mortiz051

Supporting the 4Cs in Learner-Centered Classrooms Critical thinking - Students use critical thinking skills to plan and conduct research, manage projects, solve problems, and make informed decisions using appropriate digital tools and resources. Students will: Identify and define authentic problems and significant questions for investigation. Plan and manage activities to develop a solution or complete a project. Collect and analyze data to identify solutions and/or make informed decisions. Use multiple processes and diverse perspectives to explore alternative solutions. Source: Student Skills Connected to Critical Thinking " An education isn't how much you have committed to memory, or even how much you know. It's being able to differentiate between what you do know and what you don't. " - Anatole France I have long believed that my content should support the development of student skills connected to the 4 Cs or collaboration, communication, critical thinking, a...

Earlier today I was part of a Google + Discussion about countdown timers in slides. I shared the idea of using a YouTube Video as a Countdown Timer . I totally dropped the ball on this post and forgot to share that you have some options when inserting a video from YouTube or Google Drive.  Relevant to the timers in Google Slides is the fact that you can set a start and end time for the video. This means you can use the same countdown timer on multiple slides. If I insert a 20-minute video on a slide and want a 10-minute timer on the next slide, I can use the same countdown video and set the time to start at the 10-minute mark on the next slide using the "Video options..." in slides.  Here is a quick overview of the process.  1. In the Google Slides Insert menu. Click on the Insert Menu and then on Video. 2. Search for the length countdown timer you need. 3. Insert and resize the video and then right click on the video and choose click on "Video options..." 4. A side...

" Design is thinking made visual ." - Saul Bass If you are not new to my blog, you know that I am a big fan of HyperDocs . In my classroom, HyperDocs are Powerful Frameworks for Student-Centered Exploration. I do my best to build HyperDoc activities that get students engaged in the 4 Cs of collaboration, communication, critical thinking, and creativity. I also love the power of Hyperdocs to support student voice and choice. I am working on updating our HyperDocs Mission Control Document and I am interested in resources that enhance the visual appeal of a HyperDocs. The templates on the HyperDoc Resources Page are a great place to start and I am exploring additional tools that can be used to enhance the visual appeal beyond Google Image Search and the Explore Tool in Docs/Slides.  The Noun Project  - Quickly find the icon you want, change its color & size, then insert it right into your Google Slides and Docs.  Meme Generators - There are many incre...

Padlet has become a favorite tool for  collaboration and communication  so I am super excited for the new updates Padlet has unveiled recently. Learn more about using Padlet in your classroom with this post by Lucie Renard. 30 creative ways to use Padlet for teachers and students Here are three of the updates that I love the most right now.  1. I am probably most excited about the new Reaction feature . Now teachers and students can Like, Vote, Star, and Grade posts in Padlet. You can turn on one of these 4 options for each Padlet that you create and share. This is a great way to engage students in Padlet. Like is just like it sounds. Have a little heart when you like a post. (Think Twitter) Vote allows users to give the good old thumbs up or thumbs down. (Think YouTube) Star allows users to rate a post between 1 to 5 stars. (Think Amazon) Grade allows users assign a grade on a scale. (Think Google Classroom) Learn more about Reactions  here . 2. You can...

Supporting the 4Cs in Learner-Centered Classrooms Creativity - Students demonstrate creative thinking, construct knowledge, and develop innovative products and processes using technology. Students will: Apply existing knowledge to generate new ideas, products, or processes. Create original works as a means of personal or group expression. Use models and simulations to explore complex systems and issues. Identify trends and forecast possibilities. Source:  Student Skills Connected to Creativity “ You can't use up creativity. The more you use, the more you have. ”― Maya Angelou I have long believed that my content should support the development of student skills connected to the 4 Cs or collaboration, communication, critical thinking, and creativity.  This week, I am working on updating my list of Web Resources connected to Creativity Skills for teachers, parents, and students. I have had a great deal of help from my PLN in the past and I am hoping you can help with this up...

Sometimes I feel like I am wondering in a Neverending Story. This is not a bad thing. This is how I learn. My goal for blogging and sharing resources is not to show what I know, but to share my learning experiences with my PLN. I explore and share resources as a diary of sorts connected to my learning. I share these resources because I still believe that the more you share the more you learn. All that being said, I wanted to let everyone know that I’ve reimagined the Recharge Learning Site and rebranded it as Wicked EdTech . Why? Let’s blame it on my ADHD, and I needed a new direction. (On the practical side, I wanted the site in the new Google Sites.) My main areas of exploration right now include: The 4 Cs (Duh!) G Suite Curiosity PLNs Assessment Digital Literacy Teaching and Learning (A catch-all?) As always, this is a neverending work in progress, a Neverending Story? I know there is a lot here, but I am curious about quite a few things right now. Thanks for taking a look, f...

Supporting the 4Cs in Learner-Centered Classrooms Communication - Students use digital media and environments to communicate and work collaboratively, including at a distance, to support individual learning and contribute to the learning of others. Students will: Interact, collaborate, and publish with peers, experts, or others employing a variety of digital environments and media. Communicate information and ideas effectively to multiple audiences using a variety of media and formats. Develop cultural understanding and global awareness by engaging with learners of other cultures. Contribute to project teams to produce original works or solve problems. Source: Student Skills Connected to Communication “We speak not only to tell other people what we think, but to tell ourselves what we think. Speech is a part of thought.” ― Oliver Sacks I have long believed that my content should support the development of student skills connected to the 4 Cs or collaboration, communication, critical t...

Supporting the 4Cs in Learner-Centered Classrooms Collaboration - Students use digital media and environments to communicate and work collaboratively, including at a distance, to support individual learning and contribute to the learning of others. Students will: Interact, collaborate, and publish with peers, experts, or others employing a variety of digital environments and media. Communicate information and ideas effectively to multiple audiences using a variety of media and formats. Develop cultural understanding and global awareness by engaging with learners of other cultures. Contribute to project teams to produce original works or solve problems. Source:  Student Skills Connected to Collaboration " Alone we are smart together we are brilliant. " Steven Anderson I have long believed that my content should support the development of student skills connected to the 4 Cs or collaboration, communication, critical thinking, and creativity.  Today I am working on updating my l...

" Around here we don't look backwards for very long. We keep moving forward, opening up new doors and doing new things, because we're curious...and curiosity keeps leading us down new paths. "  Walt Disney I have always been a big fan of the Disney magic, so it is no small wonder that I also love EdTech and G Suite for Education. I love that both companies have a growth mindset and never rest on their laurels.  Google slides has always been one of my favorite G Suite Tools and it comes as no surprise that Google recently announced some incredible updates for Slides. These updates go live for everyone on October 11th .  Slides are so much more than a presentation tool, and these updates will make Slides even more versatile. Here are three of my favorites from this recent Slides update. Peardeck  has partnered with Google to bring us one of the first add-ons for Slides. The Peardeck add-on allows you to add interactive questions to your presentation. It will be a grea...

We Don't Know What We Don't Know? This fall we rolled out almost 4,000 Chromebooks for the first time. Our students have been engaged in G Suite for more than 5 years, but Chromebooks were new for most.  How do we help all of our students explore the power of Chromebooks and G Suite? We knew that our students all have different experiences with Chrome and G Suite for Educations. We needed to provide them with resources and opportunities to explore and engage. It was important for us to provide them with something that they could use regardless of their knowledge and experiences.  We initially planned to use HyperDocs to get students collaborating, creating, communicating and thinking critically as they explored our 4 Google Essentials. We planned and organized 4 HyperDocs that we hoped would engage students in an experience that was rich with the 4 Cs.  We quickly realized that we simply would not have enough time to have students dive deep into a true HyperDoc experience...