Did you know that Feb 13, 2025 is Digital Learning Day? Honestly, I didn't either. We are surrounded with digital tools in our daily lives and especially at school so why have a special day for it?

This month I will be focusing on AI in the Classroom during the CVSU After School Tech PDs. I hope to chat with you!

Why Celebrate Digital Learning Day?

Digital Learning Day is more than just a day to play with gadgets and explore new apps. It's a day to:

• Recognize the transformative power of technology in education. Technology has the potential to personalize learning, engage students, and provide access to a wealth of information and resources.
• Highlight the importance of digital literacy. In today's digital age, it's crucial for students to develop the skills they need to navigate the online world safely and responsibly.
• Celebrate the innovative ways teachers are using technology to enhance learning. Digital Learning Day is an opportunity to showcase the creative and effective ways technology is being used in classrooms around the world.
• Inspire students to explore the world of possibilities that technology offers. By exposing students to new technologies and digital learning experiences, we can spark their curiosity and encourage them to become lifelong learners.

 

Here are some ideas for ways you can celebrate in your classroom. These ideas are from Macee Hall who writes for TCEA. Here is the link to her article.

Please reach out if you want support to use any of these types of activities in your classroom.

 

Activities for Elementary School Learners

For our youngest digital natives, Digital Learning Day 2025 offers exciting opportunities to explore technology in fun and engaging ways:

1. Coding Adventures: Introduce students to coding basics using child-friendly apps and platforms.
2. Virtual Field Trips: Take your class on a virtual adventure without leaving the classroom.
3. Digital Storytelling: Encourage creativity by having students create digital stories using tools like Storybird.
4. Interactive Multimedia Lessons: Create engaging multimedia lessons that automatically convert into games and activities.

 

Activities for Middle School Learners

As students progress to middle school, they can engage in more complex digital learning activities:

5. Digital Scavenger Hunts: Organize a quest where students use various educational apps or websites to find information related to specific topics or concepts.
6. Podcast Creation: Have students research a topic and create their own educational podcasts. Think WeVideo
7. Digital Citizenship Workshops: Use Digital Learning Day as an opportunity to discuss online safety and responsible digital behavior.
8. STEM Gaming: Introduce students to educational games that blend learning with fun!

 

Activities for High School Learners

High school students can engage in more advanced digital learning activities that prepare them for future academic and professional endeavors:

9. Virtual Reality Experiences: If resources allow, introduce students to virtual reality applications in education.
10. AI and Machine Learning Workshops: Introduce students to the basics of artificial intelligence and machine learning.
11. Digital Portfolio Creation: Encourage students to create comprehensive digital portfolios showcasing their work, skills, and achievements.
12. Hackathons or Tech Challenges: Organize a school-wide or inter-school hackathon where students collaborate to solve real-world problems using technology.
13. Industry Connections: Arrange virtual meetings or Q&A sessions with professionals in various tech fields, allowing students to learn about career opportunities in the digital world.

Welcome to 2025! My topic today is webpages and why they are important for schools, teachers and families.

As you can see, CVSU and all of it's schools have a new and refreshed looked. I hope you like it. The mobil view is much more user friendly. I will continue to be editing content and getting everything where we want it. If something isn't where you think it should be, please let me or Trey know. 

In today's digital age, a school's website is often the first point of contact for parents, students, and the wider community. It serves as a virtual front door, offering a glimpse into the school's culture, values, and educational offerings. A well-designed and informative website can make a significant difference in how the school is perceived and can even impact enrollment decisions.

Our website is an important marketing tool. Imagine you live in Wisconsin and you have just been offered a job at Darn Tough. You need to decide what town you will move to and enroll your children in the local school. You start looking at websites for all of the towns surrounding Northfield. We want to draw families to our school communities and having an informative and appealing website is critical.

Why Your School Needs a Good Website

• First Impressions Matter: A visually appealing and easy-to-navigate website creates a positive first impression. It reflects professionalism and shows that the school values communication and engagement.
• Accessibility to Information: A good website provides easy access to essential information, such as school calendars, contact details, staff directories, and curriculum information. This saves time for parents and staff and ensures that everyone stays informed.
• 24/7 Availability: A website is available 24/7, allowing parents and students to access information and resources whenever they need them.
• Enhanced Communication: A website can be used to share news, announcements, and upcoming events, keeping the school community connected and engaged.
• Showcasing Student Work and Achievements: A website can be used to showcase student work, highlight achievements, and celebrate successes, fostering a sense of pride and accomplishment.
• Parent and Community Engagement: A website can facilitate parent and community engagement by providing links to resources, volunteer opportunities, and ways to get involved.

Key Elements of a Good School Website

• Clear and Intuitive Navigation: The website should be easy to navigate, with a clear menu structure and search functionality.
• Visually Appealing Design: The website should be visually appealing, with high-quality images and a consistent design aesthetic.
• Mobile-Friendly: The website should be optimized for mobile devices, as many users will access it on their smartphones or tablets.
• Up-to-Date Content: The website should be regularly updated with fresh content, such as news, events, and announcements.
• Accessibility: The website should be accessible to users with disabilities, following web accessibility guidelines.

A well-designed school website is more than just an online brochure. It is a dynamic communication tool that can enhance parent and community engagement, showcase student achievements, and support the school's mission and goals. By investing in a high-quality website, schools can create a positive online presence and build a strong sense of community.

 

Last week I spent Thursday and Friday at Vermont Fest, the annual Technology Conference in Killington, VT. What a busy 2 days! I love this conference because it reinvigorates me and I always learn new things. I love that I get to spend time with my educational tech colleagues who do the same work as me in our schools. I even got to spend some time with a CVSU colleague! Networking is important. 

VITA-Learn is an independent non-profit organization dedicated to preparing today’s learners for the demands of tomorrow. Our mission is to promote and support the use of information technology to transform Vermont education through the provision of professional development, training and networking opportunities. You can find out more about this organization and what it can offer you by going to their website

My focus was to learn about AI in our schools. Specifically, I attended sessions on developing policy for teachers and school use as well as sessions about good tools for teachers. I also spent time looking at digital maker spaces for STEM education. I think one of my next projects will be to develop a Chatbot. 

I was very impressed by the keynote speaker on Thursday. Richard Culatta is a dynamic speaker who has written a book called Digital for Good. The premise is that we need to teach students how to use technology to be proactive and productive citizens.He takes a positive approach with his framework for preparing students. I can't wait to read his book.

Feel free to ask me more about the conference and I'm happy to share what I have learned. I will also be sharing out more specific information in my weekly blog. Have a great week.

I need your help!

Today I want to bring your attention to a tool we should all know about and ensure that our students are aware of. This Chrome extension is called Read&Write. Please make sure your studetns have the extension and are able to use it for text to speech in Google docs and the web.

Read&Write for Chrome is tool that all staff and students have access to. It allows for text to speech in Google docs, webpages, gmail and other Google products. I am strongly encouraging all teachers to check with their students to make sure this is in their toolbar to the right of the URL window. it will be a small purple puzzle piece. Once you click on the extension, a toolbar appears. Select the text you want read outloud and then press the play button. Students will need to make sure their audio is on etc. It should be pretty simple and there is always support available for you and your students. Watch the video below to see how it works.

Here is a link for a video on the fully functional tools 

As always, please feel free to contact me for more information. Please leave a comment below if you are already using this tool.

thanks,

Brucie