Holiday Tech Treats
There is something for everyone under this tree!
Countdown to Christmas Break!
This time of year can be hectic with all the "extra" activities added to the school day and the anticipation of the holidays. Sometimes teachers need a few quick activities or a new way to transition students from one project to another. Here are some technology "treats" to sample before the holidays!
5 Clue Challenge
Do you need an activity that takes 15-20 minutes that will have kids engaged in research and critical thinking? Check out the 5 Clue Challenge video collection created by Pennsylvania Teacher of the Year Micheal Soskil. Students are challenged to guess where in the world Mr. Soskill is in each video. Simply pick a video and play it for your students. After each clue, pause the video so that students can do a little research. After the research, have students take a guess. At the end of the fifth clue, students can see how quickly they got the right answer.
Digital Breakout EDU
Challenge your class to complete a digital Breakout EDU activity! No messing with locks! Share the link to the game with students via Google Classroom or a unique URL. Have them work in groups or on their own to beat the clock and solve the puzzles.
Holiday Kahoot Games
Kahoot is a classroom favorite in all schools! They have created some fun games for all subject areas with a holiday spin. Kahoot has made quite a few updates to their website if you have not used it lately check it out again, it gets better and better every time I use it!
Holiday Videos
Need a brief but educational video to share with students between activities or just before lunch? Check out these videos from PBS LearningMedia about the holidays for each grade level. If you are looking for resources that will help you teach your students about holiday traditions around the world take a look at the All About the Holidays Collection.
K-2 Eight Days of Hanukkah with Peg + Cat
PreK-2 Daniel Tiger and the Holidays
Google Slides Templates
Give your kids a creative way to show you what they learned by letting them use one of these Google Slides Templates for their next project. There is everything from an issue of The Daily Prophet to the cover of Time magazine or National Geographic. Students just add their own text and images. Be sure to have them Click "File" and "Make a Copy" to start editing!
Skype in the Classroom Virtual Field trips and Mystery Meetings
Take your class on a virtual field trip or invite a guest speaker into your room via Skype! You can even find another class to play a round of "Mystery Meeting" with you! Check out the Skype in the Classroom website for some great ideas about how to have a virtual experience in your classroom. Let me know if I can help you find another class to play a round of "Mystery Meeting!"
Need More Ideas?
Check out this recent blog post written by the author of Launch, John Spencer, with some great project ideas for December.
Ditch Summit Online Conference *FREE*
Use the time off from school to cuddle up with your computer for some PD in your PJs! Sign up to access a series of free YouTube videos recorded by leading educators about best practices in education. I attended this online conference last year and it was the best PD experience I had all year! You can watch the session from last year right now for a limited time while we wait for the Summit. Let me know if you have any questions about it!
Happy Holidays!
It has been a pleasure working with the teachers in Three Forks, Amsterdam and Livingston this fall. I look forward to spending more time in each community in 2018! Thank you for inviting me into your schools! Let me know if I can help you with anything between now and the holidays!