Diary of a Digital Learning Coach

This post originally appeared on megankozar.weebly.com and was written by my teammate,    Megan Kozar   I am so excited to share a new creative collaboration tool from Google called Jamboard! The Jamboard app works like a digital whiteboard BUT it allows multiple people to work on the same "Jam" at one time and gives you the ability to insert content from the web and/or Google Drive.  You can create a new jam or join an existing one to take collaborative notes, share project ideas, or teach a new idea live. Users do not have to be in the same room together to work inside of a Jam! https://jamboard.google.com/   Note: Google has made a physical board called a Jamboard that works with the Jamboard app. The Jamboard app can be used as a stand alone tool without the physical board.      Learn how to use some of the features in the Jamboard app by watching the quick 5 minute video! ...

As I pulled into the campus parking lot last Thursday, which also happened to be Digital Learning Day, I received a text.  It went something like this: Create at Imgflip The internet is down is not something ANY of us wants to hear.  It is inconvenient and most of the time throws our best laid plans out the window. But as the time ticked on and I kept hearing the half-hearted laughs of a no internet Digital Learning Day (many from myself), I began to think...why does everything have to stop?  Digital learning is not about tools.  It's about creating. It's about processing thinking.  It's about more than just connecting via the web. You might remember that I am on a mission this year to really explore how to better provide deeper learning experiences through Apple devices. So I challenged myself to make a list of all the things that worked on my iPad, even with no internet.   What I found was...well, awesome.   Many...

Hi friends! Are you having learners create thinking maps for processing their thinking?  Check out the template below made in Keynote by my teammate Kelly - open it on a Mac or iPad.  The template can be shared with learners to manipulate and create thinking maps using the Keynote app. Thinking Maps Keynote Template  Note: Open link on an iPad or Mac, tap download to view the file. Do you like this resource?  Check out An Apple a Week - each week, my team and I are highlighting some different Apple programs and how they can be used in the classroom.  I invite you to click on the Apple a Day link at the top of the blog to read OR listen to our accompanying podcast. Happy Learning!

Did you know?  The Pic Collage app has some settings that you can enable to eliminate web searches and social features?   Simply find Pic Collage in your Settings App Disable social features and web searches And voila! Your learners will not see as much of the extra "noise" in the app! Why is this important?  Well, we want our learners to get used to searching for images that are copyright free and age appropriate.  Our librarians are AWESOME resources in how to use some of our great library databases including Image Quest for this.  Also, but eliminating the social features, we ensure that learners can focus only on their content and creativity. Have questions?  Just let me know!  

My love affair with iOS11 continues this week with a small nugget of awesome found within the native Notes app. Like most mind blowing things, this tip is small, but mighty. Let's take a quick look at how the Notes App has been redesigned in iOS11 to allow you as an educator to scan and mark up documents.   And, just in case you wondered, the Notes App can be great for our learners too!   Intrigued?  Want to learn more?   Check out what else Notes can do:  https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT205773 What awesome small nuggets of learning have rocked your world lately?  Let me know in the comments!

Some days as a DLC I am reminded that my job is pretty fun.  Tinkering with new things helps me learn and being the learning nerd I am, that makes me pretty happy.   The other day,  I took some time to explore a new app from Apple, Clips .  Clips lets you create movies using a series of video, transition and subtitle clips.  It makes movie creation a little more fun, while being super easy too.   Things I love about Clips : no login needed start and stop recording seamlessly filters to make videos more interesting subtitles automatically added when recording - great for ELL's and emergent readers easy title slide editing import media or record from the app music options that don't distract share to camera roll or open in other apps What would #dlcoachalli do with Clips ? Make nerdy example videos for introducing content (like on my blog!) Have learners explain the steps in a process, create a procedural text video or reflection of l...

This week I'd love to encourage you to learn by doing!  I've talked a little about Flipgrid with some of you and I know some of you are thinking of using it soon or have had learners use it during  Jodie Deinhammer's Earth Day global project . So instead of me writing about it, let's have some fun...no stress, you get to wear your learner hat for this exercise! Step 1 Download the Flipgrid App  and enter my grid by using the code   xy69faa or  Go to directly to my FlipGrid by following this link  https://flipgrid.com/xy69faa Step 2 Pick one (or more) of my topics and record a short video response. Don't let me be the only one talking to myself! Step 3 (optional, but fun)  Watch someone else's video responses. Y ou do not need to set up an account to participate as a learner in a grid, but you would want to if you decide to create one to use with your class. Educators get one grid like my example above to host video topics...

Welcome to a Thursday edition of Teach Me Something Tuesday.  Today, I will be trying not to squeal with glee as I write because, drumroll please, I think my teammate and friend, Leigh Ann Howard may have found us an alternative to Explain Everything for our kids.   Know Recorder is a screencasting/whiteboard app.  It has many similar features as Explain Everything, allows you to save your video directly to the camera roll for easy uploading and sharing,  You heard that correctly.   Don't get me wrong.  I love Explain Everything and will continue to use my educator license.  But when I think of our elementary kids that do not currently have Explain Everything, I am overjoyed.  We have a ton of screencasting tools available, but many have moved toward a paid model or have limited features.  We have needed an easy to use way for them to record their thinking through drawing, inserting pictures and interacting with whiteboard tools. W...

Are you a big fan of the Notability app?  Wish our elementary kids had access?   Gather around, friends.  I'd like to change your life.   For a recent webinar I co-hosted, my teammates and I were able to find a solution that mimics most of what we love about the Notability app for FREE.  In fact, it is an app that is native to our iPads which means that no download is even needed in order for our kids to annotate PDFs, create sketch notes and make meaning through note taking.   The best part? This app works seamlessly with Schoology.   Ladies and Gentlemen, you think you know the Notes app on your iPad, but you have no idea.   Check out this short excerpt from our recent Webinar that shows how to use the Notes app to annotate a PDF and share to a Schoology assignment.   Want to hear more hidden Apple Gems like this one? Check out the  full webinar recording  with this and 3 other amazing tips! Are you as p...

Have you ever wished you had a library of digital books that was customized to the interests of each learner from your class? What if those books were not only digital, but included read to me and audiobooks as well? Well, my friends, meet Epic! No, Epic! is not some brand new, shiny digital tool that will transform your entire classroom world with one click or tap.  One app rarely can.  In case you missed my earlier posts, learning is not about the tool.   But Epic! is an app that provides an online digital library that is customized to learner interest.  It won't solve every problem you ever had, but it can be a great resource in your toolbelt to promote reading and provide learners with different reading choices. It isn't new, but it has purpose.   For the learner who's read everything in your classroom library.  For the time you wish the library had just a few more weather books.  For the reader that just isn't feeling motiva...

Once upon a time it was summer.  I enjoyed long days of relaxing by the pool. I stayed up late and binge-watched a ton of Netflix. Back in those lazy days, I excitedly saved a ton of things from my Twitter feed, thinking I had plenty of time to explore and tell our educators all about them later.   And then, well, the school year happened. As I slowly dig myself out from under the first quarter of the school year, I did something I very rarely remember to do.  I circled back. And so...I give you...my Recap of RecapThat, a great video reflection resource that almost went forgotten in my bookmarks.   RecapThat in Action Image used with permission from RecapThat RecapThat is a video reflection curation tool.  As an educator, I set up an account and class on the web version of RecapThat .  Kids are able to join the class by email address or class code.  (I chose to use the class code - so easy).   Recap lets you record and/or write a...

To those who know me and my obsession with puppets, this post will come as no surprise. After all, a Kindergarten teacher turned Digital Learning Coach has a huge soapbox to stand on.   Why?   Because little kids can. We've come a long way from sand tables and letter of the week. Why? Because little kids can. Our learners now have a world at their fingertips and have never known a world with no internet. They are not afraid to click and tap and explore.  Why? Because little kids can. Last week, I focused my learning on exploring a range of apps by Duck Duck Moose , the makers of Chatterpix Kids. They produce a bunch of easy to use apps that are FREE.  One I loved in particular is the Draw and Tell app , which lets our kids illustrate, write and record stories that can have multiple scenes.   I couldn't just learn on my own...so I asked some 1st graders to help.  Why not?  They took about 10 minutes with me to learn the basics of...