Digital Bytes - May 29th 2017

	Podcast - WOW in the World Hot off the press is a podcast by NPR is aiming to be “a new way for families to connect, look up and discover the wonders in the world around them.” Scientifically based, WOW in the World is sure to be a winner for your classroom and beyond.
	Data Basic.io Data Basic is a tool for analysing text and data quickly to look for patterns. Paste in some text, or upload a file to find out the frequency of words, how similar and different two files are, connections and interrelationships in your data. Check out the samples and videos to show you how the tool can be used.
	Film Resources - Michael Hernandez At the recent ReThinking Literacy conference, Michael Hernandez shared this Padlet of Digital Storytelling resources. There is a wealth of information contained, including how film can inspire empathy, podcasts in the classroom, and the art of the video interview. You might want to also connect with Michael on Twitter for more cinematic exploration.

Digital Bytes - 24th April, 2017

	A Beginner’s Guide to Creating Shareable Infographics Infographics help us understand complicated data sets and simplify the complex. With outstanding examples and easy-to-understand text, this guide for beginners  will help you learn about what makes a good infographic, the various types of infographics and steps to create a powerful infographic.
	Teaching Digital Citizenship with Seesaw A lot of the behaviours we want our students to exhibit in regards to digital citizenship can be taught in Seesaw. Teacher Heather Marrs explains in her post, “Don’t Teach Digital Citizenship - Embed it!” how she uses Seesaw to teach her help her students learn how they can interact in a digital environment.
	Five Ways Humor Boosts Creative Thinking and Problem-Solving in the Classroom John Spencer raises some great points in support of humour and fun in the classroom, particularly as a model of creativity and divergent thinking for our students. Read about the Five Ways Humor Boosts Creative Thinking and Problem-Solving in the Classroom to get your week off to a great start!

Building Better Infographics: Friendly Friday Advice

Interested in building better infographics with your students?

Here's a quick guide to the four essential elements to include in any infographic:

1. The Wireframe:

Structure is key.  Best practice is to map out your infographic before you move to any digital tools.  What structure will work best for the story you want your infographic to tell?

2. Put the info into infographic:

Do your research, be sure to attribute key stats.  Collate your research before heading into the design phase.

3. Call and response

A good infographic is working with a great question.  Starting with the why is another key step for effective infographic curation.

4. Find your flow

Is it easy to navigate through your infographic?

 How do I put those elements into action?

Luckily, our digital tools have come a long way in recent years.  Here is a list of free tools making it very straightforward to embrace those four essentials:

Piktochart
Visme
Easel.ly
Canva
Venngage
Keynote/Powerpoint

Or, start from scratch with these tools:

The noun project
Flaticon
Game icons
Pick your color scheme
Pairing fonts
Infographics by hand?

Get inspired

Here are a few of my favorite infographic artists:

Jack Hagley

@JackHagley

Check out his fantastic work here

Christoph Niemann

@abstractsunday

Check out his fantastic work here

Nicholas Felton

@feltron ‏

Check out one of his featured infographics in this collection 

To learn more about infographic production, design, and analysis, contact your DLC today.

Digital Bytes 23rd January 2017

	Piktochart Piktochart is a fantastic free tool that allows you to create infographics and posters very easily. Students can easily sign in with Google Drive. There are searchable icons and images you can use. This is perfect for a mathematics class or anyone presenting information or research (hint, hint … grade 5 exhibition).
	18 Digital Tools to Support Students’ Reading and Writing Exploring a range of options for supporting students’ reading and writing is always a good idea, and the folks at Mind Shift have put together a great list of examples. Take a look and get some new ideas to refresh your literacy teaching.
	Kindergarten Lego Makerspace Librarian David Barrow talks about his journey of creating a makerspace for kindergarten students. He started with a more structured approach but eventually gave up some structure which led to more success. After sharing some stop motion videos from older grades and giving the kindergarten students Lego, the students created their own stories and making stop motion videos. The flexibility of Lego allowed them to create stories that were meaningful to them.

Digital Bytes 16th November

	How to Use Instagram in the Classroom Connecting an idea with a visual is an important 21st Century skill. Instagram is a great platform for the classroom because of its ease of use and ability to be accessed by all. Here are 10 ways of using Instagram in the classroom. Don’t forget to include our hashtag #uwclearn when you post! You might like to follow other educational Instagram accounts like @timlauer or @venspired
	10 Fun-Filled Formative Assessment Ideas Checking for understanding is a crucial part of being a successful educator, and these great tips from the folks at Edutopia will refresh your existing toolkit. Explore these 10 fun-filled formative assessment ideas.
	7 Tools for Building Infographics In the world of information, getting your message across in a way that your audience understands is essential. Infographics are a fantastic way to share information. Students use a huge number of skills to summarize, categorize, prioritize and collate information into a visual resource. This article shares seven great tools for building infographics and even includes a short video of the process.