Q2 Studio in Discovery Ed

This week on the blog, I wanted to share something extra special from Discovery Ed!  If you love the ease of creating a SMORE then you will be over the moon about the new DE Studio!

DE Studio is a creative and collaborative tool that will totally engage your students!  You can create boards for your students to work independently on or in small groups.  You can even assign digital content.  

Click the image below to head to Studio in your Discover Ed account!

Once you view the video, you will see that there are a variety of templates that you can use to help begin to build your board.  You can even assign Studio boards!

Adding new pages will allow your students to collaborate within a board and build their own pages.  

Students can use the chat panel to collaborate and you also can give feedback to students through this option. 

Visit a simple Christmas Around the World project I created in Studio!

Giving students the opportunity to research in DE through Studio encourages curiosity in a safe environment.  

Studio boards are now compatible with iPads!  Now even our youngest learners can be assigned teacher created boards to explore and learn from.   

How do I get started?

Head to Classlink and click Discovery Ed!  Then choose the lightbulb on the left and you will be all set to start creating!

Q2 Podcasts

Q2 is in full swing and I know you all are looking for innovative ways to engage our students!

What about PODCASTS? 
Remember the days of listening to the radio and visualizing the words coming from the speaker? Well, now your students can practice this using podcasts that are created just for them. 
Using podcasts in the classroom as whole group or as a listening center is a fantastic way to get kids thinking about innovative topics like space and volcanos.  

There are podcasts geared around all different types of topics and they are so engaging for students to stop and listen to.  Or even stop and jot during! 

*Use a podcast to flip your classroom and have your students front load with the podcast before your lesson begins-even as a homework assignment! 

Check out some student-friendly podcasts from Cult of Pedagogy!  I wish I had stumbled across the podcast on the bat cave closer to Halloween!  It would have been awesome to see their faces as they listened as the bats flew into the cave! 

 (Just going to put that one away for next year!)

Do you want more Podcasts?  Check out the list over at PickleBums!  So many fun podcasts to share with your students!

Lots of podcasts written by kids!  HELLO!  A perfect way to get kids writing!!!!  

I love the idea of Sketch Noting! 
(From The Secondary English Coffee Shop) 
Hand out a large sheet of paper and lots of colored writing utensils.  
Play a podcast in a large group setting and have students use words and pictures to record their thinking during the podcast. 

There are even podcasts for teachers!  Check some out from Angela Watson and the Cornerstone for Teachers!