3.6 Selecting and Evaluating Digital Tools & Resources
Candidates collaborate with teachers and administrators to select and evaluate digital tools and resources for accuracy, suitability, and compatibility with the school technology infrastructure. (PSC 3.6/ISTE 3f)
Candidates collaborate with teachers and administrators to select and evaluate digital tools and resources for accuracy, suitability, and compatibility with the school technology infrastructure. (PSC 3.6/ISTE 3f)
Reflection
As part of becoming a 21st century school, we decided to adopt digital e-Portfolios for our students in 2011. Initially, these were stored on school networked drives, but we wanted to update to a cloud solution for our student portfolios. This document reflects my research into three popular cloud solution options, Kidblog, Weebly Campus Edition, and Edublogs. I presented these three options to my principal before we chose Weebly Campus Edition as our school e-Portfolio solution.
This research was initially narrowed down through recommendations by colleagues in my school, district, and nationwide on Twitter. I believe that my ability to gather information on these options and evaluate them in light of our district’s policies and our school culture demonstrates my mastery of this standard. I tested out a trial account of each with our student hardware to check for compatibility and internet filtering issues before making the final recommendation to our administrative team. I then presented the proposed solution to our school leadership team to get their input before a final decision was made.
Through this process, I learned that making a decision that impacts seventy teachers and over a thousand students is a difficult undertaking. It was difficult to balance several factors such as price, suitability, sustainability, and compatibility with school infrastructure while researching e-Portfolios. If I had to do this project again, I would find a small pilot group to try out several solutions before making a decision. It is important to gather usability input and try out the product with groups of students to get an idea of how to best plan for implementation.
Throughout this research process, I involved teachers who were familiar with Kidblog and Weebly from their own personal or professional use. The thorough research that I did impacted our faculty through the use of a carefully selected product. Their students were able to learn about e-Portfolios alongside them during model lessons that were taught by me and the technology specials teacher. Familiarity with this platform helped to increase their comfort with other digital tools and integrate technology more effectively in their classrooms. This impact could be assessed through a faculty survey with a mix of multiple-choice and open-ended responses.
This research was initially narrowed down through recommendations by colleagues in my school, district, and nationwide on Twitter. I believe that my ability to gather information on these options and evaluate them in light of our district’s policies and our school culture demonstrates my mastery of this standard. I tested out a trial account of each with our student hardware to check for compatibility and internet filtering issues before making the final recommendation to our administrative team. I then presented the proposed solution to our school leadership team to get their input before a final decision was made.
Through this process, I learned that making a decision that impacts seventy teachers and over a thousand students is a difficult undertaking. It was difficult to balance several factors such as price, suitability, sustainability, and compatibility with school infrastructure while researching e-Portfolios. If I had to do this project again, I would find a small pilot group to try out several solutions before making a decision. It is important to gather usability input and try out the product with groups of students to get an idea of how to best plan for implementation.
Throughout this research process, I involved teachers who were familiar with Kidblog and Weebly from their own personal or professional use. The thorough research that I did impacted our faculty through the use of a carefully selected product. Their students were able to learn about e-Portfolios alongside them during model lessons that were taught by me and the technology specials teacher. Familiarity with this platform helped to increase their comfort with other digital tools and integrate technology more effectively in their classrooms. This impact could be assessed through a faculty survey with a mix of multiple-choice and open-ended responses.