines

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Task 6: Enhancing Collaboration via Applications

Title: Kahoot Learning Games

Scenario/purpose/Teaching aim: Learners can participate in virtual games and learning activities. These more formative assessed activities are aimed to combine different questions that can be answered in a more interactive way, no matter where learners are in the world.

Application/Tool: Learners can engage in quizzes and games, either collectively or individually. You can simply enter the quiz/game code via computer or phone to play.

Own experience & recommendations: I often use Kahoot as a fun formative review at the end of my English Lit units. The students love it and get very competitive while playing. I've had better experience with the success of student learning when I make the quiz myself, as sometimes the already-made quizzes may not fit completely around what I have personally taught (though it's very easy to review the premade quizzes in order to avoid any confusion during the task). One thing that I would suggest to adjust is the lack of security when it comes to who can join in. I had a situation in which a student ruined the game for everyone by sharing the quiz access code with a friend at another school, then they somehow "hacked" the kahoot by getting over a hundred members into the quiz. It would be great if the creator of the quiz/mediator/teacher is able to approve who can come in and out of the game as it's being played. After this issue, I always make sure that my students are using their school laptops to play (rather than their phones) and use their real first names for their profiles. But other than this, Kahoot is a very fun and engaging way to help your students review content. They love it!

I would mark this tool 4 stars.

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Task 4

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TASK 5

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TASK 3 - Reflective Teacher meets Digital Competence

Where do you see potential space for improvement?

I think I could make communication with my students more efficient and transparent. I usually send them emails or make a group message on the class page in managebac. However, many of my students neglect their email inbox and some complain about having a flood of managebac messages each day. I’d like to figure out if there’s a better way to communicate with my students all at once, perhaps a method like Teams, where it’s like a group text message minus the lack of privacy and mediation of group discussions. I would also like to expand on collaborative and more interactive digital activities in class, as many of my students are gamers and would likely pick up digital tools quickly.

Lastly, I would like to enhance pedagogy in my lessons as well as pay closer attention to holistically addressing my students’ individual problems and needs.

How could you imagine improving your digital practice within teaching?

I could see myself improving on the use of digital tools for film-making, editing, and sound, as I often include films as a task for both of my subjects. I could also see myself learning more about digital worksheets and activities that would engage my students more during a lesson. I could also see myself improving on how I keep track of student grades and how I secure both the data of myself and my students. I also wish to include more opportunities for the students to become more digitally competent, e.g. making powerpoints with voice recording, creating digital art, and using programs like onenote to keep track of their work portfolios.

Can you imagine fostering your involvement inside your workstream?

Yes. I can definitely imagine this. My school is relatively small, so whenever one of us comes back from a training or develops a new skill/competence, we are encouraged to lead a staff meeting or a formal presentation sharing our findings with the rest of the team. As a newer and somewhat more digitally competent member of staff, I would be very happy to get more involved in fostering digital competence across my workstream.

What is your aim for this module?  

I would like to learn more about digital learning tools that will enrichen my teaching practice and empower my students. I also wish to develop more digital competencies that will make my teaching role more efficient and effective. I want to be more equipped to find solutions to day to day technological problems and improve my learning environment. 

**My score was 58, so an Expert. This was better than I expected!