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The Triple E Framework is something that I plan to utilize in my future programming as a children's librarian. It not only allows me to analyze the technological tool I am using but it also helps me explain to others its importance. I look forward to implementing it in my next summer learning program!

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In the words of Liz Kolb, "Learning First, Technology Second."  Thinking about learning goals first will amplify the use of technology with youth. The Triple E Framework is a game changer, helping to make the most of learning experiences for students and implementing instructional strategies for additional support, as needed.

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The Triple E Framework really opened my eyes to how technology can function most effectively for students. I feel it has given me a guide with how to implement technology in the future. Additionally, the numerous resources from this semester have been great. I have a lot to explore!

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The Triple E Framework will be very useful, as I collaborate with the teachers, and staff. Thank you.

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The Triple E Framework will be very useful, as I collaborate with the teachers, and staff. Thank you.

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The Triple E Framework and rubrics are something I'm going to use from now on, but I think the biggest & most meaningful takeaway for me was actually reading & hearing about all the other resources that my classmates introduced me to & how they use them!

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I love the Triple E Framework, and how many different tech tools i've added to my repertoire!!!

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This class provided me with a new list of tech tools to try out, but the Triple E Framework was beneficial because it helps me know identify tools for a purpose.

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I've learned about SAMR before but the assignment was SO useful for actually understanding how to do it in practice/practically. I get it now! - Julia

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I learned a ton in this class! The Triple E framework is very helpful. Also, the need to be a media mentor. I also learned how important it is to partner with school librarians!

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I learned a ton in this class! The Triple E framework is very helpful. Also, the need to be a media mentor. I also learned how important it is to partner with school librarians!

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Darnetta Bolton

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I loved learning about all the resources we discussed this semester!
The SAMR Model was a valuable resource for me! This is a great way to evaluate improving the technology in programs to levels that are most useful. I will be applying this model to future programs I run.
Thanks for an informative semester!

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I really appreciated the chance to learn about the Triple E Framework and to apply it to a variety of tech tools. This was so helpful at making the use of the framework practical and I became faster at evaluating technology throughout the summer. It was very practical!
-Trish N

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My takeaways from this course include the Triple E framework (great resource!), the multitude of tech tools available to help meet a variety of needs, and how open and willing those in the library field are to helping each other succeed!  Thank you all and best of luck!!

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the importance of picking the content before the technology. I got excited about ThingLink and tried to pick ThingLink before I picked something to learn in the lesson plan assignment. I hated everything I did and started from scratch by picking a learning target and sought the best way to use it.

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For technology to be truly effective in education, it must engage with, enhance, and extend the learning goals. It is not enough to substitute!

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I really enjoyed learning about our role as mentors for learners and families, and how integrating tech allows students to hold more power and share more of themselves!

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My biggest take away is the triple E framework in general.  It is a really helpful way to look at my technology use and to make sure it is meaningful

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Thank you so much for a great class! My biggest discovery from this class was that there are evidence-based best practices for using tech in the classroom / library that are easy to implement and use. The Kolb framework and rubric are items I will use ALL THE TIME from now on. Thanks!

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Information Stations for Video Game/Programming workshop

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Information Stations for Video Game/Programming workshop

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The program is a weekend long event for kids, teens, and parents designed to help shatter negative assumptions about gaming and instead identify the many ways in which gaming can benefit a person's life, particularly educationally and professionally. For the program, instead of scheduling guest speakers to come in during certain hours to speak on certain topics, I thought it would be more helpful to put together information stations. Small tables set up with TVs/Monitors, playing various Ted Talks, interviews, and instructional videos on animation, video games, programming, etc. This eliminates the hassle of scheduling speakers as well as the pressure of "missing" part of the event (the videos come with links so interested patrons can rewatch the video anywhere, anytime.)

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I have been approached by members of our Dungeons and Dragons Club, about starting a Graphic Novel book club for this coming school year. The interested group is 7th grade to high school aged kids, but there is potential for 5th and 6th grades to be interested too. I would love to offer programs in the library, or sponsored by the library that are student lead or guided. I feel like the group will be more invested, than if I came up with a program, and then try to get them interested. My goal for the Graphic Novel Book Club would be to bring ten or more students together to interact, discuss and share a common interest. I thought of having a Google Docs page shared between those who want to join the book club and having everyone list book suggestions. The students will be able to vote on which book they want to read for the meeting. As Augmentation I could exchange the Google Doc for Flipgrid videos, asking the students to upload a video introducing the book they want to nominate, and explain why they think it should be the next book for the book club discussion. . I feel it will give the students the opportunity to be creative communicators, in the way they choose to make their Flipgrid video nominating their choice. While still allowing for face to face interaction and discussion of the chosen book.

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Victoria Horberg-Olson: Comparing Two Texts

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Victoria Horberg-Olson: Comparing Two Texts

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I am working on comparing/contrasting two texts on a similar topic with my group of four 5th grade students receiving special education reading support in the resource room. We will read the book, The Coldest Town on Earth and the Time for Kids magazine article “The Deep Freeze.” Then, we will complete a Top Hat graphic organizer identifying the similarities and differences between the two texts on the computer creating a blogpost within KidBlog. By sharing their graphic organizers, they will receive adult and peer feedback on their blog post, and provide feedback to peers. Additionally, Co:Writer will run alongside to assist with writing support of word prediction, flexible spelling, and/or text-to-speech.

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Jen S:  Reading Strategies with Book ClubsThird-grade students in a general education classroom learn the reading strategy of using context clues to define unknown words   Students then read a selection from an assigned Book Club novel and complete a teacher-designed handout that has them apply the taught reading strategy to the text that they read for homework.  The learning objective is for students to be able to demonstrate application of reading strategies taught in class to their current reading assignment.  At the modification stage, students will complete their own handout (posted by the teacher) on Seesaw and add written feedback (two things they liked, one suggestion for change) to two classroom peers’ posts on Seesaw.  At this level, the task has been significantly redesigned.  Students are able to view and comment on peers’ work and share positive comments and clarify questions that they have about it.  Some benefits of this task are that it builds the classroom learning community, it helps develop empathy and digital citizenship skills, and it provides peer feedback for learners to consider when improving their current work and completing future assignments.  As students become more proficient with providing and accepting feedback on their work, we would attempt to use the augmentation level (adding a video with feedback to the same assignment completed by two peers at their sister school, located in a different community).  

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Jen S:  Reading Strategies with Book ClubsThird-grade students in a general education classroom learn the reading strategy of using context clues to define unknown words   Students then read a selection from an assigned Book Club novel and complete a teacher-designed handout that has them apply the taught reading strategy to the text that they read for homework.  The learning objective is for students to be able to demonstrate application of reading strategies taught in class to their current reading assignment.  At the modification stage, students will complete their own handout (posted by the teacher) on Seesaw and add written feedback (two things they liked, one suggestion for change) to two classroom peers’ posts on Seesaw.  At this level, the task has been significantly redesigned.  Students are able to view and comment on peers’ work and share positive comments and clarify questions that they have about it.  Some benefits of this task are that it builds the classroom learning community, it helps develop empathy and digital citizenship skills, and it provides peer feedback for learners to consider when improving their current work and completing future assignments.  As students become more proficient with providing and accepting feedback on their work, we would attempt to use the augmentation level (adding a video with feedback to the same assignment completed by two peers at their sister school, located in a different community).  

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Aldo - Superhero Origin Story and Visual Description

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Aldo - Superhero Origin Story and Visual Description

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During this past summer,  I created a superhero origin story program for young patrons aged 8 to 14 at the Little Village public library. Participants were asked to write a brief origin story for their superhero and describe what their hero would look like. Through their narrative, participants learned how to develop a character through creative storytelling. In addition, participants were able to visually describe their superhero. Using the website HeroMachine, an online character builder application, participants could design the hero that they described in their initial origin story paper. This free online software allows users to construct a hero using various shapes, colors, accessories, and outfits. Utilizing the software participants are able to create a superhero that supports their visual description and add depth to their character’s origin story. HeroMachine is a great introduction to basic Photoshop tools such as layering, coloring, and inputting text on an image. Simple and intuitive digital applications such as HeroMachine work well with groups who range in age and have varying levels of computer skills. Using HeroMachine allows anyone to create a character without penalizing those with limited graphic design skills. Children who could creatively describe their hero through writing but lack the artistic talent to draw their character would appreciate the many options available in the HeroMachine application. In this example, the HeroMachine application has modified and redesigned the way participants are able to create their hero and adds depth to their origin story. Below is the hero I created: Lucha Libro!

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Script-Writing Workshop with Storyboard That and YouTube

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Script-Writing Workshop with Storyboard That and YouTube

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This program is for 11-18 year-olds. I would hold it in a computer lab at the library. Over 3 sessions, they learn the craft of writing a movie script from screenwriting experts from a local university or creators from the area. Each writer will get paired up with an expert. In this stage, participants will create a storyboard of their script using the website Storyboard That, then upload it to YouTube. The writers can better visualize their stories when they create the script in digital storytelling. Further, as YouTube is a platform that allows for comments, experts from the workshop and other visitors can post critiques of the storyboard. The learning objective is that participants will gain a basic understanding of the process and elements of movie script-writing.

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In my third grade class, students work on writing book reviews a form of opinion writing. These students then use FlipGrid as a tool to publish their final book reviews. The students draft their reviews, then make video recordings of their thoughts on their favorite books. Students also respond to others' reviews. Additionally, we can share the reviews with families and other members of the school community to gain outside feedback. Students can use this tool again and again after the project is over to share their thoughts on books and to grow our classroom reading community.

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Becky A. - Compare/Contrast with Flipgrid

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Becky A. - Compare/Contrast with Flipgrid

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After reading a variety of multicultural Cinderella stories as a class, 2nd grade students in a classroom setting compare and contrast two versions.  During reading, partners collaboratively record “Elements of a Fairy Tale” within Google Docs.  Then, with a partner, using the information gathered during reading, students record a Flipgrid video comparing and contrasting their choice of two versions of Cinderella.  Each student assumes the role of one of the Cinderella stories, taking turns sharing information about the text (rubric/checklist will include how many similarities and differences students should share at minimum).  For example, Partner A says, “In the Persian Cinderella, the setting is _____.”  Then, Partner B says, “While in Yeh-Shen, the Chinese Cinderella, the setting is _____.”  Students may pair their Flipgrid video with small visuals created via technology or hand drawn to showcase their thinking (e.g., visual of settings, visual of characters).  Finally, students will view one another’s videos, responding to at least one peer, adding an additional way in which the two stories were the same or different or comparing and/or contrasting the stories with another multicultural version of Cinderella read as a class. Videos have the potential to be shared with other students in the building, which may build interest in reading various multicultural versions of Cinderella.

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Using Book Creator app to publish student Greek myths

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Using Book Creator app to publish student Greek myths

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At the end of a Greek mythology unit, students will write their own moral myths or nature myths. When the story has been edited, they will copy and paste it, piece by piece, into the Book Creator iPad app which allows them to add or draw images, add sound effects or music, and publish it as an iBook. There are several options for redefinition. First, iBooks allows sharing.  The school’s pre-school lab can use the stories with children.  Third, the teacher can partner with a local elementary school (such as a class in a feeder school, a student’s little sibling’s class, a student’s parent’s class if a parent is a teacher, or the teacher’s own children’s school) to use the stories in class with children. Finally, the tech department can push the iBooks out to the entire school.  Children or teachers can provide feedback via a Google Doc, such as which story was the class favorite, which art was the class favorite, etc. I have never done this, but I want to use different storytelling apps, and this is the first one I played with.

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The main objective is for sixth grade students, in a language arts classroom, to identify character traits and provide relevant text evidence to support their choices. Students would use an online web creation tool, such as MindMeister, to create a web with four traits and two pieces of text evidence with explanation for each trait.They would share their web with classmates who could then add additional evidence and explanation to each others webs. Sample Web: https://www.mindmeister.com/1115751461?t=SEGbhraatV
-Trish N

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Our homeschool club wants to host a nature walk program for homeschooling families with children in K-6th grade. There are several nice parks and preserves in the area, and we have noticed nature walks are great for the fall when the leaves are changing colors. Our group will meet in a local park and after a brief nature story we would begin our walk. During the walk I will make special note of trees and birds that are common in our area. The objective is to teach the students to be observers of nature and to be able to identify common trees and birds that live in our community. Instead of recording our observations with a journal we will take pictures and use Google Draw to created digital journals.

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This learning activity is intended for seventh grade English language arts students who are currently working on narrative writing. The intended learning outcome at the end of this lesson is the following: Students will be able to successfully create an original short narrative in order to demonstrate their knowledge of plot structure and to strengthen their writing. Initially, I would start students at the Augmentation stage of drafting their writing and illustrations on a word processing document. Then for the Modification stage, I would have them take their story and create a designed ebook using Canva. Finally, in the Redefinition stage, students would take their created ebooks and share them on an online platform (most likely Google Classroom). There students will have the ability to read each other’s work and actively collaborate with one another be leaving feedback.

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7th grade students in writing class will work in pairs to make an argument (persuasive writing) on a current issue affecting the world and how it should be solved. The pairs get to pick their issue and they must work together on a Google Suite application (slides, docs, sites, etc) to create their written argument. By using Google, students can work together in real time, constantly seeing not only what they are writing, but also what their partner is writing. This significantly changes the way they interact because they are both simultaneous responsible for their own parts, and double checking their partner's parts so everything comes together to make one convincing cohesive argument.

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An English teacher is bringing her Freshman English class into the library classroom for a lesson to supplement their Independent Reading. Your lesson plan includes fiction and nonfiction book talks, as well as introducing students to Goodreads and creating accounts there so they can find the library and the Goodreads List of books booktalked to their class. You ask the class to brainstorm reading awards they can win throughout the year (EX: Read 100 pages, 300 pages, 500 pages, 1000 pages, read poetry, read nonfiction) and have them give these awards clever names (ex. “Read a novel in verse”, might be called “aspiring poet,” audiobook might be “Great Listener”) and design these awards using the Canva Instagram layout. At the end of this lesson the students will be familiar with not only a graphic design tool, but areas of the library collection available to them.

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Sara S. - Wave Design Model Explanation Using Video

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Sara S. - Wave Design Model Explanation Using Video

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One of the 4th grade science standards from NGSS requires students to design, construct, and defend a model that shows how waves move in patterns and how they show energy transfer. This lesson could be modified on the SAMR scale by students either recording a video of their prototype testing or a photo of their prototype. Then can then import this footage or picture to WeVideo, a user-friendly free video editing website. Students can use the voice recording option to overlay an explanation of the scientific principles at work in their prototype. This modification completely shifts the explanation task from simply writing an explanation on paper or typing on a word processor (substitution) and adding mixed media elements to present the scientific reasoning behind their designs.

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Easily create your own videos for Everything you need to make great videos Create like a pro in no time at all. Add features like green screen for a big-budget look without the cost or difficulty. Edit videos with zero upload wait time using our free online video editor.

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Kindergarten students will come to the library to work on their beginning sound knowledge by participating in a beginning sound scavenger hunt! They will find pictures hidden around the library with a corresponding QR code that they will scan using an iPad (and QR code scanner app). Before scanning the code, they will decide which sound/letter they think the picture begins with. When the QR code is scanned, it will redirect to the starfall.com link for the correct letter. After completing the scavenger hunt, students will use an app such as Toontastic Jr., Sock Puppets, Mini Doodlecast, or Educreations to create their own beginning sound/letter videos in pairs.

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In my first time having my students type to publish their work I took a lot of things that were *intuitive* for me for granted and didn't explain/model them to my students enough--i.e. that you can press the "enter" button to move to the next line and that you don't have to put a million spaces. Basically, it was a mess!

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I volunteered to pilot a subscription version of the interactive slideshow website Nearpod for my school and my district. I was REALLY excited about this technology because it was focused on making sure students were interacting with the learning materials in the slideshow. We had gotten a little training on how to use it, and I felt pretty confident. However, I missed the instruction about giving my students our school-specific link to Nearpod (because we had a subscription). Thus, I had kids just Google it, try to login...aaaaand chaos ensued ("Ms. Snider! I can't login! It won't work!!" x18 4th graders). Follow directions! :)

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We teamed up with the photography class to do slow-shutter light photos where students could draw in the air with colored lights and flashlights. They could either take their photos on the Real Fancy Camera or on their phone with a slow-shutter app. We had a lot of interest beforehand, but when blacked out a classroom and did it for 3 lunch periods, but we only did about a dozen pictures.

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I homeschool my children and we just started an online math program. I thought it would be great for summer and my kids were really excited. As we got started I didnt realize that I first needed to teach them to navigate the web page and use the mouse correctly. We spent some time working on this after I noticed they were spending too much time just getting up and going. Later, I realized one of my kids was skipping lessons because she I was not there for questions. I had to delete some lessons and allow her to start again and stay close for help. I learned that althought they were excited to used the tech they had to first get some basic skills down because it's very different from our normal pencil and paper curriculum.

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I had my 1st and 2nd graders play with Code Mice during STEM club. It went well! I had them break into teams of 2-3 and come up with a racetrack for the mice. They had a great time working together and coming up with a racetrack. The only problem was lack of space; in the future, I'd need a bigger room- the kids kept running the mice into each other's space!

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We used Book Creator this year with 3rd graders to give them a way to publish their informational writing. In addition to applying the typing skills that they are learning, they also used search tools to find images to enhance the text. The end product was fantastic and they really enjoyed sharing their digital books with friends and family.

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When I was in college, I found this Hemmingway editor online.  You copy something you wrote in and it highlights confusing sentences, adverbs and adjectives and other things like that.  I thought it would be cool to use it with students so they could see some of these elements too.  I took a small number of high achieving students who were almost done with their assignment and I showed it to them.  I then gave them time to work with it and see if they thought it was useful.  The all pretty much said it was confusing, as well as annoying because any changes they made to fix errors they had to do in the program, and then copy over to their document.  So it was not as helpful as I had hoped.

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My library has a past history of requiring the teens who participate in summer read  to make puppets and make a puppet show for the little kids. I found that boring, so I tired to get them to make stop animation videos using power point & photos. I worked with the m step by step, and they seemed to like it, but the kids had no idea what to make the characters do in their videos, so they were strange.

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My library has a past history of requiring the teens who participate in summer read  to make puppets and make a puppet show for the little kids. I found that boring, so I tired to get them to make stop animation videos using power point & photos. I worked with the m step by step, and they seemed to like it, but the kids had no idea what to make the characters do in their videos, so they were strange.

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Every year I am asked to lead a coding program for young children at my public library. This past year I utilized BeeBots and Ozobots toys to help teach students the basics of coding. These hands on tech toys allowed children to see the connection between inputting commands and getting a response. The program was a great success despite limited resources.

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I had introduced kindergarten students to Dash robots in March, and they had been able to experiment with the "Go" and "Path" apps to control them. In May, I decided to up the ante by having students work in small groups to build obstacle courses for Dash out of blocks, recycled materials, etc. They all did a great job of making the obstacle courses, but they all made them waaaaaay to difficult to navigate Dash through! Not one student was able to use the "Go" app to drive Dash all the way from beginning to end, and they all understandably got pretty frustrated! I realized I need to scale down the materials and put some parameters on the courses!

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I was teaching a small group (five) of 7th grade RTI students. The group was particularly hard to motivate to get them to do the prepared readings. So I let them choose their own books that they would read and then share with the others. For their presentations, I thought they would really enjoy making a short PowerPoint. I found that the students didn't even know how to use PPT so I spent more time teaching them the basics rather than them being able to make their presentations.

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Nearpod is great for so many reading activities: example you can have students draw and then share in realtime, and then talk about the images in the reading they missed or picked up on. You can use it for formative assessments along the way if you're explaining something. You can use polls as a starting point for discussion.

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I had a student who was able to generate good ideas for writing tasks, but struggled with fine motor skills, affecting his typing speed and writing legibility. Once we began using software he could verbalize his ideas (and eventually organize his writing), his writing length and quality dramatically improved.

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I did an animal research/nonfiction writing project with my third graders, and to do the research one of the tools we used was Epic Books--I created book collections for them. The cool thing about that tool (in addition to the collections) was that many of the books have a read aloud feature, so it made the upper-level content way more accessible for my students that weren't as strong in reading yet!

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Students completed research about any famous person they were interested in.  Then, they chose a way to share the information with others from a lengthy menu of options.  Some students choose to create Kahoot! quizzes to teach/share their new learning with others.

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Final Book Reports- Students were given the opportunity to choose and book and then create a Google Slides presentation about the book. Within the presentation they created mini projects such as choosing actors to portray the books characters, movie trailers, videos of scenes, choosing a theme song for the book etc. The ultimately chose three mini-projects to be a part of their book report.

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I had a great experience using an app called Book Creator in my 4th grade classroom this last school year. Students were learning new vocabulary words connected to a text we were reading. I wanted them to do something interactive rather than just fill out notecards or draw pictures of the definitions on paper. Each student made a booklet where each page was a word, its part of speech, the definition, an example, and a collage of images or drawings to showcase the word. This REALLY helped all my students hit the learning target. It was also cool for them to see each other's books at the end of the project to see other uses of the words.

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Book Creator - Love Learning - Book Creator app

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Teachers love it. Students love it. Book Creator is the simplest, most inclusive way to create content in the classroom.

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We ran an escape room in the high school where we did a combination of digital scavenger hunt on their new chromebooks so students could download some of the edu apps the school wanted them to use, and physical puzzles and obstacles where students found keys inside of books or unlocked boxes in the actual library. It got students in the library (which broke the ice so they'd come in another time!) as well as introduced them around the library as a digital space.

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I wanted to teach middle schoolers about fan fiction and fan works, and while the lesson went well, students were unable to explore fan fiction during the activity portion of the lesson because the site was blocked by the school's filter. In the future, I will definitely need to remember to get the site unblocked before implementing the lesson!

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To teach a group of first graders about parts of a nonfiction book (table of contents, bold word, glossary, etc.), I created a digital nonfiction book about a topic they were excited about using Google Docs and anyflip.com. The format mirrored Scholastic Blast-Off! Reader books, so they could locate the same elements in their own books from the library during the lesson. This use of technology made the lesson much more visible, visually accessible, and tailored to the particular class to keep them engaged.

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We tried to teach Zotero, as a reference manager, to high school freshman--some who had little experience with the educational use of laptops. We ran into every technical roadblock imaginable from hardware to software. Consequently, they hated it and reverted to EasyBib because, you know, it's easy.

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We added LibGuides to our high school library's website as a way to curate information and simplify access to resources students needed to access for specific classes. This tool allowed for more targeted instruction and greater content management.

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“Making Headlines” is an information literacy lesson about bias and points of view designed for eighth grade students, to be delivered in the library or in a classroom by the librarian. In the modification of the original lesson, students will be presented with an image via a digital projector and told that it goes along with a real article from the Washington Post (https://goo.gl/XMciQ8). Students will create a headline they think could go with the image and submit it to an anonymous Google Form. The instructor will then plug the student headlines as well as the original headline and one or two extra red herrings into a survey form such as Kahoot!. Students will then be able to vote on the most likely headline from each selection (each Kahoot! question only allows four answer options) using tech devices. After the results are tallied, students will discuss the top contenders for the “true” headline and what made them appear more “credible,” and the authors of the headlines will reveal themselves and discuss how they came to their headline. The instructor will also reveal the true headline at some point in the discussion, though when depends on whether or not it made it into the top contenders. At the end of this lesson, students will be able to recognize and evaluate the influence of personal opinions, experiences, biases, et cetera, on the presentation of information as well as their own perception of information.

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In a 12th-grade English Literature class, students will come to the library to explore issues of copyright and fair use as they apply to fan works (fan fiction, fan art, fan videos, etc.) in a series of four lessons that culminates with the students creating their own fan works and preparing a fair use justification for them. At the creative stage, small groups of students will work together on one fan work using collaborative software. For example, if creating fan fiction, students will use software like Google Docs to draft and edit their story in real time, and in conjunction will use video or phone conferencing (like Skype or FaceTime) to communicate ideas and implement edits quickly and simultaneously while working together from home. Finally, students will use a social media platform like Twitter to reach out to the creator of their chosen work (if applicable) in order to directly ask his/her opinion on fan works for their fair use defense. By the end of the lesson, students will be able to apply copyright and fair use to fan works in order to better inform their future creative decisions.

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Virtual book club! Use to record reading responses to book club discussion questions. This might be especially useful for school-wide/community reading programs, such as One Book, One School.

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How do students in your classroom share their responses to reading? How can you participate in a book club with educators nearby or far away? I'm so excited about the way educators are leveraging the power of digital tools to connect readers of all ages. Whether you are organizing a book club for a classroom of first, sixth or eleventh graders, or setting up a book club for fellow educators, you can use Flipgrid for book clubs - it's a favorite tool for reading responses and discussion!

Last week I received an email from a fellow Apple Distinguished Educator, , and her students recently read my new book Dr. Terri Cullen. Dr. Cullen is an Associate Professor at the University of Oklahoma Tasks Before Apps: Designing Rigorous Learning in a Tech-Rich Classroom. She was kind enough to share with me a Flipgrid full of reflections from her students, each of whom spent time reading my book and responding to questions Dr. Cullen posed to them.

There are lots of ways to use digital tools with readers, and I've shared some of my favorite strategies in the past like creating book trailers with Adobe Spark and using backchannels with Today's Meet. In Taming the Wild Text: Literacy Strategies for Today's Reader co-authored with LitWorld Founder Pam Allyn, we discuss five habits for readers in the digital world including the importance of reading socially. Video reflections shared in a collaborative space are a wonderful way to promote social reading and build a community of readers.
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How To Use FlipGrid

What I love about Flipgrid is how it captures the voice (and video) of students so they can take part in a discussion, convey emotion, and respond to the contributions of their peers. If you haven't used Flipgrid before, you can get started by setting up a free account on their website. Next, you'll create a page for students to visit that includes a set of instructions.

You can decide how long students have to respond. I suggest starting off with a short prompt and a short amount of time. This can help students stay focused and provide concise answers. Students can record their responses using either a computer or mobile app. Flipgrid is Chromebook friendly, works on any web browser and has an iOS app too - all you have to do is share the code for the page with your students or send them the link.

One special feature of Flipgrid is the ability to respond to the contributions of others. Students can simply "like" the video posted by a classmate, or they can leave a video reply. If you're teaching digital citizenship skills to students or want to provide opportunities to practice how to navigate in online communities, you'll definitely want to take advantage of this feature.

FlipGrid for Book Clubs

Similar to the title of my book, when creating a space for reading responses and discussion, you'll want to place tasks before apps and have a clear objective and expectations in mind. This might include posting one discussion question for students to respond to, or a handful of big ideas you would like members of your book club to reference in their contributions.

For example, you might select a passage from The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate and ask students to discuss a connection to another book you've read together this year. Alternatively, you might ask students to choose a moment from a book they've read independently like , that was surprising, shocking, or clearly foreshadowed. If you are using Flipgrid for a professional learning book club, you might pose a question about how you can put an idea into action or have team members reflect on their current practice.

Flipgrid is perfect for readers of all ages and absolutely worth exploring this school year. Of course, this is an open-ended tool with multiple use cases. So if you're not hosting a book club this year, you might use if to have students reflect on the steps to solve a math problem. Or students can share their hypothesis before conducting an experiment. It's a great way to address speaking and listening standards across content areas.

Get started with Flipgrid by heading over to their website! Have you used Flipgrid for book clubs? Share your experience in the comments below!

Also, if you are using Flipgrid to facilitate a book club for one of my books, I'd love to leave a message just like I did for Dr. Cullen's class. Just send an email my way: monica@classtechtips.com
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How To Use Flipgrid for Book Clubs - Class Tech Tips

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How do students in your classroom share their responses to reading? How can you participate in a book club with educators nearby or far away? I'm so excited about the way educators are leveraging the power of digital tools to connect readers of all ages.

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I wanted to make history come alive for my young students.  I elected to have them retell the story of the First Thanksgiving using Puppet Pals.  However, the project was poorly timed; students did not have the necessary background knowledge for content creation, and I did not allow sufficient exploration time of the tool.  As a result, students spent the majority of time resizing images, making silly voices, and creating exact replicas of my modeled example.  The finished puppet shows did not demonstrate learning.

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My kindergarten students created book commercials recommending their favorite Monarch nominee book to fellow students. They first analyzed digital book trailers to brainstorm important elements for inclusion.  Next they created digital book commercials using Sock Puppets to share with peers prior to book voting.