Mark your calendars for September 15th, which is International Dot Day. This day was inspired by Peter H. Reynolds' book, The Dot, and founded by a great Iowa educator, Terry Shay. The purpose behind this day is to encourage students to create and celebrate their imagination.
This year, there are already over 60 countries participating and almost 1,000,000 students taking part in dot day. This day is also a way to incorporate some global awareness, as students can see how others are creating their dots by following #dotday on Twitter.
There are many different ways to celebrate Dot Day, but my favorite is by using the colAR app. This app has special PDF's that you can print. On these PDF's students color and design their own dots. Once they have completed their design, they open the free colAR app (which is available in iTunes or Google Play) and scan their PDF.
The dot will appear to come off of the page and you can view it from many different angles just by moving around the device in which you are viewing it. Kids, are amazed with this app, as this is usually the first time students (or teachers for that matter) have seen or used augmented reality in a school setting. There are more options to design with this free app, but you have more options if you purchase the paid version.
As I worked with students, they were amazed with what was happening with their dots and also figured out a way to layer dots on this app so they had one background image of a dot and another dot coming to life over top of it.
How are you going to celebrate Dot Day in your classroom? Please connect with our students to share how other parts of the world are going to celebrate creativity and imagination with this fantastic day.
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