Ep 108 // Is the LINKtivity® Learning Membership Right for You? Your Questions...Answered!
Inside This Week’s Episode: — The LINKtivity® Learning Membership serves upper elementary teachers by supporting them with unique engaging and interactive 21st century digital resources. Is the membership right for you? In this episode we’re answering all your questions!
Links & Resources Mentioned in the Episode
EPISODE 100: 10 Ways to Use LINKtivity® Interactive Learning Guides in the Classroom
Preview entire LINKtivity® Library
Join the LINKtivity® Learning Membership and get access to my entire vault of LINKtivity Interactive Learning Guides - CLICK HERE to join.
Tap into our Entire LiNKtivity Library
Did you know that you can get an ALL-ACCESS pass to my entire vault of LINKtivity® Interactive Learning Guides?
You can! Inside the LINKtivity® Learning Membership!
Have you been wondering if LINKtivities are right for you & Your Students?
Back in September of 2021, I embarked on a new journey and for the first time I opened the doors to LINKtivity® Learning. It’s a membership designed to give teachers an unlimited all-access pass to my entire library of LINKtivity® interactive learning guides.
LINKtivities support teachers who want to give their students a multimedia learning experience that not only helps them develop 21st century skills, but also effortlessly engages and motivates students to learn.
I’ve been getting a lot of questions lately about the LINKtivity® Learning membership - which is my #1 way that I support teachers these days. And - I’ve been getting a lot of the same questions - so in this episode, I’m gonna get into the nitty gritty.
I’ll help you decide if LINKtivity® Learning is right for you. I’m answering all your questions and everything you could possibly want to know about LINKtivities, including some very exciting new things we are working on behind the scenes.
Your Questions about LINKtivity® Learning…ANSWERED!
Since the grand opening of LINKtivity® Learning, we have been able to instill the love of learning through high-quality, 21st century resources for thousands of students.
When we first opened the doors to the membership in September there were just over 50 LINKtivities in the collection. Now, not even 5 months later, we are approaching 100 LINKtivities in our vault! And members get access to them all - using as many with their students as they’d like, which is really exciting!
Now, what the heck is a teacher gonna do with almost 100 LINKtivities (and even more being released each month?) Well - back in episode 100, I shared 10 different ways to use LINKtivities in your classroom. If you’re wondering what the heck you’re going to do with that many LINKtivities - be sure to check out that episode with loads of ideas!
Psst - Completely new to LINKtivities? Check out this beginner’s post!
But - you might be wondering just how the membership works and whether or not the membership is right for you. So, without further delay… the more frequently asked questions about the LINKtivity® Learning Membership!
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Any device that has access to the internet can be used to display LINKtivities. This includes chrome books, iPads, tablets, desktop computers, laptops, and even smartphones. You will want to make sure that your devices have up to date operating systems on them.
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Each LINKtivity® is essentially hosted on its own micro website, which means you and your students will only need access to the internet in order to view the LINKtivities. You will be provided with a link for each LINKtivity® that you can share with your students to access and view the LINKtivity®. These links can be shared on any secure platform such as Google Classroom, SeeSaw, and Microsoft Teams.
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The LINKtivities themselves are hosted on the internet through a special link so that they can be updated and revised as needed. They can NOT be downloaded and saved to your individual devices. You will have access to each and every LINKtivity® for as long as you have a membership. Should you choose to cancel your membership, you will no longer have access to the LINKtivities.
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All LINKtivities have audio support that allows them to have the text on the LINKtivity® read to them! This makes it super simple to provide extra assistance to students who may be learning English or may struggle with reading.
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When the pandemic began, teachers were scrambling for interactive digital resources to keep their students engaged and motivated. LINKtivities made the sudden change from in-person to virtual seamless for thousands of teachers who were already using them in their classrooms. If you are planning on teaching virtually, or have the potential to need to teach virtual, LINKtivities and the companion resources can easily be accessible from home. Each LINKtivity is designed to be a "virtual teacher" offering videos, audio support, self-checking activities, and more. And, should you return back to in-person, you and your students won't skip a beat when you continue using LINKtivities in the classroom!tion
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Nope! You and your students only need access to the internet in order view the LINKtivity®. No fancy programs or software involved! You do want to make sure that your devices have the most updated operating systems and browsers so that LINKtivities display properly.
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Ideally, students will want to work independently on their digital device so that they can go at their own pace. However, if classroom technology is limited, you can work together as a whole class by displaying the LINKtivity® on a whiteboard or Smartboard and navigate through the LINKtivity® together. LINKtivities can even be viewed at home by simply providing the links to your students!
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YES! Most LINKtivities include links to outside websites such as Google Earth to help enhance student learning. In additional, many LINKtivities have YouTube videos that are embedded right into the LINKtivity®. This means your students will not see YouTube Ads or have the option to view additional videos from the YouTube sidebar. The videos and websites that are included are kid-friendly and age-appropriate. If your school has blocked YouTube, then your students will not be able to view these videos. HOWEVER, each teacher guide has links to the YouTube videos that are used inside the LINKtivity®. This allows you to have your school technology department whitelist these individual videos, if possible. You can also view these videos as a whole class if your teacher device has access to YouTube.
Although the YouTube videos and outside websites enhance student learning and make the LINKtivities more interactive, these additional multi-media features are typically not critical to the content being taught. If you are unable to watch the YouTube videos, your students can still gain value from the LINKtivity® resource itself. As an alternative, students can view the LINKtivity® at home to view the videos and outside websites.
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As a bonus inside the membership, each LINKtivity® comes with a flipbook, recording sheet, or project activity that students complete while exploring the LINKtivity®. These activities can be used to assess a students understanding of the content shared in the LINKtivity®. These flipbooks and recording sheets are provided in printable and digital formats. In addition, many LINKtivities even have drag and drop self-check activities embedded right in the LINKtivity® for students to check their own understanding of the topic.
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YES! You’ll find answer keys for any student work that is to be completed using the LINKtivities.
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When you purchase a LINKtivity through TpT, you have purchased a permanent license. This means that you will have access to the LINKtivity® and the companion resources for the lifetime of that LINKtivity®. You will not need to be a member of the LINKtivity® Learning Membership in order to maintain access to the LINKtivities that you have purchased on TpT.
However, the membership has many LINKtivities that are not available anywhere else. In addition, any new LINKtivities made will only be added to the membership. As a member you'll get exclusive access to those.
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There are LINKtivities inside the membership for every content area, including seasons and holidays. Even more, the LINKtivity® library is growing all the time with new topics. As a member, you will have the opportunity to influence the topics that are added to the library. Here's a sampling of the topics that are covered by LINKtivities in the membership:
SCIENCE TOPICS:
Human Body Systems
Animal Life Cycles
Biomes of the World
Plants
States of Matter
SOCIAL STUDIES TOPICS:
Gold Rush
Branches of Government
European Explorers
WWI & WWII
Colonial Jobs
READING SKILLS:
Reading Strategies (Making Connections, Visualizing, Questioning...etc)
Main Idea & Supporting Details
Point of View
Poetry
Nonfiction Text Structures
MATH:
Measurement Conversions
Place Value
Holidays & Seasons
Christmas Around the World
Presidential Election
St. Patrick's Day
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Although the LINKtivity® library will be constantly growing, if you do not see enough topics to fit your curriculum needs, you can cancel your membership at any time, no questions ask.
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Yes, and no. When it comes to some of the history-related LINKtivities, like WW1, WW2, American Revolution, Civil War, Colonial America - those LINKtivities do present the topic from the U.S. perspective. However - that is a very small sample set of the LINKtivities available inside the membership. The majority of LINKtivities are not specific to any one country. Regardless of where you live, we all teach students how to use reading strategies like making connections and visualizing - those strategies are not country-specific. We all teach science concepts like landforms and rocks and minerals - those topics are the same no matter where you live. LINKtivities are not designed around any one curriculum. When building the content inside each LINKtivity we take into account common core standards, we reference textbooks and other reputable sources, we head to the local libraries and check out a bunch of books - we use a variety of sources to help us build well-rounded resources that are accurate and inclusive.
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Now - here’s some exciting news! Our membership isn’t even 6 months yet - but teachers and even administrators have already reached out looking to get access to the membership for their entire grade level or upper elementary teachers. This is amazing news because we love that schools want to support their teachers with 21st century tools like LINKtivities. And, we have plans to offer school and district membership plans and options for the 2022-2023 school year! So if you start using LINKtivities with your students and think that you’re entire grade level could benefit from them - then stay tuned for this option in the very near future!
If you would like us to reach out to you when this option becomes available, simply email us at hello@linktivitylearning.com and you'll be the first to know!
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Yes! If you have an active monthly or annual plan, you are free to pause your membership for up to 3 billing cycles at anytime. Your membership will continue to be active for the remainder of the billing period and then will automatically be paused for the number of cycles you have chosen. Billing will automatically resume after the pause. If you wish to resume your membership before the pausing period is up, you can reactive at any time, and billing will resume.
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Yes! If you are loving LINKtivity® Learning and want to lock in the savings of an annual plan, you'll be able to upgrade inside your account on the site.
From time to time special one-time pricing plans, such as a Founding Members plan, may be offered. These special pricing plans may only be offered once and may not be available for upgrades or downgrades. You can still upgrade or downgrade your plan, but will need to choose a currently offered plan.
Is Linktivity® Learning Right for me?
LINKTIVITY® LEARNING IS RIGHT FOR YOU IF:
👍🏻 you are an upper elementary teacher — the LINKtivities inside the membership library best fit the curriculum found in grades 3, 4, and 5
👍🏻 you have regular access to digital devices connected to the internet
👍🏻 you are looking to integrate technology in your classroom to support 21st century instruction
👍🏻 you see the value and benefit of providing multimedia instruction that connects with students with varied learning styles and academic abilities.
LINKTIVITY® LEARNING IS NOT RIGHT FOR YOU IF:
❌ you are a primary teacher or teach middle or high school. Although there are some LINKtivities that might fit the bill for your curriculum needs, the major of the LINKtivities will likely not be developmentally appropriate
❌ you do NOT have regular access to digital devices connected to the internet.
❌ you prefer more traditional teaching methods that do not integrate technology
GIVE LINKTIVITY® LEARNING A TEST RUN…
…TRY IT FOR FREE FOR 7 DAYS!
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