Technology isn’t just fun with computers, it also includes screen-free technology activities! The list below contains a variety of low and high-tech activities for your middle schoolers to try out! Whether they are interested in science, math, art, or even English, there are ways to implement technology into their lessons. So scroll down to find 29 of the most creative ideas for bringing more technological learning into your classroom!
1. Create a GIF
If middle schoolers had their own language- they’d be talking in GIFs! They’ll be totally stoked to have a lesson on how to make GIFs in Photoshop using animation. This is not only an engaging activity, but it’s a great skill for them to learn how to create digital art using Adobe.
Learn More: The Art of Education
2. Circuit Activity
Now here’s a simple, yet important lesson to teach your students about circuits! The video teaches them how to make an easy circuit, but you can also have them make more complex ones once they’ve gotten to grips with the basics.
Learn More: YouTube
3. Digital Storytelling Activity
Using technology to tell stories is a great skill for your kiddos to learn; especially as things become more technology-centered. Even your reluctant writers will be excited to try out this program! Book Creator will help them understand how to tell captivating, digital stories that can be read time and time again.
Learn More: Book Creator
4. Technology Scavenger Hunt
Take your kids on a trip around the world from the seats of your classroom! Google Earth is an amazing resource for your kids to get a sense of travel by zooming into different locations in the world. For this scavenger hunt, you’ll combine geography with technology as they use Google Earth to explore different locations, using coordinates to navigate.
Learn More: Erintegration
5. StoriumEDU
StoriumEDU helps your kids write stories through the lens of video game play! It’s set up so that they can choose different characters and event cards that will prompt them to fill in the blanks and write a whole story. They’ll learn character development and story organization through the exciting gameplay!
Learn more: Storium EDU
6. Flippity
Flippity is another cool digital resource that your kiddos will love! It’ll show them how to turn a Google Spreadsheet into a collection of games and flashcards. They’ll be able to make their own review games or study materials, all while learning some basic computer literacy skills.
Learn More: Flippity
7. Sutori
We love this collaborative digital platform that can easily be implemented in your classroom. Your kiddos can use Sutori to create timelines, informative graphics, and much more. It’s an engaging way for them to express what they have learned through technology and you’ll love the feature where you can give feedback!
Learn More: YouTube
8. Digital Whiteboard
How cool is this? It’s a student-friendly digital whiteboard that is great for storytelling or classroom presentations. Explain Everything is super easy to use and allows your kids to map out their learning by adding photos, images, video, audio, and drawing tools. It’s also a super resource for you to use in your teaching, or to use collaboratively as a class!
Learn More: Explain Everything
9. Virtual Field Trip
We love that technology has given kids all over the world access to a variety of virtual field trips! Discovery Education offers virtual field trips that come with lessons and activities for each virtual discovery. In this one, they’ll learn more about genomics- a branch of science that studies DNA!
Learn More: Discovery Education
10. Digital Breakout
Get your learners excited to outsmart technology with digital breakouts! This digital content activity is similar to an escape room and your class will use different problem-solving and computer skills to “break out” of the room and win!
Learn More: Sandy Cangelosi
11. Splats
Here’s a game your kiddos will be begging to play every day! Unruly Splats is a coding game that gets them moving and coding at the same time. It uses simple codes to teach them these new skills through play.
Learn More: Unruly Splats
12. Type Racing
Typing is an obvious fundamental skill that your kiddies should be proficient in so we’ve added a great typing game for you to incorporate into your classroom routine! To play Type Racer they’ll compete in a car race as they try to accurately type as many words as they can to move the car along the track! The fastest fingers will win!
Learn More: Type Racer
13. Build A Calculator
Let’s introduce our students to the world of programming by making a simple calculator! This is a cool coding activity where they’ll learn how to make a functioning calculator using coding. Who knows, after teaching them the basics, you might even inspire them to explore coding as a future career choice!
Learn More: Sphero Edu
14. Mosa Mack
Turns your kids into science detectives with this exciting resource and accompanying lesson plans! The fun videos will help you teach major science concepts and the interactive quizzes and digital worksheets help you to test knowledge. There’s also the opportunity for your kiddies to get hands-on, using real-life examples to demonstrate the concepts being taught.
Learn More: Common Sense Education
15. AI Machine Learning
AI is appearing rapidly and becoming the center of a lot of digital discussion and debate. This machine is a fun way for your middle schoolers to see first-hand how this innovative tech works! They’ll create and photograph a library of hand-drawn faces and use this as learning data to teach an AI how to determine moods based on facial expressions! Cool, right!?
Learn More: Science Buddies
16. Paper Circuit Card
Get crafty with this next tech activity. This video will help you teach your kiddies how to make a circuit card using a few simple materials including some wire, a battery, and a small light! Encourage them to get creative and make cute light-up images using their circuits!
Learn More: YouTube
17. Procreate for Kids
Calling all graphic designers! If your kids are interested in learning about digital drawing tools, then this is the activity for them! Bardot Brush has a variety of digital drawing lessons made specifically for kids! We suggest following her on YouTube so that you can access her additional lesson plans to go alongside the videos!
Learn More: YouTube
18. Book Trailer Project
Rather than ask your learners to fill out a traditional book report, why not utilize some tech and task them with making a digital book trailer? This site gives you a comprehensive lesson plan complete with a student checklist, a marking rubric, links to the national standards, as well as links to some examples to show to your kiddos!
Learn More: Read Write Think
19. Ancient Egypt Strategy Simulator Game
We’re sure you have some kids in your class who love video games, right? If they’re learning about ancient Egypt, this video game is perfect to add some tech time to their history lesson. The game is based on real facts from Egyptian times and challenges your learners to make strategic decisions to lead their citizens!
Learn More: Clarus Victoria
20. Lego Maze Coding
Lego mazes are a great way to introduce basic coding skills to students of all ages! All they need to do is build a maze using templates provided and legos. Then, it is their job to make a list of commands for their “character” to help them escape the maze. This knowledge can then be transferred to real computer coding in the future!
Learn More: Research Parent
21. DIY Smart Phone Projector
In this simple yet super fun technology activity, your kids will cut a hole in a cardboard box and attach a magnifying glass to the inside. Then, they can build a resting spot for their smartphone inside the box- and voila! They have a mini projector to play their favorite YouTube videos.
Learn More: The Stem Laboratory
22. Podcasting Projects
Podcasts are becoming increasingly popular as they’re an easily accessible form of entertainment or information on the go. This fantastic site will tell you all you need to know to get your kids podcasting like professionals! They’ll love this fun activity where they’ll get to grow their digital skills as they learn how to record and edit audio about some of their favorite topics.
Learn More: neaToday
23. DIY Projector Shadows
Cardboard projectors are a simple yet engaging project that can be done over and over again! You’ll need basic supplies including toilet paper rolls, plastic wrap, and a flashlight to get started, and have your middle schoolers draw pictures or write words on the clear end of the roll. Turn off the lights, have ‘em power up those flashlights! The results are a spectacular shadow show!
Learn More: Chalk Academy
24. Pipe Cleaner LED Christmas Decorations
It’s time to make some Christmas decorations! Head to your craft drawer for some pipe cleaners, a small battery pack, and LED bulbs. Your kiddos will have a merry time shaping pipe cleaners into Christmas trees and Rudolph shapes! Explain how the metal in the pipe cleaner will act as a wire and once they connect it to the battery and light, they’ll have their own light-up decoration!
Learn More: Instructables
25. Harry Potter Wands
A magical take on technology, join in some wand-making action with this Harry Potter-inspired tutorial! For this fun activity, your tech wizards need to stick copper tape along a few popsicle sticks and fasten a small LED light above. Once the battery is in place, their wand is ready to cast the “Lumos” spell!
Learn More: Steam Powered Family
26. Simple Homemade Robot Car
For under eight dollars, this homemade robot car is definitely worth a try, and your kids will be amazed at their robot-making skills! Skewers, foam, straws, and bottle caps will be the foundational materials for a new robotic friend while a small motor with batteries will bring him to life!
Learn More: Research Parent
27. DIY Morse Code Machines
DIY Morse Code Machines are a great way to inspire your kids to stop texting and try a different way of communicating even if just for a couple of hours! Help them to follow the step-by-step directions to make a wooden box with wiring and battery connectors inside. They’ll have a great time using the buzzer to communicate in Morse code with each other!
Learn More: Surviving A Teacher’s Salary
28. Storyboard Creator
Storyboards are a great way for your students to practice summarizing stories they’ve read! Encourage them to focus on the main events and key story elements to create their own online comic! Storyboard Creator allows them to choose setting backgrounds, characters, and more to virtually bring their summaries to life!
Learn More: Storyboard That
29. Evaluating Websites
Learning to tell good quality online sources from bad ones is a vital skill nowadays. Checking for six criteria, this activity will give your learners practice evaluating websites and the information they present. This is both a helpful skill for school and the real world; it’ll help them decide which websites are quality sources and which ones can’t be trusted!
Learn More: Education World
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