Last week, my colleague, Javier Hernandez, presented a PD on virtual museums using Apple's Keynote. I thought this would be a great idea for our 5th graders who are currently studying the different cultures of the world. But instead of using Keynote, I thought it would be easier for the students and teachers to use Google Slides. Using office suite applications on your computer can be troublesome during the submission process (multiple emails, multiple versions, etc). The following is the Virtual Museum template I created using Google Slides. The "Main Lobby" is where you can access the different rooms. For the 5th grade project, each room would be designated for a specific component of a world culture. The curator's office is where students can provide an image and a short description of themselves. In the "Room" slides, students can insert images of their museum piece and rename the text appropriately. If you are planning to create ...
When designing learning experiences, it is easy for educators to get fixated on the What —"What will the students learn?" We list out the standards, the concepts, and the vocabulary. But to create truly impactful learning, we must also focus on the Why . Why do they need to learn this? What problem could they solve? What could they create? I like to think of this as the “Brownie” within the educational context. Traditional lessons often feel like we are just handing students individual ingredients—flour, sugar, eggs. But lessons need to be designed so that students don’t just hold the ingredients; they mix, heat, and blend them to bake a brownie. A Case Study Let’s look at a concrete example using Grade 5 Science standards focused on the Structure and Properties of Matter . Students are required to know: 5-PS1-1: Matter is made of particles too small to be seen. 5-PS1-2: Regardless of heating, cooling, or mixing, the total weight of matter is conserved. 5-PS1-3: Identifyi...
The Next Web ’s article, 29 new inspiring responsive designs on the web , showcases numerous website examples that offer an excellent optimal viewing experience (e.g. easy reading and navigation). I think teachers and students should focus on effective web design techniques for their classroom website, ePortfolio, or class wiki to give them a smart, elegant, and aesthetically- pleasing look. Here are some of the examples that can inspire your classroom website: 1. Starbucks 2. Spigot Design 3. Microsoft Here is my own classroom website that could provide you some design inspiration. I use Wix , a web-based platform that allows you to create stunning websites. Web Design Unit I have also developed a Web Design unit for my 2nd grade class. The purpose of the unit is to teach students the skills and techniques that are required in developing quality websites. Students will create an ePortfolio that will allow them to reflect and showcase their academic work. Click here or the...
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