🗑 New template: Spotify Wrapped

📺 Webinar: How I Use / Don’t Use AI in Class

I’m giving a two-hour webinar for Learning & the Brain on Saturday about my experiences with AI in my own classroom — and suggestions for yours.

I’ll help you understand AI technology and share practical examples right out of my own high school Spanish classroom.

Date: Saturday, Dec. 14
Time: 10am U.S. EST / 7am PST
Length: 2 hours
Cost: $89 USD
Replay available afterward: Yes
Continuing edu credit: 2 hours (for live attendance)

Register here … and get more information here.

Note: This webinar is hosted and run by Learning & the Brain. They set the price and offer/manage the CE hours. You can contact them here.

💡 THE BIG IDEA 💡

🎶 The Spotify Wrapped-inspired “Recap” template

Spotify Wrapped was released last week.

Who cares? If you teach in a classroom, you probably already know this! It’s a big deal to Spotify users — and the most popular music platform for Gen Z.

What is it? Wrapped is Spotify’s summary and analysis of each user’s listening habits. It’s a visual, social media shareable breakdown of:

• your top artists and songs

• number of minutes listened on the app

• your listener personality

• your evolution as a music listener throughout the year

Ever since I learned about Wrapped, I’ve always thought — “This would be a fun way for students to show what they’ve learned.”

They could talk about learning in a format that they love — Spotify Wrapped. Right?

It finally happened. I created a free template (Google Slides / PowerPoint / Canva) inspired by Spotify Wrapped.

It includes eight pages you can use (or delete): title, “minutes listened,” “top artists,” “top songs,” “my top song,” a summary, and two “listener evolution” page.

🗄️ Get the free template here 🗄️

An example: The Golden Age of Cinema 📽️

Here’s a quick example of how students could use it to share what they learned about the Golden Age of Cinema:

This quick example includes:

• A title page (with an emoji)

• A “minutes listened” page (aka: an important stat) turned into “movie tickets sold” during the Golden Age

  • Text: “Movie tickets sold: 90,000,000. Tickets sold weekly in the 1940s. U.S. population: 130 million”

• A “top songs” page (aka: ranked list) turned into “Top Golden Age Movies” with movies and awards won

Make a copy of this template (Slides / PowerPoint / Canva) here to assign to your students in your learning management system.

How you could use this Spotify Wrapped template

I brainstormed with Google Gemini, Google’s AI assistant (a la ChatGPT), to come up with ways this could be applied in a variety of grade levels and content areas.

We also brainstormed ways to reclassify the pages using this criteria:

• “Top artists / songs” is a ranked list

• “Minutes listened” is a key stat

• “Top song” is a deep dive on an important point

• “Listener evolution” is change over time

Here are the 10 ideas we generated (with details for each in the post):

1. The Semester / Year Student Recap

2. The Life Cycle Recap

3. The Invention/Innovation Recap

4. The Book/Movie Recap

5. The “My Digital Life” Recap

6. The “Historical/Literary Character” Recap

7. The Collection Recap

8. The “All About Me” Recap

9. The Health and Diet Recap

10. The Professional Development Recap

Read more and get the templates in our post: Spotify Wrapped-style learning: Free template + class activities

💻 TECH TIP 💻

👩🏾‍💻Celebrate Computer Science Education Week

Computer Science Education Week — and the Hour of Code — is happening this week!

What is it? CSEdWeek is an annual call to action to inspire K-12 students to learn computer science, advocate for equity, and celebrate the contributions of students, teachers, and partners in the field.

In ANY class? No matter who you teach or what you teach, incorporating a bit of computer science can benefit your students. It nurtures problem-solving skills, logic, and creativity. By starting early, students will build a foundation for success in any 21st-century career path.

Plus, you need ZERO experience with coding or computer science to participate.

Here are some ways to incorporate coding and computer science in your class during CSEdWeek:

🧭 CS Ed Week Explore Boards

A choice board is a great option if you have a lot of classes participating in the Hour of Code. Our CS Ed Week/Hour of Code explore boards are ready-to-use resources that give your students the opportunity to choose how they want to explore computer science at their own pace.

• Creativity with AI Explore Board - The Hour of Code website is offering coding opportunities that encompass artificial intelligence (AI) components to help students and educators wrap their brains around AI. With this explore board students can learn more about AI and try out some AI focused coding activities.

• HOC choice board for K-5 - A collection of Hour of Code activities specifically for students in grades K-5. The top 3 activities are geared towards K-2 making it accessible for all students. Make a copy to adapt if for your class.

• HOC choice board for 6+ - This choice board is perfect for middle and high school students or those younger, more advanced coders. Make a copy to adapt if for your class.

• NASA Space Jam - Students use music, astronomy and coding to create a solar system that really rocks! Give students our NASA Space Jam explore board to give them choices.

• Cybersecurity Computer Science Education Week Explore Board - A great resource for teachers wanting to level up their lessons during Computer Science Education Week. It’s packed with fun and interactive activities that introduce students to key cybersecurity concepts like digital footprints, phishing, and password protection

💻 More Hour of Code resources

20+ ways to celebrate the Hour of Code in ANY class: This post offers ideas for primary, middle, and secondary students. It includes unplugged no-tech computer science ideas. (Yes, it’s possible!)

From Puzzles to Ciphers: 25 Hour of Code Activities for Your Classroom: Discover 25 engaging Hour of Code activities to excite and inspire your students! From cybersecurity to cryptography, and immersive escape room challenges, bring coding to life in your classroom with tons of activities to choose from.

👋 How we can help

There are even more ways I can support you in the important work you do in education:

1. Read one of my six books about meaningful teaching with tech.

2. Take one of our online courses about practical and popular topics in education.

3. Bring me to your school, district or event to speak. I love working with educators!