International Dot Day 15th September - get your classes involved in this fun learning event

Have you heard of International Dot Day? Recently I have been researching it, and honestly, my eyes got bigger and bigger as I flipped through the Internet. It is HUGE around the world. International Dot Day is simple: “Start with a dot and see where it will take you,”  It is an encouragement to children to make their mark in their community. I love this positive approach Children all over the world celebrate International Dot Day. If you are from South Africa and you are reading this...think about joining in this fun event. Dot Day takes place every year round about 15th September 2018 http://www.thedotclub.org/dotday/.

What is Dot Day all about?

The author Peter Reynolds wrote this delightful book which has become famous and is enjoyed by children all around the world. The story is about a young student who doesn’t think she can draw. Her teacher tells her to just make a mark which she does with rather a bad attitude. She makes a dot. The teacher asks her to sign it, which she does and the next week she finds the dot framed in a lovely gold frame. This inspires the young girl and it marks the beginning of her journey of self discovery and sharing. She starts to inspire others and makes her mark in her community. The message of this book is GREAT - for both student and teacher. Terry Shay introduced his classroom to Peter H. Reynolds’ book The Dot on September 15, 2009, and that marks the beginning of the first International Dot Day.

I enjoyed watching this video of Peter Reynolds reading his book on YouTube.

Why should we celebrate Dot Day?

This is a real fun way to encourage our learners to 'make their mark' on the world along with a huge community of other students around the world. I love the positiveness of this project. The idea is to encourage students to discover their talents and energy, and use these to help make the world a better place.

How did I get involved?
Well, I was given a very exciting opportunity to link up with a Quad blog along with three international blogging greats - Kathleen Morris from Australia, Linda Yollis from the USA and Rebecca Versteeg from Canada. Our quad blog, set up by Kathleen,  is called 'International Dot Day Project - four classes making their mark'. There are some lovely ideas on the blog:
 http://bit.ly/2oLCxW2. 

Getting started with Dot Day

If you would like to get started with Dot Day, head over to  http://www.thedotclub.org/ and sign up. It is all free. I signed up at http://www.thedotclub.org/dotday/register and downloaded Peter Reynold's handbook which has loads of ideas in it:
https://www.reynoldstlc.org/international-dot-day-handbook

Ideas for Dot Day

Since I am the ICT teacher at my school, my interest is in digital expressions of Dot Day.  Here is what I came across in my Internet search.

1. Display your school Dot Day activities on a Thinglink/
You would need to head over to 'A Thinglink Synopsis of International Dot Day' on the Tech tips blog http://bit.ly/2wNPKkG to see how effective a Thinglink can be for displaying the work of a number of classes in a school.. For the record, a ThingLink is a web tool that allows users to tag images and add links, videos, text, notes and many more. The tagging is simple and easy to use.

2. Connect on Skype or Google Hangout
This is a great idea. Why not connect with other classes via Skype or Google Hangout and read The Dot together or share your ideas. If this appeals to you, head over to a Google Doc titled 'International Dot Day Connections' http://bit.ly/2ColNxJ to link up with another class. 

3. Get some Ideas from Peter Reynolds' free handbookI was interested in some of the digital ideas mentioned in Peter Reynolds' handbook.

• Create dot artwork in MS Paint, then upload the pictures to www.blabberize.com to give their artwork a voice. Upload to www.schooltube.com
• Create some Dotty stories or poems and upload them to an app similar to Padlet https://padlet.com/khodgson1/ppanregi1rnx. 

• You and your class can have loads of fun with the Quiver app which can be found at http://www.quivervision.com/dotday/ Transform your dots into 3D using augmented reality. Take a look at this class making use of the Quiver App. This video Celebrating Dot Day 2014 from Tina Schmidtcan be found on Vimeo.
• Use Flipgrid and get your class talking about their Dot Day celebrations.
• Make a video using Animoto.com::
  https://animoto.com/play/umF0C3DpHgxL0mVA3bLeYg 
• Take a look at the ideas in A DotDay Hyperdoc http://bit.ly/2oKdsL9 
• Get your classes singing the Dot Song. http://bit.ly/2oId5AR  The vrsion below is the result of a collaboration between singer-songwriter Emily Dale and Peter H. Reynolds, author and illustrator of The Dot. Listen and sing along as the lyrics appear on the screen. 

Further Reading:

• Kathleen Morris has written two superb articles which are full of ideas on the Edublogger: "International Dot Day: Get involved': http://bit.ly/2oH31Il
  "International Dot Day 2018 - your guide to getting involved' http://bit.ly/2oK92E5
• International Dot Day is just around the corner: https://www.smore.com/cyt2-international-dot-day

This is defintely an event worth following.