It has been a while since I used it though, so for this assignment I needed some help to recall the name of it so I could log back in to my established free account and share that activity from the past.

I found the help that I was looking for in the following article:

6 Alternatives to Padlet
By Richard Byrne

Dotstorming
As quoted from the Richard Byrne's article:
"Dotstorming was built for people to share ideas in the form of digital sticky notes and then vote for their favorite ideas. It works well for that purpose. Students do not need to have email addresses in order to vote on notes posted on Dotstorming. A free account allows you to have three topic boards at a time. The paid account ($5/month) gives you unlimited access. There is also a school-wide pricing plan. Watch my video embedded below to learn how to use Dotstorming." 

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My favorite PAID RESOURCE Tech Tool in the entire world is Noodletools, which I have used to complete the following Reference page. I will continue to store my references here for this course. This is a paid resource (Common School Funds) though, so I listed my favorite FREE resource above.

Byrne, R. (2018, April 8). 6 Alternatives to Padlet. Practical Ed Tech. Retrieved October 9, 2021, from https://practicaledtech.com/2018/04/08/6-alternatives-to-padlet/

 

I viewed this entire Pear Deck training https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w0Xex3Yq9aU in order to be able to understand Pear Deck and complete this assignment. In the beginning the trainer mentioned that this is better than gameplay, because it helps students to get better at the process of learning. The interactive piece also keeps all students more engaged, rather than having just the same few students answer all the questions. It gives them safety and comfort in trying to answer because anything projected up front is always anonymous. Due to that it fosters a growth mindset atmosphere as well. She mentioned that teachers can view (privately) how students are doing. This helps teachers identify the students that may need some additional support after the lesson; and helps teachers to form groups based on that information as well.

I found a lot of articles supporting interactive learning. I chose an article by Scholastic because they focus on books as well as interactive learner supports. https://www.scholastic.com/parents/family-life/social-emotional-learning/technology-and-kids/understanding-interactive-learning.html 

I like how this article mentions interactive vs.“passive” learning. Passive learning is boring and makes you fall asleep. Those are definitely my words. Interactive learning is more engaging and let’s students develop and practice critical thinking skills. This article also mentioned that interactive learning allows students to use their imagination more and also practice more teamwork skills.

I (of course) agree that interactive lessons are very important, so I'm happy the lesson video about Pear Deck showed how to continue to use the free Pear Deck account! : )  Thank you!

LibMedia 434/634 
Karrlin Bain
LESSON FIVE: 
Interactive Lesson


Go to 

https://app.peardeck.com/student/tndhevzmh 

   to complete the which is a REVIEW of our recent RESEARCH Lessons.

COORDINATED GOOGLE SLIDESHOW:

https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1QHZWOKCvYCZcFwrQpgqY4w1yDstH-pP_rsx11QjqG4c/edit?usp=sharing

We have Ozobots and I will use this on my library ~ staff resources checkout website.

I have been promoting the Breakout EDU Platform and more and more teachers are requesting to be added. I have been sharing all of the support information with teachers so the response has been good, with teachers taking the initiative to reach back out to me to get their account added. That is great because they are getting it because they want it, and not just because I have added them automatically.

One of the ES teachers just reserved the Ozobots for this coming week, so they will be used in the classroom. This person is on a grade level team where they tend to do the same things, so I believe the Ozobots will make their rounds through that grade level teams rooms as per usual.

Last year the Green Screen materials (that the library program provides and uses) were greatly increased with teacher support, so I know those items will be used. 

Both the ES and the MS have strong morning announcements with live videos going out daily, by students to each of their schools. These are very impressive and are run out of the library program with other teacher/counselor/staff and library assistant support.

The beginning of the year is a bit of a rush due to getting going, and then a huge Homecoming stretch, and then all of the Holidays. This is a time where regular instruction is strong and special projects tend to pop up more right at the beginning of January and stretch through the end of the year.

Kinders and Grade 1 have OSMOS as part of the weekly/daily lineup (checked out from the library program) so I don't even think to mention that. 

The middle school Tech Teacher partners with the library program in a drone instruction program; and that is in the development stages so if it is not happening yet it will be soon. This is a program I'm excited about and involved with at a small level, including some basic instruction in my classes planned for January or beyond.

That same teacher runs a strong robotics program that the library program also partners with, so that is ongoing. Other teachers have Coding built in to their curriculum so I also don't think to mention that, but it is ongoing.

I am sure there is more going on that I'm not aware of. There are so many strong individuals in our District and it is great how everyone steps up to carry out strong STEM themselves, and to help others to do the same.