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Generate Instant Pear Decks

  I’ll keep this short as the video explains most of you. Any new educational technology can be complicated to dig into from scratch as you attempt to align it to learning outcomes.  Well, a new feature that Pear Deck has introduced has taken a giant leap forward to help educators do just that.  Before we jump into the new features, if you are unfamiliar with Pear Deck and why my students and I consider it the #1 EdTech tool that helps their learning, check out the video in the previous blog post.   But if you are more concerned with why you should even dive into Pear Deck or learn about this new AI generation of Pear Deck sessions to a learning target, check out the video below. Like I said, I’m keeping it short so you have time to watch the video. If you have questions, please contact me at mohammam@elmbrookschools.org or the Pear Deck Learning team at support@deck.peardeck.com . Also, check out the amazing Stacey Roshan's video on this update. 

Building Relationships with Flipgrid #IMMOOC


This will be my third year in which my physics students will be collaborating with an elementary school classroom. It is always a great experience but we’ve found a way to make this connection even better with technology. This year we are collaborating with Katie Spadoni’s 4th graders from Dixon Elementary School a mile from our high school. In the past, collaboration days involved school buses and permission slips.  Now we can innovate collaboration days into collaboration moments via Flipgrid.  


I’ve heard a lot about Flipgrid this summer. I began experimenting with it earlier this school year. But this week I feel like I’ve discovered the power within.


Our first collaboration moment was introductions.  These would usually be face to face on the day.  But using Flipgrid, my students were able to post an introduction and the 4th graders in Katie’s classroom were able to respond in kind.  We could see faces and hear voices.  





Today on our visit, our students collaborated on creating videos highlighting failed inventions. We were then able to post them on Flipgrid for all to view and respond to our creations.



I look forward to continuing with this collaboration on possibly a weekly basis rather that the monthly or quarterly collaborations we used to do. I’ve got some ideas brewing in my head for what we can share
  • Question of the week or success of the week?
  • Explain results of a lab we do in class
  • Explain science principles
  • Record a demonstration and explain

It’ll be a great way to share our learning with an audience outside of our classroom.

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