Chapter 16: Purposeful Planning

Discussion Questions

• How are you getting the technology into the hands of your students?
• Does your school allow students to publish online to a global audience? If not, find out why! If so, how are you letting your students go global?
• How often do you find yourself going to plan B, C, or D?
• Do you have a central hub for students to use as their one-stop shop for your class? If so, how has it worked? If not, what’s holding you back?
• How do you package your digital assignments? In your experience, what have been the most important details to include?
• Think about how you select digital tools for use in your classroom. How can you improve your selection process?
• Have you ever had a lesson involving technology that frustrated you? What did you learn from that experience?
• What is the most difficult part of technology integration for you?

Chapter 16 Actions

• Brainstorm some ideas for a lesson you would like to try. Ask yourself these questions:
  1. What are the learning outcomes?
  2. What will learners learn and be able to do?
  3. Where do the Four C’s fit?
  4. Will this activity meet any of the ISTE Standards for Students?
  5. Do you want learners to create and publish online?
  6. What does the end of the experience look like?
• Build a classroom website, if you don’t already have one, using the digital tool of your choice.
• Try Google Classroom! It’s a great way to manage digital assignments and increase communication and collaboration. Check out my Google Classroom resources for tips, tricks, e-books, and more.
• Create a digital assignment with your students, and package all of the details. Share your links and reflection on Twitter with #ShakeUpLearning, or in the Shake Up Learning Facebook Group.
• Share one thing you learned in this chapter with a colleague who struggles with technology use.
• Go app fishing! Spend some time exploring and researching the best apps for your classroom. Here are a couple places to start: For Chrome Apps, go to shakeup.link/chromedb, and for iOS Apps, shakeup.link/appfishing. Share your findings on Twitter with the #ShakeUpLearning hashtag or in the Facebook Group.
• Is there a teacher in your school who always seems to have the best ideas or luck when using tech with kids? Ask that teacher for tips and advice for your classroom.