Reimagining vision boards

Whether you’re looking for a great summer activity or already storing away ideas for the next school year, we have a fun and engaging project to share that also incorporates…. Google Apps! Google Apps, while wonderful for those serious project-based learning (PBL) activities, can also be used for more light-hearted projects. In this blog, we’ll look at using Google Slides to create a “Vision Board” type of project with students.

Why a digital vision board?

A vision board is a collection of pictures and text that represent the things you want in life — from the things you want to do, to the things you want to learn, and the things you want to be. Traditional vision boards are not digital, but creating them using Google Apps allows for collaboration as well as sharing in the classroom. You can create digital versions of vision boards using the tools of your choice, but Google Slides and Google Drawings are great choices. And while this can be a fun, artistic, and expressive project, vision boards actually support dynamic learning and the ISTE Standards for Students.

Creating your digital vision board

1. Give students time to brainstorm their goals, both personal and academic. Give them good, guiding questions to help them imagine the semester or school year and the things they hope to accomplish during that time. It’s important to help them understand the difference between unrealistic dreams (becoming King of the Seven Kingdoms) and a realistic goal (reading four chapter books). This preliminary work can be done in Google Docs or even Google Keep.

2. Next, have students create their vision boards in Google Slides or Google Drawing. By using the Explore tool, students can add images directly within Google Slides. They can also insert text onto the slides.

3. Teachers have the option to create a template and distribute it to students via Google Classroom to make this project more of a collaborative effort (for instance, each student works on a slide or two for a class vision board). Or, if students will be creating their own individual board, teachers can use the “Give Out Copies” option to share the template with students for guidance.

4. Lastly, completed vision boards can be displayed using Google Sites to share in the class, or even with parents at home.

For other great projects and tips for utilizing instructional technology in the classroom, check out the Teq Talk blog.