Digital Learning Day: February 23rd

Digital Learning Day: Thursday, Feb 23rd

Help celebrate Digital Learning Day in your classroom! 

What is Digital Learning?

Digital Learning is integrating technology to make teaching and learning more
engaging, efficient and effective. Integrating technology helps students develop
21st Century skills that are necessary for them to be  successful in their education,
personal and professional lives: empowered learner, digital citizen, knowledge
constructor, innovative designer, computational thinker, creative communicator and
global collaborator (ISTE Student Standards).

Why Celebrate Digital Learning?

Digital Learning Day started 2012 and is a national event where educators celebrate
and showcase innovative teaching that leverages technology as a catalyst
for student learning. It's not really about technology tools; it's about highlighting how
technology is transforming teaching and learning!

How Can Your Class Join the Celebration?

• Tweet about your Digital Learning activities using hashtags: #digitalday728,
  #DLDay and tag @OfficialDLDay.
• Post tech in action in your classroom on Seesaw or Schoology.
• Host a Google Hangout or Skype with another class.
• Have students do a Digital Day promo activity answering questions such as 
• How does technology impact your learning?
• What is the future of technology?
• For more ideas and to see innovative technology integration ideas from other
  schools, visit the Digital Learning Day website.

Have students explain their learning with audio/video

There is great value in having students process what they have learned. Students can explain their own learning, reflect on the process or use the recordings to teach other students. Listed below are some readily available tools to have your students record themselves.

1. Schoology

• Assignment: Students can record their reflections privately using the microphone icon on the upload tab. They can record their thoughts in audio or video.
• Discussion: Students can share their reflections publically using the microphone icon to post a video or audio response. Other students can also respond to these recordings.

2. Seesaw

• Picture & Recording: Students can take a picture of their work and record themselves explaining it.
• Drawing & Recording: Students can draw a picture or solve a problem and then record themselves explaining their process.
• Video: Students can video record themselves explaining their learning. 

3. Adobe Spark

• Students can put images and text onto a slide and record themselves explaining it.

4. Screencastify

• Students can use this Chrome extension to record their computer screens. They can show their completed work and record themselves explaining what they've done and how they've done it. They can also use the webcam to record themselves instead of the screen. This could be useful for demonstrating something that is offline.

Tech Tip: Recording a Rap

Here's a bonus tech tip this week . . . http://createraps.com/

It's a free and simple website that allows students to record themselves singing a rap. No account is needed, and it is very simple to use. Just choose an audio track, record and download. The download can then be easily transferred to Google Drive for sharing.

This would be a great tool to have students explain their learning through song!

8 Things to Look for in Today's Classroom

It's been awhile since we all heard George Couros speak to us at the beginning of the year about the importance of the innovator's mindset and our changing classrooms. The image below is a visual reminder of 8 things to look for in today's classroom--specifically, a learner-focussed classroom.

Seesaw, Schoology and Google Apps are all great tools for helping to facilitate many of these goals. If you would like to meet and discuss ways to achieve this, feel free to contact me.

Creative Ways to Integrate Google Slides

Google Slides isn't just for creating traditional linear presentations. You and your students can use Slides to create interactive kiosks and a variety of digital materials. Schoology and Seesaw can be used to share and collect these creations.

Comic Strip & Visual eBooks

Digital Vocabulary Packets

Book Study Guides

Interactive Learning: Magnetic Poetry, Build a Snowman 

 

Game Boards: Jeopardy & Class Baseball

 

Interactive Kiosks: Geometry, Volcano Project,  Periodic Table, 

Flyers & Brochures

Newsletters

Worksheets

Global Exploration, Global Audience

As we live more and more in a global society, it is important to develop students' knowledge, understanding and connection to their larger community. Here are some engaging websites to help students explore and engage in the the world around them.

Note: Thanks to the tech mentor group for sharing suggestions included in this post.

Skype in the Classroom

Skype offers five ways to "bring the world into your classroom" including virtual field trips, guest speakers, mystery skypes, skype collaborations and skype lessons.

Google Expeditions

Using the App along with the website, teachers can guide students through virtual trips.

Tour Builder

Teachers and students can create interactive maps that include photos, text, and videos to create virtual field trips to share with others.

ePals

"Connect, communicate and collaborate with classrooms around the world."

Four Websites

This week, we are featuring some neat websites that you will want to check out. Thanks to the tech mentor group and Michelle Farnum for the suggestions.

AirPano
View 360 degree aerial panoramas. Use your mouse or arrow keys to see fantastic sites in all directions. This is a great way to take a virtual field trip.


http://explore.org/
This is a great directory of live webcams. This is especially good for wildlife viewing.

PaperRater.com
Think of this as a free plagiarism checker (like Turnitin) that also includes writing analysis tools.

NoRedInk.com.
Use this tool to analyze word choice, sentence structure and grammar usage.

Control Alt Archive
This site is packed full of great technology integration tools and ideas. Here are a few I like.

• Google Draw Magnetic Poetry Template
• YouTube Read Aloud Videos (many ready by the authors!)
• Build a Snowman with this Google Slides template (build one of these for other topics!)
• Screencastify Activities for Students (Screencastify Extension Link)