Lab journal

Completed

Students can create a Sway to replace traditional forms of work. We already looked at how a Sway could be an interactive research paper with students creating unique works to demonstrate their learning. But, what if you wanted students to all use a similar format for their Sway? Take, for example, a science lab journal. The educator wants students to include specific sections (such as hypothesis, procedure, results, and analysis) and include images and video to document their work. Sway is a good solution for this type of digital storytelling.

The educator would create a Sway with the necessary heading and text cards, including prompts for what students should include. The Sway is shared with settings that allow it to be copied. Students then use the original Sway as a template for creating their science journal.

Once the Sway you want to share as a template is created, select the Share menu. Adjust settings to allow anyone to access it or to only allow access to students or educators within your Office 365 client. Whatever settings are picked, copy and share the URL provided by Sway with anyone that you want to access it. When the Sway is viewed (by the students in the science class, for example), they can select the ellipses in the top right corner and select Duplicate this Sway. They will now have a copy of the Sway to edit with their own information.

Sways can be shared with a link or with an embed code. That allows the Sway to be embedded on a web site or learning management system. Anyone who accesses the Sway will be able to view it within the web resource.

Creating digital stories for others to view and copy is another reason why Sway is so impactful in the classroom.

Give it a try. View this sample lab report Sway and make your own copy of it.

Professional journal

What have you learned that makes Sway a good choice for you, your students, and your colleagues? Add a card to the "What Have I Learned?" section and add your thoughts. You could add your thoughts with text, video, or audio; you decide what is the best format for your digital story about Sway.