Wednesday, December 20, 2023

12 Standard Edtech Tools for Teachers


Hey there, fellow educators! 🌟 In the vast world of educational technology tools, some shine extra bright for their versatility in crafting engaging lessons. So, to sprinkle a bit of cheer into your lesson planning, I'm excited to share the love with you! Presenting the "12 Edtech Standard Tools for Teachers," neatly categorized to make your selection a breeze. πŸš€ While not an exhaustive list, these popular tools are sure to add that extra sparkle to your teaching toolkit. Got any favorites that didn't make the cut? Let's chat about them for the next round of recommendations!

🍎 #EdTechJoy #TeacherTools #SpreadTheCheer

Collaborative Learning Tools:

  1. Flip (formerly Flipgrid)

    • Description: Enables the creation of video prompts and discussion forums for student engagement.
    • Use Case: Foster interactive video-based discussions.

  2. Kahoot

    • Description: A popular formative assessment tool that engages students through live competition.
    • Use Case: Gamify learning and assess students' understanding in real-time.

  3. Padlet

    • Description: A collaborative learning app allowing teachers to create discussion forums, idea boards, and more.
    • Use Case: Facilitate collaborative brainstorming and idea sharing.

Learning Content Tools:

  1. Nearpod

    • Description: Nearpod is an interactive platform for teachers to create engaging multimedia lessons.
    • Use Case: Teachers use Nearpod to deliver dynamic lessons with quizzes and polls, adapting in real-time to student needs and enhancing overall comprehension.

  2. IXL

    • Description: Offers comprehensive K-12 curriculum in various subjects, providing analytics for student progress.
    • Use Case: Support individualized learning and track student performance.

  3. Edpuzzle

    • Description: Allows teachers to turn any video into a formative assessment by adding questions.
    • Use Case: Enhance video-based learning with interactive assessments.

Lesson Support Tools:

  1. Google Sites

    • Description: Build websites to host lesson plans, files, discussions, and essential course information.
    • Use Case: Create a centralized hub for course resources and information.

  2. Canvas

    • Description: A comprehensive learning management system for curriculum upload, assessment, and progress tracking.
    • Use Case: Streamline lesson delivery, assessment, and student management.

  3. HyperDocs

    • Description: HyperDocs are digital lesson plans that embed various multimedia elements in a single document, including links to content and assessments.
    • Use Case: Design engaging and interactive lessons with multimedia elements, fostering student exploration and understanding.

Useful Tools:

  1. Remind

    • Description: Enables teachers to send messages, files, and emojis to students without sharing personal phone numbers.
    • Use Case: Facilitate communication and updates with students and parents.

  2. Canva

    • Description: A versatile design tool for creating visually appealing documents, infographics, and presentations.
    • Use Case: Enhance lesson materials with visually engaging content.

  3. Mentimeter

    • Description: Facilitates interactive presentations, polls, and formative assessments for remote and hybrid learning.
    • Use Case: Engage students with interactive elements during virtual classes.

These tools cover a range of functionalities, from fostering collaboration and interactive learning to managing content and communication. Depending on specific needs, educators can integrate these tools to enhance the overall teaching and learning experience.


Inspired by: Essential EdTech Tools Article

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Location: Overland Park, KS, USA

Monday, February 14, 2022

A Set of Teacher Skills for Effective Blended Learning

While watching the Super Bowl (okay, my Chiefs almost made it) I was reminded about all the statistics that go into helping these teams achieve greatness. They track everything from catches, plays, sacks, yardage, playtime, and more. With all that data teams and sports, announcers can analyze and report on trends and patterns. They can determine who might perform best in the fourth quarter, on 3rd down with less than 10 points differential. Why would you need to know that, well to win the super bowl of course and recently, that would mean if you are the LA Rams you throw the ball to Cooper Cupp. 

Players might use the data to help them perform at a higher level. If you can determine where you are and where you want to be, then you can make plans to improve. It's basic self-improvement and personal development about goals. Players might take a personal inventory about their skills and performance to determine what they should work on next at practice or in the gym. This data helps drive some decisions. 

If we can do it on the sports fields, then why not do it in the classroom. 

I have created a set of blended learning skills for teachers to use as a self assessment to help them determine areas they are thriving in and areas to improve. These skills are not totally exhaustive, but provide a foundation for focusing our teaching efforts. 

The Blended Learning Skills for Teachers consists of 8 skills teachers leverage to become great at integrating technology into their teaching. These are skills that I've seen maximized in the very best of learning experiences. We are currently developing and refining these skills and the definition, and I wanted to get this out to the world so that others could share, leverage and use to impact their teaching. 

Since this is a work in progress...if you have any input about these skills please contact Brad Moser, Director of Blended Learning in the Blue Valley School District.


BLENDED LEARNING TEACHER SKILLS

Teaching with technology can be challenging. That’s why we’ve identified these skills to help you check your skills and improve in areas that help you become a master blended learning teacher.
 

Skill #1 | Tech Lifts Curriculum

Define: Review curriculum targets and connect opportunities for leveraging technology.

Act: Read learning targets and read ISTE student standards. Consider ways the curriculum includes these standards and ensures the learning is student-centered.

Skill #2 | Tech Powered Assessments

Define: Revamp assessment to include technology that elevates the assessment.

Act: Choose a summative assessment. Consider alternative ways in which students can demonstrate mastery. Consider student alternative forms for students to show mastery using verbal, visual, auditory, musical, and kinesthetic models. Think outside the multiple-choice option. For beginners: maybe consider using half old school multiple-choice questions and the other part being a performance event like a video, presentation, podcast, live performance, etc.

Skill #3 | Data Informs Instruction


Define: Collect data that informs instruction.

Act: Using a digital tool can assist in quickly gathering and analyzing data on an assessment. A simple question and answer to check for understanding is great. Consider a small, short formative assessment like a one or two-question quiz that can be computer graded to assist in grouping students for a mini-lesson in station rotations or for differentiated activities.

Skill #4 | Tackling Differentiation


Define: Differentiate activities and learning experiences with technology.

Act: You might differentiate by content, product, and/or learning experience. By content means you provide a variety of topics and or leveled access to resources. By product means you let students design, create, and share their learning through various mediums like video, text, verbal and more. By learning experience means students have can have more choice in their pace, path, place or time in which they complete the learning activities and create evidence of learning.

Tip: When asking students to learn and demonstrate their learning, use technology to help you deliver instruction on demand. Considering recording, videos, and written instructions. Post these on a page where students have a choice on which teaching strategies to use to help them learn. Use data to help determine additional differentiated instruction.

Skill #5 | Model Make the Magic

Define: Incorporate a blended learning model: Rotation | Online | Flipped

Act: Rather than follow a traditional lecture, practice, test model of teaching. Choose to incorporate more student-centered instruction through flipped classroom, rotation, or online elements that let students have more choice in pace, path, place, and time of the learning.

Consider incorporating stations using the Three Phases approach. Or you might start by flipping your lesson/unit of instruction.

Skill #6 | Be Creative

Define: Be creative with technology. Students design and create.

Act: Use technology to support the creativity of human nature and students’ interests. Incorporate video creating, podcasting, music-making, art, social media design, programming memes, and other activities that can be accomplished more quickly with technology tools.

Skill #7 | High-Quality Collaboration

Define: Facilitate high-quality collaboration using technology.

Act: Allow students to connect online and asynchronously using online discussion tools. In addition, use collaborative tools to design, create presentations and products that demonstrate mastery of the learning objectives, these could include but are not limited to videos, podcasts, music, social media, marketing campaigns, portfolios, and more.

Skill #8 | Learn & Create Something New

Define: Learn and enhance new technology skills. Create something.

Act: Create something rad online. Decide on a class theme or motto and design a header for your website. Create an intro walkup song for your class each day (like in baseball). Create a video intro for your students, explaining who you are and why your class will make an impact on their lives for the better. Learn a new graphic design tool, use a new video editing feature, or add audio files to a presentation that elevates the experience.


I am happy to collaborate and hear if you found these skills helpful in your pursuit if becoming a super bowl type teacher in your class. 

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Friday, January 28, 2022

A Blended Learning Rally Cry

Let's go! 


To prepare our students to be successful in the future, to be able to thrive, lead, and achieve their potential, then learning with technology is paramount. Technology is ubiquitous, an integral part of everything that we do, see, touch, feel. Harnessing the power of technology is the task at hand for our future-ready students.

We are preparing students for jobs that don’t yet exist. There are two fundamental skills that will benefit students regardless of career path: solving problems and working with others. Equipping students with these skills is our task at hand. Today’s technology truly broadens the possibilities of solving personal and world problems and allows for engaging with an authentic audience. Blended learning allows us to personalize and take ownership of learning and springboard us into greater depths of learning than we have ever had before. Each student must personally be able to connect to the information available through fast, reliable, and secure devices. They should be able to create, research, and share what they learn with others through these digital tools. The teacher should seek ways to best implement a differentiated approach to better personalize the learning for each student. 


We need willing students. We need passionate teachers. We need a powerful software. We need versatile tools. We need collaborative leaders.


- Brad Moser 2022



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Thursday, April 22, 2021

Learning is Reflective


Today, I listened and learned from George Couros again. Honestly, I was entering this keynote thinking, I've heard from him before, does he have new insights to offer. The answer is interesting. 

Though much of what Geroge shared was similar to things I've heard from him before, I was impressed at how it hit me in new ways. Not that he didn't have new fresh content to share, he totally did since I have not heard him speak to reflective practice. However, every day we are new creatures. We have experiences yesterday that might make a passage we understood last week, present new ideas this week. 

So learning every day is important and vital for us to review what we learn and then reflect upon what we learn. 

Blogging allows us to deepen the learning, work through the process which in turn develops a deeper sense of understanding, empathy, and awareness.


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Sunday, February 28, 2021

Highlights from Teacher Tips

Image of Brad

Over the past couple of years I have posted thoughts and insights to help teachers rock what they do. I tagged these on Twitter with the #TeacherTips. Here is a couple I'd like to highlight on my blog:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Enjoy!
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