Ready to go back to school? Check out our pick of the top 10 ways that you can use Wakelet in the new school year
01. Create a ‘Meet the Teacher’ collection
Starting a new school year can be nerve-wracking, even for the most confident kids. Help your new students – and their parents – get to know you by creating a ‘Meet the Teacher’ collection on Wakelet. You could include a welcome message, facts about you, and details of some of the things your students can expect to see or learn in your classroom. Present it on your first day in class or send it out as a welcome email before the new semester starts.
Example – Icebreaker challenges with the teacher.
02. Create your first lesson plan
Why not start the year with a visual and engaging lesson plan that uses mixed media from across the web? Lesson plans created on Wakelet will not only be more engaging and visually stimulating than a standard plan, but they could also be more accessible too. You can have everything in one place. Save the videos you want to show, your Google Slides presentations, and the homework assignment you want the class to complete. Present the collection in your classroom or share it with your students as a link.
Example – Lesson Plan Template.
03. Create a collaborative collection with your class
With our collaboration feature, you can address each of the 4Cs in one assignment. Invite students to collaborate on a research collection. Not only will it allow each student to demonstrate and share their knowledge, but it also encourages peer assessment and evaluation. Create a collection and invite a group of students to contribute via a link, code, or QR code. Students can then add valuable links from across the web, including everything from articles and academic journals to videos and podcasts.
04. Create a digital storytelling assignment
Digital storytelling on Wakelet is a great way to harness students’ creativity, improve their digital literacy, and keep them engaged in the classroom. Why not start by asking them to tell the story of their summer? They could add maps of the places they visited, Instagram posts, tweets, photos, and notes to provide context. Telling a story with multimedia is more engaging and visually stimulating than a traditional essay and encourages mastery of critical thinking, creativity, and digital communication skills.
05. Create your first newsletter to send to parents
Newsletters are an easy way to communicate and engage with parents, tell your school’s story, and reinforce learning. And building a newsletter on Wakelet is simple. Create a collection and start adding links. You could include links to informative videos, tweets, and photos from school events, PDFs of homework assignments, notes on upcoming activities and more! Share the link in an email or post it on your social media or school website to make it accessible to all.
Example – Newsletter Template.
06. Create a Wakelet collection of your top 10 teaching resources
One of the best things about the educator community is how open everyone is to sharing ideas and resources. We’re lucky to have a thriving educator community on Wakelet and you can find a whole host of resource-rich collections on our Twitter feed and Explore page. And thanks to our ‘Save Collection’ feature, you can save everything from lesson plans and newsletter templates to how-to guides and Twitter chat archives to your own collections in just a couple of clicks.
07. Create a collaborative Class Introduction collection
Just as a ‘Meet the Teacher’ collection can help your class get to know you, a collaborative class introduction collection can help your students get to know one another. Create a collection and share the collaborative code with the class. Then invite students to write a short bio about themselves and add it to the collection. You can then share the finished collection with the whole class.
08. Create a Wakelet collection of your top 10 educators to follow
When you’re feeling stressed or in need of inspiration, there’s nothing like having a strong PLN to turn to. There’s an amazing community of educators online who are sharing ideas and advice and offering support through the tough times. If you’re just starting your journey on Twitter or Wakelet and still finding your Community, why not create a collection to help you keep track of the educators who inspire you? With the Wakelet browser extension installed, you can simply click the W underneath any tweet to add it straight to a collection and revisit it whenever you like.
09. Create a collection of YouTube videos for your class
Whether you’re looking for video materials that help bring a topic to life or valuable homework materials, creating a class video collection on Wakelet provides a great resource for your students. Not only will they only have access to videos that you have approved (no distractions or stumbling onto anything inappropriate) but they’ll also have no ads! Make the collection public or unlisted and students will be able to access it in and outside of class.
10. Create a collection of your favorite EdTech tools to share with your community
With more and more EdTech tools appearing every day, it can be tough discerning which are worth seeking out and sharing with your students. Become a thought-leader in your field by creating a collection of tried-and-tested tools that you would happily recommend to others. You could add a link to the tool’s homepage, an example of how it works in the classroom, and text that explains why it’s one of your favorites, and then share it with your community on Twitter!
