Share your experiences of digital tools (strengths and weaknesses), either those you have used for your own creation or those used in the classroom for student creation of digital artefacts. Share any implementation strategies that you may have used.

Digital tools I have implemented for the creation of student digital artefacts have included Seesaw, Book Creator, Kahoot, Google Classroom, Google Slides, Microsoft Word, Power Point, iMovie, Scratch, and Minecraft. All of which are either used on computer or iPad platforms. I have found that keeping the tools to a manageable handful, has enabled me to solidify the use of them with students, as it can take anywhere from a series of weeks to a series of months for them to begin to master the basics (this can also be a weakness when introducing new tools).  Usually, I allow my students to choose a digital tool from a possibility of 2-3 preselected digital tools to create the desired work with. A strength of this, is that it enables a level of student autonomy through choice making, as well as enabling them to select a tool they are comfortable using.  I have also found important is modelling the use of these tools, for students, in regular classroom practice.

Something I am still figuring out is how to cater for the diversity of my students, in particular a student who is deaf, and a student who is Autistic. Currently, these two students find it hard to navigate the technology/digital tools without explicit, one-on-one assistance from the teachers-aide. The digital tools we currently use do not have in-built instructions, no do they talk-to-text options. Due to this, I continue to explore more options for these students. It is my aspiration for these students to be able to create digital pieces using digital tools in ways that are meaningful to them, sensitive to their needs, and enable them to succeed alongside their peers.