Discuss in Class with Tech!

Tech Tip Tuesday (February 6, 2024)

They won't talk when I want them to, and they won't stop when I need them to.

Many folks strive to have their classroom community be one that is always communicating.

But why?

Enhanced comprehension. Active discussions help students process complex concepts by breaking them down as students articulate thoughts, refine ideas, and make connections between old and new information.
Critical thinking. Engaging in discussions challenges students to analyze, synthesize, and evaluate information from various sources and perspectives.
Active learning. Discussions require student participation through listening, giving them ownership of the process and content, unlike passive reception of information.
Confidence building. As students learn to express their thoughts, they gain more confidence and ownership of their own thinking and participation in academic discussions.
Continuous feedback. Discussions give students immediate feedback to self-identify and address gaps in understanding.

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Classroom discourse is also a great way to kick off inquiry-based learning, a great AVID classroom strategy!

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Schoology Discussions

Some students chat more easily and comfortably in a backchannel chat versus sharing openly in class.

Schoology allows you to create an interactive discussion for your students. Each discussion has threaded commenting that allows students to respond to any post by another student.

You can also share them across classes to have a discussion across classes.

You can enable grading if you want to add a layer of accountability or assess the discussion.

Click here to learn more!

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Padlet

Padlet allows for students to easily communicate and collaborate to record thoughts from discussion easily in a threaded discussion.

Whether it's a single-topic discussion or a discourse for an entire unit or semester, you can easily type or record voice or audio right inside of Padlet.

Moderation is also available for manual review or by using their content filter.

Need help thinking of creation ideas, discussion topics, or layouts to create a rich discussion?

For pre-built ideas, check out the Template library.

The Padlet Gallery can help with what other folks have done with their students.

Create your own ideas using AI automagically using Magic Padlet to generate an entire Padlet ranging from discussion board to lesson plans to image generation.

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Flip (formerly Flipgrid)

Sometimes typing is just too difficult (big sigh).

Flip is a great way to have students chat easily by video and record responses back and forth, allowing comments if you'd like to extend the convo.

Need ideas?

Discuss a book the class has read by leaving a guiding question to get students to discuss deeper ideas from the book.
Respond to a hot topic issue voted on by students to practice speaking and writing skills by presenting answers to related essay questions.
Record an ongoing story with each student, adding 30 seconds to continue the narrative.

Activate prior knowledge on a topic by having students share what they already know before starting a new unit and revisiting their ideas at the end.
Get brainstorming by having students quickly share and build on one another's ideas.
Practice world language skills by collaborating with native speakers from other schools domestically or abroad vis GridPals.
Catch up absent students by having a classmate summarize completed work and assignments in a quick video.

Need some more ideas or even a fully created prompt?

Check out Flip's Discovery Library!

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Nearpod Collaborate Board

Build a discussion and transition inside of a lesson to allow for rich discussion easily within a lesson.

Real-time brainstorming where students and teachers can share text and images instantly, fostering active participation and discussion

An inclusive environment where all voices are heard and contribute to the collective understanding, promoting a sense of community

Provide multiple perspectives by responding to classmates' ideas, building on each other's contributions, and enriching the learning experience.

Teacher moderation is available to maintain control by previewing and approving comments, ensuring a focused and productive discussion.

February is Black History Month!

Resource of the week!

Google Applied Digital Skills is a free curricular support for all teachers using technology in their classrooms. You can choose to use either their built-in LMS to manage content or pull their lesson plans and content into your own classroom for use.

In this collection, they collected lessons that can help amplify both local and historical Black voices and focus on the communities around them.

Check them out below!

Celebrate Black History, Culture & Identity

Use these lessons to explore the importance of Black history, express your identity, and celebrate the contributions of African Americans throughout history, during Black History Month, or any time of year.

applieddigitalskills.withgoogle.com

📖 Hey elementary reading teachers! 📕

Create your own fun games like bingo, races, and Connect Four with your sight words!

Although it works great with UFLI, you can create your own custom lists to your curriculum's foundational reading words and get kids having fun while learning their sight words!