Google forms is not something I had used before taking this course, but now knowing its capabilities and how it can be used for assessment and documentation, I am excited to use it in my future classroom. The availability of pre-made templates for exit tickets, course evaluations, assessments and worksheets make it easy to jump right in and get creating. A blank quiz template, as well as other templates, are also available for more customized forms. This ease of use is ideal for teachers who may not be as comfortable using some other more complex tools to build assessments. Being able to quickly pull up the data shared allows teachers to determine areas that need further review, or areas where learning was most focused. It makes the documentation side of assessment much more efficient in this way. The fact that it can be accessed on multiple devices anywhere with wi-fi also makes this a great choice for teachers who may be moving between a school/personal devices potentially including a desktop, a laptop, a tablet, or cell phone. Google forms can really support teachers assessment of students, and may lend itself to other classroom or school applications as well!

https://www.commonsense.org/education/scope-and-sequence

Once again, I will reference a Common Sense Media tool for this topic as well! They have so many wonderful resources, and their Digital Citizenship curriculum is wonderful for educators to use with students at all levels, as well as with parents. Depending on the age of the students, many parents are not as engaged in the digital world, so involving them in the conversation is important as well.
The Digital Citizenship curriculum plans take students through virtual field trips, simulated engagements, and other activities to help them understand what it means to be a good digital citizen, and why this is so important. In addition to the lesson resources, parent tip sheets and assessments are available to connect with each standard. Classroom posters and other resources can also be found for some lessons. This anchor chart about being a good digital citizen is something that would be great to have posted in an elementary classroom, or even set as the background image on school computers, so students can always remember the guidelines for engaging digitally as well.

I attended a Common Sense Media workshop several years ago, and have found the organization an invaluable resource ever since. Their curriculum guides, app and other media ratings, technology contracts, and other tools have all been useful for me as an educator and as a facilitator of a children's museum Family and Teacher Resource Center. A tool that I think would be great to engage students in learning about information and media literacy is their interactive game for middle school students called Digital Compass. This tool can be used as part of their larger curriculums, or as an individual activity. Students make decisions to advance game play, and each choice impacts the direction of the game. One of the games, called "Citation Infestation," is designed specifically to address areas of information literacy. The challenge issued to players is below:

"With competing demands of an overpacked schedule, Jay debates taking some shortcuts to spin his science project into solid gold. If only he could fine-tune his own critical eye when it comes to researching online. How will you help him get through the next 48 hours?"

I think this video game experience would meet students where they are, and engage them in an activity they like doing. When students are engaged in the learning, it is much more effective. Students will encounter "real life" consequences in a simulated environment so they can see how their choices in what information to use can impact their academic success, and life. This risk-free failure will hopefully inspire them to carefully consider the information they find from online sources, and be aware of how to source things appropriately.

I like the idea of mapping to support student's critical thinking. Being able to visually arrange information to connect ideas helps frame students' critical thinking process. I find creating maps and webs helps me to assess information better, and is a strategy I employ often in my own classwork, and in my curriculum planning. Tools that allow for the digital creation of these maps make this process even better. Maps can be easily revisited and revised as new information is learned or discovered, students can work collaboratively and the limitations of the size of paper, etc. are nonexistent. One of these tools is MindNode. MindNode features fun images and "stickers" to easily label key ideas and connect points to a visual. Notes and links can be added to each point on the map, which will reinforce the idea of students basing their ideas on evidence. Students can be encouraged to include source information on each point. MindNode works across multiple platforms and devices, which would make it easy for students to engage with it via tablet or desktop depending on the hardware at home/school.

Prezi is a tool I have enjoyed learning, and I feel it allows for a more dynamic type of presentation. I often find I want to show a "big picture" view to give context, zoom into an area of focus, then draw back and see again how it fits in the larger organization of the topic. Prezi allows for this kind of presentation. You can also incorporate different types of media into the Prezi, video clips, documents, photos etc. You can show the interconnectedness of different topics and ideas in a way that you cannot with PowerPoint or other similar slideshow programs. Anyone who can relate to having to say, "Okay now lets go back a few slides to see how that connects…" and then struggling to find your slide with your outline should try Prezi! There are times when you simply want to go through a list of information, and in those cases a PowerPoint, etc. would be easier. However, Prezi has advantages when introducing or explaining a topic in depth. Students could explore a topic in detail through a web presentation a teacher created. As new ideas and sources are uncovered, students could add them into the existing web structure. This way, teachers do not have to dedicate a tremendous amount of time teaching students how to build presentations from scratch.

http://www.baiboard.com/index.html

This app allows to students to work collaboratively on shared whiteboard from their own seats or homes. Students can easily work together without needing physical meeting spaces which can be a limitation in some classrooms. Students also have the option to write, draw, type or insert images. This allows students of all abilities, even young learners, to contribute meaningfully even if their language and literacy skills don't support anything beyond illustration and simple labeling yet. Final presentations can be exported to google drive, dropbox or evernote so teachers can easily create a digital portfolio a student's work or of a particular unit.