My TPACK Journey

1) What technological knowledge did I learn from the experience of creating the eBook?

While making this eBook I really familiarized myself with all of the extensions Google has to offer (Blogger, Google Drive, etc.). I am excited to have the skills to create my own Google Drive presentation now. I am comfortable making slides, using word art, animating pictures and headings, and adding videos to the presentation. I would love to use this resource in my teaching because I believe it is important to use technological and visual elements in lesson delivery, and because I would feel comforted knowing that the presentation is saved to my Google Drive for future use and safe-keeping.

2) What did I learn about using the Activity Type, eBook, as an end product of a Project-Based Lesson? 

I would love to use such a presentation in Rich Performance Task instruction. I think that students would love being able to view slide presentation individually to receive instruction. It's a much more environmentally friendly way of delivering instruction, and it will help familiarize students with technology. For instance, instead of handing students a hard-copy instruction sheet, I could present them with a Google Drive slide show that walks them through the task.

Furthermore, because you can add links, videos, images, and functioning URLs to the presentations, this would be a great resource for creating educational scavenger hunts. Or, with an older class, I would also consider having the students author their own Google Drive presentations because I found the platform to be very user friendly! It's a great teaching resource!

3) What pedagogical strategies did I learn about teaching students how to use eBook creation tools?

I found it very difficult to follow written instructions outlining how to use the resource. However, working in a group with other students, we were able to use our expanse of skills to work through the process collectively. I would therefore encourage collaborative learning strategies while working with Google Drive presentations. I would consider making my own presentation that outlines the tools to be used (animation, word art, new pages etc.). Then, I would divide the students into collaborative groups and facilitate as they engaged with the program. This scaffolded process, I think, would really help them to use the Google Drive presentation effectively.