Student service is on the rise. Student service programs in schools are returning to “pre-pandemic” status while students need re-education on the significance of service.
In a recent survey conducted by x2VOL to all users, service leaders across the country reported that their student service programs in schools are returning to normal as we emerge from the pandemic.
At the beginning of COVID-19 school service programs were either put on hold or were modified to account for the lockdown. Many students began serving in other ways from home such as volunteering online or in a virtual way, assisting their families and siblings at home, or serving others in their community in a socially distanced way.
In 2021, 66% of service leaders reported that their programs would be returning to their “pre-pandemic” requirements in the fall of 2021. However, in 2022 87% reported that their programs will be returning to their “pre-pandemic” requirements in the fall of 2022, showing a significant increase in the return to normalcy for many schools.
There has been a major push forre-engagement in service and in the community as students are grappling with the impact of the pandemic. Reinstating service programs in schools means students have another stepping stone to heal from the impact of the pandemic.
Schools and districts across the country have reported a drastic increase in student service.
Valley Christian High School in San Jose, California is simply one example – their students served approximately 10,000 hours in the 2020 – 2021 school year. That doubled twice over as their students volunteered over 50,000 hours this past school year and expect to surpass that in the 2022-2023 school year. Educators at Valley Christian High School increased the grade percentage service is worth for students and encourage meaningful service projects where students can connect with those they are serving and experience deep growth and development. These strategies assisted in increasing student service hours and supporting a culture of service in their school.
Allen High School in Allen, Texas as re-engaged their students post-pandemic through a day of service on their campus. In the past year, students served thousands of hours over two days of on-campus service.
“We are excited to see the increase in service programs reinstating their requirements and goals,” said Michele Pitman, Founder, and CEO, intelliVOL. “Service is an incredible way for students to heal from the isolation and disturbance of the pandemic. It aids in students’ personal development and growth.”
As we emerge from the pandemic, educators reported that there is a need for motivation and “re-learning” about the importance of volunteerism. 31% of respondents reported that students are lacking engagement and follow through when it comes to their service requirements or goal.
Because many students came into high school during the pandemic, younger students might not have the knowledge or background about the importance of volunteerism. Service leaders report that students are trying to relearn simply how to be students, and reeducation about service comes with that.
“Service to others is a valuable part of education and growth for students,” said Pitman. “And at a time when the world needs volunteers the most, we are excited to see students re-engaging in their communities and making a difference.”
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We started to use BookWidgets last year and my students immediately fell in love with it. The first activity that I gave to them was a crossword and they thought it was the coolest thing ever. As a language educator, I want my students to be able to remember the vocabulary and the verbs of course, and a big part of that is knowing how to spell them. Using some of the options like crosswords or word searches helps students to build their skills in spelling because the words have to fit in the right place. The benefit of using a tool like BookWidgets is that students can work on these activities wherever they are. As long as students have access to a device, I can share different activities with them whether for extra practice, for enrichment, and sometimes just because they ask me to because they enjoy the activities and forget that it’s actually for learning!
So many choices!
There are more than 40 different templates available in BookWidgets and in case you didn’t know, in August they added some new features just in time for the upcoming school year. Beyond those activities that I had done with my students last year, something else that I recommend for students is using flashcards. With some tools, it can be difficult to know if students are in fact using the flashcards. However, in the live BookWidgets dashboard, I can see which cards the students practiced, the time spent on them, and even how many times they flipped a specific card. Students even have the audio with the flashcards! Having this real-time data is great for me to be better able to understand what my students’ needs are so that I can provide additional resources and encouragement as they work on learning the content.
Another great feature is the scratch pad, my students love using the dry erase boards but the time that it takes to gather the materials and to keep cleaning them loses precious class time. However, with BookWidgets I can have students use the scratch pad and have them conjugate verbs or I could give them a sentence and have them draw something. There are so many different possibilities! I can even have students submit what they created so that I can review it and if I want to and also provide a grade for it. Just another way that I can really stay connected to where they are in the learning process and be able to provide timely, authentic, and meaningful feedback to them when it is most essential.
A very important issue when it comes to using technology in our classrooms is accessibility. We want all of our students to be able to participate and engage in the methods and tools that we are using so that they all have the same opportunities to amplify their learning. In some tools, they have translation capabilities, and now in BookWidgets, it offers text to speech for students. Having students that use screen readers, this feature is fantastic because they have the option to listen directly through BookWidgets. Students can select the text and choose the language that they want to have it read out loud in. For teachers who use Google classroom, BookWidgets is one of the add-ons which makes it even better for keeping things streamlined and not overwhelming students but at the same time creating so many amazing learning opportunities.
Now with Google!
There are more than 40 interactive templates available that you can add to your Google classroom. The favorites for my students are the crossword puzzles, the word searches, and the split whiteboard! There are possibilities for using these with all grade levels and content areas. We will continue to add more to the list of the activities that we are using because students keep coming to class asking to use BookWidgets! When this happens, you know that it’s making a difference for them. Also as a language educator, it’s important that I be able to assess their speaking skills as they develop them, and having the option for students to record their voices is great. Some students may not feel comfortable at first speaking in front of their classmates, so this helps them to build their confidence because they can record at home or in a place that is comfortable for them. For teachers, it enables us to access their recordings at any time and be able to give feedback after it that the students can respond to. Check out some additional examples that can be used in language classes!
With the Google Chrome extension, it is so easy to get started with BookWidgets! Using the SSO, everyone saves time accessing activities and being able to understand where students are in their learning journey. Being able to provide feedback to students right within Google Classroom streamlines the process and keeps the learning going. If your school has the Google for Education teaching and learning upgrade or a plus account, you can ask your administrator to enable BookWidgets for your entire school!
For teachers that are using Google Classroom, it’s great that you can monitor the work students are doing in real-time whenever you’ve created a BookWidgets assignment within Google Classroom. Being able to see when they completed the last activity, what their progress is, and how they responded, in a very visually engaging and easy-to-understand way, helps teachers be able to give feedback when it is critical. It’s also great to be able to visualize the progress of the class, to be able to provide additional instruction to the whole group or to have time to go and work with students on an individual basis. Check out these ideas for using BookWidgets with Google Classroom!
In addition to teaching Spanish, I also teach a STEAM course and if you didn’t know, BookWidgets also has interactive STEM lessons available with 25 ideas to choose from! You might want to check out the recent blog post on those 25 ready-to-use lesson ideas for STEM lessons. There are so many and the key about them is that it helps students to work at their own pace and experience more active learning that becomes more meaningful for them and then of course will boost student engagement. Even if you don’t teach a specific course to STEM, you’ll find options for other courses that you can adapt to the course that you are teaching.
So if you are looking for some great back-to-school ideas for any classroom, head to BookWidgets and get started today. Check out the ready-to-use lesson ideas and many templates to choose from! And even better, sign up for one of their upcoming webinars! Join in and you might win BookWidgets for your entire school. At the end of the 1-hour webinar course, complete the survey and you’re in the running to win BookWidgets for 1 year for your entire school!
“I think that it is useless to fight directly against natural weaknesses….in the ordinary course of life one has to know these weaknesses, prudently take them into account, and strive to turn them into good purpose; for they are capable of being put to some good purpose.”
-Simone Weil, Waiting for God
We all have our own weaknesses whether we like to admit it or not. We also often try so hard to improve on these weaknesses and divert our attention away from focusing on our strengths. French philosopher, mystic, and political activist Simone Weil’s quote she reminds us that this struggle to fight and/or improve upon those natural weaknesses is in essence wasted energy in that we are always trying to fix everything about our weaknesses instead of taking it for what it worth and applying things more so towards turning them into a greater purpose. Don’t get me wrong, this would be a complete mind shift in our thinking but something that is necessary for our own personal growth.
Often times it is our weaknesses that are someone else’s strengths and their weaknesses are your strengths. This helps to balance everything. We must keep in mind not to become overly focused on perfection because that is truly an unachievable feat. If we go in with the mindset that any improvement in a weakness shows signs of growth we are able to build on this and use it towards that good purpose that Weil refers to. This good purpose can be building things towards a better community through enhancing our relationships with one another or increasing the communicative needs of the group. Whatever that purpose is can only be enhanced due to using those weaknesses to our advantage. We have this all within our own control if we take the time to draw our attention to it.
What does this quote mean to you and how can you apply today’s message towards managing yourself better?
Becoming The Change: Great Leaders vs Weak Leaders
“Weak leaders have the luxury of looking into themselves. Great leaders have the honor of looking after others.”
-Simon Sinek
Relationships should be built on having people look after others instead of just themselves. That is author, speaker, and podcaster Simon Sinek’s take on the difference between great leaders and weak leaders. Weak leaders that only look after themselves are very self-centered as they are only concerned with what they accomplish and do everything only for their personal gain. On the other hand, great leaders put others before themselves by serving them and their needs. Their acts are selfless. Weak leaders destroy relationships while great leaders build and strengthen them. It’s time we answer our true calling and look after others. It’s the only way we can truly become united in order to sustain and enhance the world we live in.
What does this quote mean to you and how can you apply today’s message towards developing your relationship skills?
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In preparing students with the essential skills they need for the future, we have a variety of methods and digital tools to choose from. Starting with methods first is my recommendation because it helps us to focus carefully on our specific learning goals and consider the “why” behind our decisions. We should focus on the skills our students will gain from a particular method or tool and then how these skills align with what they need to be prepared for what lies ahead after they leave our classrooms.
As we look to the future, there are many unknowns when it comes to the world of work. Jobs that exist today may not exist in five years due to changes in technology and automation for example. To stay informed, a resource that I often explore is the World Economic Forum which provides a Job Skills Outlook with a list of the top ten in-demand skills by 2025. Among the top skills cited include active learning, collaboration, resilience, stress tolerance and flexibility, critical thinking, problem-solving and ideation. How can we make sure our instruction is relevant to meet the growing demands in the world of work? And how can we help our students to deal with the challenges that might come from a changing world of work and be able to understand their strengths and areas that they need to improve in?
To meet the demand for these skills, we need to provide students with project-based learning (PBL) opportunities which foster the development of social-emotional learning (SEL) skills. The five core competencies of self-awareness, social awareness, self-management, relationship building, and decision-making are necessary in our classrooms today and are needed in the world of work. To learn more about SEL, explore the many resources available through the Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning (CASEL.org).
Why focus on SEL in PBL?
Because research shows that by addressing the five competencies of SEL in our classrooms, we can positively impact and see an increase in student academic performance. To be successful in the future, students need opportunities that will help them to build SEL skills, especially in the areas of self-awareness and self-management.
Self-awareness: As students work independently during project-based learning, they are becoming aware of their skills and their interests as they explore topics that they are curious about. As they design their PBL focus, they learn to self-assess and evolve as learners.
Self-management: Through project-based learning, students work on setting new goals, and dealing with stress as they work through their project or perhaps problem-based learning journeys. Because PBL is an iterative process, students will see learning as a process, rather than a final product as they develop their own personalized work plan.
With the Job Skills Outlook, developing self-awareness is essential for ideation and innovation. Self-management skills will help students to become resilient, tolerate the stress they experience, and above all, be flexible in learning.
Why start with self-awareness and self-management
When it comes to engaging in PBL, or other work that is focused on student choice and is student-driven, it can be a difficult shift at first for some students. Different than doing just projects, where specific requirements are given and a defined tangible end product is created, with PBL, students have to design their learning journey. By doing this, it can lead students to experience some stress and frustration because it is so open-ended and requires an ongoing iterative process. As students are trying to solve a problem or dealing with failure, they need to be able to process emotions, set goals, and push through the challenges faced. Students will engage in trial and error, testing and re-testing, and at times, may find that they cannot find a specific solution to a problem. When this happens, being able to deal with these stressors and work through them by setting new goals will be essential for students now and in their future. This is why SEL matters and starting with a focus on self-awareness and self-management is key.
Promoting SEL through iBlocks
I recently met the folks and Teq and have been researching their iBlocks solution for PBL. I think it provides a good structure for students to work through projects and supports the development of SEL skills in some specific ways.
With iBlocks, students are working on authentic projects and with the resources provided, they will develop skills of self-awareness and self-management. Students have a student workbook that is used as they work through each module of the iBlock. What is the most helpful for students is that they have a space where they can really think through what they are learning and reflect on the experience they are having.
As they work through the research and planning phase, they can respond to the questions and capture their ideas in a space where they can reflect on them, evaluate them, set goals for themselves, and have the support of pacing. It is so beneficial for students to have that structured support available that they can use.
The right student resources
When focusing on self-awareness, students need to understand where they are in the learning process. They need to be able to process their learning and ask:
What are some of the things that they know and can do?
What are some areas that may be confusing to them?
What do they notice about how they learn?
With iBlocks, the use of the student self-assessment rubric helps students to develop their skills of self-awareness by recording and reflecting on their iBlock work. Having the space and a system in place that guides students along the way, will help them to become more aware as they learn and develop confidence in the process as well.
With self-management, being able to tackle a big project or work through a challenge are skills that students need in our classes now. And for those skills for the future, stress tolerance, dealing with frustration, and being flexible in learning are all important. By using the self-assessment in their student workbook, it takes away some of that pressure for students of having to figure it out on their own. The student workbook helps them plan how much time to devote to their work, reflect on the progress they are making, and the next steps that will lead them to be successful in completing the work.
The student materials help teachers to facilitate rather than lead the learning. The workbook helps students to stay on track and be accountable to themselves in setting goals and working through challenges. They will better understand where they are in the learning process and what next steps they need to take.
The student workbook and iBlocks modules provide students with a structure that enables them to work with complex topics but in a way that builds their skills over time and at a good pace so that they can learn as well as build those self-awareness and self-management skills.
Learning to process thoughts and emotions
As students are working through their project-based learning, they have prompts throughout their workbook (and provided by the teacher as needed) that will require them to assess their own performance. They will be accountable to themselves and have a space where they can write down any of the challenges that they are facing in the work. They can even brainstorm ideas for how to work through those challenges and overcome them. As a result, they will build resilience and be better prepared for the next PBL experience and will continue to build those skills over time.
As students work through a project, they have the space and support to reflect on their learning, to evaluate where they are in the learning process, and learn to manage their emotions as they are working through the challenges of PBL.
As educators, we should continue to ask ourselves these questions:
How can we create opportunities for students to drive their own learning?
What options will provide a more interactive and collaborative experience, regardless of where learning is taking place?
How do we weave SEL into our classroom and boost student engagement in learning?
Which methods will provide students with the right skill development?
With the different iBlocks available, students engage in purposeful learning and figure out how to solve some of the challenges being faced by people in the world. With each iBlock, teachers receive a Framework, Teacher’s Guide, Student Workbooks, and more. There are issues being faced that have been researched for many years and still are without a solution. Our students can explore any area of interest and become innovators and problem solvers. They will learn about working as part of a team, pushing through failures, and engaging in hands-on STEM learning.
With the knowledge that students will gain through their experiences, they will have developed skills that will enable them to adapt to a changing world of education and work.
To get started, there are three sample iBlocks available to download: Rube Goldberg, Design a Comic Book, and Prosthetics iBlocks.
SEL Skill
Example PBL activities to Support SEL Skill Development
iBlocks-Specific Support for this SEL Skill Development
Self-Awareness
Career exploration based on interests
Independent work
Student voice and choice
Self-assessment
Defined learning pathways to select from that cover real-world projects
Place for students to record work and reflect on the learning process
Student self-assessment rubric
Workbook sections dedicated to asking questions and revising work
Self Management
Students design their learning journey
Iterate through a learning process
Goal setting
Scaffolded questions to support personal goals within the student workbook
Progress tracking charts/tables to maximize learning during the allotted time
Peer review and other collaborative activities within lesson plans that give an opportunity for students to recognize differences in opinion and respect others’ opinions
Teacher tips to support students with compromising during collaborative work (i.e. collaborative brainstorming)
Rachelle is available for in-person and virtual PD sessions for your school.
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Guest post by laura steinbrink, posted on her blog site Rockntheboat
If you have ever played organized baseball or softball, at any level, chances are that you have gone through a warmup or drill of some sort that required you to throw the ball to another player. If you follow me on Instagram or Facebook, then you are aware that I have a son who is very active athletically, particularly in the sport of baseball, which is where I came up with the idea for this post.
My son Ryan plays travel baseball and high school baseball, and he is fortunate to get to play both of those with his cousin Hayden. They are three weeks apart in age, so they naturally get to do a lot of things together. However, having the same throwing partner for both the travel team and the high school team is pretty cool. In case you haven’t thought of this before, your throwing partner is important, so having the right one is crucial. I know, some of you are thinking that I should be saying my son should be open to throwing with anyone. Sure, and he is, but to get the most out of the warm-up consistently, throwing partners should be very similar in skill and ability. An occasional switch-up happens, but I’ve watched a lot of baseball and coached and watched a lot of softball, and most players prefer to use the same throwing partner every time, just like my son.
There are definite benefits to having a good and consistent throwing partner that correlate to education. Here are three key benefits:
Similar skill and ability mean that you spend less time chasing badly thrown balls. Paring an experienced player with an inexperienced player in the throwing warmup may sound good on the surface, but a lot of frustration and embarrassment ensue when this happens. In education, the badly thrown balls can represent bad advice, redundant policies, activities, or practices. On the flipside, badly thrown balls can also be like advice or practices that seem totally out of reach by the more inexperienced teacher.
Your throwing partner, by catching or attempting to catch what you throw to them, helps you see what adjustments need to be made so that you can throw it back at them with the accuracy and speed needed for them to be able to catch the ball. Or in educational terms, a good throwing partner can help you see what adjustments are needed for your strategy, activity, policy change, etc. big idea.
Not only does your throwing partner catch what you throw, but they also, providing you have a good teammate, forgive your wild throws and missed opportunities to catch the ball each and every time. A good educational throwing partner will even retrieve bad or wild throws without making you feel bad about it. This is a much-needed skill today. We have all had a lesson go awry, so it’s nice to have a partner who will help you go get the ball so you can start throwing again.
So there’s my quick educational baseball analogy to help us all get ready for the new school year. Whether you have already started, are about to start back, or still have some time left before the school year officially begins, you need to consider someone in your building or district who could be your throwing partner. I a have local throwing partner and various ones in my expanded professional learning network (PLN) that can catch what I throw at them, will help me retrieve errant throws, and never make me feel bad about it. A partner can also make the experience more enjoyable. Do you have a throwing partner?
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There are several considerations when creating an engaging ESOL, English for Speakers of Other Languages, lesson. Just as we need specific ingredients and routines to cook a delicious meal, an ESOL lesson requires unique components to provide opportunities for English Language Learners to flourish! Luckily, this recipe only requires four steps and a few ingredients.
You will need:
The free template included at the end of this blog post!
Google Classroom or any learning management system (Canvas, Schoology, etc.)
Using WIDA’s four language domains, reading, listening, writing, and speaking, this online module activity creates opportunities for students to learn English while engaging in culturally-relevant conversations. As the activities spark conversation, they also support core content-specific standards.
4 Steps to Create An Engaging ESOL Lesson
Step 1: Collaboration
If you are an ESOL teacher, email or meet with students’ core-content teachers so that you can find content-specific paragraphs to use for your writing, reading, listening, and speaking activity prompts. An efficient way to share and receive resources with core-content area teachers is to utilize a Google shared drive or collaborative folder to quickly send documents. By using informational text from teachers, students will be working on their English skills while also receiving core-content supports.
Step 2: Language Supports Next, decide which activities would benefit from read-aloud buttons. Read-aloud buttons are used in this activity to provide English and non-English audio clips to support students struggling to understand the text.
To create an English-speaking audio button for a listening activity: Use the free voice recorder website to record any prompts. Download the audio file, then upload the file to your Google Drive. IMPORTANT! Do not forget to change the share settings on the audio fileto anyone with the link can view! If you skip this step, then the audio buttons will not work.
To create an audio button in a student’s first language: go to Google Translate, then type the writing prompt into the window. After you have typed your prompt, click record on your free voice recorder website, then play the audio button so that the computer begins speaking the translated message. While Google translate may have some translation errors, it still provides additional support if students are struggling to make connections from their first language to English.
Step 3: Brain Breaks Find games for brain breaks to practice skills! I normally find content-specific games from Quizziz!
Step 4: Share with Students Once you have finished typing the activities on the Google slides template, share the presentation on Google Classroom or your chosen learning management system.
How are you creating ESOL lessons? Please reach out! I would love to collaborate. A special shoutout to SlidesMania for always being my go-to for creating presentations and to Dr. Stacie Pettit for her mentorship during my ESOL certification process.
To use the free ESOL lessons template, please first log in to your Google account, then click here! Once you click on the click, it will ask you to make a copy. The copy will then be added to your Google Drive.
About the Author
Rachelle Dené Poth is a Foreign Language and STEAM Educator at Riverview High School in Oakmont, PA. She is also an Attorney, Edtech Consultant, and Speaker. Rachelle is the author of seven books about education and edtech and a blogger. Follow her on Twitter and Instagram at @Rdene915.
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The world is constantly changing which means that in our work as educators, we need to continue to push ourselves to learn about the innovations happening in the world. We are in the position to help students to build skills in the right areas so that they will be ready for whatever the future brings. Beyond teaching our specific content area and bringing in a variety of content-specific learning methods and resources, we have to embrace opportunities to do more by adding in experiences that enable us all to keep up with and perhaps even get ahead of some of the changes that we are seeing in the world.
So what are the skills that students need? We’ve heard about the essential 21st-century skills for many years. Well into the 21st century, now we have to focus on the skills of transfer that promote flexibility when it comes to career opportunities. A great resource to learn more and stay informed is the job skills outlook provided by the World Economic Forum (WEF).
According to the World Economic Forum, among the top skills sought in the world of work are collaboration, communication, creativity, critical thinking, emotional intelligence, and problem-solving. There are many ways to help students to develop these skills in our classrooms and which rely on simple methods like PBL or STEM-related activities. Also to be considered are the five core competencies of social-emotional learning (SEL) which are directly related to 21st-century skills and the WEF outlook. The areas of self-awareness, social awareness, self-management, relationship building, and decision-making are vital to student success and equally as important for us as educators and adults.
Emerging Trends and Technologies
Over the past two years, we have seen a big shift to relying on technology not just for education, but also for work. Schools, businesses, and organizations have relied on technologies to keep moving forward. Schools experienced fully virtual and hybrid learning for several years and students, teachers, and families had to learn and adapt quickly. Companies relied on remote work and for many, there are jobs that are now being done fully remote, which means that our students need to know how to interact in the virtual space and how to complete tasks, use technology, communicate, and more, as they prepare for the future, whether that involves college or career.
Whether or not we think that we can bring these emerging technologies into our classrooms, we all can. Because of the way that some of these technologies are being used now and are predicted to be used in the future, educators are in the best place to help students prepare. Some of the examples include things like the use of artificial intelligence, augmented and virtual reality, and blockchain. While we may be more used to and familiar with some of these, for many educators these concepts may be quite new. It takes time to build skills in these areas and understand what their impact may be on our personal and professional lives, but there are a lot of resources out there to explore and ways that we can help students to learn about them while connecting it to the content we are teaching.
We know there is an increased need for STEM-related skills as it has been predicted there will be 58 million STEM-related jobs available by 2025. In particular, according to the Jobs of Tomorrow report, some areas such as artificial intelligence, data analytics, cloud computing, and cybersecurity will see an increased demand for skilled workers. An article from the World Economic Forum referred to a “reckoning for skills” and discussed how certain skills will be essential as 1 billion jobs will be transformed by technology over the next 10 years. Another resource that I read recently came from the “Learn to Code” website which had a list of 18 tech skills that are in demand now and recommended that everyone should learn. Artificial intelligence was number one on the list. Following AI, was machine learning, data science, data analytics, and data visualization making up the top five. Additional needs included cybersecurity and STEM-related fields. Because of this growing need and lack of qualified people to fill those positions as of today, we need to do more to prepare our students not just for these potential careers but others that will continue to be created as technology evolves and transforms how we live, learn, and work. How can we start today?
Getting Started
There are many options available for educators to choose from, some of which are free and some that come at a cost, but either way, many do not require a lot of time to get started. Here are seven options, some of which are organizations that offer individual lessons or an entire K through 12 curriculum which provides educators with the resources and support they need to get started in some of these “in-demand” areas.
AIClub offers resources for students ages 8 and up to learn about artificial intelligence and AI-related topics. There are free activities available for students to interact with AI and develop their own understanding of what AI is. AIClub also has lessons and sample projects created by students to explore.
ASU Crash Course Data Literacy offers a 15 video series for educators and students to learn about data literacy, an important topic for students to understand with so much data in our everyday lives. Using a course like this helps to promote student independence in learning by providing them with the opportunity to decide their pace and path as they work through the concepts related to data literacy.
Google AI Experiments offers a lot of interesting experiments based on AI and machine learning that students can interact with. Students also can create their own experiments and submit them to Google for possible inclusion on the site. There are also experiments to learn more about augmented and virtual reality and some based on areas like art, music, and more.
ISTE’s AI and STEM Explorations Network has four free hands-on AI project guides for the classroom which are available for download from ISTE and GM. I helped to design a lesson on the use of AI via translators in language classrooms. The guides are available in English, Spanish, and Arabic. Included in their guides are lessons for electives which brings in options for courses in STEM and Language classes.
Khan Academy offers online courses on a variety of topics related to STEM, coding, data science, and more. The courses include practice activities and videos and have materials for use with younger students through high school and college.
Microsoft AI for Good offers many resources for educators or anybody to look at how artificial intelligence is being used and to also better prepare teachers. Microsoft also has Hacking STEM which provides many additional resources for teaching about STEM in any classroom.
Nearpod: An interactive multimedia learning platform that provides a quick way for educators to get started with lessons focused on artificial intelligence, coding, cryptocurrency, STEM topics, understanding computers, and more. There are thousands of lessons to download that can include 3D objects for students to explore and VR field trips powered by 360 cities.
About the Author
Rachelle Dené Poth is a Foreign Language and STEAM Educator at Riverview High School in Oakmont, PA. She is also an Attorney, Edtech Consultant, and Speaker. Rachelle is the author of seven books about education and edtech and a blogger. Follow her on Twitter and Instagram at @Rdene915.
**Interested in writing a guest blog for my site? Would love to share your ideas! Submit your post here. Looking for a new book to read? Find these available at bit.ly/Pothbooks
************ Also check out my THRIVEinEDU PodcastHere!
Join my weekly show on Mondays and Fridays at 6pm or 6:30 pm ET THRIVEinEDU on Facebook. Join the group here
While we have many methods and digital tools or even virtual spaces to explore, we must remember to always focus on the “why” behind the choices we make. There are great benefits through the use of digital tools to enable us to connect with one another, to access new learning experiences, to keep learning and the world of work going. When we can choose and leverage the right methods and digital tools, we foster collaboration, communication, and creativity which are some of the essential skills our students need now and in the future.
When students have opportunities to engage in more student-driven, hands-on learning, it makes their experiences more authentic and meaningful. We help to move them from consumers to creators and empower them to lead the way when it comes to learning about these emerging technologies. Through these opportunities, students will be better equipped to develop the skills that will enable them to adapt to a changing landscape of work and life.
About the Author
Rachelle Dené Poth is a Foreign Language and STEAM Educator at Riverview High School in Oakmont, PA. She is also an Attorney, Edtech Consultant, Speaker and Instructional Technology Coach. Rachelle is the Author of seven books about education and edtech and a blogger. Follow her on Twitter and Instagram at @Rdene915.
Looking for a new activity to challenge students to learn in a new way? Students spend so much of their school day sitting in their seats with few opportunities to move and interact with their classmates. However, there are many different methods that we can bring into our classroom to get students up and moving and more importantly, collaborating.
In my own practice, I’ve found that working together with students sparks innovative and more meaningful ways to build their content area knowledge and essential skills. Since students spend so much time in classrooms, why not plan a quick “escape” to inspire curiosity for learning and engage students?
The classroom escape room: when you need something different!
Escape rooms or digital or physical breakouts are a favorite for many students and teachers. Whether created simply using paper and other hands-on materials or with different digital tools, they help students build their skills in many different areas.
In its essence, an escape room requires that the players escape from some type of a scenario or situation. Teachers typically create a theme to hook students in. The purpose is to engage students in learning, making connections to the content area, while boosting student engagement. The theme also creates excitement for learning!
I think these activities would be great for giving students a chance to work on some of the content that might be more complex or that would benefit from repetition and the development of their leadership skills. We definitely want students to build their collaboration and social-emotional learning (SEL) skills. Escape room activities encourage them to work together towards a common goal, even if sometimes they don’t realize it. When I first did a breakout, it was a way to review for midterm exams. Students loved being able to get up and talk with each other. It led to a far better review experience than the other methods that were available to me.
How escape and breakout rooms can benefit students
The goal behind the breakout or escape room challenge is to have students typically in a race against time. Most often they enjoy the game-based learning aspect and want to be the first one to complete it or to escape. Here are some other benefits:
Suitable for any grade level and content area
Methods like these can be really effective because they can be used with any grade level and content area. For teachers concerned about the amount of time that it might take to create one of their own, there are enough resources out there to get started that don’t require much time at all. The idea is to simply start with a ready-to-use one and let it be a guide to create your own. Depending on the age of your students, have students create an escape room for their classmates!
Build SEL skills
Each of the five core SEL competencies is addressed. Beyond building content knowledge, students will build essential SEL skills. As they work through the problems, they are learning and building self-awareness. The frustration that they might experience working through the challenges helps them with self-management. Depending on the topic, they can build social awareness through the content that they’re exploring, discussions that they’re having, or what they’re learning from their peers.
Create meaningful classroom relationships
Escape rooms build relationships as students work together to break out. Additionally, throughout the whole experience, they’re making decisions, building resilience, and persist whenever the solutions are not working. Students walk away with excitement about what they have learned in an immersive and engaging learning experience.
Escape room activity in the classroom. Credit: Rachelle Dene Poth
How to get started with classroom escape rooms
Teachers can create escape rooms in many different ways, such as:
1. Breakout kits
For example, the Breakout EDU boxes come as a full kit that has a variety of locks, hint cards, and more. It requires students to work through problems or puzzles and break out. There are many free resources available for educators to get started with that just require the box and thinking about a theme or using some of the many choices available for different subject areas and grade levels.
2. Virtual breakouts
For virtual learning, there are also digital breakouts that can be completed in or out of the classroom in small groups using meeting spaces like Zoom or Microsoft Teams breakout rooms. Students will follow the clues and collaborate with their peers to figure out how to solve the problem that will get them to move on to other puzzles and clues.
3. Escape rooms using Google
You can create a Google Site to house all of the relevant content for the breakout. This means that you can embed a Google form. Alternatively, you can use physical other clues on paper and create a Google Form for the locks and letter combinations. Google Forms are great for your breakouts because they are easy to set up and free to create. You simply create your clues and then decide on number locks, letter combinations and make sure you set response validation so students know if they are correct. You can even add a congratulatory message for when they escape! Check out this tutorial created by a student. Regardless of which you choose, students will enjoy the experience.
Create classroom escape activities with the help of Google Forms.
4. Add special clues
Your clues can be puzzles, riddles, word scrambles, or hints hidden in a website. It can also be writing that generates a code or word to move on to the next clue. Start small and create four or five clues and have students work in small groups of three-four.
Escape rooms can be done at a small scale using paper, mystery envelopes and props placed around the classroom. If time permits, you can create a fully transformed classroom to draw students into the experience.
Planning the classroom escape room experience
Here are some steps to help you plan your escape room:
Identify the learning objectives or specific skills that you want students to master. What are some questions you might ask?
Decide on a theme to boost engagement. There are a lot of fun themes that you can use depending on what you teach. Is it a period in history, a setting in a book that students are reading, a specific location, a mystery, or something entirely made up?
Choose the “how.” Will it start via a mystery letter describing the scenario and listing the clues? Maybe someone delivers a box to your classroom? Do you have a Breakout box to pique their interest? Do you need pictures and props in the room? Has your classroom undergone a makeover to represent the theme? Or is it all done through Google Forms? Find what works best for you and your students.
Figure out how many clues you need. What are the props you might need in the classroom? How will you set up the locks in the box (or online)? Remember that students need to solve a clue to unlock and get to the next clue. Connect the content to the clue and push their problem-solving and collaborative skills. Depending on the specific scenario, we will engage students in more authentic and meaningful learning opportunities.
If you add in a time challenge, students will build their time management skills. It helps them solve problems, be creative and learn to work under pressure as they complete the challenges.
Building a classroom escape room
As we prepare students for the future, we have to think about essential skills that will be needed in the workplace, such as creativity, critical thinking, collaboration, teamwork, problem solving and innovation. Using different methods like escape rooms can help us provide various experiences for students that spark curiosity and engage them in interactive learning.
While students might have to overcome obstacles and experience failure whenever their solutions don’t work, they’re doing it with the support of their group!
Rachelle Dené Poth is a Foreign Language and STEAM Teacher at Riverview Junior/Senior High in Oakmont, PA. She is also an Attorney, Edtech Consultant, Keynote Speaker, and the Author of seven books about education and edtech. Follow her on Twitter and Instagram at @rdene915
**Interested in writing a guest blog for my site? Would love to share your ideas! Submit your post here. Looking for a new book to read? Find these available at bit.ly/Pothbooks
************ Also check out my THRIVEinEDU PodcastHere!
Join my weekly show on Mondays and Fridays at 6pm or 6:30 pm ET THRIVEinEDU on Facebook. Join the group here
As educators prepare to head back into their classrooms, there are many areas that we need to focus on. Most important, is getting to know our students and their families. Building supportive relationships that help families and students feel comfortable and safe in our schools is essential. Being able to connect with the members of the school community in a timely and consistent manner is important. At the start of the school year, there needs to be a greater focus on procedures and communicating this information to families in a reliable and streamlined way.
Procedures regarding student transportation, sharing information about changes in the school schedule, and knowing how to communicate efficiently when there is an emergency or time-sensitive event. With the right platform, parents, teachers, administrators, the school community, and even students will feel more comfortable and secure in our schools. The procedures and tools that are in place will provide a safe, secure, and supportive connection between home and school as students are placed in our care during the school day.
School schedules and important information
There are always adjustments that teachers and families face at the start of every school year. One of the biggest is with transportation and in particular, school dismissals. Figuring out when and where to drop off and pick up students, how the timing works, and if there will be any delays can be a challenge. Depending on the school community and the surrounding area, with many cars and buses, it can be dangerous for students. Whether students are walking to specific pickup spots or waiting close to the streets for rides to or from school, making sure they are safe is key but can be tough to manage. However, with an option like Pikmykid, families and the school staff are able to keep track of when students arrive and when they need to be dismissed. Pikmykid also offers different ways to provide information to parents.
In my school district and other similar small school systems, many students may walk home from school while others are waiting for a ride or for the bus. Some students may stay after school to participate in activities or work with teachers. Without anything in place, it is hard to know where students are and when and if they have left school and safely returned how. Knowing where students are and when they have been safely picked up and returned home, is critical. Having school dismissal software enables teachers and families to work together to make sure that students are arriving and leaving school safely. More than that, it provides a way for schools to share information in addition to totally streamlining the process of school dismissal.
The challenge of dismissals
Rather than sending students to school with a note and papers getting lost in the shuffle, parents are quickly able to share plans for transportation using the school dismissal software. They can schedule the pickup and make quick updates using their app rather than sending an email, writing a note or calling the school. Using the app eliminates the extra time and other steps or applications that might be used instead. It also fosters real-time communication, making it more efficient and secure. Teachers know where the parents are and when the students have been safely connected with them.
The benefits
The use of one comprehensive platform saves time because you know exactly when parents are arriving and students have been picked up.
It provides more opportunities for teachers to work with students and have more instructional time available.
It can be managed from within one space, where real-time communication can happen and changes can be made quickly without losing time by calling the office.
It helps in the event of any type of emergency situation. Being able to send a message directly to parents without needing to make a phone call, or call the office, makes a difference.
School staff and administrators are in better able to keep records of notifications, dismissals, parental communication, and student information including absences.
With features like a silent alarm, teachers can alert first responders without the use of loud alarms or causing extra panic in an emergency situation.
All-in-one
The Pikmykid platform enables multi-channel communication which means messages can be sent through email, text, or voice message. Families can choose based on their preferences. As students leave, their information is reported directly into the dashboard and is available within the parent app. Pikmykid is browser-based which means you don’t need to have any specific software installed or any other types of devices made available.
Think about times during the school year when students have needed to be dismissed from your class or any class. Loud announcements are made that interrupt classes, phone calls coming in, or emails that may be missed. All of these impact instructional time, cause unnecessary delay, and can definitely lead to concern. For parents, waiting for their children at the end of the school day, or not knowing that students may be delayed in leaving class, for example, can cause worry. Having a tool that meets the specific needs and interests of all members of the school community makes a difference. Especially today when we know that our school days may be impacted by events happening in the world or just within our own schools, we need to rely on effective tools. Parent and family engagement increases with the use of a platform like Pikmykid because they are connected with what is happening in the school and informed in the event of emergencies. As we see different needs in our schools when it comes to information and connecting with families, having reliable communication tools that enable us to be flexible in what we provide is key.
Building relationships and having a consistent, unified, real-time way to communicate with families is essential for our schools. While some schools may choose to use a variety of tools to help with arrival and dismissal, tracking student absences, sending information, or notifying about emergencies, everything is made available within the Pikmykid platform.
About the Author
Rachelle Dené Poth is a Foreign Language and STEAM Educator at Riverview High School in Oakmont, PA. She is also an Attorney, Edtech Consultant, and Speaker. Rachelle is the author of seven books about education and edtech and a blogger. Follow her on Twitter and Instagram at @Rdene915.
**Interested in writing a guest blog for my site? Would love to share your ideas! Submit your post here. Looking for a new book to read? Find these available at bit.ly/Pothbooks
************ Also check out my THRIVEinEDU PodcastHere!
Join my weekly show on Mondays and Fridays at 6pm or 6:30 pm ET THRIVEinEDU on Facebook. Join the group here
Learning as I go: Experiences, reflections, lessons learned 