Hurray! I just submitted the final version of my standards breakdown and questions. I am so excited to have finished what I set out to do and I feel it is everything I hoped it would be. I can remember sitting in my interview and explaining to my soon to be mentor how I thought the state needed to offer more sample multiple choice questions in order to help teachers better understand the make-up of the state tests and how to better prepare their students for the tests. Once I learned the basics on how to create the questions, I started in on writing sample questions and matching available questions to the standards, it turned out to be much harder than I expected. Writing good questions, creating plausible answers, identifying bias, using the proper vocabulary, and making sure the questions fully aligned with the curriculum was a very difficult task. As an added bonus one of the main requests that came from teachers on our assessment survey was the need for more sample questions and more resources on aligning questions to the standards. Having the affirmation from other teachers that my work was needed made finishing the project that much more satisfying.

Now that they are done I have submitted the standards and questions to the DPI Assessment office and I am hopeful they can find a way to use them to help other teachers feel more comfortable teaching their curriculum and preparing their students for the state assessments. It is my hope that the questions can be used as a framework for other disciplines and can help guide the DPI as they offer more resources to districts and teachers across the state.

The Lenovo tablet has been a wonderful addition to my technology resources. Right from the start I embraced the use of the tablet and filled it with all of the Kenan electronic files and resources. The first days I spent at DPI I added notes, files, and downloads pertaining to DPI assessments and curriculum. All of my standards work, my assessment questions, and resources were created on my tablet and having that one stop place for all of my work made my organization and productivity that much more efficient. For my classroom my school initially provided me with a laptop, but having the Lenovo tablet for use at home has given me another dimension for finding classroom resources, downloading and playing multimedia presentations, and accessing the internet at home. Living in a busy household with 2 teenage kids of my own, finding the availability of a computer can be difficult. Having the tablet as an additional piece of technology allowed me to accomplish simple tasks such as grading, updating blackboard, and communicating with parents via email without having to fight with others in my house for the one household laptop we had.

The portability of the tablet has allowed me to carry it to meetings, sports activities, and on trips so I could continue to work and access my files on the go.  In addition, the tablet is fun! My daughter has downloaded games, simulations, music, and pictures, all kinds of fun activities that I’m not allowed to put on my work computerJ. Just one more wonderful bonus of the Kenan Fellowship!