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30 creative ways to use Padlet for teachers and students - BookWidgets

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30 creative ways to use Padlet for teachers and students - BookWidgets

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30+ creative ways to use Padlet for teachers and students

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I’m always excited when I’m using Padlet. Is it the interface, the way everything is designed, its purpose or the fact that I’m organizing things smoothly? I don’t know. It just makes me happy.

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The Google Drawings Manifesto for Teachers | Ditch That Textbook

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The Google Drawings Manifesto for Teachers | Ditch That Textbook

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Google Drawings is the hidden gem in the core G Suite tools for education.

Everyone is familiar with Google Docs, Google Slides and Google Sheets. They correlate nicely with the Microsoft Office products we used for years and years.
Google Drawings doesn't fit into a nice, neat box like that.
Here it is in a nutshell:

Google Drawings is like a digital posterboard. (Or a big digital sheet of paper.) It has a few things you can add: text, images, shapes and lines. That's it, which makes the Google Drawings learning curve pretty low for students.

When you're done with Drawings, you can go to File > Download as ... to save the file as an image file (JPEG or PNG) or a PDF file.

This powerful tool has lots of potential! In this post, I'll show you:

Some of the sneaky features you might not know about

How students can create with it

How students can collaborate and think with it

What can you do with Drawings?

Plenty! Just by clicking and playing around with the main elements mentioned above gives you a pretty basic idea of what it can do. It's pretty intuitive; you and your students will get a grasp of it pretty quickly.

There are a handful of features that take Google Drawings to the next level:

Equal size: When you create text, images or shapes, it's easy to make sure they're the same size. While resizing, these blue bracket lines show you which items are the same size horizontally or vertically.

Equal spacing: Distributing everything equally makes your creations look nice and neat. The blue bracket lines also show you when spacing between items is equal.

Centering and lining up: That's what the red lines are for. As you move something around on the page, they'll show you what it's centered with or what it's lined up with on the edge.

Other sneaky features on Google Drawings:

The nudge. When you click on something and move it with your arrow keys, that moves it five pixels at a time. (Let's call that "the scoot" - scooting it over five pixels is a bit of a jump.) If you want to move something more precisely, use "the nudge". Hold in shift while you move with the arrow keys. That moves one pixel at a time. Very handy!

Resize everything. When you highlight multiple items on the screen, you can resize them all at once. Say you have nine rectangles and you want to resize all of them equally. Highlight them all and use the little squares on the corners or edges to resize them all.
If you want to resize everything proportionately, hold the shift key while you resize.

Line everything up equally. Highlight multiple items on your screen and use the following commands:

Arrange > Align vertically to line everything up top to bottom

Arrange > Align horizontally to line everything up side to side

Arrange > Center on page to bring your items to the midline of the drawing

Arrange > Distribute to make the spacing between items equal

Add images responsibly. When you add images with a laptop or Chromebook using Insert > Image > Search, you'll find images that Google has identified that can generally be used publicly. They're labeled "for commercial reuse with modification" and include Creative Commons images, images in the public domain and others. You still may want to verify you're using the image, ethically, though. Here are some details on that in a Google support page.

How can students use it to create?

There's so much potential here. Because Google Drawings is like a blank slate, the possibilities for classroom implementation are limitless!

Idea 1: Interactive, multimedia posters.

Give the old poster project a new twist. Create them in Google Drawings instead. The benefits:

Trade in markers for cool fonts

Quit cutting pictures out of magazines and start adding digital images (see above)

No glue sticks to put things on your poster

No glitter mess all over your room!

The biggest benefit: You can add clickable links to these posters. Link to video, audio, images and interactive websites to make your poster an interactive, multimedia one.
Click here to see a post full of ideas about Google Drawings interactive posters.
Idea 2: Eye-catching infographics

Have you seen those tall infographics on Pinterest or other social media? They seem to be everywhere!

They're really easy to create with Google Drawings, and they can put a fun twist on gathering information and presenting it in your class.

Instead of doing a traditional essay or research report, consider creating an infographic instead!

Some hints for kicking them up to the next level:

Use icons. TheNounProject.com has tons of icons you can use to illustrate your ideas in an infographic. Download the icon, give appropriate attribution and place it in your graphic.

Add lines. I've started getting more and more creative with how I break up content with lines. In the button panel below (left to right), you can change the color of your line, change its size (width), change the type of line and change the start and end of the line. Sometimes, I'll add a four-pixel line next to a two-pixel line. Other times, I'll make a really big, bold, 24-pixel line. If you want to make lines bigger than that, create a rectangle shape and stretch it to the size of line you want.

Stick to a couple fonts. Many times, I'll only use two or three fonts in an infographic: a big, bold one for headlines, a simple, easy-to-read one for text, and maybe a third to spice things up.

Click here to see a post full of ideas on creating infographics with Google Drawings.
Idea 3: Timeline projects

Timelines give students a great visual understanding of how events happened over time. There's a reason they've been a staple in the classroom for a while.

But timelines can be a drag. They can lead to very one-dimensional, shallow thinking.

Unless we kick the learning up a notch!

Google Drawings can be a great medium for creating timelines. We can even increase the depth of knowledge and level of thinking in these activities.

Start with a big, long horizontal line. That's your timeline. Use lines and text to connect new ideas, and even add images, icons and other illustrations.
Click here for more ideas for creating great timeline activities that promote deeper thinking.
How can students use it to collaborate and think?

The great thing about Google Drawings - and most Google products - is the ability to share. Use the blue "Share" button in the top right corner to give other people access to your drawings. Then they can jump in and view it, comment on it and/or edit it (depending on the sharing settings you create).

Idea 4: Do brain-friendly visual notetaking

Our classes are often filled with words, but our brains do their thinking in pictures. They just have to convert words over to images before their work can begin.

Our brains also tend to remember more when we connect different types of input - and a powerful combination is verbal and visual input. That means combining words and images. It's sticky learning at its best!

Google Drawings are made for visual notetaking:

Pull in images with an image search inside Google Drawings.

Draw things out with your mouse, touchpad or a touchscreen laptop/Chromebook with the scribble tool (found in the dropdown menu for the line tool)

Bring in icons from TheNounProject.com (like we did in infographics)

Draw something on paper and take a picture of it with your webcam using Insert > Image > Take a snapshot

Students can collaborate on their visual notes as well. (Two brains are better than one!) Just have students share a Google Drawing with their classmates and they can both work in the same digital space.
Click here to see a post full of ideas on creating infographics with Google Drawings.
Idea 5: Encourage deep thinking with graphic organizers

Many times, students need a little guidance in walking through a deep thought process. They're capable of doing deep thinking if we provide some concrete steps.

That's what makes graphic organizers great.

Google Drawings is a natural spot for creating and using graphic organizers. Use shapes, text boxes and lines to draw out your own graphic organizers.

When you're done, share them with your students! There are a couple ways:

Share them via Google Classroom. Attach them to an assignment and choose the "Make a copy for each student" option in the dropdown menu to the right of the attachment. That way, each student will have his/her own copy of the graphic organizer to write on.

Use the /copy trick. When you get a link to a Google document, slide presentation or something else, often the URL has "/edit" at the end. Try this: delete the word edit (and anything else after it) and type the word "copy" instead. It'll change from this:
https://docs.google.com/drawings/d/169dDturzudjUhhGfQZc8SuazlhPTJYhq6r7qs8D_vIo/edit
... to this:
https://docs.google.com/drawings/d/169dDturzudjUhhGfQZc8SuazlhPTJYhq6r7qs8D_vIo/copy
When students call up the second link with the word copy in it, it'll prompt them to make a copy of the file.

Share a "view" link with them. Click the "Share" button and click "Get shareable link". Choose "Anyone with the link can view." Give students that link and ask them to go to File > Make a copy. That will make a copy into their own Google Drives.

Don't want to make your own graphic organizers? I have you covered. I've created more than 15 graphic organizers in Google Drawings that you can copy and use. That way, you don't have to reinvent the wheel!
Click here to see all of those Google Drawings graphic organizers and how to make your own.
Lots more ideas!

Looking for more ways to use Google Drawings? Click here for a post called "10 engaging Google Drawings activities for classes." It includes:

Photo comic strips

Interactive white board

Digital manipulatives

Annotating images

Add and pass activity

For notifications of new Ditch That Textbook content and helpful links: Interested in having Matt present at your event or school? Contact him by e-mail! Matt is scheduled to present at the following upcoming events:

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The Google Drawings Manifesto for Teachers

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Google Drawings is the hidden gem in the core G Suite tools for education. Everyone is familiar with Google Docs, Google Slides and Google Sheets. They correlate nicely with the Microsoft Office products we used for years and years. Google Drawings doesn't fit into a nice, neat box like that.

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Catch the Flipgrid fever! 15+ ways to use Flipgrid in your class | Ditch That Textbook

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Catch the Flipgrid fever! 15+ ways to use Flipgrid in your class | Ditch That Textbook

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You have probably heard of Flipgrid and have seen tons of people sharing their experiences using it on social media. It seems that people all over the world have been using Flipgrid in all sorts of creative ways.

Flipgrid is a video response platform where educators can have online video discussions with students or other educators. Teachers can provide feedback to students AND better yet students can provide feedback to one another.
The best part? Flipgrid is completely FREE!
My first experience with Flipgrid was back in early 2017 in our weekly #Ditchbook Twitter chat where a group of educators from all over the country shared ideas and inspire one another online. Since then I have had the opportunity to use Flipgrid with students, administrators, as well as other educators in workshops and professional development sessions.

Each time I introduce it the reaction is always the same, "Wow! There are so many ways to use this tool. I can't wait to try it out in my class!".

But don't take my word for it, check it out and try it yourself!

In this post you will find over 50 ideas and ready-to-use Flipgrid activities for your class. You can use the quick navigation box below to jump to any section or scroll through the post to find something that you can use in your class tomorrow!

Getting started with Flipgrid

Getting started with Flipgrid is easy. As a teacher you can sign up (see the steps below) and start creating your grids and topics right away. Students and participants don't need an account, they will simply use the code you provide to log in and start recording!

The Flipgrid Getting Started Guide

Want even MORE assistance bringing Flipgrid to your classroom? Check out their onboarding webinar or visit the updated help center that to get up and running in no time!

Flipgrid conversation starters from the Disco Library

Flipgrid understands the power of community and educators connecting and becoming better together. The "Disco Library" tab at the top of your Educator Dashboard and you will find over 20,000 Flipgrid topics ready for you to add to your Grids. Once you select a Topic to add you will have an opportunity to update and make any changes to the Topic before it is added to your grid.

Below you will find six popular topics from the Disco Library that can help your students get started using Flipgrid in a fun and easy way. Just click on the button Don't see a topic you like? There are lots more here.

50+ Flipgrid activities for your class

English Language Arts

Ready-to-use ELA activities from the Flipgrid Disco Library

Reflect and assess with Flipgrid

Flipgrid Math activities

Ready-to-use math activities from the Flipgrid Disco Library

Science and Social Studies

Ready-to-use science activities from the Flipgrid Disco Library

Creating a community

Ready-to-use community building activities from the Flipgrid Disco Library

Flipgrid beyond the classroom

Conversations about race, equity and justice from the Flipgrid Disco Library

Appsmash with Flipgrid

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Flipgrid for ALL! 50+ ways to use Flipgrid in your class

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You have probably heard of Flipgrid and have seen tons of people sharing their experiences using it on social media. It seems that people all over the world have been using Flipgrid in all sorts of creative ways. Flipgrid is a video response platform where educators can have online video discussions with students or other educators.

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Have students choose a Classroom group to join. Have different themes and activities for each Classroom group.

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20 New Ways to Use Google Classroom [infographic] | Shake Up Learning

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20 New Ways to Use Google Classroom [infographic] | Shake Up Learning

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Expand Your Use of Google Classroom

Google has opened up Google Classroom to users outside of G Suite for Education. Users with a personal Google account can now both join and create classes. This opens so many doors for teachers, students, and parents to connect, collaborate and learn.

I have created this handy infographic with 20 New Ways to Use Google Classroom that goes beyond just the idea of using it for our everyday classrooms. I have also included details for each of the twenty ways in this blog post. Keep reading! I hope this will inspire you to think of other new ways to use Google Classroom.

I want you to understand how using Google Classroom outside of your G Suite domain works. It's not a perfect system, but keep in mind that it was designed to protect students and your G Suite for Education accounts. Google opened up Google Classroom to even more learners, which gave users with personal Google accounts the ability to join or create classes within Google Classroom. BUT (and this is a big but), it all depends on the settings in your domain and what your school allows you to do with your G Suite for Education account.

I try not to get too technical on this blog, but it's important to know there are certain domain settings that you will need to make some of the ideas in this post a reality. Discuss with the decision-makers at your school and/or your G Suite for Education administrator. If that happens to be you, here's a support page to explain the new controls and settings in your admin console.

Depending on the settings at your school and the classes you are joining, some of these ideas may require that you use your personal Google account. For tips on toggling between personal and school Google accounts, see my tutorial video: You're Doing it Wrong! How to Manage Multiple Google Accounts.

1. After School Programs

Students and teachers are involved in many after school programs that could utilize Google Classroom to share resources and improve communication and collaboration. Think of ways this could be used in programs both in and outside of your own schools like the YMCA, tutoring programs, community sports, and libraries.

2. SAT/ACT Study Groups

When it comes time to prepare for the SAT and ACT, often times students will form study groups across the area or region. Think of how awesome it would be to use Google Classroom to share resources, flashcards, tips, practice tests, and feedback through the Google Classroom platform.

3. Clubs and Organizations

We can also use Google Classroom to help connect and share resources within our school clubs and organizations. What about a Student Council Class within Google Classroom? Or one for the Robotics Club, National Honor Society, Made with Code, Girls/Boys Scouts, etc. And think about using it for your adult organizations as well like church groups, alumni associations, intramural teams, and philanthropic organizations.

4. Invite Outside Experts into Your Class

Wouldn't it be great to give students an authentic audience? What if you invited an outside expert into your special class project in Google Classroom? They could give meaningful feedback and connect and share with your students.

5. Co-Teach and Collaborate Across the Globe

Google Classroom allows you to add up to 20 teachers to one class. This means we can add co-teachers from across the hall OR across the globe. How fun would it be to teach and collaborate with another teacher on another continent?!!! Consider ways you can bring the world to your students by co-teaching with a teacher and group of students in another country.

6. Create a Class for Learning Challenges

As challenge-based learning grows in popularity, let's think of ways that we can use Google Classroom to allow students and teachers to, "sign-up," for optional challenges by joining a Google Classroom Class designed to detail the challenge, provide resources, and allow the user to submit their evidence for meeting the challenge.

7. Badging Systems

Digital Badging as become a fun way for teachers and students to show off their accomplishments. Organizing and tracking badges could easily be managed through Google Classroom. The details of the assignment could be shared through Classroom as well as offer a way for users to submit their evidence. Badging has become particularly popular for encouraging teachers to learn new tech skills. Be sure you check out these blog posts to learn more about how some districts are using badges for professional learning.

8. Choice Boards

Offering choice in learning is important for the K-12 classroom as well as adult and professional learning. What if we used Google Classroom Classes to offer choices. Each class could offer a different learning path, level of skill, and/or topic of interest. I think this is a particularly interesting way to engage teachers in professional learning but could also come in handy for students in the classroom.

9. Book Study/Lit Circles

It seems like educators are always doing book studies, whether that is a study within our own district or cross-collaborating with educators in other areas. Google Classroom would be a great way to communication, collaborate, share reflections and resources, and stay on top of reading deadlines. Of course, Google Classroom would also make a great tool for the lit circles within our classes and on our campus. Librarians and Media Specialists could also facilitate these on a campus level for outside reading.

10. Parent Information Classes

Streamlining the communication between the school and the parents can be a challenge, to say the least. We hold informational parent meetings about all kinds of initiatives like the rollout of a 1:1 program, opening a new school, bonds, transition to middle or high school, AP courses, etc. This list could go on and on. What if we supplemented these types of meetings with online classes for parents through Google Classroom? We can add videos, information, permission slips, resources, etc. inside the Google Classroom Class.

11. Online Professional Learning

One of the most exciting ways that we can use Google Classroom, especially outside consultants and coaches like myself, is to offer online professional learning courses. I am #superexcited to start working on this idea! Now that I can invite teachers to join my Google Classroom Classes, I'm looking forward to offering new ways to connect and learn together!

12. Collaborate with Outside Consultants and Coaches

Many schools and districts will contract with outside consultants and instructional coaches to offer support and training for their teachers. Using Google Classroom should be a no-brainer for collaboration and learning between teachers and outside consultants. This way consultants can answer questions, share new and updated resources, and continue to collaborate with schools beyond a one-and-done workshop.

13. Replace or Supplement Meetings

Whether it's a faculty meeting, department meeting, team meeting, or committee meetings, Google Classroom can offer a way to sometimes replace meetings or allow you to flip informational meetings. By recording informational videos and posting to Google Classroom, some meetings can be replaced altogether. Other types of groups that meet regularly can use Google Classroom to continue the conversation asynchronously, share important resources, docs, links, etc. Consider ways that you can use Google Classroom to streamline your meetings, become more efficient, and improve communication.

14. Outside Conferences and Workshops

Each Google Classroom Class allows for up to 1000 students. These means that Google Classroom could be used to provide supplemental information, resources, and follow-up for outside conference and workshops. Educators could share notes, links to presentations, and continue to collaborate beyond the conference or workshop.

15. Professional Learning Communities (PLCs)

Many schools have adopted Professional Learning Communities (PLCs) as a way of fostering collaborative learning among groups of educators. Each community could easily create their own Google Classroom Class to share ideas, reflections, resources and connect in new ways.

16. Google Educator Groups (GEGs)

Are you a member of a Google Educator Group (Google+ Communities)? You should be! GEGs are Google+ communities that connect you with other Google using educators in your area. I am co-leader of the GEG for North Texas (GEG-NORTX). We have face-to-face events, meet-ups, and even offer some learning opportunities via Google Hangouts. Using Google Classroom we could extend that connect and learning and offer a one-stop-shop for resources and collaboration.

17. Certification Study Groups

Whether you are studying for the Google Certified Educator exams or preparing for other teaching certification exams, Google Classroom offers a great way to support your studies. Inside Google Classroom, you can share study materials, ask questions, and support each other as you prepare to master your certification exams.

18. Massive Open Online Courses (MOOC)

As mentioned above, you can have as many 1000 students enrolled in one class in Google Classroom. MOOC's are usually free online courses offered by universities with no limit on enrollment. With Google Classroom, free, open online courses can be created and shared. I haven't seen this done yet, but I believe it is a possibility with the new open features of Google Classroom.

19. Face-to-Face PD Follow Up

One of the biggest complaints about professional development is the lack of follow-up. Google Classroom would be a great way to follow-up on professional learning and workshops. This is an excellent way to talk about classroom implementation and share examples, reflections on what worked and what didn't, and continue the learning beyond the workshop.

20. New Teacher Training

My first year of teaching was the hardest-by far! Most schools offer new teacher training and orientation for teachers that are new to the profession or new to the district to learn the ins and outs of procedures, tools available, and school initiatives. Let's leverage Google Classroom to deliver some of the new teacher training, offer support and guidance, and a way for new teachers to connect with each other.

What do you think? What would like to try or add to this list? Please leave a comment below.

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20 New Ways to Use Google Classroom [infographic] | Shake Up Learning

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PinterestExpand Your Use of Google Classroom Google has opened up Google Classroom to users outside of G Suite for Education. Users with a personal Google account can now both join and create classes. This opens so many doors for teachers, students, and parents to connect, collaborate and learn.

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We live in an increasingly visual world.

I first really noticed it in USA Today. I always loved those infographics in the bottom corner of the front page. I might not read any articles or open any other sections, but I always read the infographics.

Billboards. Magazine ads. Banner ads on websites. They're all laden with visuals. And we always seem to look at them.

Unfortunately, our classroom activities seldom reflect the stunning qualities of these visuals. We're often stuck with white pages with black text. Even the "Grey Lady" - the New York Times, named for its pages of black and white - even allows color visuals on its pages today!

Piktochart is a great web app that allows students to create products that other students will actually WANT to read. It lets students combine visuals, text and interactive web elements into a dynamic, eye-catching presentation.

It's free (of course!). It's powerful. It has tons of options. And the products created by it can be shared in many formats.

So why not jump in and give it a shot? Here are 20 ways Piktochart can be incorporated into the classroom:

1. Research papers - They're a staple of so many classes and are often the worst offenders of the "black and white" assignments. If the goal is information and writing skills, why not apply both of those to a graphic instead of pages of text that nobody will want to read?

2. Posters - These are classroom staples, too. But posters created on Piktochart have a much larger reach than poster board. Each Piktochart can be accessed online with a link, embedded on a website, or turned into a picture file to be attached anywhere online.

3. Character profile - So many subject areas study the lives of people. The interesting facts, photos and details of their lives can be added to one of Piktochart's pre-designed templates or designed on a blank canvas for submission as an assignment.

4. Class survey - Students have opinions on everything. Surveys incorporate human relations skills, math and analysis. Ask them anything and report the results in a stunning way.

5. Infographics - These were the draw to USA Today I mentioned earlier. Wonderful, fun, informative infographics are all over social media. Piktochart has icons and customizable data charts that can spice up any set of data.

6. Describe a step-by-step process - Demonstration is a necessary part of life. Use a graphical layout of the steps necessary to do anything, from making a peanut butter and jelly sandwich to using a complex tool online. Users will find the directions they need in an easy-to-digest format.

7. Agendas - Everyone has a schedule to follow, and history is full of timelines. Showing the chronological order of events, whether in the future or in the past, makes for easier remembering.

8. Compare and contrast - Any classroom does this on a regular basis. Lists of similarities and differences help us make sense of new material by comparing it to what we already know. Comparing and contrasting on a well organized page with visuals makes a powerful learning experience.

9. Ad or promotional campaign - Robert Louis Stevenson said, "Everyone lives by selling something." Ideas, products, even causes can be promoted. Students can use Piktochart to create a modern campaign to promote something (and demonstrating what they know about it along the way).

10. Visual storytelling - Who doesn't love reading a graphic novel or comic book? My daughter has read almost every (maybe every?) "Diary of a Wimpy Kid" book. Why? They're fun, and they combine graphics and text well. Another use of Piktochart!

11. Slideshow graphics - PowerPoint presentations can be dull without interesting slides. Create fantastic graphics for your presentations using Piktochart's icons and charts.

12. Do's and don'ts list - This one can also fit about any content area. Every subject has things you should do and you shouldn't do. These Piktocharts can be created by students as an assignment OR by teachers for their students.

13. Organizational chart - Showing the connections and relationships among several things is best done visually. These charts can show who reports to whom, who is related to whom or what connects to what.

14. Moving poster - Real-life posters are good. Piktochart posters are great. Moving posters, which incorporate embedded YouTube or Vimeo videos, are amazing!

15. Map charts - Piktochart allows users to connect data to maps of the United States or various parts of the world. Students will understand historical or social studies-related stats in a flash with a map chart.

16. Video collections - Choose any topic of study, and there are probably public videos on YouTube or Vimeo for them. Curate them in a Piktochart - or curate and organize student work in a Piktochart!

17. Lab reports - The results of science labs can come to life in visual form! Upload your own photos of the lab to a Piktochart and add charts of results to make them more easily legible.

18. School showcase - Great things happen in schools every day, and they can be documented in photos, video, quotes and more. With an attractive design, those great things can be sent to parents and stakeholders via e-mail newsletter or social media.

19. Principal's office report - The office always seems to have announcements and details to get out to students, parents and the community. An infographic with those details could be more interesting than digging facts out of a lengthy paragraph.

20. Announcements for events - Fliers get the message out, but a more visually inviting flier could capture attention that might have been missed otherwise. Include key info like time, date and location, and add additional images for flair!
Have you used Piktochart in class? If so, how? If not, which of these ideas sounds like a good one - or what's a good idea that isn't mentioned here? Leave your ideas in a comment below!

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20 ways to create classroom pizzazz with Piktochart

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We live in an increasingly visual world. I first really noticed it in USA Today. I always loved those infographics in the bottom corner of the front page. I might not read any articles or open any other sections, but I always read the infographics. Billboards. Magazine ads. Banner ads on websites.

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My students love to tweet. They share photos on Instagram. They know all the cool viral videos on YouTube.

They are expert digital collaborators, connecting with others to discuss topics near and dear to their hearts.

That's why I had them start blogging this year. Theirs is an online world, and I want them to be there when they engage with my content.

It's a work in progress, and I'll do it much differently next year than I did in this inaugural year. But I like the connections they make with each other when they blog and do it well.

After a year of experience and absorption of as many student blogging articles/chat comments/podcasts as possible, here are 20 things to consider:

1. Write about class and more: Connections to and opinions about class content are great, especially if students discuss via comments. But we're missing a great opportunity if we limit it to that. Kids don't automatically reflect on their lives and what's important to them. Their blog in your class may be their only opportunity.

2. Open topic posts are good: Richard Byrne of Free Tech for Teachers recently suggested that students reflect on what they've learned that week in a simple blog post. It could be open to all classes or just from your content area.

3. Go to their world: So what do they write about? Try to meet students in their world as much as possible. Making content touch their own lives is a connection that can last a lifetime. Pop culture, music, sports, etc. Listen to what they talk about in class. Example: How does one of their relationships mirror the relationship that two characters from your class have?

4. Let students pick: Open the floor for writing prompt suggestions. You might be surprised at the kinds of creative, relevant connections they make.

5. Teamwork works: Encourage students to connect with each other in their posts to make them more personal, and not just in the comments they leave. Q&A interviews and polls work well.

6. Do your homework: Encourage (or require) students to link facts in their posts to real-world sources. Hyperlink webpages. Cite hard-copy texts. Use direct quotes when citing a classmate's opinion.

7. Encourage readability: Good blog writing crosses over from the "real world" to the classroom. Catchy introductions. A "what's it about" paragraph early on. Bullet points and lists. Short paragraphs. Simple sentences. Conclusions with questions.

8. Reward out-of-class blogging: I believe in making student blogs a place where students want to go at home and on the go. I'm interested in trying incentives for after-hours activity (i.e. extra points/privileges, polls/games for interest, etc.) Real-time blog responses to events (i.e. school activities, news, etc.) can do this.

9. It takes time: I've found that rushing students to write and comment leads to shallow content. A little time can encourage a great digital conversation.

10. Emphasize clean copy: Online writing doesn't mean text-messaging writing conventions, and some students might miss that point if you don't bring it up. Solid spelling, grammar and idea development gives them credibility in the eyes of their readers.

11. But don't nitpick: Avoid the temptation to correct every spelling and grammar error. Real-life blog readers don't do that (not much at least!). Plus, it discourages their creativity and initiative. If a spelling/grammar pattern emerges, consider addressing it privately.

12. Good comments are key: Well-thought-out comments are online conversation jewels. Good ones add ideas/information to the discussion, insert personal experiences, provide insightful links/quotes, ask follow-up questions, etc.

13. Choose a stance on comments: I can see two schools of thought on comments: quantitative and qualitative. The quantitative stance has countable requirements (comments, words, etc.). It can assure participation but promotes an "I have to" mentality. The qualitative stance values quality of discussion over quantity but may result in less participation. A mix of both may be the best option.

14. Create respect: The lack of face-to-face communication in online discussions makes it easy to forget that real people actually read what we write. Students can become brazen with harsh comments if they don't remember the peers they're addressing. Civility should rule.

15. High-five good work: Find ways to promote quality blog posts and comments outside of the student blog. Mention them or post them in class. Add them to the class webpage. Include them in school newsletters. The sky is the limit.

16. Decide on privacy: Public student blogs can open children to the harshness and dangers of the real world, but they offer an authentic, global audience. Students thrive on outside-of-school comments. Link to student blog posts on Twitter with the #comments4kids hashtag to open them to a huge worldwide audience.

17. Find a medium: There are plenty of potential homes for your students' blogs. Richard Byrne lists several in this post. They range from the basic ( Kidblog, Edublogs, Blogger) to the complex (self-hosted WordPress).

18. Break the economic barrier: Students without home Internet access are at a disadvantage. Help them find Internet time in school (study hall, library time, computer lab time, before/after school time) or out of school (at a library, a friend's house, etc.). A phone call or e-mail to a parent could uncover the answer.

19. Cumulative products are good: Find an end-of-the-year product students can create using their blog posts. They could create a book (print or PDF ebook), derive a Weebly website, compile a top-10 list of posts or comments.

20. Reflection is good, too: When students look over their work for a year, they can see how they've grown as a writer, a learner and a person. They relearn important lessons. They combat the "I didn't learn anything in that class" mindset.

What are your experiences and lessons learned from using student blogs? What encourages or discourages you from trying them? What are your reactions to these suggestions? Please tell us in a comment below!

(For notifications of new Ditch That Textbook content and helpful links, "like" Ditch That Textbook on Facebook and follow @jmattmiller on Twitter!)

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My students love to tweet. They share photos on Instagram. They know all the cool viral videos on YouTube. They are expert digital collaborators, connecting with others to discuss topics near and dear to their hearts. That's why I had them start blogging this year.

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Ed Tech

There's a good chance you've done the "write on a sticky note and put it on the wall" activity - or have seen it happen before.
Padlet lets those sticky notes have images, links and videos AND be available with practically any Internet-ready device.
It used to be blocked by my school's Internet filter. This school year, the powers that be have allowed it through on student devices, opening up lots of possibilities in class!

Padlet is a great place for gathering ideas, sharing them and modifying them later. It's like a living, breathing webpage. Users can add links, YouTube videos, files and images to Padlet notes. They can move and arrange them. A link to a Padlet can be shared and Padlets can be embedded into webpages.

Here are 20 ways to use Padlet in class:

15. Collect videos to share in class

Looking for FREE Tech Like A PIRATE resources?
You'll find a treasure trove of additional ideas and activities related to t ​ ​​​​he book at TechLikeAPirate.com!

Looking for some more ideas? These sites have them!
Do you have an idea of how you could use Padlet in class? Post it in a comment below!

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©2023 Ditch That Textbook by Matt Miller.

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20 useful ways to use Padlet in class now

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Padlet is a web app that lets users post notes on a digital wall. The uses for this site in the classroom are virtually endless!There's a good chance

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Creative Ideas for Research Reports and Papers

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Creative Ideas for Research Reports and Papers

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In high school and college, I suffered through quite a few research reports and papers. I gathered data, cited sources, followed MLA style and double spaced.

I turned in my papers. Then I never did anything else with them.

I still have one political science paper I wrote hiding out in a trunk full of papers in my basement. The rest have been pitched in the "cylindrical file", never to be seen again.

The merits of doing research and creating these reports and papers are valid. When they create them, students ...

Gather information

Evaluate sources

Organize and synthesize data

Form ideas and cohesive thoughts

Create a polished, finished product

Cite where they got their information

Here's the problem, though: the finished product just isn't very relevant to the real world, be it in the workforce or in people's personal lives.
Reports and papers often end up where mine always did - in the trash.
If students are going to do their best work to learn and create, shouldn't it be in a form they can be proud of - and that they want to show others?
I think it's time that we turn research reports and papers on their heads. Here are 10 creative alternatives:
1. Websites. By making a free website using tools like Weebly and Google Sites, students are much more likely to attract eyeballs to their work. Websites can be shared easily, and they live on when people stumble upon them through Google searches. When students publish their work to a website, they're creating a positive digital footprint as well.

2. Infographics. Have you seen those super long infographics that you have to scroll down through to see all the information? They're all over Pinterest and other social media. Here are two great tools that will help your students create them:

Piktochart can turn a report or paper into a flashy eye-catching visual. Start with a predesigned template or use the graphics, text and other goodies to create your own from scratch. (Here's a post I wrote with 20 ways to create classroom pizzazz in class with Piktochart.)

Canva provides a drag-and-drop interface that students can use create beautiful designs. Start with a perfectly-sized infographic template and add the text and visuals you want. Then save them as image files for the web or in PDF format for sharing and printing.

3. Google Drawings interactive posters. Gathering lots of information for a report or paper onto a poster board might be impossible (or require teeny tiny text!). A Google Drawings interactive poster ( see post on this here) fits the in-depth research genre better because it can be a jumping off point for more information. Use a Google Drawing to present some visuals. Then, create links from that poster to Google Docs or other resources that provide more information about the topic. Be sure to use a live hyperlink (Ctrl+K is the keyboard shortcut) to get readers where they want to go.

4. Linked YouTube videos. Researchers gather information and present it in video format in front of an audience of millions every day. It's called television news. Students can create short videos on the different segments of their report or paper. Then, they can upload them to YouTube and link them together using annotations. It becomes an interactive video version of their reports. See this example I did with a post I wrote on Google Classroom.

5. ThingLinks. ThingLink lets students create clickable hotspots on an image. Students use an image (either use a pre-existing one, an information-based one like a map or a chart, or create one with a tool like Google Drawings or PicMonkey). Then, they add clickable dots to important parts of that image. Those clickable dots can take readers to sources already existing on the Web or to Google Docs or other sources created by students. See ThingLink's website for examples of how this awesome tool works.

6. Radio shows. Programs like "This American Life" and other audio documentaries do a phenomenal job of creating long-form stories and journalistic presentations in an engaging way. With some planning, students could record a compelling podcast/radio show presentation about their content. They could add interviews, sound effects, background audio from a site like a restaurant or a bus station, etc. Use tools like Audioboom (upload audio so others can listen to it) and Audacity / Garage Band (for mixing audio). Can be simple or complex.

7. News broadcast. In No. 4 above, we used short video clips to create an interactive video presentation. But news broadcasts generally aren't very interactive. Students could create a news show, blending video, images, sound and effects together using a tool like WeVideo or Camtasia Studio. It could be uploaded to a class YouTube channel where others could watch.

8. Info/image slide show. The "Did You Know?/Shift Happens" videos created by Karl Fisch and Scott McLeod have been viewed millions of times on YouTube. They've taught us about rapid changes happening globally, and we willingly watched because they were engaging. These text-based slideshow videos can be very popular, and students can create them with YouTube's photo slideshow tool or Animoto ( free for educators).

9. Aurasma aura poster. This one actually utilizes poster board, but it's so much more than the standard poster. With Aurasma (an iPad app), students can create auras. An aura is a video or image that displays over something in real life when you look at it through the camera in the Aurasma app. ( Here's an example of how it works.) Students can create auras for different images on their posters. When the viewer scans the images with the Aurasma app, it displays videos or images with more information.

10. Google Slides slide book. I'm all for ditching textbooks, and this is a great way to do that. Instead of using a standard textbook, students can show their understanding by creating an interactive, engaging one! In place of reports and papers, students could create a slide book like this one (created by Matt Macfarlane, a teacher who provides this to his students). Notice the images, links to sites and embedded videos.

[reminder]How else could we improve on research reports and papers? Which of these are you most likely to use?[/reminder]
For notifications of new Ditch That Textbook content and helpful links: Interested in having Matt present at your event or school? Contact him by e-mail! Matt is scheduled to present at the following upcoming events:
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10 creative alternatives to research reports and papers

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In high school and college, I suffered through quite a few research reports and papers. I gathered data, cited sources, followed MLA style and double