3X3 Link

What did you create, and why?

• I created a 3x3 Link because I wanted to have one place where I could put all the different webpages/links that I want my students to have access to on a regular basis without having them try to add them all separately to a favorite list.

What went well for you?

• Wow! This was so much easier than I was expecting it to be. I had wanted one for a while now, but had never gotten around to making one, mostly because I thought that it would be harder than it actually was. But I found it easy to add links and even reorganize the links once added.

What was challenging?

• The challenging part was that at this point in the summer, I added some pages that the students will be using for next year, but they are new sites and I do not yet have all to correct or current student logon page information at this time. I tried to add a basic link to the main webpage that will remind me what I wanted on the 3X3 link so that as I get the current information I can easily go back in and add it for student access.

What did you enjoy?

• I found making this way more fun than it probably should be, but the organization of all the different pieces put in one easy place for students to just click on made me really happy. I am always trying to find ways to help support my 4th grade students to access online resources easily and without needing my support to do so and I see this as being an easy way for them to help themselves. I was also quite excited to link it to my student Google Classroom as well has having plans to add it to my student Chromebooks as the homepage.

What ideas do you have for using this tool with your students, grade level, staff or to communicate with families?

• For this assignment I just created a 3X3 Link for the most commonly used webpages that my students need access to during the day. But I was also thinking about how easy it would be to create different 3X3 links to provide directions, resources, links for student projects limiting the amount of pages or resources or searching for information of research reports or different strategies that I want students to be working on and cutting down on some of the "extra" explore time that students sometimes get lost in.

3x3Links

For the 3x3 Links Challenge I first created a simple 3x3 grid with the most frequently used links in our classroom, historically, Knowing that there are a couple more interactive pieces that I would like to add this year, including a reflective (exit ticket) tool, a vehicle for students to interact with each other, and a link to contact me with a need, I decided to use folders. I am still pondering the additional grid spaces I have available. I enjoyed perusing the resources available and example webpages that other teachers have developed. The most challenging was navigating through the changes that I decided to make after having the initial 3x3 grid complete and then deciding to create folders. Staying focused on the challenge at hand was difficult as I found myself wanting to create the exit ticket in Google Forms and update my class website, and create my Google Classroom page for the upcoming school year. Most of these are challenges I will be tackling in in the coming days or weeks, yet I know that I will want to add some of these components to the 3x3 Links so in wanting to be efficient, I know I inadvertently become inefficient. I know that this will be a tool in which the links I had posted to my website will now be able to be streamlined. Visually, I already see that this is much more user friendly both for students and families.

Click here for the link to see what I have done before adding the additional links.