VISUAL ARTS: Original Song Production Challenge

Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com

Get the music out of your head and out into the world!

This Original Song Production Challenge has been designed using Alberta’s Career and Technology Foundations template and was originally made for grades 7-9 virtual learning students. Yet….use this with any grade that you please and it surely will connect with your current curriculum no matter what country or state you find yourself teaching from.

Here is the introductory video that you would show to all students OR share individually.

Below is the Teacher overview GDoc which gives you the context of the Challenge, extra details and items you would share directly with students to complete it.

Original Song Production Challenge TEACHER

And here is the Rubric if you so wish to utilize some kind of assessment.

Original Song Production Challenge Rubric

Finally, feel free to show off your students amazing results via Twitter @nlakusta or in the comments section.

 

VISUAL ARTS: Photography Challenge

Photo by ATC Comm Photo on Pexels.com

Find any camera, smartphone or anything with a lens that works (even Polaroid!) and take photos based on the Prompts given.

This Photography Challenge has been designed using Alberta’s Career and Technology Foundations template and was originally made for grades 7-9 virtual learning students. Yet….you can easily use this with grades 5-9 in the classroom environment with your curriculum.

The introductory video gives students the whole overview of the Challenge. (You either watch it together and then brainstorm OR you can assign the video for individual watching.)

Now check out the detailed Teacher GDoc so you can have the context and all the information related to this Challenge.

Photography Challenge TEACHER

Students will need the prompts GDoc.

Photography Challenge – 30 Prompts

And if you would like to add an assessment, make sure to check out this Rubric.

Photography Challenge Rubric

Finally, if you want to share some of the student-taken photos, please cc me on Twitter or in the comments section. Happy photo-taking! 📸

 

STEAM: Car Design Challenge

Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com

It’s time to get those engineering and creative juices flowing! This Car Design Challenge has been designed using Alberta’s Career and Technology Foundations template and was originally made for grades 7-9 virtual learning students. Yet….you can use this with grades 5-9 easily in the classroom environment. Check out the introductory video that explains the challenge (this is what you would show students to get them excited about the Challenge). Then check out both the Teacher lesson/activities that can be posted in an online LMS (like Google Classroom or Microsoft Teams) and finally there is a Rubric.

Here is the Teacher Overview GDoc which has all the explanations that can be easily copied into your LMS for students to access.

Car Design Challenge TEACHER

And then here is the Rubric if you would like to have some kind of assessment associated with this Challenge.

Car Design Challenge Rubric

Finally, if you want to show off your students Car Designs on Twitter @nlakusta or in the comments section, please do! Have fun creating 😁!

 

Google in the Classroom: Holiday drawings, Whisper and Choice Boards

No matter what season, content area or grade level, Google Suite Apps for Education have a variety of supports and resources for students to use in the learning environment.

• Google Drawings holiday templates – each slide has a link to the specific template with examples.

• Whisper is a free Chrome extension that lets teachers message their class as whole or individual students without interrupting the work. Notifications show up on the student machine as a browser notification that can be viewed in the moment or any time later.

• Use Google Tools to Create Choice Boards – a great way to engage students while honouring their differences.

                                          OR

 

Spotlight on Strategy: Instragram-in

Instagram-in is a teaching strategy that leverages a popular social media tool that focus on imagery and prompts summarization and generalization through short comments and hashtags. Using this strategy, students think critically about what images best represent their understanding and then create accompanying statements to communicate that understanding.

I used a variety of media and applications – sort of “smashing” them –  in order to complete this visual summarization. Not all teachers are using Instagram but they can use other resources.

1. Find and save images (I used Discovery Ed images). You can use https://search.creativecommons.org/ or Explore in GSlides/Docs.
2. Open up iPiccy chrome app (or another photo editor app) and add your images. Then add some text and choose a Bitmoji image to make it fun (I used Bitmoji chrome extension).
3. Save the image and share it online via a blog, on Twitter or even on a GSlide.

 

Classroom uses:

• The teacher could create a GSlide to share with all students. Individually or in small groups students could be visually summarize a topic/unit/lesson. Students would then share their final summary image on a specific GSlide. All students could then view the class summaries. A virtual visual gallery!
• For older students (13+) Instagram and Twitter could be used with a specific hashtag so that images could be found easily. Or the teacher could post them through a class Social Media account.

 

Google in the Classroom: Tasks, Tracking and Grading

Photo via Blue Diamond Gallery

I usually don’t share as many GSuite resources at one time, but they all had a similar theme!

• It’s NOT About Google, It’s About the Learning – Empowered Learner
• Templates for Student/Teacher Use
• New Grading Options in Google Forms
• Track Progress Toward Goals with this Google Sheets Template
• Publish Student Work via Google Docs + Spark Page
• Differentiation with Google Digital Task Cards

There are many great ways to create tasks, track progress and offer viable assessments with these resources.

 

Innovation in Tech with Student-centered Learning

Here’s a brief overview of a ‘spark/ignite’ session that I did this morning with all of our High School teachers at one of our sites.

• There are opportunities for staff to further explore creativity and the design process – read Innovator’s Mindset and Launch as they are two solid books with practical strategies that teachers can employ the very next day. (If you want to listen to George, Katie, John and AJ speak on this topic check out #IMMOOC Season 2 – Episode 1 video that was streamed just 5 days ago.) I had my ignite groups listen to 8:45 – 10:30 and then at the end of my session to 58:00+.

LTPF Policy Direction 1

Students use technology, online learning and digital learning media to access, share, and create knowledge.

• With so many websites, apps, extensions out there sometimes teachers can be overwhelmed, check out edtechteacher.org/tools for vetted resources.

Students use technology, online learning and digital learning media to demonstrate the competencies.

• Have you ever been to an Escape Room? What if you could bring that into your classroom and have students dig into the curriculum in a different way by problem solving, thinking critically, collaborating and communicating in authentic and engaging ways. Check out breakoutedu.com for basic information and games.breakoutedu.com/atoc to see an existing list of immersive games that you can play. (Password – showyourwork.)

Students use technology, online learning and digital learning media to demonstrate what they know and are able to do, through effectively using a range of resources and media.

• All of our students have access to Read&Write for Google Chrome – for use in GDocs, .pdfs and websites. Many ways they can provide teachers with information.
• GSuite of core services – GClassroom keeps getting better and better, students enjoy access to online materials whenever and wherever they are.

Students use technology, online learning and digital learning media to monitor their learning progress and inform decisions through the use of data and evidence-based reasoning.

• There are many formative assessment tools, check out some of them below:

 

 

 

Graphic Organizers in Google – Say What?

As the educational world becomes more blended in the resources, materials, ideas and information that we use in the classroom, so too have Graphic Organizers.

As noted on the Inspiration website, Graphic organizers guide learners’ thinking as they fill in and build upon a visual map or diagram. Graphic organizers are some of the most effective visual learning strategies for students and are applied across the curriculum to enhance learning and understanding of subject matter content. In a variety of formats dependent upon the task, graphic organizers facilitate students’ learning by helping them identify areas of focus within a broad topic, such as a novel or article. Because they help the learner make connections and structure thinking, students often turn to graphic organizers for writing projects.

I find that some teacher’s who are used to having students use a paper version of graphic organizer that is really effective are somewhat hesitant to move towards using that same graphic organizer in an online manner. (And I don’t mean .pdf’ing the original paper version.)

As I work in a GAFE environment, checking out Google drawings is one viable solution. Each drawing can be shared with specific permissions in mind – view only, comment only, or editable. I have scoured and collected a variety of these graphic organizers, all found in a GDrive folder HERE (this is view only, make your own copies). I’ve ensured to give credit to whomever has created the GDrawing.

I hope this inspires you to use digital graphic organizers. Feel free to share some of yours!

 

5×5 Learning: ChromED Responses

Asking questions, polling, surveys, they are all viable and used within the classroom, but how can teachers easily and effectively create these? One specific tool is the Google Form, or GForm. Found within the GAFE environment. It is really a quick way to create and continue a conversation with your students, parents, and community.

 

Some basics:

GForms for PD, Administrators, Teachers, Students

5 Ways to Use GForms

 

If you are already using GForms but want to take it up a notch, check out Using GForms and Add-ons within GClassroom shared by Synergyse.

 
And with some recent updates to GForms, see some other ideas in 9 classroom uses.

 

5×5 Learning: No Patridge in this Pear Deck

One of my favorite tools is Pear Deck because it allows a teacher to use any PowerPoint, Google Presentation, or PDF and incorporate different student activities to check for understanding and engagement. Pear Deck is free for students and teachers (freemium) and it fully integrates with Google Apps for Education, especially connecting directly with Google Classroom.

 

You can sign in/create your Pear Deck account with your GAFE account. Start to create a new interactive lesson by selecting “New Deck” and then create a slideshow from scratch or import a PowerPoint, Google Presentation, or PDF. You can easily go through and edit the slides by adding free response (text), free response (number), and multiple choice questions within the slide.

 

Introduction to Pear Deck

Check out how you can use it with GClassroom

And Student Takeaways are a phenomenal way to have “notes” stay with them in their GDrive