Technology Integration

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

Google’s Teach from Home Supports Virtual Learning

Google for Education has announced the creation of a program to help support parents and educators teaching from home. The current global pandemic has caused schools around the world to close for in person instruction and almost instantly create lessons to be delivered virtually. Google’s Teach from Home program includes training materials for educators, schools, and parents including collaborating with educators, students, and families virtually, keeping students engaged, providing accessibility in lessons, managing virtual classrooms and much more. Teach from Home also provides weekly webinars, peer communities, and regular office hours to offer instant support for educators and families. Click here to access Google’s Teach from Home program.

References:

Image source, Google’s Teach from Home

All other sourced information is hyperlinked as applicable above.

@hollandkaylah

Classkick: Give Feedback in Real Time!

Why Classkick?

Teachers upload content (drawings, text, images, audio, links, or video) to ClassKick and then students interact with the content on their devices. Teachers can view all the student screens on their own device and can provide individualized, real-time feedback or allow students to give each other anonymous feedback. Students can also digitally “raise their hand” for assistance. The program helps the teacher to see who needs help and allows the teacher to monitor how students are progressing through the assignment. This is a great tool for teachers who do not have classroom management software since it gives them some control over their students’ digital space.

How to use Classkick?

Tutorial Video from Amanda Moody:

What does Classkick cost?

The free version is very robust with unlimited assignments, the ability to give instant personalized feedback (and stickers!), as well as peer-to-peer feedback. The paid version adds automated questions with grading, the ability to export grades, class chat, and more. Click here to see more information including the pricing options for the upgraded version of ClassKick.

Examples of Classkick.

Check out the Assignment Library, to see how teachers are using Classkick to create innovative lessons. Each assignment has a corresponding blog post that breaks down the assignment to encourage intentional, thoughtful planning. You can also copy the lessons into your own Classkick account!

Resources for Classkick

Classroom Success Stories
5 Reasons to Use Classkick
How to Get Started in Classkick

Guest Blogger
Raina Burditt

Nearpod: Make Your Lectures Interactive

Teachers share a live session, students enter a code (no student accounts needed), and the lesson is synced to all devices.

Why Nearpod?

Nearpod also allows you to add interactivity and instant assessments to your presentation. Interactivity includes quickly polling students, annotating on their screens, completing matching pairs, trying out computer simulations, viewing 3D models, sharing collaboration boards, and more. You can also ask multiple-choice, open-ended, or fill-in-the blank questions. Additionally, Nearpod integrates with LMS’s like Google Classroom, Canvas, and Schoology.

How to use Nearpod?

You can create your lesson from scratch within the program or quickly import existing lessons (pdfs, jpegs, ppts). There are also many lessons available in the Nearpod library. You can choose to show or hide student names as you move through the activities. However, you will have a record of each student’s engagement and can even deploy a student-paced quiz through Nearpod. The program provides detailed analytics and reporting.

picture of computers with students receiving same information

Examples of Nearpod.

The following video from Nearpod provides an overview of the program.

Click here to explore lessons in Nearpod’s library.

Guest Blogger: Raina Burditt

7 Characteristics of Teachers Who Effectively Use Technology

“…Using technology in the classroom – and using it effectively – might require some slight adjustments on the part of the teacher to sustain the effort, creative problem-solving, and innovation required to actually improve learning through the use of technology. This occurs at the belief level–what teachers believe about technology, education, and their own abilities to manage technology.

“Looking at the characteristics of teachers that effectively use technology in the classroom, then, can be useful to create an “edtech” mindset–one that believes in purpose, adaptation, change, and meaningful planning.” — TeachThought

Click here to view the infographic of these seven characteristics.

Wonderful #EdTech Job Opportunity

Here’s a great job opportunity in an excellent school district working with wonderful people.

Curriculum Technology Teacher (CTT)
Arlington Community Schools
Arlington, TN

#edtech #mlearning #edchat

Tech-Based Formative Assessment

“When we use formative assessment strategies, we’re on a fact-finding mission. As educators, we work to figure out who understands the teaching point of a lesson, who has mastered a new concept, who needs extra help. Formative assessment happens naturally as we walk around the room and listen in on student conversations or examine their classwork after the bell rings. But how can you use technological tools to check for understanding in meaningful, sustainable, and scalable ways?” — Monica Burns, Edutopia

Continue reading the full post.

Image Source: globaldigitalcitizen.org

360-Degree Cameras in Education: A Quick Introduction

Guest Blogger
Kasey Kennedy

Some say 360-degree cameras may be the next big thing in education. What is a 360-degree camera? It is a camera that allows you to capture photos and videos in a spherical format. The spherical format allows the viewer to pan around the entire image or video in a 360-degree fashion.

View this 360 degree image to get an idea of what these kinds of cameras can do.

Enjoy this video, What Happens in Your Body?, and enjoy a 360-degree exploration of your circulatory and digestive systems. Follow the directions below the video to navigate this spherical video.

Click on the following image for a 360-photo of the North Pole.

Using 360-Degree Cameras in the Classroom

Virtual Field Trips: Take a moment to view this video. You could create a video to go along with whatever you are teaching, and the students could work themselves through the video to get more information. Another example could be using a 360 video to help students explore the cells of the body.

School Events: What if you could play the camera on the stage while a student performed? This would let the students view their work, and see the performance as the audience sees it.

Parental Involvement: This would be a great way to get parents involved. Most cameras will only record parts of the room, unless it is carried around. By using a 360 degree camera, a parent could pan around to their child, and watch their child the whole time. This will help the parents see what is going on in the classroom, and it will get them more involved.

Outside of the Classroom Field Trips: When on a field trip, the camera could be used to take pictures, or a video, and the teacher could replay it for the students as they do their reflections. This could also be an opportunity for any students who missed the field trip to receive the same experience. (Source)

Tips for Using 360-Degree Cameras

Geoffrey Morrison shares six tricks for getting the best photo and video spheres.

I also recommend 10 Things I Wish I Knew before Shooting 360 Video by Vanessa Hand Orellana.

360-Degree Virtual Tours

The Lincoln Memorial

Luray Caverns

The Secret Annex of Anne Frank’s Home

Rainforest