TPACK Quest

Throughout my tech class we were required to complete an online learning journey to develop out 21st century teaching skills. There were three streams of activities that facilitated out learning to push out boundaries and learn about technology in education. The three streams include; Cup of Wisdom, Order of TPACK and Genius Hour. These three streams combined produced our course grade. While working through each stream there were various badges to complete to widener our scope of educational technology. 

The first stream, Cup of Wisdom, consists of 9 different badges. The badge that I think contributed to my 21st century learning the most was the Gamification badge. This badge required me to develop and understanding of how the gratification of gaming can be incorporated into education. It also explained to me more about the TPACK journey that I was just beginning to embark on. I really enjoyed learning about gamification because it showed me a new way to creating lessons that can engage students. By incorporating a gaming aspect into education, it will appeal to a wider variety of learners and students' personalities. 

The next badge from Cup of Wisdom that I thoroughly enjoyed was Hour of Code. This badge required me to engage in online coding and critically thinking about ways of how it can be added integrated into various curriculum aspects. I have used Hour of Code in my summer job at science camp, so I was already fairly familiar with the concept of coding. Having to complete a badge about Hour of Code allowed me to think deeper about how I will incorporate my expertise of science and technology into my classroom. 

Order of TPACK was the second stream that was required of us. Under this stream there were three badges to complete. This badge that resonated with me the most was Professionalism. This badge required me to complete in class peer evaluation activities. I really enjoyed seeing how creative my peers have been through the

semester. Especially watching them grow in their comfort and ability use technology for education purposes.

The last stream, Genius Hour Required us to research a question that each person was interested in. I learned so much not only about the topic I chose but also how it can be a great learning tool for any learning style. It allows the student to create their own learning journey while the teacher still facilitates their learning. I think this is an awesome 21st century learning tool that needs to be used in all classrooms. It promotes creativity and forces students to think outside the box that the curriculum often forces us to be trapped inside.

Overall I throughout enjoyed the TPACK Quest to facilitate my learning. I think it was a great way to show teacher candidates new ways of teaching other than just lesson after lesson. It has definatley been a valuable experience that I want to incorporate into my lesson planning.