Are you riding the #WakeletWave yet? If not, you’re missing out on a powerful tool that offers a range of possibilities to personalize and facilitate learning while enabling educators to curate and organize content in creative ways. Whether you are a newbie getting your feet wet or a seasoned surfer, let’s discover five ways Wakelet can be used to transform your teaching and learning experiences!
What Is Wakelet?
Wakelet is an online platform that allows the user, including teachers and students, to curate and organize a wide array of digital materials into Collections or Spaces that are visually appealing and easy to understand. In Wakelet, a Collection refers to a curated grouping of resources around a specific topic or theme. On the other hand, a Space in Wakelet refers to a collaborative area where a group of people can work together, share resources, and engage in discussions related to a particular subject or project through multiple Collections. Here’s a quick, five-minute introduction!
Now let’s dive into ways you can use Wakelet to enhance teaching and learning.
1. Digital Portfolios
Students can create digital portfolios using Wakelet to showcase their learning and progress. This allows students to demonstrate their creativity and unique personalities along with fostering independence, responsibility, and ownership over their learning. If you’re not sure where to start, Wakelet already has a plethora of templates created! You also have the ability to create your own to share with students and vice versa. Either way, using a digital portfolio Wakelet template is as simple as clicking the three-dot menu at the top of the collection and then clicking “copy collection.” Want to see an example? Here is a full collection of examples curated by Tisha Poncio (@tishaponcio) for you to explore!
2. Professional Development
Teachers and coaches can use Wakelet to organize and share professional development resources and best practices. This is also a great way for teachers to share their takeaways from a lesson on a particular topic or tool. Think of the opportunity for staff members to remember what it’s like being students! Besides reexamining the way they assess their own students, teachers get to see a tool used from a different perspective and think about how it might be used in their own classes. Here is a great example of how Dyann Wilson (@techCareWilson) uses Wakelet for professional development.
3. Classroom Resources
Wakelet can be used to organize classroom resources, schedules, and procedures. House live links to Google Docs and Sheets or Microsoft Word and Excel files so students know where to find important information in one place. Think about posting your classroom expectations, syllabus, or other important notices in a class Space or Collection. You can even include video messages! No more lost papers or “I didn’t know where to find that” excuses. Check out this template for Meet the Teachers by Dyann Wilson (@techCareWilson) which can act as a one-stop-shop for parents and students.
4. Substitute Planning and Resources
Use Wakelet to create a sub plan with resources, assignments, and a place to turn in work. The Wakelet Collection can be shared with the sub via QR code printed and left in your box or on your desk. Wakelet’s ease of use and intuitive interface make it easy for any sub to pick up where you left off and keep your students on task, moving forward, and out of trouble. Check out this sub plan template from Ryan McGinnis (@RyanMcGinnis) of Wakelet to get you started.
5. Parent Communication
Teachers can use Wakelet to communicate with parents by sharing resources and updates through a newsletter! Keep parents in the loop in an organized and accessible way by easily building a newsletter with announcements, links, to-do lists, and more. Wakelet already has a great class newsletter template you can copy and use! Additionally, explore this curated collection of newsletter examples and templates by Miguel Guhlin (@mguhlin).
Be sure to join the Wakelet Community where you can find free training, information about Wakelet’s products and programs, and meet other Wakelet users. The Wakelet Team is incredibly responsive, so don’t be afraid to reach out to them! Additionally, I’m a Wakelet Ambassador (@edtechdestiny) and so is my partner, Kris Thurston (@KrisThurston). Together, we’re the EdTech Nerds, and we’d love to assist you on your journey to riding the #WakeletWave!
Want to learn even more ways to use Wakelet? Don’t miss Kris Thurston and Destiny Wagner (the EdTech Nerds) at TCEA’s Elementary Technology Conference! They’ll be presenting five sessions, and one of them is on Wakelet! Join them for “The Top 10 Ways to Make a Splash with Wakelet” on Monday, June 12.
Haven’t signed up for the best beachside conference for elementary educators? No problem. There’s still time! Join us in Galveston, Texas for a learn-cation, and get your summer started right!
