Dr. Davidson is one of my colleagues at Parkview High School who recently gave a talk for CANE. This year as we've been navigating hybrid learning she has really found her stride making compelling videos in Latin for our Latin I and II students. Below I've listed her own Youtube channel and the slides for her presentation

I am please to announce a new set of resources for Latin teachers, but really for any teacher. Based on a recent lesson I worked on with a colleague, these are all the templates I made for the activity. They are not for free, but that is only because of the time it took to create them and then put them into various formats. I am also providing my "lesson plan" or activity walk through for free below. 

We came up with three "rumours" that students might hear about the ancient Roman world. We then found a digital resource that explained each. In this case it was three videos from reputable sources, but we also considered using articles, research, etc. 

Students will look at each rumour and watch the corresponding video. Students then used the video notes PPT to take any notes on the videos they needed. While I am requiring they turn these notes in, I am not going to grade them. They will instead serve as a reference should something come up about a piece students missed or what they could have included but didn't. 

Then students will pick one rumour and, using what they've learned from the resource alone, create a Snopes type article. They will have to decide how true the rumour is and back up their findings using the information they learned. 

​I am going to grade this on a culture standard based on interpretation and analysis of Roman culture. You could do this activity with material in the target language if your students are proficient enough as well. 

Our school year has started, virtually for now, but we will have a hybrid model (in that some kids will be at home and some at school) starting next week. As we have started to work with students, I have begun to create templates that can be used virtually. We are using Google Classroom and this has made thing really easy for us, but these templates can also be used in most learning modules with some logistical changes. This post is not so much to lay out how I created it, although I will likely share that later, but to say that this resource is available, for free, for download. Having said that, it is made for Latin teachers. I can easily create one for ESOL teachers or any other foreign language teachers. Just let me know if it is needed. <3

All I ask, as usual, is that you give credit as needed for its creation and, if a colleague, peer, friend, etc. want it you direct them to this page. I know this may seem like a lot, but (1) I enjoy seeing how far my materials go, and (2) as I continue in my field, working on research, and creating original items, I want to make sure that all parties are respected (but that's a post for another time). :) 

I prefer Meet to Zoom. I don't want to jinx anything... but so far, that's how I feel. I do want to spend more time playing around and seeing how things really work. It is so hard to test some of these things out without a second person or a group in a meeting and so far, there has been no or very little time to do such things. 

This year I plan to use Google Classroom to its fullest. We are starting the year 100% digitally to keep everyone safe and so I am working to ensure that my classroom is completely comprehensible, compelling, and caring* in person and online. 

I have developed a habit of scrolling through the teacher TikTok hashtags lately while playing games or what not. When I stumble upon something I like, I see if I can figure it out/duplicate it/access it. Today it was the Google Classroom Banner Gif. 

You can see the original TikTok linked in the Resources and Credits section^, but I must give thanks to @msgella for this amazing tutorial. 

steps

1. Open a google slides presentation. 
2. Click "add ons" and "get add ons".
3. Add the Creator's Studio Add on.
4. Click "File" and "Page Setup".
5. Set Custom pixels to 1000 X 250.
6. Build your Google Classroom.
7. If you haven't, build your bitmoji.
   
8.  Save the poses you want for your GIF banner. 
9. Put a different Bitmoji pose into each slide. I used 6 slides total.
10. Open the Creative Studio Add on.
11. Set the GIF settings for 1600 output width and .5 second interval. 
12. Hit GO
13. When it renders, a down arrow will appear next to GIF for you to download your banner!

* Credit to Rachel Ash for the three Cs.
^ msgella (2020). Can you tell I'm obsessed with Bitmoji? [TikTok].

If you haven't jumped onto the TikTok train, you might consider it. I know there are lots of reasons not to... but I want to look at a few reasons you might think about it. You don't have to create an account to browse, but you do if you want to save videos, share them, or create your own. Yes, TikTok does take data, along with Google, Apple, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, etc. So... it is one of many... But... TikTok has become a place for me to get lots of new ideas that I don't get from the other areas of social media. Because they are short videos, teachers have been able to upload fast tutorials on how to create things and mainstream things so they are easier for digital learning (and classroom learning). There is also some wonderful not teacher creators who have shown me a lot. While I will be sharing what I've learned throughout my site, I thought I'd share some quick ideas here. To see some more in depth ideas, check out my digital classroom page. 

These are things I've been working on this week! 

1. Digital Meet the Teacher - I learned this (and got the template) from @heyashleyg ! See my work here. 
2. Digital Opinion Discussion - I learned this from @heyteachergidget and created my own version in Canva. You can see my work here. When using this I would place a question in the blackboard on the screen and they would agree or disagree. Clicking each button would take them to a padlet where they could voice their opinion and engage with each other. This would be a great way to connect students working at home and in the classroom. 
3. Creating your own icons - This is just a fun way to organise your desktop. @heyashleyg has a great tutorial on it! 

A few years ago I was working with students who were new to me. One of the things I started creating for them were annotated stories. As we would do activities in class and work on comprehension through Comprehensible Input, I would take notes on things students asked or things I knew were important. Then, I would create an annotated version of the text. I've used a number of apps to do this, but the ones that have worked best for me are Notability and Skitch. I've posted a sample of each below. Both are Apple apps, but I have honestly been much more impressed with what I've seen for Apple products in this arena than I have for Android (and, if you know me, you know that I 99.9% of the time loathe Apple). I also sometimes make these by hand and scan them into my computer. It really depends on my mood. 

I do not use these in class for instruction, but provide them for students who need notes, want more info, or who may have missed class. Student feedback has included:

• Helpful for those who want more grammatical context. 
• Helpful for those who want cultural context.
• Great to review things we may have missed in class.
• Good for review prior to assessments. 

I really like them for dictations because I can provide all the notes I expect students to take in a digital format. I also really liked them for annotating novellas to which I have the PDF available. 

Latin III text; adaptation by Miriam Patrick

I am a Millennial. It is a title I wear both begrudgingly and with pride. I was born in 1987 and I remember records, cassettes, 8-tracks, CDs, the original iPod, and the ever classic VCR. I also remember my family's first computer, the dial-up sounds of the internet, and, as every Millennial did, I of course had a rainbow away message for AOL in Comic Sans font. 

But, we are now in a different new digital age. My generation grew up as all this technology was being formed. I learned blogging and HTML on Xanga, and LiveJournal. My mom taught me how to put together a desktop and install programming, as well as troubleshoot a variety of problems. The students I now have were born when all this was in a pretty package (if ever changing). I also took typing classes. I am surprised now if a student knows how to type without hunting and pecking (even more so if they can also read and write cursive!). I am not afraid to click a button and see what happens, but I find that many of my students are. They memorise shortcuts (no shame, I do too) and are often surprised when there is another way to do things. To some extent, it is annoying to me to have to try and foster a sense of technological exploration in them, but at the same time, I get it.  Why would I go through a series of menus to set my screen up when there are handy short cuts or this other teacher just has me do x? 

And so we've reached a crucial moment. As a Millennial, I love technology. I want to learn more and explore. I also recognise that I am not fully in touch with the things that are popular and common today. The things my generation helped pilot, create, and explore, are now being refined and made more efficient by the next. 

This blog page of the website is dedicated to new things I am trying as part of digital learning. I love creating with technology and digital learning in the time of COVID is a great opportunity to do it! I hope you enjoy this journey :).