HAMBLETON – Students and teachers were all about digital learning on February 23 as they celebrate Digital Learning Day.

Tucker Valley Elementary Middle School Technology Integration Specialist Amy Moore said teachers presented learning in a variety of digital means including mystery Skypes with other schools and virtual field trip Skypes with the California State Park Service. Students learned using new tools including Flocabulary and Plickers, recording a school newscast, using Kindle Fire tablets in music class and making online collages while studying artist Romare Bearden.

“The online collages were made after the students went through learning about Romare Bearden,” TVEMS Art Instructor Olivia Snyder said. “They go through his biography and then we looked at his work inspired from his trips to Pittsburgh. A lot of them are portraits of people made from pieces of magazines so the kids made a collage background from tissue paper and then used magazines to make the portraits.”

Snyder said the students listened to a jazz CD of Romare Bearden while piecing together the collages.

TVEMS fourth-grade instructor Christina Ward said her students read stories about Romare Bearden before making collages using technology.

“The music teachers are also doing a chapter on Romare Bearden,” Ward said.
Moore said the students enjoyed using Skype, Flocabulary and Plickers.

“We have participated in Digital Learning Day for four years,” Moore said. “This gives students a taste of what they will be facing when they get out of school. Everything is digital. All of the students have some part of their classes online. Everything involves being in communication with the rest of the world. Digital learning needs to be second nature to our students.”
Flocabulary includes rap videos to help with learning – much like the past use of “Schoolhouse Rock” many years ago during Saturday morning cartoons.

“Mrs. Ward showed a Flocabulary video in math the other day,” Moore said. “I stopped in there in the afternoon and she said listen to this – half the kids were singing the video and knew the words and it was only the second time they had watched it.”

 

“Mrs. Ward showed a Flocabulary video in math the other day,” Moore said. “I stopped in there in the afternoon and she said listen to this – half the kids were singing the video and knew the words and it was only the second time they had watched it.”

Instructor Kelly Underwood said her students were working with Flocabulary to learn about the three branches of government and how a bill becomes law.

Underwood said she uses Flocabulary to teach social studies and reading because it piques their interest.

“The more senses you involve in their learning the more they learn,” Underwood said. “If you throw music in the mix it sticks in their head.”

The Digital Learning Day website says digital learning is any instructional practice that effectively uses technology to strengthen a student’s learning experience. It emphasizes high-quality instruction and provides access to challenging content, feedback through formative assessment, opportunities for learning anytime and anywhere, and individualized instruction to ensure all students reach their full potential to succeed in college and a career.
Digital learning encompasses many different facets, tools and applications to support and empower teachers and students, including online courses, blended or hybrid learning or digital content and resources. Additionally, digital learning can be used for professional learning opportunities for teachers and to provide personalized learning experiences for students.
The first Digital Learning Day was in 2012 and has blossomed into a massive nationwide celebration. It is not about technology – but is about learning. Today, Digital Learning Day promotes the effective use of modern day tools afforded to every other industry to improve the learning experience for those in grades k-12.

Additional information about Digital Learning Day is available online at www.digitallearningday.org.