Learning from Twitter & Hashtags
I've become extremely fond of the support and creative ideas found online via twitter. Below are a few resources I've found while exploring the site. (Note: there are a bunch of ideas to be found through #iste2016, check it out! Another great source of new ideas from this conference is this article from KQED's Mind Shift series online.)
Sketch Notes
What is "sketch-noting"? Just as simple as it sounds, sketch-noting is when you use a sketch or a visual to take notes or to describe a concept. It has recently become popular as a way to organize information as well as to create more visually appealing presentations. Great examples can be found on youtube in the form of RSA animations (check out this sketch-note animation of Sir Ken Robinson's lecture on the education system), on Matt Miller's site, Ditch That Textbook, or on twitter by searching #sketchnote.
Sketchnotes can help students and presenters to highlight important points or concept through its visual presentation. The best thing about them is that anyone can create them at anytime for any purpose. However, if you'd like some support, check out this article by Smashing Magazine. |
Flippity
Flippity is a site that allows you to turn google spreadsheets into a number of different mediums including flashcards, quiz and trivia games, MadLibs, and a vocab list. Flippity can even operate as a random name generator, a progress indicator, a badge tracker, and as a place for students to take quizzes for the sake of certification.
Safeshare.tv
As a music educator, I will want to show certain performances to my students. A challenge to using youtube, however, is that the advertisements and comments may not be appropriate for my students. Using SafeShare.tv, I can safely show performances to my students without fear of what may be shown along with the video. The site uses the url of the video to create a presentation free of ads and comments. The video can even be downloaded if desired.
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@EduColorMVMT
Finally, one of my favorite discoveries from this time of Twitter exploration was through #educolor. While this hashtag did not lead me to cool apps, or teaching strategies, it led me to something far more important in my opinion – an open dialogue about race and our children's education. Through it, I found postings from educators and activists all over America who share content they find to be beneficial in creating the world we want our students to thrive in.
On this page I found out about @EduColorMVMT where the organization posts articles regarding social justice and education, often featuring pieces from teachers trying new things or sharing opinion. I think that in a challenging time such as the one we're in, a community of educator dedicated to conversing about these matters and serving as a think/action tank for innovation in our field is absolutely necessary. I'm excited to see what I can learn and how I can help progress through participation in these discussions.