Washington Tech Tidbits

According to Mike Rhode (The Sketchnote Handbook), "Sketchnotes are rich visual notes created from a mix of handwriting, drawings, hand-drawn typography, shapes, and visual elements like arrows, boxes, and lines."

For some, sketchnoting is a more powerful way of notetaking and may lead to greater comprehension of content.

For more information on sketchnoting and how to get started, click here. For ideas on how to use sketchnoting in your classroom, check out the sketchnote below.

Here is a Google Sheets template that your students can use to keep track of their daily reading. It allows students to establish goals and record their reading minutes and pages. It also calculates their progress and displays it in an easy-to-read bar graph.

A couple months ago, the ability to take a screenshot with your webcam and embed it into a Google Slides presentation was removed. As of last week, the feature has returned! From any Slides presentation, click the image icon, followed by Camera, to activate your webcam and snap a picture.

It's the New Year, which means that it's the perfect time for students to set goals for the remainder of the school year. Here are some ideas on how to create digital vision boards in Google Slides. Another idea is to have students set goals and track their progress in Google Keep.

The NICE MiniCon will take place on Saturday, January 27 from 8:30am-1pm at Evanston Township High School. This fantastic conference offers over 50 sessions and costs only $5! Click here to register! (I'll be there!)

In the fall, I took my first Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) on coaching digital learning. MOOCs through the Friday Institute are self-paced, online, and completely free. If you are interested in learning professionally in a collaborative environment, check out the spring 2018 offerings. Registration is now open. All courses begin on February 5th.

Remember, as a District 64 employee, you can get Professional Growth credit for pre-approved activities, so make sure to get your submissions into Skyward by January 23rd.