The Voice of the Active Learner: Education from a Digital Native’s Perspective (YouTube link)
Maps and mapping tools can reach so many content areas and grade levels:
These mapping tools can take students places the bus can’t. Go to: DitchThatTextbook.com/mapping
Google Maps: http://maps.google.com
Google Maps Treks: https://www.google.com/maps/about/treks/#/grid
Animation. This is a great hack (i.e. non-traditional use) of Google Slides that could take some time to complete but yield amazing results. Check out this video, where the creators made an impressive animation with 450 slides in a Google Slides presentation just by clicking through the slides quickly.
Interactive posters. Google Drawings are great for bringing images, text and shapes together. Those elements combine for a great digital poster. But these digital posters are way better than a regular one made of poster board. Various elements in the poster can be clicked, delivering webpages and other online content to viewers.
Make video. These tools will help students use their creativity to make and share good-looking video.
Photo comic strips. Take photos of students using a webcam and add them to a Google Drawing. Add speech bubbles to the photos. Then save those images and add each one to a different slide in a Google Slides presentation. Here’s a Google Site about Comics with Google Tools and Creativity Games for examples and more details.
Graphic organizers. Drawings gives users a blank canvas where they can add text, shapes, lines, etc. When done, they can save their work as image files or PDF files and can add those images to documents, slides and spreadsheets. It’s a perfect medium for creating graphic organizers. I’ve created 15 of them that can be copied, saved, changed, tweaked or completely redone to fit your needs and your students’ needs.
Shared presentations. Create a presentation with one slide per student and give students permission to edit it. Then assign an activity — some quick Internet research, a writing prompt, an image search to find an example, etc. When they’re done, show the presentation on a projector. It’s student work instantly on display.
For more fun, creative uses of Google Apps, go to:
Use free technology tools and engagement hooks from “Teach Like a PIRATE” to create exciting learning opportunities your students won’t want to miss!
Go to: DitchThatTextbook.com/pirate to get your copy of Matt’s free ebook, “The Digital PIRATE” and to see examples of several of the activities that YOU can use in your classroom.
Using social media is a great way to gather new ideas and connect with other educators like you. Using Twitter professionally as an educator has had the greatest impact on my teaching of anything in my career!
My Twitter for Teachers guide: DitchThatTextbook.com/twitter
Some social media resources to check out:
If we want students to practice new skills with homework, the feedback loop is pretty long … often two days or more from assigning to returning to students. Shorten the feedback loop with some of these great tools to assess your students. Plus, they’re a lot of fun! Go to: DitchThatTextbook.com/gameshow
Google Hangouts: hangouts.google.com
Skype: skype.com
Facetime (iPad, iPhone)
Let’s take some time to process what we’ve learned and thought about today. (video)
Plus:
Click here to learn more about Matt. Click here to see Matt’s book, Ditch That Textbook, on Amazon.
Matt Miller is available to present at your school or event! He presents to thousands of teachers all around the United States on a wide variety of technology and innovative instruction topics. See his “Work With Matt” page for more details.