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promote engagement through choice, creativity, collaboration, and Authentic Audiences
promote engagement through choice, creativity, collaboration, and Authentic Audiences
By Deanna Euteneuer, Crystal Davidson, Audrey Thornborrow
By Deanna Euteneuer, Crystal Davidson, Audrey Thornborrow
Padlet
Padlet
Padlet is a virtual wall that allows students to post ideas (sticky notes) about a variety of topics. It’s a quick way for students to post and see other people’s thoughts and ideas. It can be used for a quick check for answers, prior knowledge, brainstorming, leave it open during a lesson for students to post questions and then you can go over them, exit tickets, and many other things. Here are a few other ideas for using Padlet with your students.
Seesaw
Seesaw
Seesaw is not an tool we think of when we think of collaboration, but it does allow for creativity and voice. Use the following activities to spark some creativity in your students and offer them time to share their creations with each other. This will build community and connection.
1-- Finish the Comic, Creative Thinking
2--Beautiful Oops Pair with Beautiful Oops book by David Saltzberg
Seesaw Blog--The blog capability in each of your classes is an amazing way to provide students with an authentic audience. It is simple to post student creations to the blog. It is safe and teacher moderated. It is a great way to collaborate with other classrooms. It’s also a great way to continue teaching 21st century skills to students.
Google Apps
Google Apps
Google apps such as Docs and Slides are a great way to provide collaboration as a way to direct and engage student learning! You can create a presentation and share it with students, have one student create a project and share it with their group, or provide a link to a template for them to copy and share with their group.
Remember to go over expectations for collaboratively working on a project (respect each other’s work, leave comments instead of deleting someone else’s work, etc).
Combine a Google project with a Zoom Breakout room to take it to the next level! Within each Breakout Room, students can start their own collaborative Google Doc or Presentation and share it with everyone in their room, or you can paste a link to a premade template in each Breakout Room’s chat for a student to open & share out with their group. This allows students to have real-time interactions within their Google project & be able to see each other while they talk & discuss. This is a great way to build social & emotional skills for teamwork!
Discussions with Schoology
Discussions with Schoology
Create a discussion tied to the curriculum or about anything! Discussion boards can become places for collaboration, connections, wonders and sharing.
Spark conversation by using sites like Wonderopolis or see the Conversation and Writing Starters linked below.
Ask students to post their work to the discussion board and encourage peer feedback, following classroom and digital citizenship expectations.
Virtual Makerspace
Virtual Makerspace
Encourages students opportunities to explore a variety of choices that may be of interest to them or find a new passion.
Provide students with opportunities to learn, create and share! Students can post about discoveries in Schoology Discussions, Seesaw Journals (or blogs), or Padlet.
Engage students in learning about the many different holidays students in our district may celebrate. This interactive choice board includes links to read alouds, articles, art activities, drawing lessons, recipes, informational videos and more. Encourage kids to explore, then offer them a time to come back, share their learning, and teach their peers about the new things they have discovered or created. This is a great way to include all students and honor the diversity we have amongst our students.
Use these great conversation/writing prompts from John Spencer (easily adaptable for younger students) to spark fun discussions with your students. Offer time for students to write their answer to the prompt then utilize the chat in Schoology or Breakout Rooms in Zoom to make the groups smaller and to allow more students to participate in discussion. Discussion and sharing writing is a wonderful way to build community, increase excitement for writing, and increase writing confidence.
Utilize these ideas in a morning meeting or at the start of your class. This fun activity allows your students time to get up and move their bodies while also sharing with their peers the reason why they grabbed what the important item they chose. Model to students how to share and ask questions and utilize Zoom Breakout Rooms to offer students a smaller community in which to share their important items.
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