e-teaching
April 2015 (11)
Management strategies for the classroom
Present away with Slate and Sway
B
ored of using the same old tool for presentations? Want
a new way to share information with students? Why not
take a presentation overhaul by diving into Office Sway
or Adobe Slate. Both are free, educationally focussed
tools that can be used by both teachers and students to showcase
and share content with the world.
What is Sway?
Office Sway is a fresh new way to show content. I think of it as
a one page website in which you can add a variety of communication modes and embed a variety of content from other online
spaces. When published it can be shared with any device anywhere in the world. As an added bonus it can be embedded into
your other sites to become part of a larger presentation or portfolio. You can find out all about Sway at this site: https://sway.com
Here’s some examples of people using Sway in their Classroom:
• Ancient Greece – A research project by a 10-year-old
• Red Panda – Another student research project
• Quadratic Functions Graphing – A teacher resource for students
• OneNote: 10 Things I hate About You – A teacher resource for
professional learning
• 21st Century Learning Design – A Professional Development
Session Flyer
•Bloom – A contemporary mood board
• A is for Animals – A compilation of resources for a unit on the
role of Animals in WW1
• Microsoft Office with a Stylus – Professional reflection / blog
post.
What is Slate?
Adobe Slate makes your words and images move – in minutes. No
design skills required! Create a beautiful visual story that delights
readers on any device. Slate is a free iPad App that gives teachers
an innovative way to deliver information that engages students. It
allows you to share professional looking classroom updates with
faculty and parents. Impress readers with a delightful read on any
device. It also gives students a great tool to show their knowledge
and learning. Find out all about Slate at this site:
http://slate.adobe.com
Check out these examples Slate use in schools:
• An Excursion Report
• A Novel Review
• A Geography Research Report
• Reflection of a Professional Learning Day
• Using Slate in the Classroom
• Photo Gallery Reflection.
Seven ways to use Sway and Slate in your classroom
Sway and Slate are 100% teacher friendly and can be used in
variety of different ways.
e-teaching April 2015 (11) – Researched and prepared for ACEL by Pip Cleaves,
Senior Education Consultant, Design | Learn | Empower Pty Ltd
http://dle.net.au
Also published by ACEL e-shortcuts – Wisdom for successful school leadership and management
e-leading – Management strategies for school leaders and e-technology – Technology in the classroom
Subscribe online at www.acel.org.au
e-teaching
Language Other Than English students.
Set groups the task to create dictionaries
complete with audio tracks (uploaded to
sound cloud).
Book and Film Reviews – These multimodal tools makes a wonderful platform
for students to create literacy focussed
tasks such as reviews and analysis pieces.
Get started with Sway
To get started with Sway you need to login to the Sway website or download the
Sway app (iPad and iPhone only).
Once you have logged in, follow these
guides below to create your first Sway.
• Sway Blog with How-to Guide
• Sway for iPhone and iPad
• Overview of Sway
• Join the Office Sway Facebook page
Sway makes it easy to create engaging presentations
Check out my top seven ideas below to
get you thinking of ways to use these
tools in your teaching.
Presentations – Teachers and students can use Sway and Slate as presentation tools for learning.
eTextbooks – create your own eTextbook with links, information, videos, images and questions. You can then direct
students to different websites, using Sway
or Slate as the base learning pathway.
Picture Books – get students to
create a storybook using Sway or Slate.
Use high resolution images to ensure a
top quality finish.
Experiment and Research Reports –
use either tool to show research, experiment videos and results. You could even
make your next science report using
Sway or Slate.
Artwork or Multimedia Portfolio –
Use Sway as a product portfolio to show
a number of your own creations. Spend
some time to explain what your project
was, and why you created it.
Dictionary – Both Sway and Slate
would make awesome picture dictionaries for English as Another Language or
Slate brings motion to words and pictures without any programming
Get started with Slate
To start making your Slates you need to
firstly install Slate from the iTunes store.
Once you’ve done this, check out the
links below. You’ll be making your first
Slate in no time at all!
• Getting started with slate
• Adobe Slate in 30 Seconds
• Stand Out with Adobe Slate Workshop
• Lesson Plans for using Slate in your
classroom.
Sway and Slate are wonderful new
toys to help you and your students create
authentic products to be shared with people
across the globe. What will you create first?