The Purple Parade

Are Your Students #Creating?  Or, are they just doing crafts with no purpose?  Try to encourage empathy in your students.  Students who create with a purpose and audience in mind are more likely to want to share their ideas with the world.  They are more likely to accept failures and try again until it works.  They are more likely to use critical thinking skills needed in today's society. Try using the Design Thinking Model in your classroom.  Try having students create in your classroom for a purpose.  All subject area teachers can use this model.  If you haven't used this model before or haven't heard of it, I have included a picture below that demonstrates the model. Image from springhillschool.org This past week, I attended the MOREnet conference.  I listened to the keynote speaker, John Spencer, discuss the need for empathy in our students.  Without empathy, there is no beginning to the Design Thinking Model.  Th...

As a "newbie" to the ISTE (International Society for Technology in Education) conference, I didn't quite know what to expect.  I've been to conferences before, but this was a conference on steroids.  There were so many workshops to choose from. So many different types of workshops, connecting opportunities, demonstrations, etc. were available that I wasn't quite sure what to do. I think I must've looked like a little lost puppy in a huge, unknown world.  The first day I was there, I walked into this huge convention center to ISTE Central and was overwhelmed.  It looked like ground control for NASA or something.  I signed into a computer where immediately my nametag was printed for me, and I was handed all the materials I needed to get started on my journey.  "WOW" was all I could think of.  "This is going to be great"! From my hotel room, which overlooked the loading dock of the convention center, I could see all of the crates with va...

What is digital storytelling?  Well, digital storytelling is a project based activity that combines writing, audio, and pictures into a digital story.  When students use their own pictures and record their own audio to tell their story, it becomes very personal and students are completely engaged in the learning process.  It can be done with personal narratives, persuasive/opinion writing, fiction, etc., as well as writing in other subject areas. A great way to tell a digital story is through the use of Google Presentations   This can be done as an individual or group project.  For group projects, the teacher can set up a Google presentation with several slides and then "share" it with the group members (for individual projects, either the teacher or the student can start the presentation and "share" it with each other).  Make sure that you give the students "editing" privileges when sharing.  Then, each group member can contr...

Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) or Bring Your Own Technology (BYOT) is beginning to become more popular in school districts today.  Due to budget cuts, it is difficult for school districts to keep up with the ever changing technology world.  However, most students already own the technology needed.  So, why not let them use what they already have in order to enhance their learning.  There are so many sites out there that can be used for BYOD/BYOT.  A fun one to start with when students enter the door is Poll Everywhere .  Put up a question on the board and have the students respond to it on their technology devices.  A graph will appear and change as each student enters their response.  This is a free resource that could take the place of classroom response systems.  If students do not own a device, you can provide a district laptop or mini notebook to use in class. I've been working on a list of BYOD resources for high school. After that, ...