As you start to prepare for the next school year, I encourage you to start reflecting on what practices you used the previous year, or even years, that made an impact on your students.  Now that you have those practices in mind, think about how educational technology could compliment or even enhance those practices for your students.

Here are a few examples of how I was able to use technology to enhance my student's experiences:​

A few weeks ago I had the privilege to teach other educators about Common Sense Education's Digital Citizenship Curriculum.  With the dramatic increase in time spent online and the need for providing Social Emotion Learning, these digital citizenship lessons are essential for students of all ages.

Common Sense Education's curriculum is available for students in K-12 and it focuses on six main topics:

• Media Balance & Wellbeing (K-12)
• Privacy & Security (K-12)
• Digital Footprint & Identify (2-12)
• Relationships & Communication (2-12)
• Cyberbullying, Digital Drama, & Hate Speech (2-12)
• News & Media Literacy (2-12)

Each topic has Google Slides, worksheets, quizzes, and so much more that is specifically tailored to each grade level.  It is available in English and Spanish.  In addition, there is an amazing parent engagement portion that will support parents with what is being taught in class.

Check out my presentation below or get a copy for yourself and learn more about this amazing curriculum.

Weebly is one of my favorite sites to use for creation of online portfolios.  Not only is it free for educators to be able to create 40 student sites, it is also fairly easy for students of all ages to use.  Check out my latest video for details:

Adobe Spark is the first program of the student portfolios series and for good reason.  This online program is easy for students to use and provide them multiple ways to show their understanding and growth throughout the school year.  Don't believe me?  Check out the short video below.

Keep an eye out for...

• March 8: Adobe Spark
• March 15: Weebly​