Collaborative work in Google Classroom

Image Credit: Google

Do you know that you can assign collaborative in Google Classroom?
Check the video:

A digital toolbox to enhance learning

During my eTwinning years, since 2006, I have stumbled on, learned and seen a lot of digital tools being used. Working with eTwinning is a life long learning and one of the great benefits. All the tools I have come across in one way or another I have out together in a blog. Feel free to use it as you please. You find a glossary for ICT work in School, a lot of information about netiquette, a lot of different social tools, tools specific for certain subjects and a lot more stoff. I hope you enjoy it as much as I am. I have not used them all but I have used a lot of them and/or seen others use it.
A Digital Toolbox to enhance learning

TEL Roadmap - Leadership & Planning: Plan

Leadership & Planning: Plan

A school in the initial stage will be the one that has a basic ICT plan. To become a enabled school, it will be necessary a plan developed by Technology Enhanced Learning (TEL) Team, and a teacher, or group of teachers, with responsibilities and a leadership for that plan. The school will become confident if it has a comprehensive TEL plan and is integrated in school's plan. plan. The development of the plan is led by principal/ICT co-ordinating teacher/TEL Team with all teachers contributing and whole school acceptance. There is a designated ICT co-ordinating teacher with clearly defined duties and responsibilities. Finally, the school will become mature when the teachers implement the TEL plan in their daily work. The teachers and the students are involved in innovative and exemplary practice.

TEL Roadmap - Leadership & Planning: Vision

Leadership & Planning: Vision

A school in the initial stage will be the one that mainly focuses in ICT equipment. To become a enabled school, it will be necessary a plan developed by Technology Enhanced Learning (TEL) Team. The school will become confident if the TEL vision is integrate into the whole school vision. Finally, the school will become mature when the TEL vision is wide ranging and shared by all stakeholders, and it is actively tested through the student learning experience.

Best Practices

Now, in Digital Schools website you can find the best practices in STEM, Language, Arts, Humanities and Cross Curricular.

Also, you can find it available by country. 
Go and visit the website.

Using Google Docs for collaborative work

Image credit: Lumaxart

Here there are two videos on how to use Google Docs as a collaborative work.

This collaborative work can be done between teachers, between students and class teacher, and between students.

Validator

Any school that applies to become a certified digital school, needs to pass the validation process.

In this video you can see how:


If you want to be a validator, just go to this website: http://digitalschools.academy/

Technology Enhanced Learning (TEL)

The Digital Schools Europe website presents a roadmap and self-evaluation to be taken by each school. In that way, the school can know the level of their own Technology Enhanced Learning (TEL) program.

TEL map - Credit: TEL4DT

But, what is TEL?
Well, this is not a new concept. It implies a new way to adapt the teacher's work in the classroom. Where technology is present for each student and the learning process can be personalized.
That implies not only present content in different supports but "innovations in content delivery, assessment methods, and adaptive learning" [1]
The students will be more active in the learning process, and they should be use ICT to acquire specific goals.

This implies a commitment between leadership, teacher professional training and plan to update and to keep all the ICT tools and infrastructure running.
Finally, TEL will prepare our students to acquire digital skills, to adapt for new kind of jobs or challenges, to work as a team.

Sources:
[1] University of Texas https://facultyinnovate.utexas.edu/teaching/tech (March, 10, 2017)
Francis, Taylor. "Technology-enhanced learning and teaching in higher education: what is ‘enhanced’ and how do we know? A critical literature review" http://oro.open.ac.uk/36675/1/TEL%20in%20Higher%20Education-What%20is%20enhanced%20and%20how%20do%20we%20know.pdf Open Research Online

Digitally supporting a global experiment

Following last March’s great success with more than 1100 schools from around the world involved in the activity, the Eratosthenes Experiment will be held again on the 21st of March, 2017 (a day after the spring equinox day)! 

The experiment consist in measure with a high 1 meter stick the shadow provided by the Sun. Some simple mathematics can be applied to get the Earth's radius. The technology behind this experiment is to find the local noon (provided by online websites or by using Stellarium) and to measure the distance between schools in the same longitude or one school to the Equator (by using Google Earth).

Once again, do not miss the opportunity to participate in this fascinating international event! Take part through your school by registering at the website with your school’s longitude and latitude. Once you are registered, you will be put in touch with a school from the same longitude with you by the organizing team. Together with your partner school, you will record data, collaborate, calculate the circumference of the Earth and submit the data.

In order to stand a chance to win a scholarship to attend the 2017 European Science Education Academy (ESEA) Summer School in Greece, take a photo of your experiment and submit it until the 14th of April along with your data. More info at: http://eratosthenes.ea.gr/content/photo-contest-march-2017

Please note that the Eratosthenes Experiment official website has been upgraded. From now on, you can create your account and make use of it in order to register your school, submit & store your experiment data to compare them with future data, and upload to the gallery of Eratosthenes website photos from the experiment taking part at your school (or another location). 

DSoE TEL roadmap video

Watch this introductory video about TEL roadmap:


You can find more about roadmaps in the Digital Schools of Europe website.

DSoE Pisa Meeting

"An international network to share best practices and develop a European path in terms of the educational innovation, including through digital technologies. This is the outcome of the project  Digital Schools of Europe , opened in Dublin in October 2015, and with the participation, in addition to Ireland lead partner, and Italy represented by Pisa, Sweden (Malmo), Finland (Oulu), Denmark (Odense), France (Limoges), Portugal (Lisbon), Spain (Murcia), each with Municipalities and / or universities and two schools. 

[...] The goal is to define the status of the European situation on analog innovation theme of the learning process, and in what ways and how digital technologies can foster and actualize this revolution, analyzing needs and pave the way for the next steps also through the sharing of best practices." in  La Nazione

You can read the full article here: https://goo.gl/LDxa1q 

Digital tools for teachers

Here is a video from Oxford University YouTube channel talking about the best digital tools for teachers. Most of the websites have apps that can be used in class.

Digital tools for classroom

Image from elearningclassroom.wikispaces.com

Jacqui Sharp made a good compilation of digital tools that can be used in your classroom^[1]. Of course there are more good tools. If you want you can share your experience here to other colleagues know how to use it.

To know more tools see this presentation^[2]:

The Best Free Web Tools for Engaging Students in 1:1 Classrooms from Jonathan Wylie

[1] http://elearningclassroom.wikispaces.com/Getting+Ready
[2] http://www.slideshare.net/jonathanwylie/the-best-free-web-tools-for-engaging-students-in-11-classrooms

TEL Roadmaps 5 areas

The Technology Enhanced Learning (TEL) roadmaps are divided in 5 key areas:

• Leadership planning roadmap;
• TEL in the curriculum roadmap;
• Professional development roadmap;
• School's TEL culture roadmap;
• Resources and infrastructure roadmap.

Each area has 4 consecutive stages of progression.

1. Initial
2. Enabled
3. Confident
4. Mature

Each stage represents a more advanced stage than its predecessor.

To know more about roadmaps go to: http://www.digitalschoolseurope.eu/technology-enhanced-learning-road-map/

Self-evaluations

The Self-evaluations help the Technology Enhanced Learning team and planners to analyse the school’s current stage of development in ICT and Digital Technologies. Completion of all the Self-evaluations provides the school with a snapshot of its strengths and challenges in relation to Technology Enhanced Learning and allows the school to identify priorities for progression to more advanced stages and becoming a Digital School of Europe.

Get more information here: http://www.digitalschoolseurope.eu/roadmapself-evaluation/

TEL Roadmaps

The Roadmap helps the Technology Enhanced Learning (TEL) team and planners to analyse the school’s current stage of development in Technology Enhanced Learning and identify priorities for the future. 

Completion of the Self-evaluation tool associated with the Roadmap provides the school with a snapshot of its strengths and challenges in relation to Technology Enhanced Learning and allows the school to identify priorities for progression to more advanced stages.

Get more information here:

http://www.digitalschoolseurope.eu/technology-enhanced-learning-road-map/

20 Digital Skills for Teachers

The 21st century teacher should be able to :

1- Create and edit  digital audio
2- Use Social bookmarking to share resources with and between learners
3- Use blogs and wikis to create online platforms for students
4- Exploit digital images for classroom use
5- Use video content to engage students
6- Use infographics to visually stimulate students

7- Use Social networking sites to connect with colleagues and grow professionally
8- Create and deliver asynchronous presentations and training sessions

9- Compile a digital e-portfolio for their own development

10- be able to detect plagiarized works in students assignments
11- Create screen capture videos and tutorials
12- Curate web content for classroom learning
13- Use and provide students with task management tools to organize their work and plan their learning
14- Use polling software to create a real-time survey in class
15- Understand issues related to copyright and fair use of online materials

16- Use digital assessment tools to create quizzes

17- Find and evaluate authentic web based content
18- Use digital tools for time management purposes

19- Use note taking tools to share interesting content with your students

20- Use of online sticky notes to capture interesting ideas
Liste retrieved from: educatorstechnology.com

Create and share a Gdoc for your class

Today we have some instructions on how to create and share a Google Doc.

Create a blog for your classroom

Here they are the basics steps to create a blog for your classroom:

Welcome

Welcome to Digital Schools of Europe

The Digital Schools of Europe project aims to enhance digital integration in learning, teaching, training and youth work at various levels throughout the EU.

To know more about the project please visit: 

http://www.digitalschoolseurope.eu/