School’s primary objective is not to make a person smart, or fill their heads with facts, or initiate them into a mysterious society of academics. Simply put, school is about “[learning] how to learn (Smaldino, 2008). If we want students to learn, we can’t spend all our time on deciding what we teach–we have to think equally hard about how students will be learning.
This section focuses on how to use technology to help students engage in metacognition and be reflective learners, as well as helping us as teacher-librarians focus on meaning-making processes, rather than simple objectives.
Student-Centered Teaching Strategies Presentation and Handout
MakerSpace Activity with MakeyMakey
4th Grade Civics webquest for collaborative use with grade-level team
TedEd Lesson on Web 2.0 tools (Powtoon Animation)
Web 2.0 Interactive lessons on Coding from sample library website
- Play Posit
- TedEd
- Kizoa (does not embed interactively)
- Touchcast video (editing suite available on iPad only)
- Tes teach
- Wizer (embedded in Tes teach)
- Actively Learn (not linked, requires google classroom)
- Peardeck (requires Google login and class code: kgrak)
- Canva infographic shown below (embedded in Peardeck)
AASL Best Sites for Teaching and Learning— my favorite student-centered web 2.0 resources.
- For Social Bookmarking
- Pearl Trees
- Diggo
- Padlet
- Thinglink
- For creating interactive video
- Kizoa
- Play Posit
- TedEd
- For creating interactive presentations
- Peardeck
- Tes teach by Blendspace
- For annotating readings
- Wizer
- Actively Learn
Authentic Assessment Resources
Web 2.0 Technologies everyone should try
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- Storybird– bookmaker, great for alternate endings, different narrators, etc.
- GarageBand– app for audio recording and editing for iPhone/iPad
- Scratch– kid-friendly programming language, can be used with MakeyMakey, computers, etc.
- Neighborhood Map Machine– create and navigate real and fictional maps
- Doodle Buddy– free iPad drawing app. Users can upload and draw on their own pictures
- KidPix3D– drawing/animation studio for digital storytelling
- Educational Games Compilers
- GameOn– search by subject and grade level
- Mr. Nussbeum
The Tinkering Librarian 