Discover how to personalize learning for all learners

Making Space for Learning: Using technologies to support student diversity in learning with Niko Lewman (11:00am) Skype: niko.lewman

Technology integration should always be purposeful

Infusing technology into the classroom is not just fun but also imperative and it needs to be carefully planned for. My preferred way is to bring real-world problems into our learning environment to ensure authenticity. In addition, I intentionally like to challenge my learners to move away from being technology consumers into being contents creators aka prosumers.

I encourage all educators, administrators and technology directors/coordinators to invest time and effort to collaborate and map out their written curriculum to ensure a progression of skills but also the ability to implement the correct tools and programs that will transform learning and teaching. I personally like to challenge my thinking about how important it is to vet the technology I am using and why it is crucial to opt for a more open platform if possible.

A superb resource for technology evaluation and reflection is 4Shifts, a discussion protocol intended to help facilitate educator conversations about deeper learning, student agency, authentic work, and technology infusion (credit to the creators Scott McLeod & Julie Graber). When vetting school or classroom technology, there are many key factors. As a starting point, here are three questions you must consider:

1. Does the technology overshadow, mask, or otherwise draw the focus away from important learning?
2. Does the technology add value so that students can do their work in better or different ways?
3. Are digital technologies utilized by students in both appropriate and empowering ways?

Extend Learning both time and space

The use of technology can mean that learning is no longer confined to the traditional time and setting of the classroom. In this way, it opens up the learning environment to anytime, anywhere–and at a pace that is comfortable for the students as well.

Education Technology To Help Students Lead Their Own Learning

Support Student Agency by facilitating a learning environment that allows students to be self-directed learners, see my other posts for more details:

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We are using the #MosCowmethod to prioritize and plan our learning. Students plan their day by Choosing, Acting, Reflecting #agency #tactile #digital #independent #pypchat #ISMainfranken pic.twitter.com/uuUU8UoWzF

— Niko Lewman (@pypwithniko) November 14, 2018

Tech Tools to Support Personalized Learning

• Seesaw: A student-driven digital portfolio that documents student learning with built-in creative tools and provides an authentic audience for student work.
• Soundtrap: A cloud-based recording studio that harnesses critical thinking and communication skills through collaborative, creative audio recording projects and bridges the necessary skills for preparing our 21st-century learners for a global, connected world.
• WeVideo: A cloud-based video editing and digital storytelling platform.
• ExplainEverything: A cloud collaboration platform built on the learning technology of tomorrow that helps students and teachers tell their unique story.
• Code.org: Their vision is that every student in every school should have the opportunity to learn computer science. They provide open-ended programs, tutorials, and a full curriculum to support this cause.
• Minecraft: Empowers unique and creative learning experiences for educators and students by providing an open-world game that promotes creativity, collaboration, and problem-solving in an immersive environment where the only limit is your imagination.

Enabling real-time translanguaging

Translanguaging is the process whereby multilingual speakers use their languages as an integrated communication system.

For more in-depth post, see: https://blogs.ibo.org/sharingpyp/2019/01/08/supporting-translanguaging-strategies-with-technology/ by Nicole Rehman

In my classroom I use these tools to infuse and support my language learners: Google Slides and Docs

Step 1: Set up your microphone

To use captions with Google Slides, your computer microphone needs to be on and working. Google Slides uses the computer’s microphone or an external microphone paired with the computer.

Step 2: Present with captions

1. Connect to the Internet. 
2. Open your presentation in Google Slides.
3. To start presenting, click Present or press the shortcut for your browser
4. To turn on captions, click CC or press the shortcut for your browser:
   • Chrome OS or Windows: Ctrl + Shift + c
   • Mac: ⌘ + Shift + c
5. As you speak, captions appear at the bottom of the screen. Captions don’t include punctuation. 
6. To change text position or size, next to “CC” click the drop-down menu . 
7. To turn off captions, click CC or press the shortcut for your browser.
   • Chrome OS or Windows: Ctrl + Shift + c
   • Mac: ⌘ + Shift + c

You can type and edit by speaking in Google Docs or in Google Slides speaker notes.

Note: This feature is only available in Chrome browsers.

Step 1: Turn on your microphone

To use voice typing or voice commands, your computer microphone needs to be on and working. Devices and microphones vary, so check your computer manual for instructions. Microphone settings are typically in the System Preferences on a Mac, or the Control Panel on a PC.

Step 2: Use voice typing

Start voice typing in a document

1. Check that your microphone works.
2. Open a document in Google Docs with a Chrome browser.
3. Click Tools Voice typing. A microphone box appears.
4. When you’re ready to speak, click the microphone.
5. Speak clearly, at a normal volume and pace (see below for more information on using punctuation).
6. When you’re done, click the microphone again.

Start voice typing in Slides speaker notes

1. Check that your microphone works.
2. Open a presentation in Google Slides with a Chrome browser.
3. Click Tools Voice type speaker notes. The speaker notes open, and a microphone box appears.
4. When you’re ready to speak, click the microphone.
5. Speak clearly, at a normal volume and pace (see below for more information on using punctuation).
6. When you’re done, click the microphone again.

Correct mistakes while voice typing

• If you make a mistake while you’re typing with your voice, you can move your cursor to the mistake and fix it without turning off the microphone.
• After you correct the mistake, move the cursor back to where you want to continue.
• To see a list of suggestions, right-click words underlined in gray.

You can use these phrases to add punctuation to your text:

• Period
• Comma
• Exclamation point
• Question mark
• New line
• New paragraph

Using technology to bring in the world

Mystery Skype is an educational game, invented by teachers, played by two classrooms on Skype. The aim of the game is to build cultural awareness, critical thinking skills, and geography skills by guessing the location of the other classroom through a series of yes/no questions.

If you want to play with my class: https://education.microsoft.com/Status/Public?token=KpIErBgJ