Edublogs is, as the name suggests, a blog building system designed specifically for education. In fact this was built by teachers, for teachers. Although since that began back in 2005 it has grown and developed considerably.

It's worth noting that in more recent years the internet has begun to offer more ways to submit, showcase, share, and edit student work -- with many working with already setup LMS offerings. All that said, there is still a place for blogs that allow students to be digitally creative.

Blogs can also be helpful places for teachers and admins to share lesson, class, and institution-wide notices and feedback with ease, using a simple link. So could Edublogs help in your school?

What is Edublogs?

Edublogs has been around for so long that it has now been distilled into an easy-to-use and efficient way to create digital blogs for online sharing. Think Wordpress, but designed for teachers with far more controls.

The advantage of Edublogs over sites such as Wordpress is that this allows levels of control that provides greater security for student data and easier monitoring for teachers.

Available in both online web-based and app formats, this is widely accessible across devices. That can mean working on blogs in class as well as having the ability for students to make updates as and when they want outside of the classroom on their own devices.

Educators can use the commenting sections to provide feedback to students as well as a way to help inter-class communications -- but more on that below.

How does Edublogs work?

Edublogs follows a very basic and intuitive word processing-style blog creation process. As such, it should be pretty clear how to get going for even the most novice of web users -- so most young students can take to it very easily.

Both free and paid-for versions of the system are available, however, in both cases there is a student management system so teachers can control how students access the platform.

Once given access, students can begin creating their own blogs, allowing them to post and share online. This includes words, images, audio, and video content so it can be quite a rich final post if they put in the time and effort.

Students and teachers can use the blogs as a way to digitally submit work. This not only makes it easier to input and submit -- as well as grade -- but also to store for longer-term analysis. No more papers to work through, students can simply scroll or search back through their work as well as use that as a portfolio for future reference.

What are the best Edublogs features?

Edublogs is very easy to use, making it simple to transition to for teachers and students. Consequently, it can be more about the content being created rather than the platform itself -- like the most effective technology, it becomes forgotten when in use as you focus on what's being created without hindrance.

Since everything can be published online it makes for a simple way to share work, with a single link. The commenting boxes also allow feedback from teachers as well as fellow students, so it is not only possible but can be encouraged. 

The management tool allows teachers to look at the back-end of student blogs in order to jump between work easily. It also makes monitoring that comment-based feedback easier, allowing for an education in best digital communications practices to come about naturally through the use of the platform.

The addition of content filters and multiple privacy tools all help to add to the security for the protection of students and whatever they share.

Since most features are available for free and online, it should be possible for most teachers and students to access immediately without the need for anything else. 

The ability for teachers to leave feedback privately, only seen by them and the student, is an ideal way to guide students without having to make an issue out of every misstep.

How much does Edublogs cost?

Edublogs offers several tiers of options including Free, Pro and Custom.

Free is this way forever with no ads to worry about and all the student safety features in place. This includes 1GB of storage, the student management system, plus all the themes and plugins available.

The Pro version, at $39 per year, gets you 50GB of storage, search engine integration, visitor statistics, and email subscriptions.

The Custom version, aimed at schools and districts with a bespoke price, offers unlimited storage, single sign on, custom domains, and the choice of a local data center.

Edublogs best tips and tricks

Submit work
Ease students into use of the system by having them submit work, across subjects, using this platform so they get to grips with it without focusing on it too much.

Get creative
Have students go away and create their own blogs that show something personal so they can learn to express themselves -- perhaps using a word limit to encourage concision.

Mix it up
Have students comment on one another's posts -- allowing them to learn from each other, socialize digitally, and perfect their online communication styles.

• New Teacher Starter Kit
• Best Digital Tools for Teachers

How to use Keynote for education is a great skill to acquire since it allows teachers and students to create the most powerful and engaging presentations. Apple Keynote is, at its most basic, a presentation slideshow creator. As an education tool, however, it can be very useful indeed.

One of the things that makes Apple what it is has been the ability to refine minimalism. The result is that often complex and powerful tasks can be made intuitively easy while still creating stunning results. Keynote does exactly that while looking very good, too.

As a result, teachers can create powerful presentations, and students can make compelling projects and more with Keynote. 

So read on to find out how to use Keynote in education to enhance learning in the classroom and for remote teaching.

How does Apple Keynote work?

Apple Keynote can be found, for free, on iOS and Mac, so it works on iPhones, iPads, and Mac computers. But it also works on PC, via iWork for iCloud. It's on a touchscreen that this really shines though, offering a simple and intuitive interface for building presentations, even when you're on the go.

Since this works well on an iPhone, it can mean the ability to integrate images from the phone's camera, as well as online searched images, with the greatest of ease. 

Of course, being Apple, it features lots and lots of fonts, themes, styles, transitions, and animations, all crafted to the highest quality for a professional finish to any project. 

Sharing of presentations is also straightforward with the ability to play live from the device in use or via anything it is connected to. Or send your presentation via social media, or export as a PDF or even a PowerPoint to be played on any other device.

Keynote works with charts and graphs, making it a useful presentation tool for class. The addition of cinematic effects helps to make facts and figures more compelling and, hopefully, memorable. 

Best Keynote features

One feature that is great for teachers and students alike is the remote mode. This allows one Apple device to control another. So you could have a presentation being displayed via an Apple Mac while the slide show controls are on an iPhone or iPad. A teacher can present while staying mobile, and also keep an eye on what is coming up next.

Keynote offers more than 30 themes, making it easy to get started without having to do it from scratch. Of course, that is an option too, should you want to be totally original. 

On top of charts and graphs, there are more than 700 customizable shapes that can be used to make anything you need. You can even use an iPhone or iPad to scan a document and have it integrated into your presentation.

Transitions and animations are areas that make Keynote stand out against the competition, such as Microsoft PowerPoint and Google Slides. Objects can be animated along a path using just your finger on an iPad or iPhone. The ability to also use Apple Pencil, on an iPad, makes this super customizable and creative. 

There are more than 30 cinematic transitions and effects that don't just apply to objects but also text. Personalization is possible too, with the ability to record and add narration audio, notes, and sounds, all using your device. 

Keynote Live is ideal for remote learning as you can send out a single link to multiple students and have them all watch your presentation at the same time, live, wherever they are. Ideal if you want this to run while also in a video class as you talk over what is being shown. 

Collaboration is easy, with work possible across multiple devices at the same time. This is great for teachers working on a project or for students working together on a presentation. Everything is saved to the iCloud Drive, live, so edits can be made easily for anywhere.

How to make a Keynote

Open Keynote and navigate through the theme options, which are categorized along the left by: Basic, Minimal, Bold, Editorial, Portfolio, Craft, and Textured. Select one and hit the "Create" button to get editing.

This gives you a Master Slide with which you can work. Then hit the "Add Slide" option at the top to make the next one of the presentation. Also up top are options to insert a table, chart, text, shape, media, or comments. This last one is particularly helpful when collaborating with others. 

To collaborate, select the "Collaborate" icon at the top right then you'll be able to add more using the iCloud options.

To add an effect, select the "Animate" option at the top right and then "Add an effect" to pick from a list. You can also add transitions from just below that button with a useful automatic option available there.

At any point, you can select "File" from the top menu on a Mac and "Save" to make sure your project is being kept up to date.

Another useful option is being able to add a password. To turn this feature on, select "Document" in the top right, then check the "Require password to open" section at the bottom. This is ideal if you want to send out a presentation, perhaps a quiz, to the class but only have them open it when you provide the password.  

• What is Padlet and How Does it Work?
• Best Digital Tools for Teachers

Google Sites is a free, easy-to-use website building and publishing tool that's ideal for use by teachers and students. 

The intuitive design and building process make it accessible to novices and tech aficionados alike. Build a basic website, for a school club or project, or go complex and design an entire web portal for the school – Sites is flexible enough to offer depth, if needed.

Built on the Google platform, anyone who has used Google Docs will recognize the layout. This program uses templates and a drag-and-drop interaction style for quick and easy website construction.

So is Google Sites for you? Read on to find out how to use Google Sites and to pick up the best Sites tips and tricks to take full advantage of the platform.

How does Google Sites work?

Google Sites is web-based so it can be accessed from most devices using a web browser. While it works on a mobile or tablet, it's probably preferable to use a laptop or desktop computer with a large screen and mouse to help make the working process easier. 

When you open Google Sites you'll be able to start from scratch, selecting the "+" icon, or you can choose one of the many templates in the "template  gallery," located at the top of the page.

Title the page at the top, then decide on your layout or reorganize the layout if you're using a template you want to change. This is done by simply dragging and dropping the boxes where you want each one. It can get complicated if there is lots of movement, so it's recommended to keep things as simple as possible or stick closely to an original template.

Fill in information such as the heading and introduction text. Then you can upload images to use, either from your computer, from Google Drive, or from the web - to name a few options. 

If you want to add extra pages select the "Pages" tab to the right and the "+" icon at the bottom of that side bar. Here you can add a new page, which will be the same basic layout as the homepage, or you can add a link.

Themes is another tab on the right that allows you to change the feel of your site with options for varying font types, colors, and styles. Most allow you to vary all these things at once with a single selection of the overarching style. 

How to publish a Google Site

Once you're happy with the layout and content of the website, it's time to publish. Simply navigate to the top right and select the "Publish" icon. Here you'll be given the chance to enter the web address you wish to use.

This basic option will make your site follow the address
"http://sites.google.com/view/enternamehere." Which is long. The other option is to select the Custom URL option, which will allow you to add a specific domain, but you will be required to buy that domain name first using another website such as Google Domains, GoDaddy, or InMotion, to name just a few.

You're then able to select tabs such as "Analytics" on the left to see how your website is doing in terms of visitors. You can turn this on by selecting the toggle next to "Enable analytics." A useful feature if you want to grow your website's traffic. 

This might not be a major concern when using this in class though. Here are some of the best tips and tricks for using Google Sites in class.

Use Google Sites as a resource point

One way to offer students resources, which are spread across the year, is to place it all on a website. This makes it not only accessible but keeps it organized for the teacher and students. It could also be a resource that can be reused, or edited for reuse, for different years. 

This is easy to edit, allowing teachers to integrate things such as quizzes that lead off to other websites, all within the page. It also can be well integrated into Google Classroom, making it ideal for schools that already use G Suite for Education.

This can be done by creating pages and subpages that feature content in an organized way.

Use Google Site for procedure learning

A great way to deliver student and staff guidelines is via Sites. This allows teachers to upload procedural information in a clear and accessible way, but also makes it super easy to keep updated as new changes take place.

During the pandemic, for example, using Sites is a perfect way to lay out procedures on at-home and remote learning. The ability to update as changes happen is a really valuable feature here.

Have students create sites

Engage those higher order skills by having students use Google Sites as a way to learn how to build a website while also creating something functional.

For example, you can have club members create a site for their club that acts as a resource page but also can be updated with information on the latest happenings in that community.

Students can also use Sites as a way to present a project. Setting a task that involves laying out the information required on a site can help to layer learning and encourage the development of useful skills such as problem-solving and communication.

Make the Google Site interactive

To create a truly useful website with interactivity, you can embed code or URLs from other resources. For example, it is possible to add a Padlet into a site.

This allows students to comment on one another's work without having to be a contributor to the site itself. It can also encourage collaboration.

• What is Padlet and How Does it Work?
• Best Digital Tools for Teachers

PDFs are one of the biggest issues for website accessibility. In fact, research from WebAim showed that 75.1% of respondents indicated that PDF documents are very or somewhat likely to pose significant accessibility issues. That's because making PDFs accessible takes work, training, and includes a software purchase.

Common PDF Accessibility Errors

To make PDFs accessible you should have a paid for version of Adobe Acrobat. These are the most common accessibility errors to check for:

• Missing document title
• Missing or illogical reading order
• Images missing ALT text
• Wrong/confusing heading semantics
• Language settings
• Tables with no defined header

What Does it Look Like to Check PDFs for Accessibility

You can visit see how one goes about checking and remediating a PDF with the Adobe Acrobat software in this video from campus suite.

PDF Myths

The question to ask, is do you really need a PDF on your website? Sometimes people want a PDF because of Often people have false views on why PDFs are needed such as:

• Myth: The content is secure.
• Reality: All digital content can be manipulated.
  
• Myth: It can be read more easily across platforms.
• Reality: Content placed directly on your site following WCAG guidelines can be read more easily across platforms.
  
• Myth: People will want to print my content from my website.
• Reality: Today most people prefer to read via mobile.
  
• Myth: PDFs should be used for forms.
• Reality: Rather than having visitors print forms out, you can provide them with an accessible digital form they can submit.

The Verdict

The best way to ensure your website is accessible is to place content directly into your website following web content accessibility guidelines (WCAG). If, for some reason, a document absolutely must be provided via PDF, provide the same information on your website in HTML as well.

cross posted at The Innovative Educator 

Lisa Nielsen (@InnovativeEdu) has worked as a public-school educator and administrator since 1997. She is a prolific writer best known for her award-winning blog, The Innovative Educator. Nielsen is the author of several booksand her writing has been featured in media outlets such as The New York Times,The Wall Street Journal, Tech&Learning, and T.H.E. Journal.   

Create mobile apps with extensive help from start to finish

Pros: In-app hints, a broad library of lesson plans, and tutorials guide kids through every step of the app creation process.

Cons: It may be cost-prohibitive for some teachers, and since there's no autosave, students may lose their work if they forget to save it.

Bottom Line: Intuitive platform encourages students to engage in design thinking and coding with loads of support.

Read more 

App of the Day picks are selected from the top edtech tools reviewed by Common Sense Education, which helps educators find the best ed-tech tools, learn best practices for teaching with tech, and equip students with the skills they need to use technology safely and responsibly. 

By Common Sense Education

All public schools must have accessible websites. With so many options, which platform should you choose? To help you figure that out in the alphabetical listing below you can:

• Visit the site
• Check out the accessibility guidance
• Watch a video clip from each platform as they share information about what they provided in a showcase to New York City school webmasters.

The platforms listed below are ones who demonstrated their commitment to school website accessibility by participating in the Website Accessibility Summit on November 5th in New York City.

This is the whole video and after that you can click on the link to go straight to a particular platform vendor.

Blackboard / Schoolwires

• Blackboard / Schoolwires Accessibility guidance 
• Website Accessibility Summit Showcase video for Blackboard Schoolwires
• Presentation: Blackboard / Schoolwires Accessibility Showcase

eChalk

• eChalk accessibility guidance
• Website Accessibility Summit Showcase video for eChalk
• Presentation: eChalk Showcase

Edlio

• Edlio accessibility guidance 
• Website Accessibility Summit Showcase Video for Edlio 
• Presentation: Edlio Showcase

Google Sites

• Google Sites accessibility guidance
• Website Accessibility Showcase Video for Google Sites
• Presentation: Google Showcase

SchoolMessenger

• SchoolMessenger accessibility guidance 
• Website Accessibility Summit Showcase Video for School Messenger

Wix

• Wix accessibility guidance
• Wix Accessibility Checklist
• Website Accessibility Summit Showcase Video for Wix
• Presentation: Wix Showcase

WordPress

• Make WordPress Accessible
• Website Accessibility Summit Showcase Video for WordPress
• Presentation: WordPress Showcase

cross posted at The Innovative Educator 

Lisa Nielsen (@InnovativeEdu) has worked as a public-school educator and administrator since 1997. She is a prolific writer best known for her award-winning blog, The Innovative Educator. Nielsen is the author of several booksand her writing has been featured in media outlets such as The New York Times,The Wall Street Journal, Tech&Learning, and T.H.E. Journal.

All government agencies must have accessible websites. This means all public schools or schools who receive federal funding must have accessible websites. The United States Department of Education's Office of Civil Rights has agreements with various school districts to help ensure institutions provide content that is accessible to everyone including people with disabilities and those who speak languages other than English.  And it’s the right thing to do! 

Pick me! Pick me!

On Tuesday, November 5th, more than 200 school webmasters and content contributors came together from across New York City schools to hear from representatives from a variety of platforms. 

They came from around the globe to be a part of the largest school district accessibility projects in the world. In attendance were the following website platforms:

• Blackboard / Schoolwires
• eChalk
• Edlio
• Google
• Intrado / School Messenger
• Wix
• WordPress. com

Representatives from each company shared:

What each website provider offers, in terms of: 

• their platform
• how they would ensure all website content—pictures, documents, and text on a page—would be made accessible
• support provided to schools 
• costs 

What webmasters need to do to make content accessible

Bringing all the website platforms together in one space to speak with staff provided an effective way for schools to make an informed decision. It also enabled these platforms to learn what the other is doing and get ideas how to provide better products for schools.

What people were saying

Participants were abuzz with their learning on social media. In fact the project hashtag trended on Twitter that day. You can see some of what they were saying on social media as follows:

• #NYCSchoolsDigIn on Twitter
• Periscope
• Tech & Learning Magazine Page
• Across Facebook

cross posted at The Innovative Educator 

Lisa Nielsen (@InnovativeEdu) has worked as a public-school educator and administrator since 1997. She is a prolific writer best known for her award-winning blog, The Innovative Educator. Nielsen is the author of several booksand her writing has been featured in media outlets such as The New York Times,The Wall Street Journal, Tech&Learning, and T.H.E. Journal.

Lynn Wehrman, President and Founder of WeCo Accessibility Services, will deliver the keynote address at the #NYCSchoolsTech Website Accessibility Conference.

As the leader of a company founded and run by digital technologists, all of whom live with disabilities, Lynn will spotlight the positive impacts of website accessibility for students, parents and the community.

Her talk will include the following:

• Lynn’s own journey to grasp digital accessibility in a government role
• Beyond just blindness: a brief primer of the disabilities people live and how they impact computer use
• How accessible websites include and empower others
• Ways accessibility improves user experience for everyone
• Knowing when to update for accessibility and when to start over

The Website Accessibility Conference, co-hosted by Tech&Learning and the New York City Department of Education, will be held November 5th 2019 at Wagner Middle School, 220 East 76th Street, New York, NY.

To learn more about the conference or to register, visit https://www.techlearninglive.com/nycdoe_website_accessibility_summit/363566

In her book, Haben Girma, the first deafblind student to graduate Harvard Law, explains her frustration with not being able to access the cafeteria menu at her college. Like most humans, Haben loves delicious food. Fighting for this access was part of her inspiration for later pursuing her law degree.

It's surprising that large food chain like Domino's pizza, doesn't get that everyone, including those with disabilities, want access to the food they find delicious. 

The Domino's Decision

Fortunately, the  U.S. Supreme Court understands this. Their recent decision to not hear Domino's petition on whether its website is accessible to the disabled is a win for everyone who believes in inclusivity. While Domino's, and some other retailers, consider this a loss, their view is short-sighted.

• First, it's a terrible look from a public relations perspective to take a stand against providing access to your goods to those with disabilities. 
• Second, it's a terrible business decision to cut off the largest minority community in the world, those with disabilities. 

Accessibility on School Websites

Retailers are not the only ones being sued for not providing accessible content. The largest school system in the nation, the New York City Department of Education has an agreement with the Office of Civil Rights to ensure all websites are accessible. More and more schools should anticipate being the focus of increased scrutiny and challenges to the accessibility of their websites. Failure to do so can have devastating consequences. These include costly lawsuits as well as possibly losing millions of dollars in federal funding. 

Fortunately, most school staff are excited to discover ways to learn how to include more of their school community into communication.

Preparing for Accessibility

To prepare and respond accordingly more and more businesses and government agencies are creating digital content with the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines in mind. This means they provide training and support to staff to ensure they understand how to do this.  

Accessibility isn't just the right thing to do, it also makes content better for everyone. Doesn't it make sense to invest time and money into making content better and available to those with disabilities rather than investing time and money into lawsuits?

cross posted at The Innovative Educator 

Lisa Nielsen (@InnovativeEdu) has worked as a public-school educator and administrator since 1997. She is a prolific writer best known for her award-winning blog, The Innovative Educator. Nielsen is the author of several booksand her writing has been featured in media outlets such as The New York Times,The Wall Street Journal, Tech&Learning, and T.H.E. Journal.

Part of making content accessible includes ensuring that the contrast ratio is set to be fully accessible to anyone. Inaccessible color contrast is the top issue for digital content, but fixing it, or having it right from the start, is easy. In this article you'll learn why this is important, what the standard is for color contrast, and how to make content with accessible color contrast.

Why this is important

• 6% of population is color blind 
• 2.3% of population has low vision (BCVA of less than 20/70, visual field loss, or legal blindness)
• Everyone using a device in bright sunlight struggles with poor color contrast

The Web Content Accessibility Guideline Standard for color contrast:

• 4.5:1 or higher for most text 
• 3:1 or higher for large text (18 font) or large bold text (14 point, bold)

How to find out if you're meeting the standard

• Use ColorZilla to find the color codes of text and background
• Paste the color codes into WebAim’s Color Contrast Checker

What if you don't meet the standard?

• Use the lightness slider to adjust the color so it has a contrast ratio that passes.
• When you have a passing ratio, replace your colors with the new colors.

Back In the classroom

When educators use color contrast that meets accessibility standards, they help to make content that all students and their families can access. They should also teach their students to create accessible content as well.

cross posted at The Innovative Educator 

Lisa Nielsen (@InnovativeEdu) has worked as a public-school educator and administrator since 1997. She is a prolific writer best known for her award-winning blog, The Innovative Educator. Nielsen is the author of several booksand her writing has been featured in media outlets such as The New York Times,The Wall Street Journal, Tech&Learning, and T.H.E. Journal.   

When it comes to sharing student work, there are lots of ways to establish a workflow in your classroom. Are you using Google Classroom and/or Google tools with your students? I have a step-by-step strategy to share with you to make it easy for students to share their work with a teacher and fellow students quickly.

This strategy combines two favorite classroom tools. The first is Adobe Spark, a set of three powerful creation tools for students and users of any age. Spark is a set of Chromebook-friendly and iPad-friendly creation apps and web-based tools. Here is a quick overview with links to several use cases for each one:

• Post – a graphic design tool perfect for capturing book quotes and creating classroom posters
• Video – a moviemaking tool students can use to document steps in a science experiment or tell a story
• Page – a website-building tool that lets kids publish online to share biographies and more

The Google Slides strategy I share below works on any device running both Spark and Slides. You can have some students take part in this workflow using iPads, others on Chromebooks, a few on Macs in a computer lab, and even students on an iPhone. The possibilities are truly endless.

[Class Tech Tips: Movie-Making in the STEM Classroom with Spark Video]

Sharing Spark with Google Slides

Before students can share their creations with Google Slides they have to finish their movie, website or graphic. There are different steps for publishing Spark Post, Page and Video. For all of them, you can use the Share button at the top of the screen. When students share a creation with Google Slides it doesn’t matter how they share their final product. Here are the options:

• Post – publish as a link or download as a picture file (shown in the image below)
• Video – publish as a link or download as a movie file
• Page – publish as a link or download as a PDF file (note: the PDF option is only available on Chrome)

Setting Up a Slide Deck

Once your students have published their Spark creation using one of the options above, have them join you in a shared Google Slides presentation. You’ll want to set this up with sharing permissions for students to edit the slide deck. When you create the slide deck, like the one shown below, create a slide for each student in your class. You might want to use a template with space for them to add their name or a short explanation of their work.

How will your students know where to add? You might count off students so they each have a number that corresponds to their slide. Or if you replicate these steps throughout the school year, you might add each students name to each slide one time then duplicate the file every time you use this sharing strategy.

How will your students access the Google Slides presentation? You can share the link to the slide deck in Google Classroom or another LMS. When I model this strategy with teachers, I usually shorten the link to the shared slide deck with a tool like bit.ly. Then teachers type in this link to access the editable slide deck where they can share their work.

Sharing in Slides

When students are inside the slide deck, they can share their Spark creations in a few different ways. One option is to paste the link to their Post, Page or Video right onto their slide. Using the edit link option, they can change the link to say “click here to watch/view.” If students have downloaded their Post, Page or Video as a picture file, PDF, or movie file, they can add that file to their drive and a link to the file or insert the picture or movie right onto their slide.

Sharing with slides is an excellent way for students to see their classmate’s creations quickly. Since all three Spark tools let students update their work to the same link, it’s also a good option for having students provide feedback to their peers during different iterations of their projects. If you would like students to comment on their classmates’ work, they can use the traditional comment feature in slides or even leave a note in the speaker notes section of the slide. For more information on using Spark to practice digital citizenship skills with students, check out this blog post.

Creating with Adobe Spark

In my book Tasks Before Apps: Designing Rigorous Learning in a Tech-Rich Classroom I talk about the importance of empowering students as creators. Students of all ages can use the Spark tools to create graphics, movies, and websites. Here is an excerpt from the book on creation in the classroom:

“Creating a product requires students to synthesize the information they have explored during a unit of study and demonstrate their understanding in a tangible manner. Students can create a range of products to demonstrate mastery of the learning goal(s) you have identified for a daily lesson or a month-long unit. There is no one right answer as to what students should create for any given unit of study. Digital tools now let students create dynamic products that include a range of media, allow for instructional differentiation, and promote curiosity and collaboration. Advances in technology allow students to build, sketch, and write as they explore new concepts and demonstrate their learning.” (p. 24)

What type of products can students create with Spark and share in Slides? Well, the possibilities are truly endless. You might start off the year using this strategy to share All About Me videos. Or you might have students share math tutorials with their classmates to review a strategy for solving a problem.

Are you ready to empower students as creators and give them a space to share their work? Head over to this page with Adobe Spark educational resources for more information on using this powerful creation tool in your classroom!

I've had the pleasure of working with this company. All opinions are my own.

cross posted at classtechtips.com

Dr. Monica Burns is a former classroom teacher, speaker, and curriculum & edtech consultant. She is the author of Tasks Before Apps (ASCD) and #FormativeTech (Corwin). Visit Monica's site ClassTechTips.com for more ideas on how to become a tech-savvy teacher.

As classrooms move toward blended learning or the flipped classroom, the teacher's webpage can play a big part in “after school” help for students and parents.

The webpage, either classroom- or grade-level, can be designed to include numerous items that are helpful to parents, community members, and students. It provides a place for parents to go after hours to view information about homework assignments, calendar of events, classroom pictures, study links, and more.

As a webmaster, I am often asked “What do I put on a classroom webpage?” Below are suggestions to use for designing a classroom webpage that fits the needs of your school and classroom.

1. Picture of your Class
2. Picture of the School
3. Photo Gallery
4. Parent Volunteer Pictures
5. Parent Volunteer Information
6. Teacher Information – “Meet Your Classroom Teacher”
7. Class Mission Statement
8. Homework Information and Assignments
9. Spelling Lists and Vocabulary Words
10. Behavior Plans
11. Classroom Calendar of Events, Monthly Calendar
12. Parent Classroom Information
13. Student Drawings
14. Supply List
15. Class Videos – (Use an iPad to make a quick video)
16. Field Trip Events
17. Newscasts (created by students)
18. Record a student reading a passage from a book….Title: Guess the Book!
19. List of Reading Books
20. Links to Research Sites
21. Links to Reading, Writing, Math and Social Studies Interactive Sites
22. Link to your Moodle Page
23. List of iPad Apps used in the Classroom
24. Link to Common Core Standards
25. Snow Day Assignments
26. Practice Worksheets
27. Multiplication Tables
28. FAQ Section
29. Podcasts
30. Class News – Star of the Week
31. PowerPoint Presentations - (Classroom Lessons)
32. Math Tips of the Month
33. Weekly Schedule
34. Classroom and School Tour
35. Newsletters
36. Help Me Section
37. Videos – ( How to solve math problems)
38. Math and Science Vocabulary Words
39. Student Handbook
40. Extra Credit
41. How to be a Better Reader Information
42. Addition & Subtraction Facts
43. Lunch Menu & Prices
44. Weather Forecast Link
45. School District Calendar
46. Geography Lessons of the Week
47. Flashcards
48. Class Rules
49. Literacy Links
50. Classroom Grading Guidelines

• How to Simplify your Class Website
• Microsoft Teams Tips and Tricks for Teachers
• Effective Online Learning Practices

Michelle Vance is the District Technology Director of Ontario Local Schools in Ontario, Ohio and the 1994 Tech & Learning State Winner - Ohio, Teacher of the Year.