⌚ Save 15 mins with these tips

🎙️ What my AI student engagement workshop is like …

I just facilitated a full-day in-person workshop for educators in Kansas. The topic: FUN, engaging learning with tech and AI.

Here are some of the hands-on activities the teachers did:

• Snapchat-style “This or That” bellringer activity

• YouTube-style unboxing video

• A pre-made digital escape room

• A creativity activity with aluminum foil and their webcam

• A “Be the Bot” AI activity in small groups

• An instant, custom-made AI song

• A whole-group “Choose Your Own Adventure” style story

Less talking. More doing. (More laughing!) More implementation in class the next day.

Interested in this in-person workshop for your school, district, or conference? Email [email protected] for details!

💡 THE BIG IDEA 💡

⏰ EfficienTEACH: Teach Better and Save Time for What Matters Most

Teachers are leaving the education field in droves. Really, really good teachers.

Maybe you're considering it. How can you do your best work and get home at a reasonable hour for the important stuff?

The answer: EffiicenTEACHing.

Last week at TCEA, I presented my top 10 favorite tips and ideas from EfficienTEACH.

EfficienTEACH — our project over the last two years to help save teachers time — is full of resources, templates, and teaching ideas you can use right away.

You can view that entire presentation here or check out the highlights below.

1️⃣ Use free digital content and lessons. It’s already out there, waiting for you to use it. The trick is finding it.

🔗 20+ sources of FREE digital content for your class

6️⃣ Encourage students to reflect. It helps them think about new content – and how they learn – in new ways.

🔗 10 end-of-the-year templates to help students thrive

8️⃣ Allow for exploration. Let students find things on their own. It gives them agency and voice.

🔗 Personalize learning with Explore Boards

🧰 The EfficienTEACH Toolkit

Back in August, we put together some of our favorite resources from our EfficienTEACH project. It has ready-to-use activities and printables to get you started efficienteaching.

So what's inside? Here are a few of the resources you'll find.

📒 Welcome to Our Class Flipbook

Welcome your families to class with this editable/printable flipbook. Use this flipbook to send home to families before school starts, for Back to School Night, and to keep on hand for new students. An easy way for your families to stay informed and have a guide to your class all year long!

 🔄 Station Rotation Task Cards

Planning stations for your class can be a big and time-consuming task. That's why we have created these station rotation task cards that you can use as is or copy and adapt to your classroom.

 📢 Shout out notes

Having students give each other feedback is a great way to build community. An easy way to do this is to have some sentence starters accessible and ready along with some simple shout-out notes printed and ready to use. This resource includes both!

Ready to download the toolkit? Get it here.

💻 TECH TIP

🗂 Prepare students for the job market with real-world skills

🤔 What is a student portfolio?

A student portfolio is a purposeful collection of student work that exhibits the student's efforts, progress, and achievements in one or more areas.

They provide an overall view of a student's learning journey and can include a variety of artifacts such as essays, projects, artwork, and multimedia presentations.

🔮 How can building a portfolio in school help in the future?

These portfolios allow students to begin to look ahead at their future college and/or career goals and start to see that they already have valuable skills, experiences, and talents that they can build upon and grow.

“A career portfolio gives you a unique professional identity that evolves alongside you (and isn’t roiled to the core if you lose a job, shift gears, or even “start over” from time to time). It’s naturally aligned with lifelong learning and meant to help you expand your professional community and access to leadership opportunities.” Harvard Business Review. (2021, October). Why You Should Build a "Career Portfolio" (Not a "Career Path"). Retrieved from https://hbr.org/2021/10/why-you-should-build-a-career-portfolio-not-a-career-path

🏫 Getting started with student portfolios in the classroom

Wakelet is the perfect place for your students to begin building and showcasing their portfolios. Students can easily organize and present their work cohesively and professionally.

With the ability to add various media formats, such as text, images, videos, and links, students can create a diverse portfolio that truly represents their abilities, talents, and accomplishments.

📄 Read our new post “Unlock the power of student portfolios with Wakelet”

📺 Watch this video to learn Wakelet in 5 minutes

✨Benefits of premium student portfolios

Students and teachers can create their own free Wakelet accounts. But schools don't have easy control of assignments and collaboration.

But if you upgrade your plan, you'll be able to manage your classes and assignments -- and even let students take their portfolios with them after they graduate. (Because if they can't, they're missing out on potential career-changing impact.)

Wakelet is letting me offer a Ditch That Textbook / Wakelet special …

… a student portfolio pilot for schools and districts at just $2 per student. 😱😱

At that low price, why not unlock all of the features and put the full power in the hands of students and teachers?

👀 Interested? Email [email protected] and ask for the Ditch That Textbook special for more details.

👋 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!