This article pertains to the M2 device (hardware). Looking for an easy way to get started with MirrorTalk reflection activities that work on any device? Check out this article.

Get ready to meet your new classroom guide! M2 is an AI-powered device to revolutionize small-group learning. This clever all-in-one platform not only offers daily feedback and actionable advice for teachers, it is powered by MirrorTalk, software that automates the entire process with customized prompts and instant feedback for students and teachers. Packed with pre-built thinking activities, MirrorTalk unlocks peer-to-peer chatter, creativity, and teamwork while keeping classroom chaos at bay.

The data you’ll gather from MirrorTalk is a goldmine for student growth, providing educators with automatic insights into understanding, mindset, zones, and more. Say farewell to hours of planning and hello to effortless collaborative experiences from day one – MirrorTalk + M2 is about to become your go-to tool for small-group magic!

Here are 10 fun out-of-the-box activities to get your small group stations rolling! 

Get them talking

Activity: Presentation/Speech Practice

Students need strong presentation skills to thrive in today’s communication-driven world. Whether pitching ideas, defending their work, or simply expressing themselves clearly, the ability to present confidently and effectively opens doors in students’ futures.

Activity: Collaborative Storytelling

Students who become skilled storytellers develop a powerful tool for engaging audiences and conveying complex ideas in memorable ways. The art of storytelling not only enhances communication, but also fosters creativity, empathy, and the ability to connect with others on an emotional level – all valuable assets in school and throughout life.

Activity: Discussion Warm Up/Calentamiento de la discusión*

Increasing opportunities for communication between non-English speaking students and their native English-speaking peers promotes cultural exchange and mutual understanding. These interactions not only accelerate language acquisition for non-native speakers but broaden the worldview of native speakers, preparing both for success in our interconnected global society.

*available in Multiple Languages

Get them doing

Activity: Prototyping

Learning to prototype empowers students to transform abstract ideas into tangible solutions. Prototyping helps students develop critical thinking abilities, learn to iterate on their designs and gain valuable hands-on experience that bridges the gap between concept and reality.

Activity: Tallest Paper Tower

Learning to build things with their hands gives students a unique sense of accomplishment and helps develop practical problem-solving skills that can’t be gained from textbooks or personal devices. Hands-on experiences not only enhance spatial awareness and fine motor skills but also boost confidence, creativity, and the ability to think in three dimensions – all valuable assets for students to possess if they ever want to become engineers, architects, or designers.

Get them in the zone

Activity: Stress Transformer

Learning effective stress-coping techniques improves students’ mental health and enhances their academic performance and social relationships which helps them navigate life’s challenges even beyond the classroom. 

Activity: Brain Break

Brain breaks are essential for students to recharge and refocus, preventing mental fatigue and improving overall learning. These short, intentional pauses during the lesson allow the brain to process information, boost creativity, and enhance attention span, ultimately leading to better retention of material and more productive learning.

Let them have fun

Activity: Pictionary

Pictionary is a fun and engaging way for students to reinforce vocabulary while honing their artistic abilities. As students strive to convey words through quick sketches, they not only practice using and recognizing key terms but also develop their visual communication skills, creativity, and ability to express concepts through art – all while enjoying an interactive game with their classmates.

Activity: Number Hop

Getting kids on their feet to practice math skills transforms abstract concepts into physical, interactive experiences, making learning more engaging and memorable. This approach not only caters to kinesthetic learners but also increases overall student participation, boosts energy levels in the classroom, and helps children associate math with fun and movement – potentially reducing math anxiety and improving retention of mathematical concepts.

Activity: What is your favorite food/¿Cuál es tu comida favorita?*

Discussing favorite foods provides a relatable and enjoyable topic for non-English speaking students and their native English-speaking peers to connect, bridging cultural gaps and fostering genuine friendships. This culinary presentation not only enhances language skills for non-native speakers but also expands the cultural awareness of all students, creating a more inclusive classroom environment. 

*available in English and Spanish

The now for the best part

With MirrorTalk + M2, you’ve got a clever all-in-one platform that offers ready-made activities that foster lively student interaction, imaginative thinking, and collaborative efforts, while maintaining a structured learning environment. You can even copy our pre-made templates to get some inspiration for your own activities.

And perhaps the best part? While M2 keeps your small groups humming along, you’re free to move around the class, giving extra attention to students who need it most. When students are finished, you’ll get actionable insights on their work from their reflection and – perhaps most importantly – get to watch all of the fun they had!

See it in action!

Ready to turn your classroom into a collaborative maker-space?

Schedule a live demo with the Swivl team to learn more.

The post 10 small group activities that M2 offers, right out of the box appeared first on Swivl.

With our first release of Reflectivity in March, our goal was to help users gain energy and inspiration by displaying the new and popular topics colleagues are working on. 

Since then, we’ve heard from users that reflecting and discussing those topics is a top priority. 

We’re excited to announce several new features that deliver on the second half of Reflectivity’s promise: reflection and growth.

Better tools for reflection allow users to examine their thinking about a topic and review the work they’ve done. When educators in an organization are reflecting regularly, they build a body of knowledge that facilitates learning and collaboration.

It’s rare for teachers to have one place to track their thinking about important topics. It’s even less common for teachers to easily share reflections, so they can learn from and with colleagues. 

Todays’ release makes this all a possibility. Users can now enjoy significantly enhanced reflection capabilities, including: 

• Write multiple reflections about a topic 
• Read all reflections from colleagues in one place 
• Publish reflections to an organization

And more, which we’ll outline below. We’ll start with a better experience for selecting topics users may want to work on.

Understand the work happening in an organization

Teachers often feel siloed and unsupported. However, when users begin exploring a new topic, knowing that colleagues are also working on this topic can be energizing.

With this in mind, we’re now showing more information about the topics colleagues are working on. Clicking on any individual topic from the new or popular board now shows information about the number of reflections colleagues have created about this topic, how many of those reflections are visible to a user, and a list of the colleagues working on the topic. 

By reading others’ reflections, users can gain the knowledge and energy needed to begin working on this topic. By seeing the colleagues already working on a topic, users have a better sense of who they can collaborate with.

Track the evolution of your work on a topic

By writing multiple reflections on a topic, users can document their thinking over time to more clearly see how they’ve solved problems, adjusted their perspective, and improved their practice.

Writing a series of reflections on a topic can help users uncover areas to explore with a coach, communicate growth to mentors or administrators, or track progress for future reference.

Share insights, wins and questions with your organization

Many teachers regularly share their thinking with PLCs, grade level teams, or other smaller groups. However, certain instances call for sharing ideas with an entire school or district. To help facilitate this, users can now publish reflections to their entire organization.  

Publishing reflections to the organization allows users to celebrate wins, request help from their community, or share new insights about common challenges. Users may even use publishing to the organization to gain added accountability for their work.

Publishing a reflection takes vulnerability. It’s important to note that it’s always optional for a user to publish their reflection with their organization, and it can easily be undone. 

We’re excited to see how published reflections and the discussions around them can help build trust and spread good ideas within an organization. 

Learn from and with colleagues 

It’s now fast and easy for a user to view all the reflections visible to them, whether those have been directly shared, or they’ve been published to the whole organization. By sort reflections by topic, date, and whether or not they include video, users can tap into organizational knowledge built by their colleagues. 

For example, imagine you are beginning to integrate social-emotional learning into your classroom. With a few clicks, you can read all reflections your colleagues have posted about this topic. You can then begin working on this topic, starting from a foundation of knowledge gleaned from your colleagues’ experiences.

Collaborate with colleagues who share your interests

It’s now easier for users to view reflections shared with them and participate in discussions through filtering reflections by discussions. This shows users all reflections that are shared with them, new comments on any reflections they’ve shared, and new comments on any reflections they’ve previously discussed.

By putting these all in one place, users can quickly see the latest updates on the work they’re doing with colleagues.

Reflection and collaboration make growth inevitable

With these new updates, we’re excited to see how educators can gain even more energy by having better insight into their colleagues’ work. Through writing, reading, sharing, and discussing the most important topics to you and your organization, you’ll take valuable steps towards building trust, sharing good ideas, and improving your practice.

After you try these features, we’d love to hear you feedback. Share your feedback with us by emailing success@swivl.com, or mention us on Twitter at https://twitter.com/swivl.

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