Edtech Throwdown

Episode 168: Leveraging Social Media for Creative Classroom Projects

Welcome to the EdTech Throwdown  This is episode 168 called “Leveraging Social Media for Creative Classroom Projects”.  In this episode, we’ll talk about how social media inspired projects can put a creative and engaging spin on a variety of classroom projects.  This is another episode you don’t want to miss, check it out!

Segment 1: 

Narrative: What are nick and guise’s go-to social media platforms?

Having a class social media account can be a powerful motivator and a great way for some positive PR

Just so you know, Canva can be used as the edtech for ALL of these ideas, but we tried to change it up.

Segment 2:   

Project ideas:

1. Make a meme project
2. Example: Generate class rules using memes, learn new vocabulary, identify the novel using memes, describe a historical event (thanks NSTA blog!)
3. Edtech:  Just look them up, there are many.  Meme Creator, Meme Generator and Quick Meme are some to check out.
4. Gif creation
5. Example: Create a gif that models a series of exercises for certain parts of the body. Each student gets a different muscle group or body part.
6. Edtech: Canva animations
7. Edtech: Lots of video editing platforms let you download the video as a gif
8. Historical figure instagram post
9. Example: Create an instagram post that is a series of 4 (minimum) photos of your assigned figure doing something.  One of the 4 must be a “selfie” and they must all be connected to something this person MIGHT post about, were they on Insta today.
10. Edtech: Adobe Express - A great, free Canva alternative
11. Mock twitter debate
12. Example: In this project, students will participate in a mock debate as if they were on the Twitter platform (now known as X). This exercise is designed to improve writing and argumentation skills in Spanish, as well as to encourage the ability to debate respectfully in a public setting. Students will not use real Twitter but will write their posts and comments as if they were on the platform.  Debate Topic: "Should cities implement more bike lanes to encourage bicycle use?"
13. Edtech: Create a template in Google slides that has images from real X posts with the words remove.  Students insert text boxes on top of those blank spaces.
14. At home science tik tok video
15. Example: Create a 1 minute to 3 minute (tiktok times) at-home science video and explain what is going on in the caption.  For example, Slime is popular right now.  Make the slime, film it, write a brief caption that explains the chemistry.  
16. Edtech: kapcut, davinci resolve
17. Virtual field trip vlog  
18. Example: Create a video blog about a place you fake visited using a popular virtual trip website like Access Mars, Google Arts and Culture, AirPano or 360 Cities.  Screencasting makes this easy as students must narrate while they adventure virtually.  Get fancy and use color keying (green screening) if available.
19. Edtech:  WeVideo or other video editing apps/sites
20. Create a facebook profile for a literary figure      
21. Example: Assign each student a literary figure (Great Gatsby characters) and ask them to create a facebook profile for the character.  Create a template that has all the required elements of a facebook profile (banner image and profile fields like name, school, favorite books, etc)
22. Edtech: Google Slides with the background image locked so Ss can’t mess with it.  
23. Environmental campaign on Instagram Reels
24. Example: Create an instagram reel that highlights an environmental concern in your local community.  For example, are there any superfund sites nearby?  If so, feature one and talk about the cleanup effort if there is one.
25. Edtech: Can use instagram itself!  Open the Reel in full-screen mode, tap the three dots in the bottom right corner, and select Save Video or Download.  This depends on your IG settings.

Edtech Throwdown:   

Vote on twitter @edtechthrowdown and under the pinned post on the profile.

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Music Credits:

• Intro and Outro Music- American Idle - RKVC
• Segment Identifiers- Duck in the Alley - TrackTribe
• Edtech Throwdown- Born a Rockstar (Instrumental) - NEFEX

Need a Presenter?

As experienced presenters and content creators, you can contact Nick and Guise to speak at your school, event, or conference. They can customize a workshop that meets your organization’s unique time and content needs. While no topic is out of bounds, we are best known for sessions on:

• AI For Teachers, Admin, and Parents
• 1:1 Chromebook Integration
• EdTech Throwdown
• TargetED Learning
• Gamification (Badge Systems)
• Game-Based Learning (Escape Rooms, Amazing Race, and more)
• Google apps and extensions
• Personalized learning and Choice Boards
• Teacher productivity (Lesson Planning, Online Grading. and Feedback)
• Digital content creation
• Student Podcasting
• Screencasting
• Flipped Classroom
• Student-Centered Learning.