According to the NMC/CoSN Horizon Report: 2017 K-12 Edition, a significant challenge impeding technology adoption in K-12 education is a growing need to digitally upskill students (2017, pg. 24). Mozilla and community stakeholders developed a web literacy map that incorporates the 21st Century skills to identify core web literacy skills. Digital literacy skills include the ability to; search, compose, remix, revise, code, compose, evaluate, and synthesize (http://mozilla.github.io/webmaker-whitepaper). There are a plethora of quality apps and tools available for teachers to integrate digital skills in the classroom. However, it can be a bit overwhelming. A good rule of thumb is to build on what you already know. Let’s explore a couple of remarkable presentation tools.
Bored with using the same tools to engage your students? Have you considered upgrading your PowerPoint to a Prezi? A Prezi is a highly engaging presentation tool. Prezi allows users to zoom in on key ideas, the presentation constantly moves, and most importantly, there is no gap time between transitions. Best of all, a basic subscription is free at Prezi.com. A helpful video can be found at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ArGh6FurR0Q. Consider flipping your classroom by having students work collaboratively to create their own Prezi.
Take your classroom videos to the next level with EdPuzzle. An EdPuzzle allows the user to annotate a video. This is important because the user can pause the video and insert open ended questions into the video which transcends the observer from passive to active participant. This provided teachers the opportunity to transform a low cognitive activity to an opportunity for students to evaluate and synthesize information. Explore the website at https://edpuzzle.com/home.
Technology and resources are constantly changing and so are the needs of our students. We have a lot of ground to cover to prepare the digital natives for the future. The tools presented here can be used in any setting including the classroom, professional development, churches, clubs and organizations. The possibilities are limitless for any person wanting to engage others.
References
Belshaw, D., Smith, K.L., (n.d.). Why modzilla cares about web literacy. Retrieved from
http://mozilla.github.io/webmaker-whitepaper/)
New Media Consortium (2017). NMC/CoSN Horizon report 2017 K-12 edition.
https://cdn.nmc.org/media/2017-nmc-cosn-horizon-report-k12-
EN.pdfNMC/CoSN Horizon Report > 2017 K–12 Edition
Classroom Technology Blog 