Diary of a Digital Learning Coach

I am so excited to be partnering with our awesome Media Specialists more this year! These 2 awesome ladies and their team are TOP NOTCH and they have inspired me to share a few resources for Dot Day (Sept. 15), a celebration of creativity and individuality.   What is Dot Day and how can it be celebrated?  My friend, Cynthia Alaniz ( @utalaniz ), created this S'more that explains it beautifully.  You'll also be able to learn about what she is doing with our campus this week!   I 'm also excited to partner with Melinda Mangum ( @melmangum ) at my other campus.  We will be working with our Breakout EDU kits to try this Dot Day Breakout with our learners! Other Dot Day 2017 Awesomeness My amazing teammate, Amanda Rogers ( @TheEdsaneT ) and our Math Director for the district, Mary Kemper  ( @MrsKemper ) created a global FlipGrid Project for anyone to "Leave their Mark" for Dot Day! Image Credit:  Amanda Rogers and Mary Kemper ...

I'd love to blame this late Teach Me Tuesday post on the STAAR tests we gave this week, but truthfully, there is another reason I am a couple days late - my new obsession with helping educators create digital BreakoutEDU experiences. What is a Digital Breakout ? Well, think escape room for education.  Learners are challenged to "unlock" a series of puzzles tied to their content using different Web 2.0 sites and Google forms.  When they successfully complete the challenges, they have "broken out".   Take this one for example ...I worked with some 4th grade educators on one to help kick off their Life Science unit.  Learners are partnered up and must complete the scenario of being lost at the zoo using only the clues provided and what they know about adaptations, producers and consumers to figure out how to unlock a Google Form using codes. Digital Breakouts can be a great way to switch things up and keep kids engaged and active as they construct meani...