Coffee Break with Emily: My Digital Self

Welcome to my new blog series called Coffee Breaks with Emily! Two years ago, I moved out of the classroom and began teaching technology to students and teachers. I love technology because there is always something new to learn! Technology allows even our youngest students to access higher level thinking, interact with new information, and create. The best part is, with technology you can learn something new in the time it takes you to drink a cup of coffee. So take your coffee break with me, whether it's 11:00 at night, or Sunday morning while you're still in your pjs. You just might learn about a new tech tool, a new way to use it, or get inspiration for integrating more tech into your classroom.

Thinglink Summer Challenge 2015: 

Challenge #1 My Digital Self

This summer I joined the Thinglink Summer Challenge 2015. It's a free, self-paced PD opportunity that helps you learn more about how you can use Thinglink in the classroom. I've been using Thinglink for a few years, and it's one of my favorite tools! Thinglink Challenge #1 was to create your digital self. With the help of Canva and Tellagami, here is my digital self. Scroll over the picture and touch the hot spots that link you to interactive media.

These ideas for using "My Digital Self" in the classroom are from Susan Oxnevad's Thinglink Blog:

Classroom Connections and Modifications

• Take advantage of the teachable moment and combine this activity with an Internet Safety lesson to help students distinguish between personal and private information when sharing on the web.
• Introduce the activity at the start of the school year in place of a traditional getting to know you activity and encourage students to add tags as they learn, change and grow throughout the year.
• Create a class channel of student digital selves for use as an introduction to another classroom when collaborating.
• Adapt the activity to fit into your curriculum and use it throughout the year as a place for students to showcase their growth and progress in a particular area.
• Ask students to create a channel of their own to track their progress towards specific goals, adding tags to highlight accomplishments throughout the year.

How might you use it in the classroom?