TPACK Quest

Throughout our journey into the world of technological teaching we have been earning "badges" as part of our TPACK Quest.  This quest has been how we as a class have been exploring the world of technology and being introduced to various tools at our disposal for digital learning.  This quest introduced me to a number of skills involving the integration of technology into the class and how multiple tools can work together to create a great product.  This quest will be forever valuable to me in preparing me for teaching in the 21st century as I've noticed that even though my time in school was only about 5 years ago, so much has already changed and staying updated is crucial to staying an effective teacher.  Below are some of the badges I earned along the way.


The genius hour badge was a badge that was earned through the research and reporting of my own personal genius hour project.  This project allowed to me explore any topic that I was interested in and do a report on my findings.  Although personally I chose a topic allowing me to research my family history/heritage, the possibilities of this project when used in a classroom are endless.  I had never heard of these projects prior to this class but it is an excellent way to get students engaged with their learning and get them excited for the possibilities of where their education could take them.


The gamification badge introduced me to the topic of modifying education towards a model similar to the ways companies gamify their products to retain customer over long periods of time.  Gamification is the implementation of things like experience points, levels, rewards etc. to encourage students to return to certain academic activities over the course of a school term.  What I took away from this module the most was the importance of coming up with creative ways to keep students engaged in their learning.  It allowed me to always be rethinking my lesson planning process into including ways in which I can keep them interested in continuing to learn past my initial lesson, including at home. 

The digital teacher badge taught me a lot about the concepts around blended and flipped classroom models.  With advances in technology, blended and flipped models are becoming more and more common.  These methods involve most the initial learning being done at home, typically online through videos, photos, and teacher resources.  In class time is dedicated to hands on activities and allows teachers to teach to all skill levels at the same time.  This gives more autonomy to students that are ahead, while spending more time with students who are struggling.

Over the course of this class I earned a number of other badges, all of which contributed to my current understanding of how I can be an effective digital teacher for the 21st century.  Each badge either introduced me to new techniques and tools that can be utilized in the classroom, or how I could adjust my existing teacher knowledge into a format that integrates technology.  These all added to each other to help my students become engaged through integrating their own interests and the real world applications of concepts into their education and make them excited for what they could learn.

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