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https://docs.google.com/document/d/1H29vPT9Jq9eEVQeEF1EF3d6vgBwrj-_24_oEbRI8A0Q/edit?usp=sharing

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Addresses all subject areas
shared by Serge Petitpre

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Subscribe to this ! Great, short articles
shared by Paula Lightsey

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Principal at High Tech High, an innovative, project-based learning school in San Diego, California, Larry Rosenstock, points out, "If you were to hike the Appalachian trail, which would take you months and months, and you reflect upon it, you do not divide the experience into the historic, scientific, mathematic, and English aspects of it. You would look at it holistically."

After indicating the problem at hand, scoop out the tools, research, networks, and people required to get it solved. Get out of your comfort zone.

"You can have students do laboratories and hands-on activities and learn nothing, because they are following the cookbook and going through the motions without having their brains on."

In practice, this means the elimination of English, mathematics, history, and science class. Instead, we need to arrange the curriculum around big ideas, questions, and conundrums. What does learning look like in this model? Letting kids learn by doing - the essence of the philosophy of educator John Dewey. He wrote: "The school must represent present life - life as real and vital to the child as that which he carries on in the home, in the neighborhood, or on the playground." Let kids travel to places, work with mentors, and inquire about the world around them.

Diana Laufenberg, former teacher at the Science Leadership Academy, described to me, "The role of inquiry is the starting point of learning. School-based education has always been about telling and getting of information, rather than exploring or investigating." Let kids create for themselves. We can start by employing project-based learning, where students probe real world problems collaboratively. Back in 1918, William Heard Kilpatrick wrote a famous article laying out what he called the "project method": a curriculum based on "wholehearted purposeful activity proceeding in a social environment...the essential factor [being] the presence of a dominating purpose." In project-based classrooms, learning literally comes alive.
CASE STUDY: BRIGHTWORKS
Let's examine three institutions: The Brightworks School, a K-12 private school; Stanford d.school, an institute of design; and the M.I.T. Media Lab, a graduate program.

The Brightworks School in San Francisco, California, which opened its doors in September 2011, epitomizes a new style of learning. Founder Gever Tulley told me, "If the pedagogical unit of traditional public education is a day divided into a series of 45 minute periods, then the pedagogical unit of Brightworks is the arc, which is divided into three phrases." Each arc, he says, has a central theme.

The first phase of the arc is called exploration. "Within this phase," Tulley says, "we create a landscape of experiences populated by passionate people who have devoted some portion of their lives to an aspect of the topic." The children begin a journey looking through a kaleidoscope of perspectives and eventually mold a clear statement of what they intend to accomplish in the next phase. The second phase is expression. Tulley notes, "During this phrase, the mixed age teams work together, sharing skills, to take the ideas to completion - within the deadline." The final phase is called exposition, where the public gets to view what the kids have done.

The first topic of the previous school year was cities. For three weeks, the students looked at the history of cities, how cities work, and the future of cities. 18 field trips were built into their schedule. Almost every day, Tulley explains, "we went into the city to see something or work with someone who has dedicated their life to some aspect of the city. Be they in waste water management, city planners, or architects."

"The point is to see the topic in as many ways as you possibly can," says Tulley. "Part of that is to expand the notion of cities in the students' minds."

Note: project-based learning is not necessarily expensive. He reveals, "If you look at the net aggregate cost of putting a child through a nearby public school in terms of public expenditure, at Brightworks, we do not spend anymore on kids in our private school in terms of net aggregate cost."
CASE STUDY: STANFORD D.SCHOOL
At the Stanford d.school, projects drive the curriculum. Bringing majors from engineering, business, medicine, science, and design to come together to solve real or abstract problems is the underpinning of the institution's philosophy. The goal is to have students become what are called "T-shaped" students, who have depth in a particular field of study but also breadth across multiple disciplines. Its founder and director is David Kelley, whose mission is to transmit "empathy" into his students to encourage them to see the human side of the challenges posed in class and regain their creative confidence, often lost in the early years of schooling.

Based on the axioms of what Kelley has called "design thinking," instead of being spoon-fed problems to solve, students must first define problems themselves through observation, research, and dialogue. After, students visualize and brainstorm potential solutions with one another in the stage of "ideation." Next, by means of prototypes, students make sketches and three-dimensional models of potential ideas to iterate continuously. Lastly, students make the final touches on a finished prototype.

The school concentrates on four areas: the developing world, sustainability, health and wellness, and K-12 education. From extracting water for irrigation in Burma to supplying solar lanterns for the poor in rural India and Africa to building infant warmers in Nepal, these students are certainly making their mark on the world.
CASE STUDY: M.I.T. MEDIA LAB
Similarly, the M.I.T. Media Lab has an anti-disciplinary approach to learning. Their research program is "focused on inventing a better future through creative applications of innovative digital technologies." Instead of lectures, grading, and tests, roughly 25 groups of graduate student researchers and a few undergraduate researchers work with faculty members and scientists on a research topic. Due to its non-linear and collaborative process, fascinating innovations are born from Aida, a dashboard-mounted robot for cars and trucks to a trillion-frame-per-second video to Huggable, a robot teddy bear companion for pediatric hospital patients.

"If you go into a [traditional] classroom where there isn't that structure, kids aren't exactly on pace, projects look messy, and it's loud, teachers have gotten in trouble for that."

How can we evaluate projects? We can't grade them the same way as tests. Gever Tulley offered me a very relevant hypothetical situation.

"Suppose you and I decided to build a boat. Our hypothesis might be: we can build a boat under $30 using recycled materials and sail it across the Hudson River. Our teacher or mentor can help us shape that to ensure that the challenge meets our cognitive and intellectual development. If the teacher thought the task was too easy for us, he or she might add a twist - the boat needs to have two masts or sail power. Half a day, a few times a week, you and I would work on this project and we have a deadline."

"Suppose then we build the boat, drop it in the Hudson River, and it sinks. No one has to tell us that our boat is not working. We don't need the 'F.' Its unnecessary and inappropriate. That first version of the boat could have been a hypothesis. We learned from the experience and the next version will be more well thought out. So after going back to drawing board and making tweaks, we test the final version. We find that the boat sails well downwind, but cannot sail upwind."

"What grade should a teacher give? Is that a 'C' because it only went in one direction? Or is that an 'A' because we tried a bold idea but we neglected 3,000 years of sailing history and would have been able to sail it in both directions if we had done our research? You can't decide. The feedback from the boat is its own incentive to improve our thinking for the next project."

The point is that evaluation is no longer about giving a single number, but rather a documented process from start to finish. At the Brightworks School, students will leave with an iPad, filled with all the projects they completed in their term. Plus, portfolios and publishing your work online is one of the biggest motivators for kids. When she was teaching at the Science Leadership Academy, Diana Laufenberg said that if you Googled her students' names, you would find an entire web history linked to them. Couple that with the fact that in project-based learning, kids are working on something they have a passion for, thus they have a stake in the outcome and will keep trying even when something isn't working. That's true in life as well.
PROJECT-BASED LEARNING IS MESSY
Why hasn't project-based learning picked up yet? There are a few reasons. First, the model of education says principal Chris Lehmann where kids sit in rows, read textbooks, and hear lectures has lasted so long, because it never goes that wrong. "It's boring as hell, but most principals don't yell at their teachers if they walk by their classroom and all they see is a quiet classroom with kids reading the textbook. No one gets in trouble."

"If you go into a classroom," says Lehmann, "where there isn't that structure, kids aren't exactly on pace, projects look messy, and it's loud, teachers have gotten in trouble for that."

Second, the way students attempt to learn via projects does not work. Tulley says, "It amounts to kit-based experiences in 45 minute periods. 'We're going to do a biology kit.' We already know that those recipe like exercises do not stimulate creativity."

I also spoke with Harvard Professor Eric Mazur on this issue as well. He says, "You can have students do laboratories and hands-on activities and learn nothing, because they are following the cookbook and going through the motions without having their brains on. The word 'hands-on' is overused and abused."

The role of the teacher in project-based learning as Laufenberg likes to say is an "architect of opportunity. Through a scaffolding strategy, they help us make sense of what we have learned. Still, teachers must understand that learning is uncomfortable, messy, and complicated." Get over compliance and control!

In a summary published on Edutopia, Brigid Barron and Linda Darling-Hammond reviewed numerous studies and found that:

1. Students learn more deeply when they can apply classroom-gathered knowledge to real-world problems, and when they take part in projects that require sustained engagement and collaboration.

2. Active-learning practices have a more significant impact on student performance than any other variable, including student background and prior achievement.

3. Students are most successful when they are taught how to learn as well as what to learn.

As the old adage goes, "Tell me and I forget, show me and I remember, involve me and I understand." Harvard Professor Howard Gardner said to me that schools should incorporate the best of two models of learning: a hands-on children's museum, which encourages open-ended exploration, and an apprenticeship, which provides a more structured environment for practicing meaningful skills in an authentic, real-life context.

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Principal at High Tech High, an innovative, project-based learning school in San Diego, California, Larry Rosenstock, points out, "If you were to hike the Appalachian trail, which would take you months and months, and you reflect upon it, you do not divide the experience into the historic, scientific, mathematic, and English aspects of it.

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Peter Menzel and Faith D'Aluisio traveled the world documenting that most basic of human behaviors -- what we eat.

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Parents in Idnia

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Images of parents and family members clambering up school buildings and clinging on window ledges to pass cheat sheets to their children have left authorities in despair.

The incident took place on Wednesday in the state of Bihar, where students were writing their year-end grade 10 examinations.

Examples of cheating incidents are not hard to find in India. But, even compared to previous events, this seems to be unprecedented in its blatancy.

Bihar Education Minister PK Shahi told reporters that children won't learn if they're constantly helped by family members. "Government can only hold fair examinations with the help of the parents, society and the children," he said. "This is a collective responsibility."

In a developing economy like India, education is a precious commodity.

With more than 1.2 billion people, proper schooling could hold the key for much of the population to get out of a vicious cycle of poverty.

Earlier this week, a father in the city of Mathura was caught strapping his 8-year old daughter to a motorcycle after she refused to attend school to take her assessment.

Tied with a multi-strand rope to the back of a bike, onlookers captured images of the trussed girl, her bare feet hanging low, scraping the asphalt.

According to local police officials, the girl's parents offered her several incentives, such as chocolates and toys to entice her, however when the girl was still reluctant, her father decided to take matters in his own hands.

After photos started making the rounds on social media, police officials took the man into custody and charged him with "breach of the peace." He is now out on bail.

"Even after he got out, the father showed no remorse. He has five children to feed and he believes the only way they can get out of this poverty trap is through education," a senior police official handling the case told CNN.

The flaws in India's education system are well-documented. The country has a literacy rate of only 74%, compared to 95% in China. Women suffer particularly badly here; only 64% have formal education.

Earlier this year, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched a nationwide campaign urging parents to send their children, especially daughters, to school and properly educate them.

According to the United Nations, India has the largest youth population in the world, with more than a quarter of citizens aged between 10 and 24.

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bihar cheating scandal: what parents in india will do for good grades  - cnn

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Bihar cheating scandal: What parents in India will do for good grades - CNN

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Images of parents and family members clambering up school buildings and clinging on window ledges to pass cheat sheets to their children have left authorities in despair. The incident took place on Wednesday in the state of Bihar, where students were writing their year-end grade 10 examinations.

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From  Serge Petitpre

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Is this even possible?

The Holy Grail of education is to find a way to teach more effectively, increase student learning, empower kids to connect and collaborate, make school fun, and yet not to have to sacrifice our health and wellness to do it.

Impossible?

Absolutely, not!

It's time to stop trying to reinvent the wheel. We don't need to create a different lesson for every day of the school year nor do we have to buy or rely on pre-packaged, scripted units of instruction or "pretty" worksheets that we find online.

The simple truth is that people get better at what they do the more times they do it. As a basketball coach, repetition was important to me. I want my players handling the ball, passing, moving, shooting, and executing the fundamentals of the game EVERY day. We don't teach a skill to a player, have them execute it one time, and then expect them to be able to successfully perform that skill in the pressure of a game.

Oh!!! And we certainly don't just TELL them about the skill and never have them actually do it one single time and expect them to master it.

We teach it and then we consistently give them reps while providing feedback along the way. At the beginning of the year it may take a significant amount of time each practice to go through the fundamentals but then as players get proficient and efficient...it becomes a ritual of skills that we go through quite quickly as we add on more complex concepts and more advanced skills. But, if you are on my team...you better believe you are going to do ball-handling, passing, movement, and shooting drills every single practice. Mastery comes through repetition.

As classroom teachers, we waste an incredible amount of time going from one type of lesson and/or project to another and never giving students the reps they need to master the material...nor just master the very art of learning. The fundamentals!!

If only we had a set of lesson frames that we could use over and over, switching in and out our content, that would allow students to master the fundamentals of learning and collaboration and be able to DOMINATE the required curriculum in a faster and more efficient way.

But wait, even better would be if teachers could master the use of these lesson frames and then be able to use them across the curriculum and at every grade level with only small adaptations. In other words, master the use of these with your 5 th grade curriculum and when you suddenly get plopped into 3 rd grade the next year...they still work! Just switch in the new content much like you can take the same beautiful picture frame and swap in and out new vacation pictures.

Let's go one step further. What if these lesson frames were not only highly flexible, efficient, and therefore freed up time each semester for more pirate-like experiences, project based learning, and genius hour type of opportunities for students...but what if they also required WAY less prep time on the part of the teacher?????

Yikes!! This is getting good but we aren't done!

What if they were also LOVED by students, something they looked forward to more and more as they increased their mastery of them, and allowed students to collaborate and have FUN while owning their own learning.

We don't have to dream about it!! It is now a reality!! These lesson frames are called #EduProtocols and we have released the ultimate guide on how to use them.

Introducing The EduProtocol Field Guide: 16 Student-Centered Lesson Frames for Infinite Learning Possibilities by Marlena Hebern and Jon Corippo.

It.

Is.

Incredible.

How do I know when a book is going to really take off? When I see teachers tweeting out and sharing examples of how they are using the material in their classes THE VERY SAME WEEK they get the book!!! This is a book filled with stuff you will actually DO. This isn't a theory book. This is not a fluff book. This is idea after idea completely worked out for you based on REAL-WORLD classroom experience.

Get the book today...use these lesson frames for the rest of your teaching career. It's that simple...and that powerful.

The amazing Alice Keeler wrote the foreword and said, "...this book is the teacher-prep program I wish I'd had!"

Additional praise:

"This is the book I've heard teachers begging for without realizing it." - Matt Miller

"This book is not simply one you read; it's one you use, and then use again." - Thomas Murray

"This book should be given to every pre-service and current instructor as the Bible of teaching." - Lisa DeLapo

"It won't be long before The EduProtocol Field Guide is required reading in all teacher credential programs." - Diana Dietz

"I have exponentially more time on my hands because I use protocols. Additionally, our classroom culture is infinitely better, and I am less stressed." - Nate Shankles

Want to learn more about EduProtocols? Matt Miller has graciously allowed us to access his #DitchSummit video interview of co-author, Jon Corippo from winter break 2017. It is a little over 50 minutes long and there are several EduProtocols used as examples. Listen to Jon tell why these frames are so powerful, rebut some of the common pushbacks, and get you excited about how these can impact your class. The video is only available for 10 days from today (4/10). That means you have until Friday 4/20 to watch the video. (Thanks, Matt!!)

Here it is:

Okay!! Stop chasing your tail and working WAY harder than your students are working and all the while not getting the best possible results. The EduProtocol "wheel" has already been invented...it's time to get on board and coast downhill with less effort and more speed!!

Buy T he EduProtocol Field Guide HERE on Amazon or HERE on Barnes & Noble Online. Also, join the discussion at the #EduProtocols hashtag on Twitter!!

Work smarter...not harder!!!

Dave

P.S.

I'm not sure what more to say to convince you. They even included 6 Smart Starts that you can do to build the culture right from the very first week of school. For example, are you tired of seeing horrific student presentations but finding it tough to fit in the time to teach presentational skills? Wait until you see their activity called "The Worst Presentation Ever!" Imagine a fast and super fun activity where kids collaborate to shamelessly break presentational rules in a competition to create The Worst Presentation EVER!!! Fun? Heck yeah! But...uh oh!!! Sneaky sneaky sneaky!!!! In order to break the rules...they are actually learning them AND...seeing examples from their peers of why presentations suck when you break them. This whole book is GOLD. Please CLICK HERE and buy it today!

P.S.S.

Did I mention there are adaptations throughout the whole book to show how to do this stuff with early primary kids??? Yep...that's in there, too! BUY IT HERE!!

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Guest post from #ShakeUpLearning author, Kasey Bell...plus a free course offer!

I am PUMPED to bring you this guest post by the amazing Kasey Bell about how to transform your classroom into an incredible DYNAMIC LEARNING experience for kids! And...learn how you can get a FREE digital course ($99 value!!) by pre-ordering her new book...and the book will knock your socks off. No more messing around...here is Kasey!!

As much I as I love technology, it is not a magic solution. It is, however, an opportunity-an opportunity for dynamic learning.

What Is Dynamic Learning?

Dynamic Learning is learning that goes beyond one-and-done activities and allows the learning to live and grow by providing learning experiences that break the bounds of the school day and classroom walls, taking us beyond due dates and prescribed curriculums, and redefining the use of digital tools. It's like giving your classroom metabolism a boost!

The idea of dynamic learning is something I have explored deeply. I continually seek ways to compile and describe all the ways that technology can take learning to new heights and push boundaries. Traditional teaching must change. It has to. It's simply no longer enough. Why do we still employ so many static assignments and activities that never get the chance to transform learning for our students? We must move past the idea of doing old things with new tools and truly make the most of what this wonderful, twenty-first-century world has to offer.

As I've mentioned, I taught English Language Arts, and one of the lessons I would teach every year was about the difference between static and dynamic characters. As I started trying to think of ways to describe a different approach to learning, the word dynamic came to mind. According to Google dictionary, dynamic means "characterized by constant change, activity, or progress."

The word dynamic fits perfectly, and I don't think any other word in the English language could better express what I am trying to say. We can do so many things that make learning more dynamic by reaching beyond what we thought was possible. We've explored changes in technology, learning, and what it means for the future, and these changes present us with the opportunity to move learning from static to dynamic.

Is the Learning in Your Classroom Static or Dynamic?

Is the learning in your classroom static or dynamic? Are your students spending time on orderly, one-and-done activities, or are they getting a little messy and exploring and evolving throughout the year? With digital tools such as G Suite for Education, which are available around the clock, learning doesn't have to start and stop when the bell rings. Learning can take on a life of its own. The focus shifts to the process and not just the end product or assessment. This concept alone can change the way we facilitate all learning in the classroom. Be boundless!

Consider the dreaded worksheet. There might be good, critical thinking questions on that worksheet, but once it is turned in, that's the end of that line of thinking. Paper activities make it difficult to allow learning to grow organically and to share or collaborate. You aren't still on MySpace, so why are you still assigning worksheets? Now compare that worksheet with a Google Doc, a blog, or a website. Digital tools like these give us the opportunity to be more dynamic because they can be updated, provide immediate feedback, offer real-time assistance, and connect to global resources. My website (www.ShakeUpLearning.com) would be worthless to me if I couldn't update it and make changes and add additional content. That's what makes the Web so powerful: It's alive and constantly changing.

Now go back to that worksheet and ponder how it could grow into something more dynamic, creative, and meaningful. What if instead of just writing the answers to questions on a piece of paper, students were demonstrating their knowledge through a collaborative Google Drawing of the Battle of the Alamo? What if they could include labels, historical figures, videos, and links and were able to tell the story in a completely new and interactive way? What if, even after their work had been assessed, they were allowed to continue developing the topics that piqued their interest?

My goal with my new book, Shake Up Learning , is to help teachers see the big picture and not be overwhelmed by every new thing, but to let go of traditional ideas of teaching and learn how to facilitate meaningful learning that maximizes all that we have at our disposal.

The Dynamic Learning Framework

I have put together a simple model and framework to bring together the common characteristics of important twenty-first learning experiences.
When you think Dynamic Learning, think BEYOND!

Beyond the Bell (a mindset): This idea of going beyond the boundary of the class day doesn't mean homework. This is a mindset for students that means that learning can take place anytime, anywhere and students can own it.

Beyond the Grade Level and Subject Area: Let's take kids off the conveyor belt of education and give them opportunities to learn about the things that interest them beyond the subject areas we teach, while still drawing connections, and even beyond what it says they should learn in each grade level. Learning doesn't have to fit inside a box.

Beyond the Walls: Bring the world to your students and bring your students to the world. Every student in every grade should have opportunities to connect and learn globally as well as publish their work online for a global audience.

Beyond the Tools: Think beyond using digital tools to do traditional things, like typing a paper. Use digital tools to do NEW things! Just going paperless or digital isn't enough, use tools to go further, deeper and extend the learning, and consider using tools in alternative ways-beyond their original purpose. Reach beyond what you think a digital tool can do and should be used for.

Beyond the Due Date: Consider allowing students to continue the work that interests them beyond the final assessment of the assignment or task. Thinking, learning, exploring, shouldn't be stifled simply because it was time to turn it in.

Take it One Step at a Time
Now, don't misunderstand me. I am not living in a "pie in the sky," world of education. I realize we still have to operate within the confines of the systems we have, but I do believe that we can meaningfully incorporate more dynamic learning strategies in our classrooms without ignoring all of those things we have to do and are required to learn in our classrooms. I don't think it is a choice. We are doing students a disservice if we aren't moving BEYOND traditional learning with the technology we now have within our grasp. Just small pushes against the walls, against the system, can bring about meaningful change.

One,

Small

Step

at a Time

That's all it takes, just one small step at a time. I'm not asking anyone to immerse their classrooms in these ideas overnight. I'm just asking that as educators, we consider the transformation that is possible and try new things. Even in small increments, we can make a big difference, and better prepare our students for the future.

Learn more about dynamic learning in Kasey's new book, Shake Up Learning: Practical Ideas to Move Learning From Static to Dynamic .

Shake Up Learning by Kasey Bell
What if you could change your classroom tomorrow?
This isn't a book about technology, Google, silver bullets, or pie-in-the-sky thinking. This is a book about LEARNING!

Technology is not a magic solution for education. It is an opportunity! An opportunity to shake things up, to connect and grow, and to create dynamic learning experiences for our students!

In this three-part book, you will explore WHY it's time to Shake Up Learning, WHAT changes we can make in our classrooms to support dynamic learning experiences, and HOW to plan meaningful lessons for your classroom.

You'll discover . . .

Practical strategies to help move from static teaching to dynamic learning

Straightforward and easy-to-use templates for crafting engaging learning opportunities

Tips and tricks for fearless implementation of powerful lesson plans

Advice for moving from one-and-done activities to learning that evolves and inspires throughout the school year-and beyond!

Great ideas for K-12 classrooms!

If you pre-order between now and April 3, 2018, you can get FREE access to the companion course for the book, The Dynamic Learning Workshop. Don't just read the book, experience Shake Up Learning and bring the learning to life.
Here's how to claim your FREE Gift!

1. Pre-Order the book on Amazon or Barnes & Noble.

2. Forward your receipt to presale@shakeuplearning.com.

3. On April 4th, when the book and course are released, you will receive an email with information on how to access the workshop. (**All receipts must be received no later than 4/14/18)

WOW!!!!! Thanks, Kasey!! This book is FANTASTIC...and with a FREE online workshop thrown in????? Total NO-BRAINER!! Pick up this book and claim your free course! Follow the conversation and join the tribe at #ShakeUpLearning on Twitter! If you grab a copy...tweet us and let us know! I'm @burgessdave there!

Dave

PS

Time is limited!! To get the free course you must buy by 4/3/18.

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Incredible custom GIF-making ideas from Kimberly Snodgrass

Special thanks to the amazing Kimberly Snodgrass for writing this guest post on how to create and use GIFs. She has stunned the social media pirate world with her incredible custom-made #tlap GIFS...many of them drawn from my videos. Lots of people have asked her to divulge her secrets and I convinced her to share her magic. Enjoy learning how to make #EduGIFS!
They think it's magic, it's not. It's something arguably better. It's sparkle. Sparkle is taking the ordinary and making it vivacious and witty. You may not have realized it, but that's exactly what sparkle means, even Webster says so! No, it doesn't stop there, to sparkle is to be lively and full of life. The synonyms for sparkle go on to include words like dazzling, exhilarating, stimulating, vibrant, and animated! Shouldn't we be adding sparkle to everything we do, especially when it comes to teaching? I mean really, why not? When you find something that encompasses these words, allows students to be creative, and enriches their learning, you've found gold, or rather... sparkle. I knew I hit the jackpot when I discovered GIFs.

GIFs are gold. GIFs sparkle. I love everything about them! Just like Emojis and Bitmojis, GIFs are a form of interpersonal communication that allow us to express a feeling or experience as efficiently as possible. They are playful, quirky, and fun. They create laughter and surprise. I don't know about you, but these are all things that I want in my life, and in my classroom!

Even if right now you're thinking, "What the heck is a GIF?", you know. You've seen them. Trust me. GIFs (Graphics Interchange Format) are brief animated videos that have taken social media by storm, especially my Twitter feed! Once I stumbled upon them, I was immediately hooked! The fun and conversation that GIFs stimulate is awesome! I began brainstorming ways to bring this new technology, or so I thought, into my classroom. As you can imagine, my mind was blown when I discovered that GIFs have been around in some form for over 25 years, but recently have been reimagined and repurposed in a playful way!

Speaking of reimagining and repurposing things, that's exactly what we, as educators, do. In fact, a key component of the Teach Like a Pirate philosophy is to look at the world around us and always ask, "How can I use that?" That phrase is kind of my mantra. It doesn't matter where I am, I am always scheming on how I can use things that catch my eye in my classroom. Which is exactly what I thought as I fell in love with GIFs! Once I thought about it, I couldn't help but think "How can I NOT use GIFs in my classroom?" They are in the same realm as #SketchNotes and #Booksnaps , the possibilities are really endless. My students created these Flipgrid reflections to share why they love GIFs and how they think educators could utilize them as an edtech tool to compliment their content.

GIFs can be used to learn a new concept, to solidify a point, or to assess understanding. The cool thing about them is that they bring static images to life, break down steps, show processes, visualize key concepts, demonstrate knowledge, and most importantly, make content memorable. The first time that I used a GIF creator in the classroom, I had my students create visual representations of their vocabulary words. Besides vocabulary GIFs , we've also created Genre GIFs , 5 layer GIF figurative language stories, and inference GIFs. My to do list is a mile long though! Regardless of the content or the concept, there are no confinements with GIFs. They can be used anywhere for anything!

So, let's do it! This is the part where I'm giving away my superpowers; sharing my magic, passing the torch, whatever you want to call it! I've experimented with several applications, but I think the most user friendly tool available at the moment is GIPHY.

From here, it's really quite simple... (GIF 101 BASIC DIRECTIONS)

1. Head on over to www.giphy.com - It's like the candy store of GIFs!

2. Hold up! Before you go there, you should probably decide what you want to create. GIFs are fun for personal or educational use, so there are a ton options. My personal favs are #TLAP video quote GIFs. I make some video based, some animation based, but both are equally fun ( video GIF tutorial )! Regardless, you should have an idea first!

3. Once you're ready to roll, decide if you want to make an account, or just play around. I would recommend that you make an account so that your GIPHY creations will save. If you don't create an account, your GIFs will disappear into cyberspace.

4. When you're ready, click "CREATE" on the top menu bar.

5. You should now be at the the almighty "GIF MAKER". Now, you have to make some choices. You can create your custom GIF from an existing GIF, a photo, a video, or you can start from pre-created templates under "Choose your inspiration.". The other cool thing about GIPHY is that you can cite your sources! You can give credit to the work of those who you've built upon to create your rockstar custom GIF!

6. Now, the fun part! Once you've chosen your foundation, you can give it your own personal twist. BLING IT ON! You can add a caption (various colors and font options to choose from), add stickers (other fun little sparkly things - these are my absolute fave), add filters (several options), or add drawings (I don't do this, ever.).

7. Once you LOVE it, make sure to click all the way through the download buttons on the bottom right side of the screen until you have your final GIF.

8. At this point, you can be done or you can add multiple layers to a new GIF using your new creation. What I mean is that you can compile several pictures or videos into one piece (add image button), or you can save/download multiple versions of a GIF and add different fonts, filters, stickers, etc. each time for added effects.

Just like that, you are now a certified GIFICIAN ! It's a magical thing when you find technology tools you can infuse into your lessons that are not only relevant to students, but provide them choice to express their creativity. GIFs are magical. Trust me, even if it might seem daunting to you at the moment, your students will get it, they'll teach you! So, SPARKLE. Be vivacious and witty, and while you're at it give GIFs a chance to make your world a little more fun!

Kimberly Snodgrass
@KimSnodgrass
P.S. On my iPhone I use the Tenor GIF Keyboard . On this app, you can add personal messages to pre-created GIFs. There are also a few fun GIPHY apps (GIPHY, GIPHY CAM, GIPHY World, and GIPHY Says). As if it couldn't get any more fun, you can now add GIPHY stickers to your Snapchat snaps too! Start exploring!

P.S.S. After a little Twitter convo and collaboration, by Dave Burgess. I also made a #tlap HOOKS sketch from Monica Spillman and I decided to get GIPHY with her #Sketchnotes that she made to represent each part of Teach Like a Pirate quick video tutorial on how to have students bling up your handouts ! Matt Miller SPARKLE! A similar activity would be fun to use in your classroom to have students interact with notes, a study guide, handout, etc. I created a Check them out below!
via GIPHY via GIPHY via GIPHY via GIPHY
Wow!!! Thank you, Kimberly!!! Be sure to follow her on Twitter by clicking HERE! I can't wait to see all of the custom-GIFs and amazing ideas that come from this tutorial!!

Now go out and GET YOUR GIF ON!! Post your creations in the #EduGIFS hashtag!

Dave Burgess

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Posted on The Holy Grail of education is to find a way to teach more effectively, increase student learning, empower kids to connect and collaborate, make school fun, and yet not to have to sacrifice our health and wellness to do it. Impossible? Absolutely, not! It's time to stop trying to reinvent the wheel.