Open Educational Resources In The Classroom
The power of the internet has not only impacted students but teachers greatly. In the aspect of accessing resources such as labs to do in the classroom for teaching, research information, teaching guides on lessons, and anything one can imagine. You no longer have to spend hours searching through teacher handbooks or going to your local library to source information. We now live in the world of fast-paced resources that have little to no cost, also coined as Open educational resources (OERs). These resources are not always “Free” but have different licensing options to protect the author however they feel. These recourses do remain domain in public resources digitally. They also do not have the added constraint of heavy licensing or royalty fees. The OERs do not have to be just reading materials they can be anything from pictures, videos, diagrams, or even entire textbooks that anyone in the classroom finds are valuable. In conclusion, OERs are taking over the educational field not only for students but for teachers to greater sharpen their resources in the classroom.
Educational Technology: Memory Improvement Techniques
I found this article in the #edtechchat tag on Twitter about engaging students’ memory processes to improve learning. I found the information in the article fascinating and helpful and hope you will too. The author, Gina DiTullio, discusses two different types of memory and how we can engage both when teaching material to students. The first type of memory that she discussed in short term memory, which stores temporary information for brief periods of time. The second type of memory she spoke about was long term memory, which serves as a more long lasting way to remember facts and information.
DiTullio suggests that the best way to teach information to students is to find a way to connect the new information back into knowledge we’ve already retained or relate the new facts to teaching methods that are different from the traditional way of sitting students down and teaching them information through typical memorization. Activities such as making illustrations to show the point of the lesson or turning and talking to another student help the students retain the lessons and connect them back to real life experiences.
I look forward to incorporating the techniques from this article in my classroom in the next few years. I highly suggest reading the article and seeing if any of DiTullio’s tips can help you improve your future lesson plans.
Tweet courtesy of @sromary
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The Advantage of Google Sheets
Google has many products that are extremely useful both inside and outside of the classroom. These products include docs, slides, forms and sheets. Google Sheets is a free spreadsheet program that is great for statistical applications.
Educators have found an amazing way to use this tool. Teachers have enough to do as it is. Having to not only work on their scheduled days but, also have to grade assignments in their free time which can be very overwhelming. Teachers have found a way to create self-grading assignments using google sheets. Click this link to learn how. This tutorial was created by an educator named Mandi who does a very nice job explaining how to create these self-grading sheets. Although it looks slightly complicated once you have created a few of them it will get easier and save you lots of time.
When I become a certified educator I am definitely going to use this tool. Not only will I get more free time but, I can spend this free time learning better teaching techniques and new tools to keep my students interested.
Education and Equity: Educator’s New Pandemic
During this recent COVID-19 pandemic, every facet of learning took turns. But before schooling turned to online and hybrid methods, issues of quality of equity were already in question, and equity being the distribution of learning, and how equality and fairly it is distributed. The article by Getting Smart explains how the switch to online formats led students and parents to search for other methods of learning to atop their previous education. The online switch prioritized technology as the main form of education, and the distribution of education visualized. The learning progress was similar to when the students had returned from month breaks. The lacking progress was observable by parents, as schooling from home was the new normal. Change was needed, and change came.
So what paths did these students take? They choose microschools. Microschools emerged in tailwind of the COVID-19 outbreak as programs emphasizing what was to be taught to these students. Simply put, microschools added another layer to students’ education, it didn’t replace it. A company named SchoolHouse saw immense amounts of funding in late 2020 as it stepped into the online education spotlight. Websites like Khan Academy saw record numbers of digital traffic throughout the pandemic. To no ones surprise, right? This surge of online education and other learning mediums seems to favor the transition to a fully online format, but it’s really benefitting the traditional system. It’s challenging the traditional system to do better, to incorporate trust, add more to the old system, and infuse more technology so that equity becomes the priority. The addition of technology will impact the generations to come by enabling students to help themselves rather than be only helped by those who’s job it is to teach.
Canva in the Classroom
Through Twitter, I was able to discover an article written by Avra Robinson linking to multiple of her Youtube videos explaining how to utilize Canva in the classroom. Using Canva allows both students and teachers to open a world of creativity and organization that can make the classroom a much more entertaining and less stressful environment. Canva can be used to create rosters, create interesting designs, and even for students to submit assignments. Here are examples of how this technology can be utilized:
Using Templates
With Canva teachers are able to use already existing templates and personalize them for their classroom. Students can also use these premade templates for projects such as video presentations, infographics, slideshows, etc.
The video below explains how to utilize these templates.
Making a Presentation with Canva
Canva can be used to create great-looking slideshows, whether for a teacher to present with or for a student’s presentation project. This program also allows the user to seamlessly convert the slides into a video and add a voiceover, all in one app. Students can either design the slides themselves or, as stated earlier, can utilize the free premade templates. Users can launch the recording studio by using the “Present and Record” option, as explained in the video below.
Using Canva for Assignments and Feedback
Canva also has a feature that allows teachers to give feedback directly on the projects that students submit through the program. All assignments that have been submitted can be found under the Classwork tab and viewed by clicking on them then pressing “review”. Canva allows feedback in multiple ways, such as:
- Adding comments to specific parts of the assignment
- Mentioning students in comments
- Leaving a feedback message by using the review button
Watch the video below for further information.
Thank you for reading. Click below to follow me on Twitter (@SamanthaPollina).
Samantha Pollina
Screencastify- A Great Tool in Times of COVID-19
Screencastify is an online educational tool that can help teachers be interactive with their students while they learn from home. Eric Curts’s blog, “Control Alt Achieve: transforming education with technology”, has a post called, “Screencastify Makes Video Quizzes Easier with Interactive Questions Feature”, that explains the Screencastify application, how to set it up, its benefits, and how to use it for classroom purposes.
Screencastify is similar to the application Edpuzzle in the way that students have the ability to answer questions while watching whatever program that educator chooses.
This video is from the writer of the article and explores the tools within Screencasify.
This education tech tool offers:
- Educators to provide their students with video recordings of lectures through web cam or screen-casting abilities.
- Interactive question features where teachers can ask multiple choice questions to ensure their students are engaged in the topic
- Viewer analytics that show how many time a student has watched the video provided
- Drawing tools to annotate, highlight, draw, or make shapes on the video. This tool is equivalent to having an online whiteboard!
This video below shows how to get Screencastify on your computer and how to make a simple video!
EMPATICO A PLATFORM FOR GLOBAL EDUCATION
Empatico is a free platform that was created to connect students virtually in a classroom with other students around the globe. The platform is used by teachers for students within the 6-11 age group. It is one of the few virtual exchange programs that matches teachers to other teachers based on similar interests. This platform provides research based activities to get students to engage with other students virtually according to the schedule the teacher sets.
Empatico is a free tool for educators.
What you can do with EMPATICO
Choose to partner with a class-
Get matched with other teachers based on similar:
activities
schedules
student ages
Chat with a partner teacher-
Includes:
instant messaging
built-in video.
Notified when email or text is received.
Share photos or videos of the class–
Upload pictures/ videos to shared folders to introduce students to partner class and share updates throughout the year.
Class schedule exchange meeting times–
Time zones converted for you. Lets you see dates/times the partner teacher can connect.
Students participate in research-based activities–
Universal topics of the world.
Teacher resources
Includes mini-lessons, tips and tricks to prepare students for the partner classroom exchange.
Video chat/ live
Built in live video chat, no download or apps required to access platform.
Teachers describing the Empatico experience, click here.
Thanks for the view! Follow me on Twitter for the latest updates @smirnah1
How can Art students use the design program Tinkercad?
On twitter I found a post from an art teacher who had her students use Tinkercad to design an “artists signature” stamp to 3d Print. “Every artist needs their own signature”.
What is AutoDesk Tinkercad?
Tinkercad is a free, easy-to-use web app that equips the next generation of designers and engineers with the foundational skills for innovation: 3D design, electronics, and coding! Tinkercad is an amazingly powerful tool for creating digital designs that are ready to be 3D printed into physical objects. Through the use of this application, students can be guided through the 3D design process via hands-on lessons that teach them the basics of Tinkercad before moving on to more complex modeling techniques. Students can use Tinkercad to:
-Create their own 3 dimensional designs
-Join a class to work on assigned 3d design school work
-Use other creators shared work in their own designs
-Learn more about 3d Design and 3d Printing
This tutorial can help students and educators learn the basics of the program Tinkercad
Viewers Learn:
-A Tinkercad Introduction
-How to Create a New Project
-How to Drop Shapes
-How to Drop Scribbles
-How to Drop Text
-How to Edit Objects
-Rulers
-3D Viewcube and Previews
-Save and Render
& much more!
Overall, Tinkercad is a really interesting 3d design program that teaches people of any age how to learn 3d design as a beginner.
Thank you for Reading!!
Can Kahoot! Improve Your Classroom?
I used Kahoot throughout my entire high school career. This website encourages students to study for their tests and quizzes. While there are many pros of Kahoot, there are also some cons to beware of while using the website in a classroom.
What is Kahoot?
Kahoot is a website that is commonly used in schools as a way to study for tests in class. This website appeals to students, and can often be used as a reward, because it allows them to challenge their friends to see who takes the gold. To use Kahoot, the teacher creates a series of multiple choice questions that appear on the board. The students are provided with a pin that allows them to join the game. Then, the. students computers will give them four colors and shapes that correspond with the options on the board. The students who answer the questions correctly and quickly will see their names on the leaderboard that appears on the board.
This video gives a visual of how Kahoot is used by teachers and students.
Pros of Kahoot
- Kahoot can be used as a reward.
- Kids are participating in friendly competition.
- Kahoot encourages kids to try their best because their names will appear on the leaderboard.
- The children are studying in an exciting way.
- Children are engaged in the content they are studying.
Cons of Kahoot
- Since kids can choose their own nickname that appears on the board, there is always a class clown who uses an inappropriate name.
- When children lose, it may hurt their confidence in class.
- This game could potentially be very difficult for students with disabilities because the of the timer on each question.
Finals Thoughts
Overall, I highly recommend for Kahoot to be used in the classroom. Kahoot allows for children to use technology to prepare for their tests in a not so traditional way. Finally, children who use Kahoot will be more encouraged and confident when they reach exam day!
Thank you for reading!
Jillian DeMore
Twitter: @DeMoreJillian
UK Education Post
The UK education sector hopes to thrive after the pandemic boom. The government announced that the Uk education sector has exported about 23 billion euro in the year 2018. They do hope to hit 35 billion euros for every by the end of the decade. UK’s EdTech market has found out that they are about to reach 3.4 billion euros in the year 2021 to help the children navigate their way through this new life of learning. Due to the pandemic, these are forced to figure out how to gain learning experience through this time of the pandemic.
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