Student Led Conferences and Digital Portfolios

Student led conferences and digital portfolios hold the students accountable for their work in the classroom. It gives each student a sense of ownership to display their work in a digital portfolio, and student led conferences.

Digital portfolios is a new way to allow students to keep up with their work, with out having piles of papers that stack up. These can be saved used web pages or apps. This keeps students work easy to access for reflection and growth evidence, as well as longevity. This is a way teachers and students create their own evidence of learning. Digital portfolios is also an easy way to share their accomplishments. This motivates the students to do their best work to share in their digital portfolio! One of the most popular digital portfolio is Seesaw. Seesaw allows students to record and display their samples for their digital portfolio. They can actually mark notes and comment on their samples. These portfolios can be shared with parents, and teachers. This is a great ways to collect formative assessments with student work. 

The link below will take you to the Seesaw app, where you can see Seesaw in action!

http://web.seesaw.me

Student led conferences embodies the 21st century skills we want for our classroom. Student led conferences are where the students lead their own conferences with their parents. This allows for reflection of their work so far. It is important that the student collaborates with their teacher to gather work and reflection notes. It is important that the students plan for these conferences in advance. The students will actually communicate their progress, strengths, weaknesses, and plans for the future with their teacher as well as their parents. Student conferences make the students think critically on what they have accomplished so far, what they would like to share with their parents, and how they plan to improve in the future. The students will then be responsible for actually creating their conference. This can be done using digital portfolios, posters, notebooks, and displays.  The parents, and instructors are their for support and positive feedback to support the students.

Here is an example of student led conferences in a pre-k setting:

Virtual Field Trips

Virtual field trips transform your classroom to places around the world! Virtual field trips allow your students to view and study different places, and cultures around the world. This is a great way for your students to become completely immersed in the huge world we live in. This is great for students who have not had the opportunity to travel to different places.

Virtual field trips should be used to guide, and enhance your content  in which is being taught. This is a great way to create prior knowledge, or even extend a lesson. It is a great way to promote communication, while exploring the world around you. Students can create their own information and findings from these virtual field trips. These virtual field trips can be used to study different cultures and religion around the world. Students can also set up a day to Skype with a scientist, or even explore space! These field trips are inexpensive, and allows you to benefit from these trips by being in the classroom still. They can even be used with Google Cardboard Glasses to enhance the virtual experience! The students will feel like they are standing right there!

Here is a great start for planning a Skype lesson from your classroom:
https://education.microsoft.com/skype-in-the-classroom/virtual-field-trips

One way to plan for a virtual field trip is do research, and have a goal in mind. Plan for students to record what they find. Keeping up with journals and responses allow them to research more into their investigations from the field trips. They can also collaborate to set goals, and questions that can be used during the field trip prior to starting. This will allow them to be able to connect in the real world setting, if they are able to view it. You can plan a field trip to the bottom of the ocean, space, different countries, museums, and all seven wonders of the world.

Plan yours today!

Student Response System and Interactive Assessments

Student response systems and interactive assessments are a great way to up your student engagement. Motivating them with different types of response systems make the students want to participate and learn. There are an abundance of different response systems and interactive assessments available for your classroom.

Student response systems keeps the students involved throughout a lesson. It is a way they can communicate what they are understanding with the instructor. It keeps them motivated and involved. Student response systems can be incorporated as a formative, or summative assessment. Clickers are a great student response system, as it allows the instructor to see the results. Another type of response interactive assessment is Kahoot! This allows an instructor to choose and create their own type of quiz. This can be incorporated as a pre-assessment, or a post-assessment. This type of assessment allows the students to think critically, without the pressures of a formal assessment. 

No 1:1 technology plan? No problem. Plickers allow you to see where your students are with using just one app. Each student gets a printed paper, and turns it different ways for each answer. The teacher can scan the students answers to see correct and incorrect answers. This is a great place to start when incorporating technology and response systems into your 21st century classroom. 

https://www.plickers.com

These types of assessments allows the instructor to know exactly where each student is by looking at collective data from these assessment tools. This also helps with differentiated instruction, and allows each learner to thrive in their own way. Taking the pressure out of tests allows the instructor to really see where the students are. Students can also collaborate and create their own types of assessments for each other. 

Here is a compiled list of the top 5 commonly used interactive assessments to incorporate into your classroom including Kahoot and Socrative:

http://www.emergingedtech.com/2015/09/top-5-multi-platform-student-response-systems/

Google Cardboard Glassess

One way to bring abstract concepts to life in your classroom is using Google Cardboard Glassess! These cardboard glasses enables students and teachers to take virtual field trips around the world! Google Cardboard is compatible with the 360 degree videos that make you feel as if you are there. This allows your students to be emerged in the virtual world, and become critical thinkers as they explore things and places they never imagined was possible in their own classroom!

There are also many other different ways to use these glasses, other than virtual field trips. These glasses allow endless communication among the teacher and students. Simply asking the students to observe what they see allows them to dive in to what their viewing and spark many different conversations. Having the students keep up with a travel journal is a great way for students to collaborate and become creative in their role as travelers or investigators. These glasses can be used with simulations, observations, and any interactive video made for Google cardboard glasses!

The possibilities for these Google Cardboard Glasses are endless. In most cases, the instructor has complete control over what the students are exploring. There are apps that support conversation starters, or quality question stems throughout the simulation. This can be controlled by the instructor, or be released to the students to go at their own pace. These glasses can become incorporated across the spectrum, which makes them very handy to have. These glasses embody a 21st century classroom. These glasses can be incorporated into every grade level, among any subject. These glasses explore science and body simulation, geography, history, and even museums of all kinds. Simply search for any topic or place that best fit your learning objectives.

Here is a list of apps that are compatible with Google cardboard glasses!
https://play.google.com/store/apps/collection/promotion_3001011_cardboard_featured_apps?hl=en

Whole Brain Teaching

Class, class? - Yes, yes!

Whole brain teaching is an approach to student engagement in the classroom. There are many different ways to implement whole brain teaching. One way teachers use whole brain teaching is getting, and keeping, students attention. The whole brain teaching approach is effective in every grade level, kindergarten through college.

Whole brain teaching is based on seven core components. These components are called The Big Seven. These are the instructional approaches that is whole brain teaching. These are to be introduced to the class in the pace that is needed. Each approach should be implemented when ready. A teacher should never introduce an approach if a class is not ready. This will not become effective in the classroom, unless the teacher and students are both ready to move on to the next one.

http://www.3rdgradethoughts.com/2012/07/getting-started-with-whole-brain.html

The first of The Big Seven that most teachers start with is the class, yes. It is a way to grab the students attention. For example, the teacher says class in a variety of different ways, and the students have to repeat yes back to the teacher in the same way. This keeps it fun and interesting, while getting their attention. Another important component to teach students in the beginning is the five rules. Each rule has a specific number, and a gesture with it. This gets the students active in the rules so they are responsible for knowing them. There are many other different whole brain teaching elements such as; the scoreboard, teach-okay, switch, and air writing.
Here is an example of what whole brain teaching looks like:

Whole Brain teaching works because it targets every part of a students brain by visualizing gestures, using gestures, verbalizing, and listening. The best part is that it can be adapted to fit your classroom. Click the link below to go to the whole brain teaching website to give examples of whole brain teaching in the beginning, intermediate, advanced, and legendary levels. You'll have complete control of student engagement in no time!
http://wholebrainteaching.com

Green Screens

Want to make your students feel like superstars? Put them in front of a green screen! Green screens are making their way from hollywood, to the classroom. There are many ways children can use green screens for educational purposes.

      

How can green screens become implemented into the classroom? Students can create multiple uses for green screens such as, making an autobiography, creating a book trailer, conducting interviews, or simply creating their own stories. Green screens thrive on collaboration and communication among students. This technique allows them to think critically of the content they are presenting with the screens. These types of presentations allow students to show their creativity, and dive into the research of technology and research.

Green screens can also be very low budget! There are many resources available to purchasing a green screen, and also making your own from table cloths or poster paper.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gSSUTtlNLlg

Rebecca Recco has compiled a list of lesson ideas on Edsurge.com if needing a little push in the right direction. These lessons cover all grade levels, so don't be afraid to get younger grades involved with green screens! Click the link the below to access the list on Edsurge.

https://www.edsurge.com/news/2016-10-19-how-to-integrate-green-screens-into-any-classroom

Augmented Reality

Technology is rapidly advancing. Augmented reality is a new way to bring the digital world, into the physical world! Augmented reality is overlaying digital content over the physical objets we see.

Here is an example of what augmented reality may look like:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z8h9Ubuzueo

(Yes, Pokemon Go! is augmented reality. 😉)

Making learning 3 dimensional allows the possibilities to be endless with student engagement. Augmented reality can be implemented into any subject! Students can collaborate with each other to create augmented reality book reports, and projects. There are even apps that simulate the human body, elements of the periodic table, and states of matter. This allows students to be critical thinkers when exploring these 3D images in their own hands.

Augmented reality can be adapted for all grade levels. Younger students may show their creativity with augmented reality with the Color Alive app by Crayloa. 

(http://www.crayola.com/splash/products/ColorAlive)

Augmented reality opens the door for endless communication in your classroom. Explore the world of augmented reality with your students and watch as conversation sparks discussions! 

Want to know where to start? Aurasma is a great place to start when looking into the world of augmented reality!

https://www.aurasma.com

Nearpod

Nearpod is everything you want in a presentation tool. Nearpod is also a great assessment tool. Yes, assessment tool. Nearpod allows you to collect data and results in real time. The instructor can lead a student-paced presentation, as well as live sessions. This allows the instructor to control the student view, ensuring all students are right on track!

 Assessments including polls, drawings, open-ended questions, and quizzes that can be viewed in real-time by the instructor. This is a creative way to bring assessment into the 21st century classroom. Students can also collaborate with each other, as well as the instructor to view and create their own Nearpod presentation across the educational spectrum. These types of assessments embedded into presentations allow the students to be involved in a confidential communication with the instructor. This allows the instructor to think critically about what the students need, and also allows the students to self-assess. Nearpod presentations can be viewed anywhere, meaning a student can revisit a topic as needed.

 These presentations can be created by you, for your students. Or, you can easily search among hundreds of grade level, content specific presentations, that fit perfectly into your classroom. 

 Need more information?

Click the link bellow to start your free teacher account! Nearpod offers information, webinars, and help tabs to allow you to get the most form Neapod! 😀
 https://nearpod.com/s/market/init