Creating Digital Notebooks with Google Slides @ Catlin Tucker

Creating Digital Notebooks with Google Slides

Catlin Tucker: 8.02.2019

In my role as a blended learning coach, I work with a lot of teachers who are intrigued by the idea of digital notebooks. They recognize the value of having student integrate text and media in an online notebook. They also like the idea of housing student work in a central location that is viewable to both the student and the teacher.

Teachers working with younger kids or special needs groups may not want their students posting their work online for a global audience. A simple alternative to creating a digital notebook using a website creator is to use Google Slides to create digital notebooks for each unit.

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The benefits of a digital notebook for students include the ability to:

➧ Insert media (photos, images, videos), charts, and tables to complement their notes. If they enjoy writing notes by hand, they can take a photo of those notes and insert them into their digital notebooks.

➧ Add additional slides.

➧ Add to and reference their work from any device.

➧ Create artifacts of their learning that can be shared easily with parents.

➧ Reflect on their learning and growth with an embedded reflective blog.

➧ Add comments and tag the teacher to ask questions and/or request support.

READ MORE ➤➤

Automatic Readability Checker

Based on 7 readability formulas:

Grade Level: 1

Reading Level: fairly difficult to read.

Reader's Age: 15-17 yrs. old

(Tenth to Eleventh graders)

Information and Critical Literacy in the Web World @ Linking Learning

Information and Critical Literacy in the Web World

Linking Learning:  10.13.2014 by Kay Oddone

This is the first of three posts which focus on information and critical literacy. This first post outlines the importance of developing information and critical literacy. The second post will give specific strategies and tools to use when evaluating information found online, while the third post focuses on verification of social media. Slides to support these blog posts are available on Slideshare.

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We need to develop skills in what Howard Rheingold calls ‘Crap Detection – knowledge of how to find and verify accurate, useful information – or basic information literacy for the internet age. This type of literacy is something which must be taught to students, and which must be brought to the attention of anyone who uses the internet as an information source – which, it seems, in Australia at least, is most people.

Getting ‘REAL’ with web evaluation

Linking Learning: 10.13.2014 by Kay Oddone

This is the second post in the series on developing critical and information literacy. The first post explored the need for critical literacy when learning from the web. This post explores strategies, tools and techniques for evaluating and verifying the credibility of information discovered online. The third and final post explores social media and how to verify its validity.

The ability to publish to a global audience is within the reach of anyone with a device and an internet connection. Identifying the signal in the noise is a challenge for anyone, and is a skill that must be taught. Fortunately there are many tools and tricks that make this easier.

Alan November, is an international consultant who is known around the world for his work in educational technology. He presents a great strategy for students (and anyone!) to apply whenever they are researching and need to confirm the reliability of the source of their information. He calls it the ‘REAL’ test. REAL stands for:

1. READ the URL:

When browsing the web or doing research, it is easy to follow one link after another, ending up somewhere completely different to where you started. Reading the URL in the location bar is the best way to answer the question where am I?.

2. Examine the site’s content and history:

The currency of a webpage can often be seen by the date at the base of the page. However this only really tells you when the page text was copyrighted or last published. How can you see if the information is regularly updated, or if the website has changed over time?

3. Ask about the publisher or the author:

Using a domain lookup service like easywhois, you can see who owns the site or who has published the material.

4. Look at the links:

Students usually only search using one search engine. They also believe that the top hits are the most important.

Tricks to find the truth: Information literacy and social media

Linking Learning:  10.13.2014 by Kay Oddone

This is the third and final in the blog series on developing information and critical literacy skills for identifying quality information online. After exploring why these skills are important, in the first post, and then investigating the grammar of websites in the second post, this final post provides some tools to consider when verifying information which has been published via social media such as Twitter and YouTube.

A Pew Research paper on how teens research in the digital world  found that 52% of students access YouTube or other social media sites when searching for information for their assignments. Although not perhaps considered a traditional source of information, sites such as Twitter and YouTube are increasingly being accessed as a ‘way in’ to complex topics. These sources too require specific skills to identify reliable, accurate and quality information, perhaps even more so that websites. This is because the nature of social media is that it is designed often for quickly uploading and sharing information; there is very little skill level required to post to social media, vs the skills needed for web publishing; therefore an even larger group is publishing content which may or may not be correct. The personal nature of many posts also means that it is very open to bias, and the social nature means that scams, jokes and misleading posts are much more likely.

A fantastic and interesting way to learn more about how to verify information discovered via social media is to explore the work of the modern journalist. Often, information about breaking events is caught or reported by citizens ‘on the ground’, and is shared via social media much more quickly than traditional news services can. Therefore, for journalists reporting on news as it happens, often extensive investigation must take place to ensure the photo, video or blog post is verifiable, and not simply for notoriety or hoax value.

The Verification Handbook is a really interesting read (and free to download) which shares a range of tools and strategies for how journalists verify information, using real case studies.  READ MORE ➤➤

Automatic Readability Checker

Based on 7 readability formulas:

Grade Level: 12

Reading Level: difficult to read.

Reader's Age: 17-18 yrs. old

(Twelfth graders)

Lifelong Learning is the Antidote to the Shifting Workforce ▬ Getting Smart

Lifelong Learning is the Antidote to the Shifting Workforce

Getting Smart: 8.03.2020

When the COVID-19 pandemic hit the U.S., K-12 schools and four-year colleges were forced to rapidly shift to online formats and students had to adapt to learning at home. To meet the demand, individuals and organizations quickly shared resources to help teachers support student success. 

But in the field of adult learning—basic skills education, community college, and workforce development—there were far fewer resources available. What kinds of changes occurred in those sectors? How can practitioners in those fields support their worker-learners and job-seekers in upskilling and maintaining continuity with their education journeys in a remote world?

The economic downturn that accompanied the pandemic will continue to trigger unemployment as well as budget cuts, and funding for adult learning agencies and upskilling is sure to be impacted. There’s a tendency to reduce funding for such programs when budgets are tight. But disinvesting in training learner-workers could cause organizations to risk missing out on the very opportunities created by the downturn.

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Looking ahead to a healthier, fully functioning economy, what skills, knowledge and mindsets will learner-workers need? Getting them prepared now for what the future brings shows a true commitment to learner-workers and job seekers, as access to quality and relevant skill-building opportunities creates greater career and economic mobility.

Expanding Adult Education in the Digital Age

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So how can adult education and workforce training programs adapt and innovate to ensure they’re adequately supporting worker-learners? We asked our friends at EdTech Center @ World Education what they’ve found successful. They shared that while you can leverage technology to personalize and differentiate learning, you need to pay attention to the following considerations when working with adult learners:

➤ Offer multimedia-rich distance learning resources. Adult learners need more than just one way to understand content. Learners with limited English literacy rely on video and audio to engage with learning content.

➤ Texting is an excellent way to reach adult learners. Since over 96% of adults in the U.S. have mobile phones and all but 15% of those are Wi-Fi-enabled smart devices, adults from all demographic and socioeconomic groups use texting regularly.

➤ Employ proactive onboarding and support—even from a distance. Don’t wait for learners to come to you with questions. Start outreach with a technology that is known to learners, like WhatsApp or even a phone call.

➤ Don’t assume you know what learners can and cannot do. It’s important to ask them what technologies they have access to and can use before you design your upskilling program.  READ MORE ➤➤

Automatic Readability Checker

Based on 7 readability formulas:

Grade Level: 11

Reading Level: difficult to read.

Reader's Age: 15-17 yrs. old

(Tenth to Eleventh graders)

Critical 21st Century Skills Every Student Needs and Why via Wabisabi

Literacy is Not Enough 

The Critical 21st Century Skills Every Student Needs and Why

No pupil in the history of education is like today’s modern learner.

Wabisabi Learning: 4.21.2020

Preparing a child for the world that doesn’t yet exist is not an easy task for any teacher. Step back and look at that picture from a broad perspective. What are the critical 21st century skills every student needs to survive and succeed in our world? What abilities and traits will serve them in a time that’s changing and developing so rapidly?

This is a complex, energetic, and tech-savvy individual. They want to be challenged and inspired in their learning. They want to collaborate and work with their peers. They want to incorporate the technology they love into their classroom experiences as much as they can. In short, they have just as high a set of expectations of their educators as their educators have of them.

How Are Educators Responding?

The New Zealand Ministry of Education defines five key competencies for living and lifelong learning listed below:

Thinking

Using language, symbols, and text

Managing self

Relating to others

Participating and contributing

The International Baccalaureate is a non-profit educational foundation created in 1968. It designs its programs to develop crucial intellectual, personal, emotional, and social skills. Their IB Learner Profile suggests that students should be conditioned by their learning to be:

Inquirers

Knowledgeable

Thinkers

Communicators

Principled

Open-minded

Caring

Risk-takers

Balanced

Reflective

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Our Big List of Essential 21st Century Skills

This list comes from our book Literacy is Not Enough (Crockett, Lee et. al.; 2011). You’ll be able to see it correlates rather well with both New Zealand’s list and the IB Learner Profile. They certainly cover the Common Core’s bases, too. It’s good to know we’re all on the same page, isn’t it? That’s great news for our students!

So, according to the folks we’ve asked, the consensus is that students need transparency-level skills in these areas:

Problem solving

Creativity

Analytic thinking

Collaboration

Communication

Ethics, action, and accountability

     READ MORE ➤➤

Automatic Readability Checker

Based on (7) readability formulas:

Grade Level: 11

Reading Level: fairly difficult to read.

Reader's Age: 15-17 yrs. old

(Tenth to Eleventh graders)

8 Essential Digital Literacy Skills That Students Need via Tech Edvocate

8 Essential Digital Literacy Skills That Students Need

Tech Edvocate: 8.06.2017 by Matthew Lynch

What was once called typing class is now known as technology class. Gone are the days where computer class was spent playing Oregon Trail and creating word processing documents. The networked world in which students exist demands an education that prepares students to produce and consume information in a variety of formats. These formats range from text to images to multimedia. Students need a broad variety of fluencies to be prepared for the 21st-century workforce. Even jobs traditionally thought of us being technology light now require someone who has basic computer skills. This article describes those digital literacy skills paramount to success in any career.

Coding is a universal language and one that is useful whether a technical career is pursued or not.

Collaboration in the online environment requires deliberate Students should be taught basic project management and group work essentials to navigate between multiple platforms.

Cloud Software is an essential part of document management.

Word Processing Software is often used in conjunction with collaboration and cloud software.

Screencasting makes it easy for the novice video creator to make simple yet effective videos.  READ MORE ➤➤

Automatic Readability Checker

Based on (7) readability formulas:

Grade Level: 12

Reading Level: difficult to read.

Reader's Age: 17-18 yrs. old

(Twelfth graders)

15 Ways To Use A Tablet In The Classroom via Tech Edvocate

15 Ways To Use A Tablet In The Classroom

Tech Edvocate: 3.13.2018 by Matthew Lynch

81 percent of teachers think tablets can enrich classroom learning, so let’s look at how tablets may be used effectively in the classroom to engage students and further learning

Virtual Field Trips

It is unlikely you will be able to take your students on field trips to every destination you cover in class; however, with a tablet, your students can go on virtual field trips anywhere. Some websites are even designed with this mind providing 360-degree video.

Research

Tablets are mobile internet devices; therefore, it is a portable research tool for the classroom. Students can research topics without having to leave their desks.

Reading and Listening to Books

E-books are specifically designed for use on tablets, so it makes sense to allow students to use their tablets for reading in the classroom. Additionally, tablets have speakers, which allow for easy listening to audiobooks or text-to-speech e-books.

Radio and Podcasts

Using apps such as Tune In Radio, students can listen to music, radio shows, and podcasts from all over the world on their tablets.

Presentations and Projects

Poster board projects are a thing of the past. Now, students can have tons of options for creating multimedia projects, comics, books, music, and more on a tablet. These projects can be shared and shown on your Smartboard.

Photography

Tablets have cameras, and with the right photography editing app, your students can work on creative projects or simply document class activities.  READ MORE ➤➤

Automatic Readability Checker

Based on (7) readability formulas:

Grade Level: 11

Reading Level: fairly difficult to read.

Reader's Age: 15-17 yrs. Old

(Tenth to Eleventh graders)

The Importance of Upskilling During Economic Downturns via Aspen Institute

The Importance of Upskilling During Economic Downturns

Aspen Institute: 12.17.2019 by Carol  Morrison & Kevin Martin

“The illiterate of the future will not be the person who cannot read.

It will be the person who does not know how to learn.”

— Alvin Toffler, Futurist, Business Leader, Author of Future Shock

When the Institute for CorporateProductivity (i4cp) first partnered with UpSkill America at the Aspen Institute in 2016, the result was a major research study, Developing America’s Frontline Workers.

That landmark exploration of US businesses’ efforts to build the knowledge and skills of their workforces produced many valuable insights for performance-enhancing development. In particular, the research found that companies with consistently strong records of market performance:

➧ Recognize the power of development to drive and sustain employee engagement, innovation, and the kind of discretionary effort on the job that increases productivity and performance.

➧ Invest in effective development of their workers and advance upskilled employees into better-paying, higher-skilled jobs.

➧ Understand, and routinely track, the positive effects of development on levels of workforce absenteeism and turnover.

Those perennially relevant findings about upskilling employees offer important strategic intel for organizational leaders operating in any business climate. In times of economic downturns, their value becomes even more apparent.

The Fourth Industrial Revolution Magnifies the Need for Upskilling

When the next economic downturn occurs, it will do so in what is called the fourth Industrial Revolution, a time characterized by greater workplace presence of artificial intelligence and work automation.

Research by i4cp found that most organizations are not prepared for the impacts that technology brings. In fact, significant gaps with implications for upskilling were revealed:

➧ Organizational capability (to effectively utilize advanced automation technology) gaps span processes, skills, and knowledge—and the gaps are growing. Greater focus is needed to analyze jobs at the task level, assess talent risk, and upskill/reskill employees.

➧  Workforce motivation (morale and engagement) gaps make it incumbent on leaders to build trust through accurate, transparent communication; empower employees to automate their own work in exchange for upskilling/reskilling and career advancement; and address ethical issues related to implementing automation and AI.  READ MORE ➤➤

Literacy Reports & Statistics

Workplace

2018: Three Education Pathways To Good Jobs, Georgetown

2018: A Stronger Nation: Learning beyond high school builds American talent, Lumina

2017: UpSkilling Playbook for Employers, Aspen Institute

2015: Skills Gap Report, NAM-MI

2008: Reach Higher America: Overcoming Crisis in the U.S. Workforce, NCAL

2007: America’s Perfect Storm, ETS

2007: Can California Import Enough College Grad's. Meet Workforce Needs?, PPIC

2007: Mounting Pressures: Workforce . . . Adult Ed, NCAL

Automatic Readability Checker

Based on (7) readability formulas:

Grade Level: 16

Reading Level: very difficult to read.

Reader's Age: College graduate