Heartland AEA Digital Learning News

One of our favorite tools for storytelling and creativity, Adobe Express, recently released a new feature that allows you to easily create an animated character from your own voice recording. You can record or upload audio, choose from many options of characters, and set the scene with one of their backgrounds or one that you upload. This feature, like all of the tools within Adobe Express, is completely free!

There are nearly endless ways to bring these character animations into your classroom, but here are some ideas to get you started:

• 📢 Liven up morning announcements
• 🪝 Use as a hook at the beginning of a lesson
• 🤔 Student reflection or explanation
• 📜 Student story-telling
• 📖 An engaging way for students to practice fluency

Computer Science Education Week (CSEdWeek) takes place December 5-11, 2022, and is an annual call to action to provide American youth with resources to learn more about computer science, explore the opportunities that exist, and encourage participation in computer science education.

A variety of resources, panel opportunities, and activities are available for anyone interested in learning more about computer science at www.iowastem.org/csedweek. These resources can be utilized to set up unique experiences and are customizable.

Resources

The links below provide access to quick computer science activities and resources to help you plan for the week. These are excellent resources if you're not sure how to get started.

• K-5 Resources
• Middle School Resources
• High School Resources
• CS Ed Week Resource Dashboard

Many teachers have discovered the power of Seesaw as a digital portfolio that allows teachers to assign work, engage with students, provide feedback, and communicate with families. Educators may utilize basic features within the free version or access more advanced features through a Seesaw for Schools plan which is available at a discounted rate through Iowa's AEAs.

The following updates may be of interest to new and existing Seesaw users:

• Messages - this new communication tool builds on the features of Inbox, such as 2-way conversations, 1-way announcements, multimedia, and language translation, while adding requests like custom group conversations, the ability to message multiple classes at once, and improved school and class settings to customize the experience to your needs.
• Seesaw Learning App - all users (including parents) can now access Seesaw through the same app. There is no longer a need for families to use a different app than students!
• Canvas LTI - this new integration allows teachers and students to assign, complete, and grade Seesaw activities in the Canvas LMS.
• Learning Hub - the Learning Hub includes short, self-paced learning opportunities that are broken into pathways for new users, experienced users, administrators, and specialists, along with content-focused learning, special topics, and PD kits.
• Seesaw Scoop - this weekly email includes the latest updates, tips, resources and more.
• Webinars - access live and on-demand webinars to learn about Seesaw and effective strategies for the classroom.
• Standards-Alignment - Seesaw Lessons are now aligned with and searchable by Iowa standards. There is also a computer science scope and sequence available that utilizes Seesaw Lessons.
• What's New with Seesaw Lessons Webinar and Q&A - live webinar for Iowa Seesaw users on January 19 from 3:30-4:15 pm.

To celebrate the winter holiday season this year, Eric Curts is creating a series of blog posts called The 12 Days of Chrome-mas that will provide tips, tricks, and lesser known features within Google Chrome. These posts will include ways to make teachers’ lives easier and engage with students in new ways. Additionally, this initial post includes links to other resources that are great for this season created by both Eric and other educators, so be sure to check those out!

The 12 Days of Chrome-mas will start on December 5th and run through December 22. Consider setting a recurring calendar reminder to check back each day!

See the GIF below for how to set a recurring reminder.👇

As we approach winter break, you might find yourself wanting to explore some new trends and learning with your free time. If you are looking for new ideas or to strengthen your practice, we've found two learning options that may fit the bill!

As he does every year, Matt Miller from Ditch That Textbook is offering the Ditch Summit around the winter break.

From Matt:

The Ditch That Textbook Digital Summit is a FREE online conference for teachers. It brings together some of the brightest minds in education to discuss technology, pedagogy and more. You'll be blown away by this year's speakers.

This year, the summit is open from Dec. 12, 2022 to Jan. 6, 2023. Click here for more information.

Google has spent the last 2 years researching, reviewing, and interviewing to create their new Future of Education report. They recently released part 1.

From Google:

The Future of Education is a three-part global report synthesizing insights from 94 educational experts across 24 countries, two years of peer-reviewed academic literature, and a media narrative analysis across the education sector.

This is Part 1: Preparing for a new future. As educators work to equip students with the skills and mindsets they’ll need to navigate massive change, the educational experts we interviewed discussed how and why they’re rethinking the role of education.

Click here to read part 1 of the report.

Our team of five consultants serves the 8 regions of Heartland Area Education Agency and designs and delivers the Heart of Innovation Summer Summit and Webinar Series. We are ready to deliver professional learning focused on effective digital learning and technology integration. Please reach out if we can design learning just right for you!

Email: haeatech@heartlandaea.org
Website: https://www.heartlandaea.org/educators/cia/instructional-tech/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/heartlandaeainnovativeeducators