​When I was a homeroom teacher, winter break marked the completion of many units and projects. Depending on where students were in the writing process, they would often publish their pieces before or after winter break. If your class is on the same page, the New Year will provide an opportunity to consider how your students will share their completed writing. In this post, I will present you with a variety of innovative ways for your students to publish and share their work with others, beginning with a few samples from my own students.

Below is an example of a student who wrote a biography and presented using a green screen to get in character.

Use foldables to create lapbooks. This works especially well with nonfiction. 

Feature student work with QR codes. In this example, the codes link to the students' finished research papers (linked online through a publishing site called Issuu) and 30 second video clips/commercials introducing their ancient Egypt topics. Scan the QR codes below or click here for a commercial and here for a writing piece.

Teach your students to be responsible digital citizens who are creators, not only consumres, of content. Create student blogs!

Now that I've shown you a few ways my students have published their writing, I will introduce you to samples from other teachers.

Use Stop Motion to animate and bring a story to life. Read Meghan Zigman's blog to learn how.

ChatterPix is a free app that makes a photo come to life with speech. Kids can draw, paint, or collage images. They can also find real photographs online.

Not all writing gets published; so by asking your students to publish their work, you will be presented with the opportunity to talk with your students about the differences between the writing we keep for ourselves and the writing we publish. By having your students share their writing with others, they will be held to a different standard of excellence, and they will rise to the occasion to publish their best work.

Still looking for ideas? Check out 5 more tips here.

​Scannable technology is a great way to engage your students and differentiate your curriculum. Before Dr. Monica Burns became a curriculum an educational technology consultant, she was a homeroom teacher. It is in the classroom that she learned authentic ways to use a class set of iPads to enhance her curriculum. Discover the value scannable technology can add to your curriculum:

Dr. Monica Burns' website has a wealth of resources, specifically for using scannable technology in your own classroom. I strongly encourage you to click the below link and learn along side her.

​In addition to maintaining a comprehensive website, Dr. Monica Burns has also written several books. Here is one book I highly recommend: