Monitoring My GAME Plan: Progress in Week 4.

This week, due to some work I have been doing "unpacking standards" and generally working towards writing Common Formative Assessments, I have not been in my classroom very much. However, the information for the CFAs is very much in line with the resources for this week, so I have been trying to meld the two concepts together as I continue my search for great resources that use technology in a way that allows me to differentiate for my varied group of learners.

One idea that really struck me as important is the concept that assessments, particularly formative ones, need to be as varied as the instruction that leads to them. Technology can assist in this regard; apart from anything else, it can allow me to vary the assessment in terms of numbers of questions per page, size of print, etc. I also can search for variations on tasks if I am planning performance assessments. As Cennamo et al state, "the technologies you choose... will depend most on making good choices for supporting your instruction and assessment" (2009, p. 163).

Information and Resources I Need.
I am, so far, finding resources and information fairly easy to locate. My biggest problem is sifting through the available options to pick out what is the best fit for my class.

This week I tried out several resources. My three favourite were:
1) https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/essential-skeleton/id623811668?mt=8
This resource allow manipulation of a skeleton and would provide excellent review for several Health/Science topics. As teacher leader for Science at my school, I have to assist other levels with resources and this one got the thumbs-up from my colleague at that level.
2) https://classtechtips.com/2012/09/13/haiku-deck-for-small-presentations/
This resource helps students (or adults) prepare for presentations by adding timing. It also only allows limited text so that the students are forced to edit what they are saying. I can use this as a performance assessment.
3) http://www.edutopia.org/blog/national-poetry-month-poetry-technology-mary-beth-hertz
Throughout the year, we work on our poetry anthologies. I love this resource which suggests tips for including more technology alongside the poetry. There are suggested options for assessment as well as teaching and learning.

Modifying the Plan.
So far, I have not really felt that I need to modify this plan. I am enjoying the impetus it is giving me to explore varying resorces and to try out ones that seem to match well with what I am doing. 

What I Have Learned So Far.
So far, besides various exciting options using technology that I can (and in some cases have) used with my class, I have really just learned that the ease of locating resources is even greater than I had thought. Using the RSS feed and also using various sites that pick out technology tips has also been helpful.

Regarding assessments and technology specifically, this week I really thought a great deal about how an electronic portfolio can be used as an assessment piece. "...portfolios contain examples of work that can be compared to competencies or standards" (Cennamo et al, 2009, p. 151).

New Questions.
I am looking forward to continuing to use my memberships - I got a great activity off of the NCTM website this week - to explore resources. I need to decide how I will evaluate each one as to its relative worth; there are so many free resources out there too. I also need to figure out a way to streamline my RSS information so that I am getting the tips and pieces I really want.

On the other hand, how will I know what's out there if I never look at new things?

Does my Walden cohort have any suggestions about how to balance this?