Getting Started with Digital Activities

How many times have you heard the saying, 'Two heads are better than one'? There's a reason it's used so often, the more we help each other, the easier and more fun our jobs are. Having a teaching buddy to support you with your digital journey definitely makes life better. Whether it be someone you lean on for advice and tips, or whether it be someone who you work together with and bounce ideas off - having a teaching buddy helps. It doesn't have to be someone at your workplace. My digital buddy lives at the other end of the country from me, but we catch up regularly and are in constant touch with each other by text, phone, Meet and the occassional special in person visit. The best thing about a teaching buddy... they provide that safe place for you to offload! 😁

What is a PLN?

This is a really helpful, free, self-paced course that guides you through the process of building your PLN (created by edublogs). It has lots of great information about all aspects of building a PLN along with super helpful resources. If you're ready for a bit more information this could be just the site for you.

Building Your PLN – Courses & PD

Chromebook keyboard.jpeg

To help younger learners to log in you might have paper keyboards for each of them and practise giving them a specific instruction, e.g. put your finger on the 'a' letter, or colour in the first letter of your name. You could print off some larger ones and have them physically jump around the keyboard, e.g. stand on the letter 't'. Give one instruction at a time, wait for all your learners to follow it, then give the next instruction.

If they are a little more experienced you might get them to log in first then you might focus on: 💡how to use the trackpad with two hands 💡how to press with one hand and drag with the other 💡how to watch where the cursor is going 💡how the cursor changes from an arrow to hand when it is on a link

Using the Chromebook Touchpad

Create a login slip for each learner that is colour coded so they can find the keys a little more easily. Using Google Sheets and the Autocrat add-on, you can quickly make login cards with Google Slides for your learners. John Sowash has a linked video showing you how on the resource below and the templates are ready for you to copy and use.

Keyboard Location

Create Login cards quickly

Trackpad Practise

You could share this document with the students to practise their trackpad skills. They each have their own copy, or you could just share one activity at a time. Learners could shade a cell when they have completed an activity.

Typing Sites

Thanks for taking time out of your busy schedule to check out this resource. I'd love to hear any feedback you have and any ideas for making it better.

Experienced Ed Tech coaches offered their advice on Twitter about what they consider to be the important things we should think about before using a digital tool. If you are overwhelmed by all the number of digital tools available - begin with what is already being used in your school. Remember - less is often more!

Often there are many steps involved in a digital activity, or even just in logging into a chromebook. Taking it one step at a time is really important. Be familiar yourself with all the steps that will be needed, and then explain them one at a time. I once participated in PLD day focused on educating boys. It was many years ago now, but one piece of advice that has always stuck with me - boys only tend to hear the first five words of what you say. (I know!) So when we give lots of instructions at once, we lose many of our learners. Use those great routines you have established - explain one step, have them undertake that step, then stop. Put their screen at '45' (45 degress) or whatever your routine is, then explain the next step. If your learners are older and you're giving them written steps, separate out each step clearly with obvious space between each so they only focus on one thing at a time. Be mindful of not overloading their cognitive functioning.

All learners benefit from routines, no matter what the subject. Establish the routines you want for your clasroom, then be firm and consistent with them. You might have routines such as: 💡one person at a time getting a chromebook out 💡the chromebook needs to always be on the table 💡learners are given one instruction to do it then they put their screens at 45 degrees 💡when screens are at 45, hands are always off the keyboard 💡always use two hands on the keyboard

Four blog posts on giving instructions...

A Guide to Giving Clear Instructions to Students

Giving instructions: 12 tips for English teachers on how to do it well

How Should Teachers Give Instructions? | The TEFL Academy

Giving Instructions

SHARED | Keyboard Activities |  Junior

Making sure whatever we plan to do with our digital devices is fit for purpose and adds value to the learning is super important. We want our learners to become confident, critical creators of content - not consumers. While there is a place for activities that help our learners get to know their way around a chromebook, or learn their alphabet or times tables, we do really want to ensure the majority of what we plan is around thinking creatively, collaborating with others and being critical about what we produce. Planning together with a colleague or a team is a great idea. Toss ideas around and debate the relevance of the digital integration you plan. This will help to keep you all on track.

All too often, when we are feeling overwhelmed and unsure about trying something new, we don't feel comfortable or confident enough to ask for help. However, this is exactly the time we need to reach out. I love the quote, "Do the best you can until you know better, then do better." If we ask for help we can do better than we did before. Find that colleague you feel safe confiding in, reach out to your PLN - they are always there to help, and don't forget your learners. You can always ask them too! We all started somewhere. The more we ask, they more we know. The more we know, the more we can do. 😁

Getting started with digital activities...

Good habits are important for our learners, regardless of whether they are working digitally or not. An important habit is to use two hands on a keyboard. Personally I don't think it matters which fingers they are using on which keys (You might have other ideas - and that's ok) but using both sides of the brain is the aim. Encourage them to use their right hand on the right side keys and their left hand on the left side keys. You could extend this idea by using some of the activities included to help develop typing skills.

The scientific literature offers plenty of insight on what close friends do for us. They give&nbsp;us confidence and&nbsp;bolster our sense of self, especially during tough times. They increase our sense of&nbsp;purpose and belonging. And they significantly influence some of our most important behaviors.&nbsp; <a href="https://thegrowtheq.com/the-incredible-power-of-friendship/#:~:text=They%20give%20us%20confidence%20and,of%20our%20most%20important%20behaviors.">Source</a>

Buddy Challenge

Challenge your buddy to a game of Tic Tac Toe. Who can complete 3 in a row first?

You could even support each other through a <a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/1qrj05bb1-o8Bs-bKi6368-pAonNFZIr5/view?usp=sharing">series of digital challenges</a> to grow your confidence. Using<a href="https://jamesclear.com/habit-guide"> James Clear's habit stacking strategy</a> might be one way to help develop new ways of working in your classroom (or across any areas of life!) What habits do you want to embed and which ones will make your practice more effective or relevant?

Helpful Routines 101.png

Helpful Routines 102. png

Our learners need very specific instructions when they are learning with a Chromebook. Be sure yourself of what the steps are that need to be followed and then be specific, giving them one step at a time. If they are very new to Chromebooks it might be the first step is simply to log in. You might need to teach them: 💡how to carry the Chromebook 💡how to open it carefully 💡where the full stop is on the keyboard 💡how to use two hands on the keyboard 💡how to tap the keys correctly

In order to be able to give specific instructions, you need to be aware of what you are wanting your learners to master. This resource has a series of skills in a progressive order that you might use. There are also a few resources that you could use with your learners to help them navigate the Chromebook more easily.

Chromebook Skills - Simplified version

Chromebook Skills

Over the last few years I have come across many awesome educators who really want to use digital devices with their students, but they just don't know where to start. They either don't have the skills or they don't have the confidence. Or sometimes it's that they just don't know what they don't know. This got me thinking. How might I provide a resource that could help these teachers take small steps on their journey and find some helpful tips and tricks, or strategies, that might just inspire and support them to integrate meaningful, authentic and relevant digital activities into their classroom program? I consulted Twitter (such a fabulous PLN) and spoke to many educators. The result is BREATHE. When something is new, or you are struggling with life - we all need to do is just<a href="bookcreator://page/02iM2QZvTD2b-AM6MJD5Uw"> BREATHE.</a>

(Where you see this symbol, click on the image to access the link.)