In these 169 tech-centric situations, you get an overview of pedagogy—the tech topics most important to your teaching—as well as practical strategies to address most classroom tech situations, how to scaffold these to learning, and where they provide the subtext to daily tech-infused education.

Today’s tip: Basics in Every Lesson Plan

Here are four skills to be included and reinforced in every lesson plan. Don’t teach them! Blend them into your core lessons, as part of the workflow. Include them as you do when you teach reading (in non-reading classes), using a pencil, and handwriting:

• Keyboarding
• Digital citizenship
• Vocabulary
• Problem solving

For the other two, watch this video:

–summarized by NoteGPT

Summary

In this informative video, Jacqui Murray discusses effective technology integration in K-8 classrooms, highlighting the current supportive landscape for using technology in education. Murray emphasizes that this is an ideal time to be involved in teaching technology, whether or not one considers themselves a tech expert. The discussion begins with an introduction to Murray’s extensive experience in education, focusing on technology’s role in lesson delivery and integration into the curriculum. She introduces six key topics or “strands” that are essential for creating engaging lessons that reflect modern educational standards, blending subjects together rather than treating them in isolation.

The six strands include digital citizenship, keyboarding skills, problem-solving, research skills, vocabulary expansion, and publishing and sharing. For each topic, Murray offers practical strategies for teaching and integrating them into existing lesson plans. She talks about how to establish a foundation of digital citizenship by making students aware of online safety and etiquette from early grades. Murray discusses the necessity of keyboarding skills in today’s tech-driven world and how to incorporate them seamlessly into instruction.

Murray further explores the importance of problem-solving skills, encouraging students to troubleshoot and find solutions independently. She emphasizes safe and effective research tactics, urging students to critically evaluate sources. Expanding vocabulary through digital tools is highlighted, as is the critical element of sharing and publishing student work for collective learning and empowerment. Ultimately, Murray encourages teachers to view these strands as a cohesive framework that enhances learning and prepares students for future academic challenges.

Highlights

• 🎓 The importance of blending subjects to create cohesive lessons that reflect modern educational standards.
• 💻 Digital citizenship is essential from an early age, requiring ongoing discussions about online safety and etiquette.
• ⌨️ Keyboarding skills should be integrated into lessons, enhancing students’ competency with technology.
• 🛠️ Problem-solving skills transform students into independent learners who can troubleshoot tech issues.
• 🔍 Research skills empower students to critically evaluate sources, making them more informed consumers of information.
• 📚 Vocabulary expansion is essential in education, encouraging students to actively engage with words and definitions.
• 🔗 Publishing and sharing student work creates a sense of community and enhances collaborative learning.

Key Insights

• 🌐 Digital Citizenship is Essential: Murray highlights that it’s crucial to integrate discussions about digital citizenship into lessons at every grade level. This approach trains students to navigate the online world safely and responsibly, emphasizing that education about digital behavior is continuous and should evolve as students progress in their understanding of technology.
• 💡 The Role of Keyboarding Skills: Teaching keyboarding isn’t merely an added layer; it’s essential for enhancing classroom efficiency. By embedding keyboarding education into daily lessons, teachers equip students with necessary tools for success across subjects. This practice fosters dexterity that will serve students well in their digital interactions, allowing them to focus more on the content rather than the act of typing.
• 🔄 Encouraging Problem-Solving: Murray’s emphasis on fostering problem-solving abilities reflects a shift toward student autonomy in learning. By guiding students to find solutions independently, teachers streamline classroom management and empower students to take control of their learning experiences, ultimately making the educational process more dynamic.
• 🔍 Effective Research Skills: Educators must emphasize the importance of teaching students how to ascertain reliable information online. By preparing them to discern reputable sources from biased or misleading content, students become not only consumers of knowledge but also critical thinkers capable of navigating the complexities of information on the internet.
• 📖 Vocabulary Matters: The intentional teaching of vocabulary through multiple mediums can enhance comprehension and engagement. Murray suggests that using technology to aid vocabulary acquisition allows students to seek definitions and gain deeper understanding dynamically, rather than superficially glossing over complex content.
• 🌐 Collaborative Learning Through Sharing: Emphasizing the importance of publishing and sharing work transforms how students interact with their learning. In fostering an environment where students contribute to a collective body of knowledge not only democratizes learning but also leverages peer feedback for continuous growth, helping students to learn from one another.
• 🤝 Integration Across Subjects: Murray’s call for the integration of the six strands across disciplines underlines education’s interconnectedness. Teachers should consider these elements as intertwined rather than isolated, optimizing educational outcomes by enhancing student engagement and contextual understanding across subjects.

To finish up, read this article:

“What is the 21^st Century lesson plan”

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In these 169 tech-centric situations, you get an overview of pedagogy—the tech topics most important to your teaching—as well as practical strategies to address most classroom tech situations, how to scaffold these to learning, and where they provide the subtext to daily tech-infused education.

Today’s tip: How Twitter improves learning

Here are 11 ways X/Twitter improves education:

1. Students learn to be focused.
2. Students learn to share.
3. Writing short messages perfects “headlining”.
4. Tweets are written knowing tweeple @reply.
5. #Hashtags develop community.
6. Students learn tolerance for all opinions.
7. It breaks down barriers to talking to other people.
8. Students are engaged.
9. Twitter acts as the class notepad.
10. Twitter is always open.
11. Twitter isn’t intimidating.

A note: Before using X, get the buy-in of involved parties such as administration and parents. You don’t want them surprised by what they might think of as a tool for socializing rather than teaching.

Sign up for a new tip each week or buy the entire 169 Real-world Ways to Put Tech into Your Classroom.

What’s your favorite tech tip in your classroom? Share it in the comments below.

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In these 169 tech-centric situations, you get an overview of pedagogy—the tech topics most important to your teaching—as well as practical strategies to address most classroom tech situations, how to scaffold these to learning, and where they provide the subtext to daily tech-infused education.

Today’s tip: Email Phishing

Category: Parents

Q:  I got an email that looks legitimate, but I’m not sure. How do I check?

A: You’re right to take a step back. Email has become the most popular method of hacking individual computers—because most people use email and usually aren’t as vigilant as they need to be.

‘Phishing’ is an attempt to steal your personal information by posing as a trusted source (a friend, your bank–like that). Why is it so popular with crooks? Because it works.

As an educator, you want to teach students how to protect themselves as soon as they start using open email networks. Here are six suggestions:

1. Don’t open attachments.
2. Don’t click links in emails.
3. Check the email address of the sender. Does it match the name? Does it fit the sender?
4. Check for misspellings and mis-phrasings.
5. If you know the sender, does the email sound like their communication style?
6. Hover over the link to see the address. If it doesn’t match the text or look legitimate, don’t click.
7. Don’t hesitate to email the sender and ask if they sent you the email.

Got those? Here are a few more:

1. Slow Down: Phishing often pushes you to act fast—“Your account’s locked, fix it now!” Take a second to think. If it’s urgent, contact the company directly using a number or site you already know.
2. Don’t Share Sensitive Info: No legit company will ask for your password or full credit card number over email or text. If they do, it’s a scam.
3. Use Two-Factor Authentication (2FA): Add an extra step (like a code sent to your phone) to logins. Even if they get your password, they can’t get in without the second piece.
4. Keep Software Updated: Hackers exploit old systems. Update your phone, apps, and computer regularly to stay protected.

Sign up for a new tip each week or buy the entire 169 Real-world Ways to Put Tech into Your Classroom.

What’s your favorite tech tip in your classroom? Share it in the comments below.

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In these 169 tech-centric situations, you get an overview of pedagogy—the tech topics most important to your teaching—as well as practical strategies to address most classroom tech situations, how to scaffold these to learning, and where they provide the subtext to daily tech-infused education.

Today’s tip: 

Category: Parents

Here’s a poster with five tips that will help students as they use the internet for research:

Review these with students when they’re ready for each tip. By the end of fifth grade, they should be well-versed in all five of these.

Sign up for a new tip each week or buy the entire 169 Real-world Ways to Put Tech into Your Classroom.

What’s your favorite tech tip in your classroom? Share it in the comments below.

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In these 169 tech-centric situations, you get an overview of pedagogy—the tech topics most important to your teaching—as well as practical strategies to address most classroom tech situations, how to scaffold these to learning, and where they provide the subtext to daily tech-infused education.

Today’s tip: Google Street View

Category: Problem-solving

Q: I can’t find enough detail about a geographic area we’re studying. Any suggestions?

A: That’s much easier than it used to be, thanks to Google Earth’s Street View. Students can walk down the street they just read about or see their home on the internet.

Here’s how to use it:

• First, you must have Google Earth. It’s a free download and I’ve never had problems with the install. Take a minute to do that. I’ll wait. You can also use the online app–no need for a download.
• Done? Good. Now type the address into search; push enter.
• Zoom into an area until a pegman icon appears below the navigation controls on the right. Click and drag the icon to the area of interest, and then drop it onto the blue highlighted paths. That takes you to all the streets.
• Travel by double clicking on the street.
• To get out of it, click the button on the upper right.

Google Street View even covers hiking trails.

Google Earth works with PCs, Macs, iPads, and Chromebooks (with the app).

Sign up for a new tip each week or buy the entire 169 Real-world Ways to Put Tech into Your Classroom.

What’s your favorite tech tip in your classroom? Share it in the comments below.

(more…)

In these 169 tech-centric situations, you get an overview of pedagogy—the tech topics most important to your teaching—as well as practical strategies to address most classroom tech situations, how to scaffold these to learning, and where they provide the subtext to daily tech-infused education.

Today’s tip: Compare-contrast Digital Tools

Category: Problem-solving

Have students use these tables to compare-contrast digital tools available for their education:

Set them up in your spreadsheet program and add only the labels. Show it on the class screen and have students suggest what data fills in the cells. If you have the Structured Learning Tech Curriculum, you’ll find copies of these in the ebook. Just have students fill them in digitally. If you have the print book, simply, print copies (you have permissions to reprint single pages when you purchase the book).

Sign up for a new tip each week or buy the entire 169 Real-world Ways to Put Tech into Your Classroom.

What’s your favorite tech tip in your classroom? Share it in the comments below.

(more…)

In these 169 tech-centric situations, you get an overview of pedagogy—the tech topics most important to your teaching—as well as practical strategies to address most classroom tech situations, how to scaffold these to learning, and where they provide the subtext to daily tech-infused education.

Today’s tip: Using digital books

Category: Problem-solving

As you discuss reading and the technology tools that inspire students in this activity, here’s a poster with nine reasons why students will love digital books:

They’re light-weight, easy to transport, provide links for deeper learning, differentiate for student needs (like zoom to see better or a change of font), allow for the addition of notes that can be erased, and pages never rip. What more could you ask?

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A lot of teacher-authors read my WordDreams blog. In this monthly column, I share the most popular post from the past month.

As a working technology teacher, I get hundreds of questions from parents about their home computers, how to do stuff, how to solve problems. Each week, I’ll share one of those with you. They’re always brief and always focused. Enjoy!

Q: Some kids are hard workers, but they just don’t get computers. Their effort deserves a good grade, but their product is nowhere near class requirements. What can I do?

A: Don’t be afraid to give students a Mulligan–a do-over for you non-golfers. Some students don’t perform well under the pressure of a deadline. Some are so sure they’re no good at technology, that becomes their reality. Offer students a second chance if they’ll work with you after school. I have had countless students take advantage of this and come out after a few of those sessions strong and confident in class. All they had to see was that they could do it. Maybe some simple phrasing confused them and you can clear that up. Maybe the noise of a full class distracted them. Whatever it is, if you can show them how to find alternatives, solve their problems, they can apply that to technology class and other classes.

Most of the students I help 1:1 only need a few projects and then I never see them again for help. In fact, their confidence is so improved, they often are the kids who come in during lunch to offer assistance to other struggling students. (more…)