🤳🏽 Learning like an influencer (sort of)
I’ve seen some fun trends on social media in the past and wondered, “Could I make use of that in class somehow?” (I think students would us that THIS is how adults ruin everything!)
Case in point: Top 10 videos.
I’ve seen them on LOTS of different video social media — YouTube, TikTok, Instagram, etc.
Could we use them in class somehow? The answer is YES!
In today’s 💡 Big Idea, I share lots of practical ways to use it to help students learn whatever you’re teaching them. PLUS: It includes a new Google Slides feature!
ON THE SOCIALS: I’ve been creating more short-form video content lately! (Have you seen me in your feeds?)
If you don’t already, I’d love for us to be connected on …
Facebook (facebook.com/ditchthattextbook)
TikTok (tiktok.com/@ditchthattextbook)
Instagram (instagram.com/ditchthattextbook)
Twitter/X (x.com/jmattmiller) (x.com/DitchThatTxtbk)
YouTube (youtube.com/ditchthattextbook)
Inside:
🎙️ I’m a featured speaker at NCTIES!
👀 DTT Digest: 4 resources worth checking out
💻 Tech Tip: 10 Ways to Make Learning Relevant with MagicSchool
💡 The Big Idea: How to make a top 10 video in Google Slides
😄 Smile of the day: Travel on a budget
👋 How we can help
🎙️ I’m a featured speaker at NCTIES!
This week, I’ll be heading back to Raleigh, N.C., for their state edtech conference — NCTIES! As a featured speaker, here’s what I’ll be presenting:
90 MINUTE WORKSHOP: How to Teach AI Literacy in Any Class (based on my upcoming book!)
BREAKOUT: AI and Cheating: Real Talk from the Classroom
BREAKOUT: Viral Learning: Fun, Social Media-Inspired Activities
BREAKOUT: How to Prepare for Our Students’ Unknown AI Future
The conference runs from March 4-6 at the Raleigh Convention Center.
👀 DTT Digest
4 teaching resources worth checking out today
🍀 Get the March Activity Journal— The Book Creator March activity journal is packed with creative activities for every day of the month.
👩🏿⚕️ Interactive Women’s History Month Calendar— Learn a little bit about Women’s history each day of the month with this interactive calendar.
🎥 Use Slides recording in Google Slides — Learn how you (and your students!) can use this new feature in Google Slides.
🎧 Podcast: How to Use Formative Assessment Like an Expert Teacher — A quick listen with Jay McTighe on formative assessment that fit nicely with creative checks for understanding.
💻 TECH TIP 💻
❤️ 10 Ways to Make Learning Relevant with MagicSchool
We know that our students love … well, what they love.
They’re into different foods and activities and bands and clothes and sports teams.
Can we pull those into learning and make our lessons relevant through the lens of what students love?
The answer is YES … and if you need ideas, the “Make It Relevant” tool in MagicSchool (magicschool.ai) has you covered.
I presented on this topic — 10 Ways to Make Learning Relevant with MagicSchool — on the vendor hall floor at the TCEA Conference in San Antonio, Texas, recently.
Even if you didn’t make it to the conference, you can still get all the good resources right here:
💡 THE BIG IDEA 💡
🎥 How to make a top 10 video in Google Slides
I’ll bet you’ve probably seen a top 10 video on YouTube or some other social media video. (If not a top 10 video, it might have been a top 20 video … or a top 5 video!)
You know, something like …
Top 10 Bucket List Destinations to Visit in Europe
Top 10 Best Places to Get Pizza in New York
Top 10 Gross Ice Cream Flavors
And, of course, we watch … because they’re usually reverse ranked and we want to see what made the top of the list!
These top 10 videos are an example of a favorite student engagement strategy I’ve used for years …
Steal the best ideas from social media
If it gets popular on social media, you might be able to use it as a way for students to show what they’ve learned!
Top 10 videos that are popular on YouTube, TikTok, Instagram, etc. can be easily repurposed to “Top 10 causes of the Industrial Revolution” (or maybe top 2 or 3 with that one)
Another example: Unboxing videos. They’re popular on YouTube and other video platforms. Influencers record themselves “unboxing” (opening) a new product so we can see their reactions and what’s inside. (In fact, I wrote a whole guide about using YouTube-style unboxing videos as a classroom activity!)
That’s just scratching the surface! I have even more ideas in this post: 8 YouTube-inspired classroom video ideas.
Why does this work? The recognition factor! Students have seen these types of videos on social media. If an activity in class looks like it — or feels like it — or even seems like it a little bit, they make the connection and you have their attention.
Why the YouTube-style top 10 video works in class
Could your students create a YouTube-style top 10 video to show what they’ve learned in your class?
I think, yes … absolutely!
(Spoiler alert: They don’t even need to record a video for it to feel like these social media-inspired ideas. More on that below …)
Students benefit from turning a lesson into a top 10 (or maybe a top 5 or a top 3 is more manageable) …
They have to choose items for the list.
They have to rank those items on the list based on criteria.
They have to explain / justify their decisions.
They support their decisions with visuals.
I don’t know about you, but I see higher order thinking and complexity of thought all over this activity already.
What would this look like in a classroom?
If you want your students to record top 10-style videos, there are lots of third-party apps that will help, like ScreenPal, Screencastify, Loom, Canva, Adobe Express … even the video-submission assignments in Canvas LMS and Schoology can work.
But if you work at a school that uses Google for Education, there’s a new option available … Google Slides!
Have students create a set of slides that show off their top 10.
They click the “Record” icon in the right sidebar to start recording. (They may need to click “Allow.”)
Use the controls to edit preferences (like changing the size and placement of the video).
Students start recording — then can pause. This is a pro tip! If they need to stop to compose their thoughts or think of what to say next, they just hit the pause button. Then they can pick right up where they left off.
When they are done, they save their videos to Google Drive.
After in Drive, videos can be shared with the class or turned in.
You don’t have to use Google Slides! Use this template and record in Canva. Or record the video in Adobe Express and jazz it up with lots of their video editing features.
Do they have to record videos, though?
Nope!
Recording and editing videos can be fun. But it can also be time-consuming. If you don’t want to take the time to make an actual video, here are a couple alternatives …
Don’t record at all — and just present face-to-face in-person to a small group of classmates
Use a graphic organizer. This top 3 template for Google Slides and PowerPoint gets the same idea across with ZERO video editing.
More top 10-style video ideas
This is only scratching the surface! In our post — How to make a top 10 video in Google Slides — you’ll find …
4 reasons that top 10 videos are a great academic task
A planning list for top 10 videos — and a downloadable planning worksheet for students!
Step-by-step instructions (with screenshots) for recording top 10 videos in Google Slides
More apps you could use beyond Google Slides
Lots of example types of top 10 videos in different subject areas
😄 Smile of the day
I can always travel someplace tropical in my mind … 🌴
👋 How we can help
There are even more ways I can support you in the important work you do in education:
Read one of my six books about meaningful teaching with tech.
Take one of our online courses about practical and popular topics in education.
Bring me to your school, district or event to speak. I love working with educators!
