TPACK Quest

     As I worked my way through my technology course there are many skills and tools that I learned as I worked through the assignments. Each assignment represented a TPACK teacher badge that dealt with a particular topic in technological education. They not only gave me knowledge about the topic, but gave me a chance to reflect on how I can use the tools and skills I learned and apply it to the classroom. Here I will explain some of the badges that I completed and what I learned from them. 

     For the digital ID badge I got to learn what it means to have a digital footprint and how it can affect the way others see you in the online world. Here I learned about tools I can use to teach my students about the importance of maintaining a professional digital footprint through links which contain videos. 

     The Gamification badge taught me how to apply the principles of gaming into education. This gets students excited about what they are learning with the goal of getting students to be immersed into their education like they do video games. This is a skill I can use to teach topics to my students in way that they enjoy so they retain the information better. 

     The Digizen badge looks at the responsibilities that we all have as a part of the digital world and looks at how we can protect ourselves. Here I got a chance to learn about cybersafety and the consequences that can happen from making unwise choices online. The resources I gathered here I can easily teach my students so they know about how to be safe online.

     The next two badges gave me an opportunity to teach my students about a how to learn a lesson in a different manner. They deal with Project and Problem based learning. These types of learning look at establishing an issue or a potential project you would like to learn on, and find ways to receive and present information on it. With this I learned about fun visual tools my students can use to display their ideas in creative yet organized ways. 

     For the next three badges I got a chance to be educated on how students can learn through a variety of platforms in hopes that they continue their learning outside the classroom. They deal with forms like mobile or online learning and gave me tools which I can teach my students to use to gain information online. It shows fun ways my students can gain information online and display what they learned. In addition, it gave me an introduction into coding, a fun activity that I can incorporate into any of the subjects I teach to teach that subject and computer science.

     The final badge that I complete was the Digital Teacher badge where I got to learn about how the classroom can be structured differently than the traditional chairs and desks. I got to learn concepts like the online classroom or blended classroom which I can use in my own teaching. It taught me about different ways that I can engage my students using technology and ways they can learn along with discuss with each other online about their ideas.