Unleashing Student Creativity with Tech-Infused Lessons

Yesterday I had the pleasure of present a webinar in conjunction with Shutterfly and EdWeb - Unleashing Student Creativity with Tech-Infused Lessons.  I had so much fun!

About 400 people from across the globe joined the webinar.  There were participants from the US, Iceland, South Africa and Argentina.  I must admit, I was a little nervous but it helped that I couldn't see all those 400 people.  Although it was a little strange, feeling like I was talking to myself since I couldn't see the participants.  There was a chat box at the bottom of my screen so I could see people's thoughts and interactions.  I only got distracted by the chat box a couple of times ;)

The recording of the webinar is available in Shutterfly's EdWeb community - Creating Multimedia Stories for Learning.  The community is free to join.  You'll have access to the recorded webinar and be informed of upcoming webinars as well. If you watch the webinar and answer a few questions, you can get a continuing education certificate.

During the webinar, I shared a lesson planning tool I created.  I've shared it on this blog (and here) before but I wanted to share it again.  I need a catchy name for this framework so let me know if you have any great ideas!

Start by identifying the standard you need to teach or that your students need to show mastery of.

Next, decide what mastery of those standards would look like.  Present this to your students in a rubric.  Remember, you are providing a framework, not a recipe. You want to give students the freedom to demonstrate their mastery in their own way.  You are not telling them exactly what to do.  "Why was Declaration of Independence was written?" vs. "Create a presentation on the 4 reasons the Declaration of Independence was written".

Finally, what tools could be used to demonstrate this mastery?  For younger students you may want to give them a multimedia menu or choice board.  Older students can choose their own tools.  I love learning about tools from students!

If you attended the webinar or watched the recording, I'd love some feedback! I hope it was helpful!