Note: We’re delighted to feature this guest post by the awesome Lisa Johnson, also known as TechChef4U, who generously offered to share how she’s been using Haiku Deck to create standout professional development resources. Hai-5 for sharing your ideas and insights, Lisa!

Powerful Professional Development with Haiku Deck

Professional Development Tips from TechChef4U

How do you serve up your professional development on a delectable platter that leaves a lasting and memorable impression?

As a CEO of a Techucation firm, and an educator that delivers professional development to other educators, this was on my mind as I started gathering materials and preparing to deliver multiple sessions and workshops at an upcoming regional technology conference.

Two of my sessions focused on highlighting a tool, and I wanted to create unique resources that would really help the attendees absorb the information quickly and give them everything they needed to implement the tools right away in their classrooms.

1. Make it Visual

When I’m focusing on a tool or app, I often provide a brief live demo, and then share best practices for using the tool. What better way to provide tips and best practices in a visual manner … than to create a Haiku Deck?!

What better way to provide tips and best practices in a visual manner … than to create a Haiku Deck?!

Here’s the Haiku Deck I created of 14+ Tips for PD that Works, featuring iTunes U:


14 Tips for Creating – Created with Haiku Deck, presentation software that inspires

And here’s one I put together to showcase Nearpod:


Nearpod in the Classroom: An Educator’s Toolkit – Created with Haiku Deck, presentation software that inspires

2. Use Notes to Extend Learning

Many Haiku Decks include beautiful images help the text resonate, but few take advantage of the Notes section to leave learners with additional, more thorough takeaways.

I wanted to really throw Haiku Deck into overdrive, so I used the Public Notes to offer learners additional support resources to expand and extend the initial ideas presented in the slides. (These Notes are not visible in the full-screen or embedded version of your deck, but are visible when you view a deck on the Haiku Deck website.)

Powerful Professional Development with Haiku Deck: Using notes to add context

Including a list in the Public Notes field

I found that including additional information, lists, and links in the Notes doesn’t take away from the simple and eye-catching design of Haiku Deck…it adds depth.

3. Make it Collaborative

Notes can include collaborative tools and links if you get creative with it. For example, I added a public Google Doc to the Notes of the “Nearpod in the Classroom” deck, so learners can share and expand their own knowledge on a topic and tool.

Powerful Professional Development with Haiku Deck: Adding a link to a Google Doc

Linking to a Google Doc from Public Notes

4. Model Best Practices

Too many times, I have witnessed students stoically reading a full paragraph of text on their PPT slide, and incorporating images with little or no citation and attribution.

We’ve already seen how Haiku Deck cures you of text-ridden slides — another bonus is that it includes citations for the Creative Commons images available through its image search.

Here’s a sample Haiku Deck PDF handout that shows how you can minimize the text on your slides, use the Notes to include supplemental info, AND include proper image attribution, all in one tidy package.

Powerful Professional Development with Haiku Deck: Sample PDF Handout

Sample Haiku Deck PDF handout page

5. Ask for Feedback

Haiku Deck doesn’t have to be one-way communication! Consider planting a Google Form within your deck to request and gather specific and targeted feedback on your topic, as I did in “14+ Tips For Creating PD That Works.”

Powerful Professional Development with Haiku Deck: Including a feedback form

Linking to a feedback form from Public Notes

Conclusion

By choosing Haiku Deck as my go-to for preparing concise, unique professional development resources for educators, I hope to not only inspire the design of future Haiku Decks, but to spread the word that Haiku Deck is a worthy opponent for death by PPT and sloppy citation in the classroom!

Have you used Haiku Deck for professional development? Please share your examples and tips in the comments!