Create a Figurative Language Poster

Figurative language spirals through the Common Core (CCSS) along with the seemless integration of research and technology. Why not combine the three to create figurative language posters?

ArtSkills.com is a free tool to create attractive posters . I used this tool to create my posters this time for a change of pace and appreciated the options available to ensure success.  

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Digital Literacy Badge #3 - Savvy Searcher

Why do so many students choose Wikipedia from search results even though the reading level is relatively high?

Familiar results, like McDonalds, you always know what you're going to get.

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Digital Literacy Badge #2 - Curate Your Content

Why Curate?

Collect, organize, store and manage web content in flexible ways to allow for shared resources that are accessible online. Use bookmarklets for efficient one click content collection. Enjoy the social aspect as you are ultimately connected to the ideas of others.

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3 Ways to Embrace Change This Year

Teachers embracing technology to support the Common Core and new ways of teaching may want to get organized and prepared for some positive changes. Here are 3 ways to get  ready for change in the New Year.

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Digital Literacy Badge #1 - Design Your Digital Self

Design Your Digital Self - Promoting Digital Literacy

An activity intended for all

My Digital Self - blogmaster

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Digital Literacy Badges

Set a Goal and Earn a Badge! It's simple.

In an attempt to promote digital literacy and contribute positively to implementation of the Common Core I am pleased to introduce Beye Badges. 

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Class Badges for 1-1 Goal Setting

Class Badges is a free online tool designed to help teachers use digital badges as rewards for accomplishing learning goals. The badges can be a useful tool for teachers to keep track of individual student accomplishments as they help learners focus on making progress.

Teachers can request a free account to generate a class code for students. Just add your students and choose from the many available badges. If you are in need of a unique badge of your own you can work with the folks at Class Badges to have them create it for you.

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A Google Docs Template for Multimedia Research

The Google Docs Presentation is well-suited for use as a starting point  for short student driven research projects because of the availability of efficient integrated research tools right on the page. To introduce students and teachers to the built in features, I created a  simple template to guide the learning and help everyone discover the usefulness of the tool. 

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An Updated Digital Differentiation Model

This is part of a Digital Differentiation model, my way i of weaving a web of flexible tools together for teaching and learning. To keep the model relevant, frequent updates are required, as new tools and trends emerge. 

To access the most current resources, please click on the tab at the top of this blog:

Digital Differentiation - Current 

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A Guide to Facilitating an Interactive Learning Project

I have been creating a lot of student projects that use ThingLink as a tool for learning. I have also received a handful of questions from teachers who are highly interested in facilitating a similiar project of their own, but need help with the management involved.

"With so much active student engagement, how do you manage a project like this?"

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A Playlist: Avatars & Internet Safety

For as long as I can remember I've been using avatars to teach Internet safety. It's a fun and engaging way to teach students the importance of protecting their identities when they are online and a great prelude to using a variety of web 2.0 tools to support the curriculum.

I just collected some of the resources I regularly use and created a  MentorMob  playlist for teaching students about Avatars and Internet Safety. If you want to use the playlist with your own students, just click the Share Playlist link at the bottom, then copy and paste the embed code into your own page.

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