40+ Ways to Innovative Teaching Using Glogster EDU in the Classroom
As a Glogster Ambassador and Reseller (code: 5E9515), as well as an innovative educator, I am obsessed with finding new and creative ways to engage my students with technology but also to keep them focused on deep and meaningful learning. Often teachers use technology as just another tool to provide information to students. Students remain the passive consumers of their learning and fact gatherers rather than active participants in the discovery of information and producers of meaningful learning experiences. This should be our goal as educators: To provide tools to discovery and allow creativity and independence in the learning process.
Glogster EDU is a fantastic tools whose versatility is limited only by one's imagination. Truly it is one of the most underutilized Web 2.0 tools out there! This blog is dedicated to sharing and celebrating innovations in the classroom using this remarkable tool.
1. Ice Breakers or Getting to Know You
Starting off the school year in the same old ways? Try using Glogster EDU as an innovative tool to get kids to express themselves about who they are and what they hope to accomplish over the year! Create a "Meet Your Teacher" glog with all the makings of a fantastic glog (audio, video, links, graphics, images, documents) and not only let your new students get to know you and your teaching philosophies, but train them on HOW to create a glog of thier own! Send it out before school starts to your parents' emails or post on your website for instant Day 1 assignment fun! This past start of the school year, I asked my parents and 2nd grade students to take photos of things they love that filled them with joy and made them feel special. They specifically had to try to spell their names with those things, looking for the letters in patterns, shapes, or designs. They each took digital photos, uploaded them to a glog, wrote little blurbs about why each item was special to them, and added songs, videos of themselves, and even links to their favorite sites! We shared these throughout the first week and it truly set the tone for our school year. The documents, videos, and links provided in my "training" glog eased the stress of learning a new tool for both parents and students alike. This lesson brought a sense of togetherness between my families and myself and has sustained a sound, respectful, and open relationship throughout the whole year.
2. Student of the Week
Every week our campus celebrates one student from each classroom who demonstrates exemplary conduct and leadership. In my class, we celebrate by giving a Glogspot to that student! Using Big Huge Lab's motivator tool , I create an inspriational poster of the student's picture with an educational quote. Then, all of the classmates have a chance to enter text into the glog telling the student how he/she matters to them and why they are so deserving of the honor of "Alpha Wolf" (our student of the week title). This is a special digital momento that students can add to their websites or print to frame. It means the world to them and is one of the most popular uses of Glogster EDU in my classroom each year.
3. Classroom Newletter
Tired of boring paper newsletter? Do you want to create excitement at home with parents and students about all the wonderful learning opportunities happening in your classroom? Do you WANT your newsletter to actually be read!? Look no further than Glogster EDU! This is a fun, interactive way to get newsletter information to your parents! Post images, videos, audio, parent support links, homework assignments and more! It is fun and much more visually appealing to click away and interact with a newsletter than to receive a paper or link to a digital paper than only needs to be read. The feedback on this use has been very positive! My parents and students look forward to the newsletters because they showcase images from our classroom, links to learning, student made work, videos, and more! This is definitely a refreshing change of pass from the mundane newsletters of pre-technology days.
4. Parent Support
Want to help your parents feel connected to the classroom and supported at home with informative training videos or documents that teach them how YOU are teaching their children so that there is consistency between home and school? Create glogs that link, info, share, show, and facilitate parent support at home! I have sent glogs to my parents on everything from fact fluency expectations, to the scientific method, to solving word problems, to tips on reading with your child and how to ask good comprehension questions.
5. Principal's Corner
Glogster EDU is a great way for administrators to connect in innovative ways with their staff, community, and parents. Create a Principal's Corner glog sharing ideas, links, information, photos and more!
6. Classroom Frequently Accessed Sites
Set up a glog that houses all of the frequently used and accessed site for your classroom. Embed the glog into your webpage or wiki and viola! You have a one-stop place for your students to access every site needed on a daily basis. No more saving shortcuts to desktops or sentence strips with links.
7. Flipped Classroom
When students are absent, or YOU are absent, or when you need to spend more time helping your students work the work rather than learn the material in the initial lesson, flipping the classroom is all the rage! With Glogster EDU is it as easy as 1-2-3 or click, embed, click. Glogs allow for videos, links, audio, podcasts, information, interaction, and photos. You can embed an entire week's worth of lessons into one glog and have kids work at their own pace or on a schedule.
8. Classroom Blogging
Engage your students in writing in a way that will give them purposeful and meaningful opportunities to write daily. Have students set up a blog/glog! Each student can create or use a pre-made template in which they can blog daily or weekly about their learning. These can be submitted to you as a way of self-reflection and communication between reluctant students and you!
9. Cooperative Learning Tool
One of the best ways to help a child learn information on a deeper more meaningful level is to have them teach it to someone else. Glogster is a great way for them to put together a lesson in one space that can be embedded into other sites for future use and reference. Have students flipcam a video or do a paperslide, create images or take photos as visual aides, even record their lesson via Audacity or some other sound recording software, even provide problems and handouts. They can also connect another glog template to the host glog and have students edit it as a response! This idea is helpful when students are shy or nervous about teaching live in front of a class, but want to share their learning and ideas in a different way.
10. Graphic Organizers
Create templates as graphic organizers and assign them to your students for them to fill out and submit back to you on a variety of topics from literary responses to scientific comparisons!
11. Assessments: Give your students a digital version of a one-pager assessment! The One-Pager is a creative writing strategy that can be used post-lesson as a way for students to organize information or review the content. Traditionally, students are given a plain piece of 8 ½” by 11” paper and asked to fill it up with elements from the reading such as quotations, definitions, charts, graphs, or anything else they feel is important information. Students are able to use colorful markers, pens, or crayons, and they can be as creative as possible in their organization of information. With Glogster EDU, students can create vibrant and interactive one-pagers and are more inclined to out-perform on these assessments as they motivate them to create and share more information than they might typically share with traditional assessments.
12. Problem Solving Quests
Using STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) type questions, have students utilize Glogster as a way to poster links, photos, videos, and explanations to solving these problems. Use Glogster to set them up for success by linking them to Web 2.0 facilitated clues and instructions that guide them to information that they can peruse, synthesize, and share.
13. Research:
This is a two-fold benefit! As the teacher, you can create a glog filled with research information and links for your students to easily find and use. But a more productive application could be to assign research topics to students and have them create their own resource glogs! Imagine the powerful learning experience your kids could have if they are responsible for finding, determining the validity and accuracy of information, and sharing what they discovered learning evidence for the planning and research stage of these types of projects.
14. Biographies
Have your students research individual people of history, authors, or other significant figures and then collaboratively create a glog or series of glogs that showcase the biographical information they learned.
15. TImelines
Have students create personal timelines, timelines or historical events, or science data over time using Glogster. These timelines can be so interactive with photos, videos, interviews, soundbytes, and digital articfacts. SO much more than a read-only paper timeline.
16. Math Explanations
Create a template for math word problem justification responses and have students create a glog that uses photos, videos, audio, and writing as means to explain their thinking and how they solved the problem.
17. Writing Practice or Assignments:
Tired of workbooks and worksheets for editing and revising practice? Create a template for them to digitally fill in or complete. They can easily submit them to you for grading and saves on paper!
18. Infographics
All the rage in education and business, infographics are a beautiful way to display graphs, data, processes, and synthesized information! Teach this skill to your students and set them up for success both in education and future business endeavors!
19. Scientific Experiment Results
Give your students the chance to really show off their understanding and scientific results by creating a glog that expresses their project! It is a digital science fair project media! Just think of the pride they will have as their peers interact with the photos, videos, audio, and links that enhance their projects results and solidify understanding.
20. Spelling Patterns and Practice
Spelling tests or practice are no longer just paper and pencil activities. Have students respond to an audio clip of you dictating or pronouncing the spelling words and have them type in the word! It's as easy as that!
21. Social Studies Reports
Anytime students can respond to social studies learning through presentation and response the level of understanding is deeper and more meaningful.
22. Comprehensive Body of Classwork
Connect a class set of glogs to a "host" glog that features their photos or names that link to their individual glogs. It is a fabulous way create an online digital classroom display. Parents and other classrooms can peruse all of the wonderful work your students create!
23. Homework
Send glogs to your students with links, videos, audio, and photos as well as guided questions for them to answer! It is a fun and exciting way to get kids to do their homework. No more battle at home (except maybe to do more glogs!)!
24. Scavenger Hunts
Have students go on digital learning scavenger hunts across all curriculum and content! GIve little direction other than perhaps a pointed open-ended question and send them on the adventure.
25. Community Service Projects
Get your community involved in your community service projects by creating interactive glogs that can send them to information about your cause, links to donate or volunteer, sign up for participation and so much more! It is certainly impressive and worthy of the "word-of-mouth" publicity your community service project deserves.
26. Art Gallery
Have students upload their artwork into a glog facilitated art gallery! This is a great way for them to add commentary about their projects, the techniques being used, and even the historical impact of artists who pioneered the techniques! This idea creates much more than a visually appealing gallery experience. It becomes a digital interactive experience!
27. Virtual Music Concert
Record songs and instrumental performances by your students and have them upload them into a glog that celebrates their talents through listener interaction! Background information about the composer, singer, songwriter, or genre can be added to make the experience pleasant to the mind as well as the ear.
28. Virtual FIeld Trips
Level the playing field for your students who have limited life experience and trump the budget cuts by creating a glog that sends your students on a virtual field trip! Travel around the world by embedding videos, images, and anecdotal information. Make it collaborative by asking students to each contribute an element to the glog! Do a cross-cultural collaborative glog by having a global classroom create a "You and Us" glog with your students to share cultural information!
29. Health and Fitness demonstrations and activities
PE coaches this one is for you! Want your students to be more active at home? Create an exercise demo glog or challenge to get kids off the couch and up and moving! They just click on videos of exercises or fun songs to dance to and you have instant motivation to exercise!
30. Library Book of the Month
Celebrate the BOok of the Month for grade levels or your campus by showcasing the book, author, and illustrator with interactive features and even student-created book trailors!
31. Library Monthly Recommended Reads or Book Trailors
LMSs this one is for you! Set up a recommended reading list for grade levels or your campus using GlogsterEDU and you can provide your students with instant access to information about the books, authors, illustrators, genres, and even send them to each other's book review!
32. Community Outreach
Have a concern or a project that addresses a concern in the community? Need to send information about your community outreach project? Create an interactive glog filled with information, resources, ideas, opportunities for volunteerism or donations, and even personal stories of people who have been affected through the outreach focus.
33. PTO
PTO, you are not left out either! Create your PTO page using Glogster! Links, videos, photos, newsletters, fundraisers, and more all at the viewers fingertips! No more shuffling through loose papers or losing important documents. Now your families can have access to all things PTO and campus-focused anytime they want!
34. Resource Glog or Virtual Anchor Charts
Are your walls filling up with anchor charts and resources for your students? Are they boring and lack-luster? Create or have your students create resource glogs or virtual anchor charts to use in class or to share with other classes in a cooperative learning situation!
35. Campus Contests
Promote your contests and link data and current standings to a fun and beautifully interactive glog! Photos, documents and more create a competitive and motivating experience sure to make the contest quite the event!
36. STAAR (State Assessment) Test Prep
Help students study and practice for your state standardized test by creating an interactive experience of study, practice, and productivity.
37. Global Connections
Create glogs to introduce your class to global friends or have each student create a "Getting to Know Us" glog. Exchanges can happen via file share, wikis, or any other interface capable of embedding this type of widget.
38. VIrtual Science Lab
Create a digital science lab using glog by connecting students to experiments that are inaccessible or too dangerous to perform in the live lab. Students can add responses to these experiments as a way to assess their learning and experience.
39. Paperless Campaign
Visit http://iluvearth.wikispaces.com/Earth+Day%3F++Learn+About+It%21 to see how Glogster EDU was utilized in a paperless campaign for Seimen's We Can Change the World Challenge national finalist project in 2010!
40. Literary Global Collabortation
Visit www.mymth.wikispaces.com , an award winning literary global collaborative project and see how Glogster EDU was used as a competition category as well as a staple of this project's interactive features.
42. Game: Clues
43. Game: Secret Codes
44. Game: Level Tutorials
I encourage you to explore and share more uses for GlogsterEDU. If you or your district are interested in renewing or obtaining an EDU account, please use promo code 5E9515! Happy Glogging!
1. Ice Breakers or Getting to Know You
Starting off the school year in the same old ways? Try using Glogster EDU as an innovative tool to get kids to express themselves about who they are and what they hope to accomplish over the year! Create a "Meet Your Teacher" glog with all the makings of a fantastic glog (audio, video, links, graphics, images, documents) and not only let your new students get to know you and your teaching philosophies, but train them on HOW to create a glog of thier own! Send it out before school starts to your parents' emails or post on your website for instant Day 1 assignment fun! This past start of the school year, I asked my parents and 2nd grade students to take photos of things they love that filled them with joy and made them feel special. They specifically had to try to spell their names with those things, looking for the letters in patterns, shapes, or designs. They each took digital photos, uploaded them to a glog, wrote little blurbs about why each item was special to them, and added songs, videos of themselves, and even links to their favorite sites! We shared these throughout the first week and it truly set the tone for our school year. The documents, videos, and links provided in my "training" glog eased the stress of learning a new tool for both parents and students alike. This lesson brought a sense of togetherness between my families and myself and has sustained a sound, respectful, and open relationship throughout the whole year.
2. Student of the Week
Every week our campus celebrates one student from each classroom who demonstrates exemplary conduct and leadership. In my class, we celebrate by giving a Glogspot to that student! Using Big Huge Lab's motivator tool , I create an inspriational poster of the student's picture with an educational quote. Then, all of the classmates have a chance to enter text into the glog telling the student how he/she matters to them and why they are so deserving of the honor of "Alpha Wolf" (our student of the week title). This is a special digital momento that students can add to their websites or print to frame. It means the world to them and is one of the most popular uses of Glogster EDU in my classroom each year.
3. Classroom Newletter
Tired of boring paper newsletter? Do you want to create excitement at home with parents and students about all the wonderful learning opportunities happening in your classroom? Do you WANT your newsletter to actually be read!? Look no further than Glogster EDU! This is a fun, interactive way to get newsletter information to your parents! Post images, videos, audio, parent support links, homework assignments and more! It is fun and much more visually appealing to click away and interact with a newsletter than to receive a paper or link to a digital paper than only needs to be read. The feedback on this use has been very positive! My parents and students look forward to the newsletters because they showcase images from our classroom, links to learning, student made work, videos, and more! This is definitely a refreshing change of pass from the mundane newsletters of pre-technology days.
4. Parent Support
Want to help your parents feel connected to the classroom and supported at home with informative training videos or documents that teach them how YOU are teaching their children so that there is consistency between home and school? Create glogs that link, info, share, show, and facilitate parent support at home! I have sent glogs to my parents on everything from fact fluency expectations, to the scientific method, to solving word problems, to tips on reading with your child and how to ask good comprehension questions.
5. Principal's Corner
Glogster EDU is a great way for administrators to connect in innovative ways with their staff, community, and parents. Create a Principal's Corner glog sharing ideas, links, information, photos and more!
6. Classroom Frequently Accessed Sites
Set up a glog that houses all of the frequently used and accessed site for your classroom. Embed the glog into your webpage or wiki and viola! You have a one-stop place for your students to access every site needed on a daily basis. No more saving shortcuts to desktops or sentence strips with links.
7. Flipped Classroom
When students are absent, or YOU are absent, or when you need to spend more time helping your students work the work rather than learn the material in the initial lesson, flipping the classroom is all the rage! With Glogster EDU is it as easy as 1-2-3 or click, embed, click. Glogs allow for videos, links, audio, podcasts, information, interaction, and photos. You can embed an entire week's worth of lessons into one glog and have kids work at their own pace or on a schedule.
8. Classroom Blogging
Engage your students in writing in a way that will give them purposeful and meaningful opportunities to write daily. Have students set up a blog/glog! Each student can create or use a pre-made template in which they can blog daily or weekly about their learning. These can be submitted to you as a way of self-reflection and communication between reluctant students and you!
9. Cooperative Learning Tool
One of the best ways to help a child learn information on a deeper more meaningful level is to have them teach it to someone else. Glogster is a great way for them to put together a lesson in one space that can be embedded into other sites for future use and reference. Have students flipcam a video or do a paperslide, create images or take photos as visual aides, even record their lesson via Audacity or some other sound recording software, even provide problems and handouts. They can also connect another glog template to the host glog and have students edit it as a response! This idea is helpful when students are shy or nervous about teaching live in front of a class, but want to share their learning and ideas in a different way.
10. Graphic Organizers
Create templates as graphic organizers and assign them to your students for them to fill out and submit back to you on a variety of topics from literary responses to scientific comparisons!
11. Assessments: Give your students a digital version of a one-pager assessment! The One-Pager is a creative writing strategy that can be used post-lesson as a way for students to organize information or review the content. Traditionally, students are given a plain piece of 8 ½” by 11” paper and asked to fill it up with elements from the reading such as quotations, definitions, charts, graphs, or anything else they feel is important information. Students are able to use colorful markers, pens, or crayons, and they can be as creative as possible in their organization of information. With Glogster EDU, students can create vibrant and interactive one-pagers and are more inclined to out-perform on these assessments as they motivate them to create and share more information than they might typically share with traditional assessments.
12. Problem Solving Quests
Using STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) type questions, have students utilize Glogster as a way to poster links, photos, videos, and explanations to solving these problems. Use Glogster to set them up for success by linking them to Web 2.0 facilitated clues and instructions that guide them to information that they can peruse, synthesize, and share.
13. Research:
This is a two-fold benefit! As the teacher, you can create a glog filled with research information and links for your students to easily find and use. But a more productive application could be to assign research topics to students and have them create their own resource glogs! Imagine the powerful learning experience your kids could have if they are responsible for finding, determining the validity and accuracy of information, and sharing what they discovered learning evidence for the planning and research stage of these types of projects.
14. Biographies
Have your students research individual people of history, authors, or other significant figures and then collaboratively create a glog or series of glogs that showcase the biographical information they learned.
15. TImelines
Have students create personal timelines, timelines or historical events, or science data over time using Glogster. These timelines can be so interactive with photos, videos, interviews, soundbytes, and digital articfacts. SO much more than a read-only paper timeline.
16. Math Explanations
Create a template for math word problem justification responses and have students create a glog that uses photos, videos, audio, and writing as means to explain their thinking and how they solved the problem.
17. Writing Practice or Assignments:
Tired of workbooks and worksheets for editing and revising practice? Create a template for them to digitally fill in or complete. They can easily submit them to you for grading and saves on paper!
18. Infographics
All the rage in education and business, infographics are a beautiful way to display graphs, data, processes, and synthesized information! Teach this skill to your students and set them up for success both in education and future business endeavors!
19. Scientific Experiment Results
Give your students the chance to really show off their understanding and scientific results by creating a glog that expresses their project! It is a digital science fair project media! Just think of the pride they will have as their peers interact with the photos, videos, audio, and links that enhance their projects results and solidify understanding.
20. Spelling Patterns and Practice
Spelling tests or practice are no longer just paper and pencil activities. Have students respond to an audio clip of you dictating or pronouncing the spelling words and have them type in the word! It's as easy as that!
21. Social Studies Reports
Anytime students can respond to social studies learning through presentation and response the level of understanding is deeper and more meaningful.
22. Comprehensive Body of Classwork
Connect a class set of glogs to a "host" glog that features their photos or names that link to their individual glogs. It is a fabulous way create an online digital classroom display. Parents and other classrooms can peruse all of the wonderful work your students create!
23. Homework
Send glogs to your students with links, videos, audio, and photos as well as guided questions for them to answer! It is a fun and exciting way to get kids to do their homework. No more battle at home (except maybe to do more glogs!)!
24. Scavenger Hunts
Have students go on digital learning scavenger hunts across all curriculum and content! GIve little direction other than perhaps a pointed open-ended question and send them on the adventure.
25. Community Service Projects
Get your community involved in your community service projects by creating interactive glogs that can send them to information about your cause, links to donate or volunteer, sign up for participation and so much more! It is certainly impressive and worthy of the "word-of-mouth" publicity your community service project deserves.
26. Art Gallery
Have students upload their artwork into a glog facilitated art gallery! This is a great way for them to add commentary about their projects, the techniques being used, and even the historical impact of artists who pioneered the techniques! This idea creates much more than a visually appealing gallery experience. It becomes a digital interactive experience!
27. Virtual Music Concert
Record songs and instrumental performances by your students and have them upload them into a glog that celebrates their talents through listener interaction! Background information about the composer, singer, songwriter, or genre can be added to make the experience pleasant to the mind as well as the ear.
28. Virtual FIeld Trips
Level the playing field for your students who have limited life experience and trump the budget cuts by creating a glog that sends your students on a virtual field trip! Travel around the world by embedding videos, images, and anecdotal information. Make it collaborative by asking students to each contribute an element to the glog! Do a cross-cultural collaborative glog by having a global classroom create a "You and Us" glog with your students to share cultural information!
29. Health and Fitness demonstrations and activities
PE coaches this one is for you! Want your students to be more active at home? Create an exercise demo glog or challenge to get kids off the couch and up and moving! They just click on videos of exercises or fun songs to dance to and you have instant motivation to exercise!
30. Library Book of the Month
Celebrate the BOok of the Month for grade levels or your campus by showcasing the book, author, and illustrator with interactive features and even student-created book trailors!
31. Library Monthly Recommended Reads or Book Trailors
LMSs this one is for you! Set up a recommended reading list for grade levels or your campus using GlogsterEDU and you can provide your students with instant access to information about the books, authors, illustrators, genres, and even send them to each other's book review!
32. Community Outreach
Have a concern or a project that addresses a concern in the community? Need to send information about your community outreach project? Create an interactive glog filled with information, resources, ideas, opportunities for volunteerism or donations, and even personal stories of people who have been affected through the outreach focus.
33. PTO
PTO, you are not left out either! Create your PTO page using Glogster! Links, videos, photos, newsletters, fundraisers, and more all at the viewers fingertips! No more shuffling through loose papers or losing important documents. Now your families can have access to all things PTO and campus-focused anytime they want!
34. Resource Glog or Virtual Anchor Charts
Are your walls filling up with anchor charts and resources for your students? Are they boring and lack-luster? Create or have your students create resource glogs or virtual anchor charts to use in class or to share with other classes in a cooperative learning situation!
35. Campus Contests
Promote your contests and link data and current standings to a fun and beautifully interactive glog! Photos, documents and more create a competitive and motivating experience sure to make the contest quite the event!
36. STAAR (State Assessment) Test Prep
Help students study and practice for your state standardized test by creating an interactive experience of study, practice, and productivity.
37. Global Connections
Create glogs to introduce your class to global friends or have each student create a "Getting to Know Us" glog. Exchanges can happen via file share, wikis, or any other interface capable of embedding this type of widget.
38. VIrtual Science Lab
Create a digital science lab using glog by connecting students to experiments that are inaccessible or too dangerous to perform in the live lab. Students can add responses to these experiments as a way to assess their learning and experience.
39. Paperless Campaign
Visit http://iluvearth.wikispaces.com/Earth+Day%3F++Learn+About+It%21 to see how Glogster EDU was utilized in a paperless campaign for Seimen's We Can Change the World Challenge national finalist project in 2010!
40. Literary Global Collabortation
Visit www.mymth.wikispaces.com , an award winning literary global collaborative project and see how Glogster EDU was used as a competition category as well as a staple of this project's interactive features.
As gaming and gamification in the classroom hit their stride in the current of educational trends, I have designed my classroom and lessons around a living game experience. Here are a few more applications for using Glogster in this type of scenario:
41. Game: Unlockables42. Game: Clues
43. Game: Secret Codes
44. Game: Level Tutorials
I encourage you to explore and share more uses for GlogsterEDU. If you or your district are interested in renewing or obtaining an EDU account, please use promo code 5E9515! Happy Glogging!
