I am often asked about the best tools we have available for Mindmapping. One I recently found (and love) is Canva Whiteboard. Using Canva Whiteboard, you can easily draw diagrams, add images, and write notes to help your students understand the lessons. Plus, you can collaborate with your students in real-time, making it an excellent tool for distance learning or blended learning. Here are some other ways to use it:
- Brainstorm ideas: Use Canva Whiteboard to brainstorm ideas with your students. You can create a blank canvas and ask your students to add their ideas, or you can use a template they can build on. There are templates for K-W-L, Project Journeys, Design Thinking and more.
- Collaborate on projects: Canva Whiteboard allows for real-time collaboration, so you can work with your students to create projects together.
- Use it for group work: Canva Whiteboard is also a great tool for group work. You can create a canvas for each group and allow them to collaborate on their project in real-time. There are templates they can use for essay planning, researching, idea boards…
- Share it with students: Once you’ve finished working on a Canva Whiteboard canvas with your students, you can share it with them so they can continue to work on it independently. This can be a great way to encourage independent learning and creativity.
Using Canva Whiteboard in your classroom, can foster collaboration and creativity among your students, whether you’re teaching in-person or remotely.
Here’s how to find it:
1. Log into your Canva account at canva.com
- Click on “Continue with Microsoft”
- Use our school district email and password to log in
2. How to get to the Whiteboards:
- Type whiteboard in the search space or
- click on Whiteboards at the top – This will show you some templates. Select one and try it out. Or
- click on Whiteboard after “You might want to try…” – This will create a blank one. There are templates on the left
This week I am excited to share a silly, fun website which takes you on a space elevator to the far reaches of the universe. Put on your space suit and cue up the elevator music (yes, you can click to hear it in your elevator) and enjoy: https://neal.fun/space-elevator/ I looked a little further and discovered that the same people also made a trip through the depth of the deep sea: https://neal.fun/deep-sea/
Saving your Minecraft World to Avoid Losing It:
Minecrafters out there may have noticed that your Minecraft world is only on the computer that you create it on-it is very computer specific. We recommend exporting your worlds at the end of every class to ensure that if something happens to the computer you started on you can still import your world and open it on another computer (thank you Paul for this one).
Click here for instructions for how to import and export your Minecraft world.
