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The creative communicator standard may be difficult for some students to achieve, especially if they are typically shy. This article provides some suggestions to support your quieter students and encourage everyone to participate!

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I love discussing books even more than I love reading them. When I can't figure something out, I do best by talking it through. I get more energy from whole class discussions than from any other teaching activity because I am an extrovert myself.

So, in a classroom setting, it's easy for me to favor extroverts - the ones who want to participate in everything, the ones who always have their hands up ready to share new ideas, the ones who will discuss anything.

In my experience, students who are more introverted do better with writing. They express themselves better on paper, they work through ideas better when they are written down, and they don't need to talk about ideas in order to process them. They love my writing prompts, but they don't love my discussions.

All of this is great, but it makes it more difficult to connect with these students during class. So how do I connect with the introverts?

Two of the best tools for me are Chromebooks and Google Docs.

While any computer would do, there is something about the simplicity and portability of the Chromebooks that make me more likely to use them. We use them for writing workshop, research and even for group projects.

These are the reasons why I like using Chromebooks with my less-extroverted students.

They can share their ideas in a way that's more comfortable for them. Sharing ideas with other people is pretty much my favorite way to spend time. But this doesn't always happen as much as I'd like with introverted students. In the past, there were a number of ways students could share their ideas with me. They could participate in class discussions, read them aloud or write them out for me to read in class or take home.

But with Google Docs, students can share their writing, and I can read it from my desk and give comments during class. We can have that exchange of ideas without actually having an oral discussion. Although students still get nervous when they see my little icon show up on their screens, they end up enjoying the exchange of ideas as much as I do.

They get immediate feedback. One of my AP students last year never said a single comment out loud in class. This was unfortunate for her peers, because she wrote beautifully and had some of the most insightful ideas that I had ever read in my career as a teacher. I loved reading everything she wrote, but no matter how many exclamation marks I put in written comments, it didn't fully convey the strength of my approval. But when we workshopped an essay in class, I could read it as she wrote it and give her the kind of immediate feedback that other students received in class discussions. I wanted her to see how much I appreciated her thinking and the hard work that she put into what she wrote, and, as an extrovert, I prefer to do that in person. When we had Chromebooks and Google Docs in class, I could read her writing right away and let her know how amazing it was.

They have an easier way to work in groups. One time I assigned students to write and perform a play in small groups. When the three quietest kids in the class formed a group together, I was nervous about how it would all turn out. But they worked - almost without ever talking - on a document together. They shared it through Google Docs, and they all contributed to the writing, adding and revising as a group. Though they were surely uncomfortable when it came time for the performance, it was one of the best plays that year. They worked together to create a great final product.

I am always thinking about how to better connect with my students, personalize their learning, and let them know that I appreciate their ideas and contributions to the class. Google Docs allow me to do that while addressing the Creative Communicator standard within the 2016 ISTE Standards for Students, which expects students to "communicate clearly and express themselves creatively for a variety of purposes using the platforms, tools, styles, formats and digital media appropriate to their goals."

As someone who is not always a fan of new technology, it is somewhat surprising that I am able to use it to build connections with students while stretching beyond what is natural and easy for me. And that is always a good thing.
Christina Gil was a high school English teacher for 16 years before she left the classroom to follow a dream and move with her family to an eco-village in rural Missouri. She believes that teaching creative writing helps students excel on standardized tests, that deeply analyzing and unpacking a poem is a fabulous way to spend an hour or so and that Shakespeare is always better with sound effects. When she is not hauling water to her tiny home, she can be found homeschooling her two kids or meeting with her neighbors about the best way to run their village. Find more articles on how to use ed tech in the classroom on the EdTekHub.

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I love discussing books even more than I love reading them. When I can't figure something out, I do best by talking it through. I get more energy from whole class discussions than from any other teaching activity because I am an extrovert myself.

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The narrator has a thick accent, so I recommend using subtitles, but I think he gives some great examples, so it's worth the watch!

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ISTE Standardr●S 6 Creative Communicators

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Suggested Tech Tools for Communication and Collaboration within the Classroom

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Suggested Tech Tools for Communication and Collaboration within the Classroom

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My favorite aspect of educational technology is the ability for students to communicate and collaborate with others all over the world. Google Hangouts, Skype and other video communication tools make global learning explode in today's classroom.

There are other educational technology tools I like to use with students to assist working with others both in and outside of the classroom. When I am working with elementary students and teachers, especially the younger ones in 1st and 2nd grade, I like to use tech tools that:

are free

are easy

have a simple interface

do not require a student login (except Google Drive..gotta get Google with it in elementary😋)

Our time together is always so limited that we have to get students into a program and working ASAP.
Here are some of my favorite classroom tested tech tools that I like to use with elementary students who are learning how to communicate and collaborate digitally with others.

This is a great tool for brainstorming as a group and/or sharing creations. Click Dotstorming: One of my all time favorite web tools! Dotstorming allows users to add an idea or upload an image to a board the teacher creates and shares via a single link. It allows you to "vote" on your favorite post by clicking the bottom of the post to add a dot. The teacher who creates the board can restrict how many votes the students are allowed to make when he/she sets up the Dotstorming board. Students also have the ability to comment on each post:

HERE to read more about this amazing tool over on Richard Byrne's blog.

Padlet: I can't write a collaboration post without mentioning Padlet! I believe this was the first web tool I ever used that had the ability for multiple people to hop on and work together by clicking on a single link. Yes, I used this before my world was turned upside down by Google Drive. Padlet is a lot like Dotstorming except it does not have the ability to vote on different posts. However, students can upload images, gifs, videos and use the built in webcam! What is really neat about Padlet is being able to change the background to the wall. You can read THIS blog post about how to customize a Padlet wall and grab some FREE graphic organizers I created for you to use with Padlet.

Since I wrote that post, Padlet added the option to add comments to other's posts:

There are lots of ways the teacher can customize as well as restrict the board his/her students work on. It is also available as an app!

BoardThing: This is another collaboration board like the two mentioned above. Check out THIS blog post to read all about it. In a nutshell, a BoardThing board can be accessed with a single link set up by the teacher. Students can add notes and attach pictures. I really like the chat feature that comes along with this tool so students can share and plan before creating on the board! It will even work on an iPad browser.

Twiddla: I love how this web tool claims to be browser-agnostic😂 With this tool students have the ability to collaboratively mark up websites, graphics and photos, write together on the EtherPad or choose to simply brainstorm on a white canvas. You also have the ability to upload documents. I really like the shape tools which can be used to create mind-maps! Students join the Twiddla board by clicking a single link set up by the teacher.

Here is an example of two students who were researching bats. They were able to mark up a website as well as create a mind-map of the information they were synthesizing:

In order to save work you must have a paid account or be working during your free trial window. I usually create the Twiddla boards without signing in and just have students take screenshots of their work!

Stoodle: This tool is a great one to use, especially with the little ones! Students can access the board via a single link and have the ability to draw, type and upload images. One of my favorite ways to use Stoodle is creating ONE board and adding pages at the bottom of the board.

Each student (whether they are in your classroom or half way around the world) can hop onto their page either individually or with a partner to create. Once everyone is finished, they can click on the other numbers and check out what everyone created on their page. It is almost like a collaborative digital book! Students can solve math problems, draw & label diagrams, type sentences and so much more. I also like the chat feature for students to share and plan together before working on the board.

CoSketch: This online collaboration board allows users to add pictures, draw and communicate through a chat feature. Students access the board from a single link set up by the teacher. In the example above, students worked with a partner to upload a flower image. They were able to add on by drawing grass, roots and the sun. Together they labeled the parts of the plant. Working together allowed students to have an accountability partner for the assignment! Assignments like these require the teacher to create multiple boards for group work. I like to paste the urls to these collaborative tools in a view only Google Doc. This way everything is housed in one location and I just have to share the Google Doc link with the class. Here is an example:

That was what I did for the lesson you can read about HERE.

Today's Meet is a great way for students to communicate with one another. It is a simple backchannel for chatting/talking to one another. I have used this tool not only for sharing ideas but also for guessing games for teaching context clues, making inferences and other reading skills. Ditch That Textbook has a wonderful post about 20 ways to use this tool in your classroom. Check it out HERE. The teacher creates the chatroom and shares the single link with students.

Google Drive: One of the first questions I ask elementary educators that reach out for lessons ideas is, d o your students have access to Google Drive? I honestly don't know how I could teach without it! Drive is a digital powerhouse. There are so many digital activities that promote communication and collaboration within Google Drive. Students can take notes together in Google Docs, create group presentations in Google Slides, construct diagrams together in Google Drawing, collect and analyze data in Google Sheets and the list goes on and on. I especially love using Google Drive for collaborative projects like Design an App Collaborative Class Project or create Collaborative Digital Books.

Check out my blog post 5 Ways to Avoid Disasters When Collaborating in Google Drive and grab some teaching tips from THIS free video:

Follow me on Pinterest to get more techie ideas:

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My Favorite Tech Tools for Communication and Collaboration

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Come learn about my FAVORITE technology tools for digital communication and collaboration with elementary students. Use these tools with Chromebooks, laptops, computers and some can even be used with iPads. Global learning is making its way into the classroom and we need to make sure our students are prepared so they can make the most of these authentic learning experiences!

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4. What tools will I use to express my thoughts?

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4. What tools will I use to express my thoughts?

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Students can either create or responsibly re-purpose different tools, styles of information sharing, formats, and media to express their thoughts surrounding a big idea.

I am using a flowchart format to express the questions creative communicators ask themselves when sharing ideas. I also have used the remaining space like a bulletin board to share some resources I found relevant to the creative communicator ISTE standard!

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3. What platform will help me achieve my objective and share my big idea?

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3. What platform will help me achieve my objective and share my big idea?

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Creative communicators are aware that there are endless platforms through which they could share their ideas, whether it's video, photos, presentations, websites, speeches, letters, books, art, music, or more.  It's important to consider which platform best fits the audience and idea that the individual is trying to share.

I chose the platform of padlet because I wanted to try something new where I could manipulate text boxes and attachments in a webpage.

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2. What is my purpose? What is the BIG idea I want to share?

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2. What is my purpose? What is the BIG idea I want to share?

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Once they know their audience, creative communicators need to decide what big takeaway they want to communicate.  Everything included in a creation should effectively support the individual's main point.

My big idea is that creative communicators have to consider a lot of different aspects of their message before they can even begin to create the content they wish share.

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Creative communicators ought to begin by considering their audience.  For example, are students about to share their ideas with a teacher, a friend, a parent, or maybe just themselves?  Based on those audiences, they could make very different choices in how they share their thinking.

My audience is my professor and classmates!