Digital Synergy How to integrate and use technology effectively for teaching and learning.

Currently Problematic Highly differentiated classes. A great range of learning needs to cater for at once. Dependent learners who seek teacher assistance before attempting tasks independently. A lack of cohesion between school and home. A disparity in the monitoring of learning outside of class.

Digital Solutions Online learning support empowers students to identify and cater for their own individual learning needs. Creates a bridge between school and home where learning can be monitored - especially over the holidays. Is designed to put ownership on students and foster a culture of academic urgency through self-empowerment.

Achieving Synergy The success of using digital teaching tools depends on how well individual tools support and compliment each other. Each tool needs to be easy to use and access, aimed at providing 1 or 2 key functions or objectives. In the beginning, the teacher will have to model the use of each tool.

Weebly A free design platform that allows you to make you own website. Easy to use and can embed YouTube videos, PDFs Images and word documents. Perfect for exemplars, support resources, extension work and lessons that can be later accessed by the class. (See Zayed English for Senior + Scholarship pages)

Facebook Synergy between Weebly and Facebook, when weebly is updates, it sends a message to students via facbook to alert them of an update. Facebook possesses a high degree of visibility, and is the preferred online communication tool among students. Easy to use and tracks interactions in Real-time. Live chat and homework/ deadline reminders.

Google Drive A collaborative document editing platform that allows students to ‘dock’ and edit, return to and store, their word documents. Necessary for tracking the crafting process of work after the drafting process, in real-time. Safe storage for student academic portfolio. Allows teacher to logon, access document and edit, when student approves selective sharing. Can be featured on the Weebly site for class collaboration tasks or brainstorming, that can be accessed in final stages in the classroom the next day for discussion and sharing.

Moodle Used by a variety or tertiary organizations already. Can track submission of student work in Real-time and allows teacher to add comments/ assign a grade. Provides a private storage space for student work. Is easy to use and features a clear layout with few functions that are purposefully designed.

Prezi Prezi is a free platform that offers a space for collaborative zoom presentations. Can embed links, images, audio, YouTube videos and bodies of text. I have made a presentation to teach the basics of film technical conventions for senior students this year. Can be used for collaborative mind mapping as a homework activity. ADAPTIVE TEACHING! httphttp://prezi.com/tmrnb_deiy_c/copy-of-close-reading/ reading/ httpreading/

Android Tablets A great tool for ESOL students who need a dictionary and thesaurus on-hand. It can translate from any language to English and provide bi-lingual explanations of a word or phrase. Extension students can access information on related topics fro within the class. Less paper, more focused on the further exploration of ideas. Involved Real-time collaboration. Using blog sites, students can respond to a question posed in class and sent it to the blog, or mind-mapping site, where it can then be projected onto the whiteboard.

Effective Administration The success of digital tools relies on how effectively you administer their use. You will need to remain ‘connected’ via smartphone, tablet or laptop often. You will need to model and monitor the use of digital tools within the first few weeks for each class. Use what works for you and your subject. If it a tool isnt effective, don’t use it.

Anti-Plagerism: Checker There is a massive misconception that using digital technology encourages plagiarism. Inaccurate. -Digital submission can minimize plagiarism using anti-plagiarism tools to check for “significant amounts of matching text” beyond what is humanly possible. This Free online checker searches the internet for all possible sources of plagiaism and offers a link for the teacher to check if indeed plagiarism has taken place.

Tips and Tricks You master the use of digital tools through ‘playing’ with them and enjoying the process. Realize the limitations of technology. One tool can’t do everything. Students will often pick-up the skill rapidly and they enjoy engaging with technology. Set strict boundaries and rules before allowing students to use. Send a letter home, or call parents to inform of students use of digital tools.

Next Steps: ZayCol Girls My ZayCol girls are mature and responsible students, who are academically sound and possess leadership qualities. They are responsible for posting content onto the Zayed English website and showing other students where these resources are. They have limited permissions and editing right on the site and can only post text, files and comments(not upload videos or links to FB or YouTube). They have permission to use the tablets in class and are the typists for group collaboration that occurs in Real-time.

Getting Onboard View the Zayed English Weebly site and make your own for your subject area. We can link. Explore the use of Prezi by letting students brainstorm around a central question you have posed. Give them 1 week to post something. Get a Gmail account you are comfortable setting up for Google Drive. Download it to your laptop, phone or tablet. Welcome to consult informed members of staff to helo set you up. Once you begin ‘Playing’ with digital tools, you will learn fast --  Just like the students will.