Clif’s Notes on Education and Technology

Assessment That Fosters Students’ Growth

“Assessment that’s joyful and just is rooted in the belief that all students are capable of achieving and learning at high levels. These assessments celebrate, set goals, and design instruction for students as unique individuals who deserve to be seen and heard. As students feel empowered, they’re more motivated to achieve goals along a clear learning progression toward self-actualization and joy in a more just society, where each of us is fully valued and supported in our growth.”

Continue reading Sarah Yost’s full article on Edutopia: https://edut.to/3Ex3LYe

We Remember What We ‘Do’

Feel free to download a full-sized version of this poster for use in your school.

Related Resources

Maker Education: A Quick Introduction

Journey from a Makerspace to a Maker District

MakerED

Building the Future: Tinkering and Playful Learning

The Audacity of Making 

The Maker Movement in K-12 Education: A Guide to Emerging Research

Invent to LearnThe Maker Movement in K-12 Education: A Guide to Emerging Research

Invent to Learn

Improve How You Speak so That People Will Want to Listen

The human voice is one of the most powerful sounds in the world. It can start wars, and it can say, “I love you.” Yet, many people do not feel as though others listen to them. In his TEDtalk (video below), sound expert, Julian Treasure, shares tips and useful vocal exercises to help you speak in ways that will cause people to want to listen to you.

He highlights 7 habits that should be avoided in the ways we speak and in the things we discuss (See image above or download full-sized version.).

Treasure shares 4 cornerstones on which to stand, to make your speech powerful and to promote change in the world. They are based on the acronym HAIL.

HAIL – to greet or acclaim enthusiastically

Honest – be clear and straight
Authenticity – be your self
Integrity – be your word
Love – wish them well

Treasure concludes by sharing tips on how to speak with empathy, and he offers his vision for a sonorous world of listening and understanding.

Technology & the Future: Where Are We Headed?

“When you drive a car down the road, you need an engine to move it forward and you need brakes to steer. The vehicle of technology requires both the engine of optimism and the brakes of pessimism in order to steer [us into a better tomorrow].”

Kevin Kelly, How We Build the Future.
This work by Clif Mims is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 United States License. Full details available at: https://clifmims.com/ccl/

I found Kevin Kelly’s ideas (video below) provocative and the visual presentation is creative. While important matters such as social, economic, and political issues aren’t addressed, I do think this adds intriguing flavor to the discussion of technology’s role in society and our future.

Enjoy the video.

Creativity is not Canceled

“During this time of social distancing it is important to remember that creativity has not been canceled. We all can benefit from engaging into creative activities that stretch us and force us to look at our world and situation from another angle” (source). What does creativity look like in the current world of quarantines and social distancing? Kylie Peppler suggests that there are four types of creativity – “the technical, the critical, the creative, the ethical” and that the best creativity happens when we work within all four areas. (source). Peppler suggests that the wide open nature of the internet is a bit too much for students and that instead we should focus on interest-driven learning. DIY.org offers camp-like structures with small groups of people with similar interests who work together. Connected Camps is another program that also focuses on interest-driven learning. In our current situation of quarantines and social distancing being creative can be a daunting task so start small – 20 minutes a day. Lots of people are turning to music – learning an instrument or dance, baking, reading, completing puzzles, learning to paint, etc. Creativity does not have to be a huge project but it can make a huge difference in our overall mood and attitude even if it is just 20 minutes a day. What will you create today?  

References:

Image source, Photo by Riccardo Annandale on Unsplash

All other sourced information is hyperlinked as applicable above. 

@hollandkaylah

Free Summer PD

The Global EdTech Academy is offering “free, universal access to an entire suite of live and recorded EdTech resources, Master Class sessions, and Office Hours” (source). The EdTech sessions include tons of webinars from education’s most popular voices such as Matt Miller, Ken Shelton, Holly Clark, Micheal Cohen (the Tech Rabbi), and more. The sessions are both live and recorded so that you can either join the collective group or watch on your own time. The master classes are taught by experts in products of Microsoft, and the office hours are there for you if you need immediate assistance or support. While the sessions are geared toward Microsoft products they actually focus more on ideas and strategies that will both inspire you and equip you to apply your learning no matter the platform you use. The best part of this endeavor is that all of this is absolutely free. Click here to access the Global EdTech Academy and have fun learning. 

References:

Image source, Global EdTech Academy

All other sourced information is hyperlinked as applicable above. 

@hollandkaylah

Virtual Brain Breaks

In our current virtual learning environment, educators are feeling the need to ensure students are learning by filling their day with back to back activities. Taking breaks prevents the brain from becoming overloaded and gives time for information to process (source). This idea is not new to the education world but it might be helpful in the virtual education world. The suggestions below will help create an environment that honors brain breaks in our virtual learning environment (source). 

  • Think of the age group you teach and understand what their attention span is, deliberately chunk activities and tasks appropriately for their specific attention span
  • Break up tasks by asking questions and including discussions
  • Balance on screen and off screen activities so that students can take a break from staring at computer screen and can utilize tactile functions

References:

Image source, Edutopia

All other sourced information is hyperlinked as applicable above. 

@hollandkaylah

Maintain Healthy Relationships with Students Virtually

In our virtual, yet isolated, current environment, it is important to continue maintaining healthy relationships with students. “When kids spend their daytime hours in safe, supportive schools where adults work every day to build strong relationships with every student, they are simply better, more engaged learners” (source). Yet, how do educators continue to build strong relationships when students are on the other side of a screen? The suggestions below offer strategies to maintain strong relationships with students despite the virtual connection (source).

  • Communicate frequently – it is important that students see and hear you frequently. This action can be done through video chats or by posting videos on your LMS (learning management system – Schoology, Canvas, Google Classroom, etc). Students need to know you are thinking of them often. 
  • Create a routine – In person classroom routines are important, thus, virtual learning routines are important. The routine can be accomplished through morning meetings, responding to daily prompts, daily announcements, read-alouds, etc. Any type of activity that can be completed daily in order to create an environment that is safe will help students know you are there and available. 
  • Virtual check-ins – there are numerous students that benefit from daily check-ins with teachers in the school setting. This same type of check-in can be completed online. Whether they give a visual thumbs or down or they complete a Google Form like this one, students need to be able to share how they are feeling with the teacher and you as the teacher can pinpoint who is doing well and who is not. 

References:

Image source, Photo by Kelly Sikkema on Unsplash

All other sourced information is hyperlinked as applicable above. 

@hollandkaylah

Finish the Year Strong

The focus of education has shifted dramatically in the last few months due to the closure of face to face instruction. This unprecedented time has been deemed trauma-informed teaching. In order to prevail through the situation, many educators have turned to virtual education and video chats. The issue with video chatting is that there are limited ways to engage students through a screen. Below are several recommendations for amping up video chats in order to help educators finish the school year strong (source). 

  • Invite a guest speaker – think book authors or experts in your field. You never know if someone will say yes until you ask. 
  • Take your class on a virtual field trip – there are numerous options for virtual field trips right now so utilize your host screen and take your students on a journey. Click here to view a list of current virtual tours. 
  • Connect your students to another class – create an environment of global curiosity and connect your class with another class in another state or country. Students in both classes can work on projects together while both teachers co-teach. Twitter is a great place to find educators with similar passions to yours. 
  • Create a design thinking project that engages students both on screen and off screen. Future Design School created a Facebook group that includes at home design thinking resources.  

References:

Image source, Photo by Chris Montgomery on Unsplash

All other sourced information is hyperlinked as applicable above. 

@hollandkaylah