GCE Level 2 Blog - Christina Barteld

In unit 8 there were so many amazing resources that can be used in a classroom. One in particular is Google maps. It is a fun and engaging way for students to go other places. I have incorporated it into my classroom minimally, but I would love to see how I can utilize it even more in my social studies lessons. Google lit trips was another amazing tool that engages students more fully in a piece of literature. I would love to take a look at my novels again and see which ones I could add to with lit trips.    In unit 9, I found the refresher on the Explore tool and instituting genius hour beneficial. Both are tools that I either have or desire to do in my classroom. After reading and listening to this unit I have more of a desire to incorporate this in my day next year. 

In units 6 and 7, I learned about student portfolios. I think that is a great way to show student's accomplishments for their parents and themselves. I see the benefits of using Google Drive or Sites and would love to explore a bit more to see which one would work best in my classroom. I love the idea of using Google Slides as an opportunity for engagement for students. Giving them back the ability to learn at their own pace and providing me with up-to-date data on where they are is great! We complete a lot of quick quizzes in math and grading them gets time consuming. Using google forms would save a lot of time and put all of the data in a location that I can analyze it quickly.  Another interesting resources I had not heard of before is using cards within Youtube videos. With the way that teaching has been pushed online so abruptly, it would be advantageous to begin thinking of how I can put certain lessons online and I think that this tool is a great option to help! I can place ...

In unit 5, I learned about the usefulness of Google sheets. I have to admit that I have not really used this tool personally or professionally because I always thought there were too many "buttons to click" and things to know. However, after this unit I think that it can be a very important piece to a teacher's day and save loads of time with data. I liked the idea of filtering data and using pivot tables to sort information.  That is one of the ideas that I would like to use in my own classroom, pivot tables. I see that they can be useful when gathering large amounts of data, academic or not, from students, parents, and even staff members. There are many different uses that can come out of using this simple feature. 

In units 3 and 4, I learned about add-ons and extensions. I have used extensions before, but didn't know how useful they could be in a variety of situations. I downloaded the One Tab extension and was amazed at how easy it could be to keep my tabs in one location, but not be so cluttered on my browser. I would love to look more into other add-ons and extensions that could be useful in my classroom and for my students.  I really enjoyed the idea of using Google Forms to receive information about parent availability and other useful information. I have always used paper to get information and it gets difficult to sift through. Having it in one location on the computer will make it much easier to access. I can't wait to try it out next year! 

In units 1 and 2, I learned about the different types of teaching styles that can be used: flipped, blended, and PBL. I have used some of these styles of teaching in my own classroom, however, I appreciated learning more about how to better incorporate them into a classroom using the many tools that I have been learning through Google.  One tool in particular that I have tried using is hyper docs. I really enjoyed the ability to create a document and have the students independently, or in groups, work at their own pace to learn a concept. I would love to create, or find, more of these tools for next year! 

Hello!  My name is Christina Barteld.  I am a 5th grade teacher (all subjects) at Paragon Charter Academy and I am going into my 4th year teaching. I absolutely love teaching this grade and getting the chance to engage my students with the content they are learning.  I was so excited to learn about all of the amazing tools in Level 1 and I cannot wait to utilize them in my classroom next year. I would say that I am a fairly tech savvy teacher; however, the apps and tools that I have seen in Level 1 have opened my eyes even further to the benefits of using online resources for myself and my students.  After finishing my Level 1 certificate, I knew that I just had to continue. There are so many amazing resources to learn and I am ready to broaden my horizons in this course.