Course 3 gave me the opportunity to reflect on the importance of visual literacy. From infographics to digital stories and presentations, digital media makes visual literacy skills to be more and more in demand. For my final project, I decided to work on a presentation that I needed for my G6 English-Humanities class. The purpose [...]
Author: Lina Farrow
Engaging with the Sustainable Development Goals through Data Visualization
Infographics are one of the various data visualizaiton tools that I frequently use in my classes. I love infographics because they help my students understand and easily remember information (read my post here where I talk about the picture superiority effect). It is also relatively easy to find an infographic with the information you [...]
Digital Stories for Conceptual Understanding
I teach an integrated class of English Language Acquisition-Humanities in Grade 6. In our first unit, we use digital storytelling as a medium to assess the students' conceptual understanding in Humanities. In this unit, the students expand their understanding of how time, place and space (key concept) shape and give meaning to their identity (related [...]
Audience and Purpose – The Core of Presentation Design
"Good ideas and information are necessary conditions for an effective presentation. Design also matters. But design is not about dazzle, sizzle, or slickness. Design is about clarity, evidence, engagement, and story. If the content has structure, if it's true and honest and designed with the audience (or end user) in mind, then chances are it [...]
Creative Commons – Here to Save you from a Copyright Impasse
Thirty-nine thousand years ago, humans were using images to record and communicate ideas, long before any form of writing was developed. In our digital era, this quintessential means of communication is more relevant than ever. With the amount of information available at a click's distance, images can help pique the audience's interest and steer them towards certain content, [...]
Clean Cut – The Blog’s New Look
I have always had a passion for visual design. I love the fact that you can use space, colours, fonts and other design elements to enhance your message. When it came to my Coetail blog, I have to admit, I was a bit frustrated with the theme options we had available when we started [...]
Bespoke Professional Development
Teachers have a lot on their plate, and the last thing you want is to have to sit through hours of professional development sessions that are irrelevant, or way above or below your expertise level. This is exactly what Brian, Jennifer and I wanted to avoid when planning our professional development sessions for [...]
Harnessing the Power – Using the Web for Positive Change
Undeniably, the web and social media have radically changed the way we interact with the world. In particular, social media has played a huge role in changing the way we communicate and connect with others, offering a platform to spread and amplify messages across the globe and across all layers of society at a pace [...]
Better Together – Empowering Digital Citizens at Home and at School
As with most aspects of education, a solid partnership between home and school is instrumental to success. When it comes to digital citizenship, things are not different. Creating this partnership can present its challenges, but a concerted effort, and giving a voice to all the relevant stakeholders, will improve the chances to have a positive [...]
Forget me Not
Undeniably, our online presence is an extension of ourselves, and as such, we should care for it in the same way we care for ourselves. The World Economic Forum reports that one in five employers has turned down prospective employees after looking them up online, and the same number has fired an employee due to their [...]
The MYP Classroom 