How can teachers work towards becoming more digitally literate?
There are a lot of online resources out there! The hard part is narrowing it down and making sure it is effective, and that we are not just using it.....for the sake of using it!
This website contains a lot of useful technological apps/programs for the classroom, but what if you just want to give students worksheets to do, and worried that it might not be as engaging? Thank goodness fun worksheets exist (thank you, Teachers Pay Teachers)! BUT......there are times when you really want to do something and can't find what you're looking for. I got your back!
Bit of background information: I did a little test on my class. One time in math, I printed out a worksheet that was in plain font and with nothing really on it except for questions. Students grumbled a little and weren't very interested. The next day, I gave them another worksheet with similar content and jazzed it up a bit with different fonts and graphics. The majority of students were stoked to get started and said out loud how "cool" the activity was.
I thought they wouldn't be able to see the difference, but the aesthetics of the worksheet does matter to them! So, here are some tips to help you out when you need to design your worksheets!
1. Get lots of cool fonts! My go-to is http://www.dafont.com/. Most fonts should be in a compressed/zip folder. Open it, double-click TTF (TrueType Font) file to install. It will be loaded up in all your programs automatically!
2. Not everyone has Photoshop, but if you do, it makes those really complex designs a lot easier (because of all the layering). If you don't, that's totally fine! You can still create magic with the most basic programs!
3. Remember that really useless "Paint" app under "Accessories" when Windows 98 was a thing? Windows 8 and 10 have really upped their game , and have included cool features like a paint-brush effect. The best thing about this program is that you don't have to be great at computers to use and understand it. It is straightforward and makes sense. So if Microsoft is rejecting whatever you had in mind and won't do what you want it to do, just make a giant picture in Paint and throw everything in there and arrange it the way you like it. Afterwards, just select the whole thing as a picture and paste it into Word!
4. Microsoft Word. Thanks to Office 365, we get to download the 2016 version for free! Look under "format"- lots of nifty effects are on there and will let you manipulate lettering and images. The table feature is also your best friend! Super great for students to use when it comes to organizing their work/thoughts.
5. Powerpoint. I remember having so much fun with all the little transitions between slides. Things haven't changed much for this generation. Kids still love and appreciate how straightforward this program is, and you should too! I know my pal, @GrantBertamini drew his little face icon using this program!
Check out my "Teaching" tab for samples of my work!