My Digital Toolbox

http://www.pinterest.com/mollyduggan0/tech-tools/

Designing my Digital Toolbox has actually been quite fun, forcing me to look for and experiment with additional tools.   Not every tool I tried made it into my Toolbox, however. .... and some tools started in the toolbox and have since been removed.


Criteria for selection

Rather than using ISTE Standards, SAMR, or TPACK, I used the Garrison (2007) framework based on social, teaching, and cognitive presence. Tools had to help me develop one or more of the three types of "presence" to enter the toolbox. Our class had also established criteria, some of which were also used to help determine whether or not a tool stayed in the toolbox.

Because my students are all full-time working adults, only some of the class-chosen criteria factored into tool selection.  Following is the list of class-developed criteria.  Those that entered into my choices are starred. For a tool to remain in the toolbox, it had to meet at least 6 of these criteria. Tools are also marked with SP, TP, and CP, based on Garrison's framework noted above.

1. Is it user friendly? *
2. Is it interactive? *
3. Is it age appropriate? *
4. Is it accessible on multiple devices? *
5. Is there another tool that does the same thing?
6. Is the tool sustainable?
7. Does the tool have substance?
8. Is it free? *
9. Is it web-based or does it require installation?
10. Is it accessible?
11. Is it customizable?  *
12. Will students have the skills they need to be successful? *
13. Does this tool meet my needs regarding legal issues, ethics, and privacy? *
14. Will it help me deliver content to my students? *

 Usefulness of the Toolbox

Several tools have already been integrated into current classes as well as those in design for next semester. For example, I have used Thinglink to house tasks (What is Organizational Culture?, Organizational Cultures & Subcultures, Handling Conflict, Fundraising and the Community College)  within our LMS, SnagIt to prepare screencapture videos of interactive assignment grading, and Camtasia to create interactive videos (Digital Footprints: Your Footprint, Your Responsibility and Best Practices in Designing Presentations). Students used Sketchtoy in an introductory forum to draw their definition of leadership. I used Zaption to add a question-and-answer component to a video on Tribal Community Colleges and  created a Library quiz for next semester using Google Forms, along with Brainshark to turn a narrated powerpoint into a video, and Powtoon to create a cartoon regarding course assignments.

Even more important, students have used several of these tools (Thinglink, Brainshark, Camtasia, and Powtoons) in their class presentations. Their choice to use some of these tools helps validate my own choices - evidently students did find these tools to be useful, easy, and appropriate.

The Future

Future assignments will provide students with more tool choices, all saved in my digital toolbox. As I continue to expand my toolbox, assignments will shift, providing students with even more options. I really enjoyed this process and may even add an assignment requiring students to develop their own toolboxes.

Organization of resources  is key, and I am considering reorganizing my toolbox...I am just not yet sure which way would be best. Categories of tools might be one way of organizing - all infographic generators in one toolbox, all audio recording tools in another...Organizing according to presence might work, but many tools would be in several toolboxes.


Until then, I will keep searching for new tools, keep noting possible assignments per tool, and keep growing my toolbox.

Reference

Garrison, D. R. (2007). Online community of inquiry review: Social, cognitive, and teaching presence issues. Journal of Asynchronous Learning Networks, 11 (1), 61-72.