It's Summer! Now What?

Many parents have contacted me asking for ideas for activities to keep the learning flowing during summer. Here are a few possibilities:

pvLearners/Google Apps - The student pvLearners accounts remain active all summer! My class has become pretty proficient with Google apps so students can continue creating documents, surveys, presentations, etc.

Digital Storytelling - This tech savvy group could use a variety of digital storytelling tools including text, photography, video, audio and graphic illustrations to put together stories this summer. Some good digital storytelling apps include Tellagami, ScreenChomp, ThingLink, Animoto and PuppetPals.

Read - All students have access to the school's online library all summer. It can be accessed here, and the kids all know their username and password. 

Make a Movie - Movie creation is such an amazing learning experience! It would be a lot of fun to make a movie documenting the summer, a summer vacation or a topic of interest. Great movie-making tools include YouTube Editor, WeVideo and iMovie. There are lots of fun movie making apps too like Magisto or 1SecondEveryday that would activate some movie-making creativity. 

Blog - The student KidBlog accounts are still active all summer or students can set up his or her own blog using a pvLearners account and blogger. 

Foreign Language - Rosetta Stone accounts are still active through the month of June and can be extended for the rest of the summer. Just contact the PVUSD Community Ed Department to upgrade your account. 

Khan Academy - Khan Academy provides a free, world class education for anyone! It is accessible on nearly any device. 

Letter Writing - Writing is more fun with an authentic audience and a purpose. Summer is the perfect time for students to write letters or send emails to out of state relatives and friends. 

Photo Journalism- In this day and age, everyone has a digital camera in his or her pocket at almost all times. Student photography offers a unique perspective and creates a nice summer memoir.