Tag 21st century skills

One App to Explain Everything

Michelle Reiser 2 Comments

One App to Explain Everything

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Explained…

It is time to rethink your typical classroom presentations… think Explain Everything. This app allows teachers to create by providing an interactive whiteboard and a screencast tool in one place. Using this app, presentation slides can include a variety of media- from websites and drawings to pictures and videos- Explain Everything has it all. Sharing your creations is simple, and screencasts can be shared and exported as videos, PDFs, and Explain Everything project files to programs like Dropbox, Google Drive, and YouTube for viewing on and off of the Internet. Explain Everything offers different presentation formats to meet the needs of all learners. Flexible viewing options also allow the teacher to control how screencasts are viewed. Teachers can provide students with the option to control the pace at which a Presentation is viewed, or it can be viewed and paced at the teacher’s timing.

Supported…

Explain Everything is used by over 2 million people, and is growing daily. In fact it is not only used in classrooms, but by leaders and learners worldwide. The Hytech Lawyer, which is devoted to technology solutions for lawyers writes, “The potential uses for this app are only limited by your imagination.” Similarly learninginspired.com, a website devoted to Apple technology in the classroom writes, “Some apps are like swiss army knives. Some can do more than you think. Some can be used in thousands of ways in the classroom. Explain Everything is one such app.”

Useful…

The uses for Explain Everything is the classroom are plentiful. Teachers can use the app as a learning medium that includes a variety of rich media, and videos and images created on other apps are easily imported. Students can also assume the creator role using this app by constructing and sharing their knowledge while creating Explain Everything screencasts of their own. 

Furthermore, formative assessment opportunities are created as both teachers and students can share and respond to the same screencast when the file is shared as an Explain Everything project; thus allowing for instruction and responses that include text, video, audio, and more. Explain Everything is also a great medium for utilizing the flipped classroom model as screencasts provide student-centered learning opportunities that can be viewed and responded to at home and in school. Finally, why not connect with parents using this app? It is a great way to send home announcements and homework help tutorials.

Contact me to hear how we have used Explain Everything in our 1:1 classroom… and I’d love to hear how you have or how you see yourself using Explain Everything in your classroom!

(this blog was updated from an original post that was written by me and posted on this group blog. Check out this link for great posts contributed by the other authors!)

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Nearpod to Enhance Sport Ed in Phys Ed

Michelle Reiser Leave a comment

It is a very exciting time in education. New technology is allowing us to create blended learning experiences that enhance student learning. Best of all, students are motivated and become more involved in their own learning process as they synthesize information to construct knowledge. Nearpod is a website and app that allows teachers to share real-time presentations that include a variety of media and interactivity. Whats more, student interactions and submissions are available as a report for teachers to view. Below, the use of Nearpod in Sport Education units is discussed.

In addition to being an effective tool for teaching important concepts and cues of an activity or sport, Nearpod is a great way to engage and motivate students in their sport education unit. The presentation format makes it possible to incorporate many different types of media including images and video while the interactive assessment and activities are excellent for checking for understanding and developing sport education materials.

Let’s examine the use of Nearpod in my 6th grade physical education class where students used nearpod to learn about offensive strategies, develop team plays for playbooks, and to create team flags . Each student in my class accesses Nearpod from their iPad using the session code- no need to create accounts which is one of my favorite parts of this program. After entering their first name, the teacher paced presentation asked a few pre-assessment questions.

Play

Student offensive play created using Nearpod

The following slides taught students about offensive strategies: what they are, their purpose, and 4 strategies they can use in class (give and go, moving to open space,  running routes, and creating plays). After learning about each, student’s saw a demonstration of each strategy from videos imported into Nearpod from PowerPoint . Following the last strategy, which was creating a play, students used the drawing feature to create and name a play of their own. This play was later printed and added to their team’s playbook, which was used during gameplay.

Plays

Students planning their running routes for a play in their playbook.

The final activity of creating the team flag was planned by the entire team, and only submitted by the team’s coach. Students always get REALLY into this part, it’s great! The flag was displayed underneath the team name on the scoreboard.

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Team flags created by students using Nearpod. Flays were displayed on scoreboard with team points.

In all the Nearpod presentation took about 20 minutes. Within this time students were pre-assessed, taught a concept, created team plays, and made team flags. The use of Nearpod alleviated the need for passing out pencils and papers, drawing/showing demonstrations, and multiple transitions. Besides creating the presentation, all that was required was accessing the submission report and printing the team flags and plays.

 

In what ways have you used Nearpod in Physical Education?
More About Nearpod:

Using nearpod in the classroom provides information to both students and teachers. As students view the presentation, they are shown slides that can  include videos, images, text, websites, pdf files, and audio- thus allowing teachers to present content in multiple ways. Slides can also include interactive features like open ended questions, fill in the blank, multiple choice, and drawing. As the teacher you are not only sharing lesson content with students, but also learning from their submissions via a visual report displays student participation, answers, and reflections.This data helps drive instruction and expose student understanding.

drawing feature

Student using the interactive drawing feature of Nearpod to respond to a question

 

 

Voicethread for Multi-sensory Learning and Sharing

mreiser 1 Comment

Voicethread is a communication and presentation platform that provides a multi-sensory learning experience for users as they learn and share information. Voicethread presentations allow users to create slides that include images, webcam video, and voiced audio with the capability for webcam comments to be added and seen right in the presentation. Voicethread can be accessed from computers, tablets, and mobile devices.

Voicethread is a great learning medium in the classroom as it provides a collaborative learning environment. Students can join a teacher’s “group” or “class” to easily access Voicethread presentations. In addition, presentations can be shared as a link, embedded on a web page, or posted on Facebook or Twitter. With a premium membership presentations can be exported to a file. Privacy settings on presentations allow users to control who can view and comment on a presentation. Students do not need an account to view a Voicethread presentation, yet require an account to comment.

Aside from teacher’s using Voicethread to teach content to students, there are many uses in the classroom. A few are discussed below.

Reflection

Using Voicethread, students can improve metacognition and make meaning of their learning by reflecting upon the process, content, and coursework. Students can answer the teacher’s reflection questions as they develop their Voicethread, or they can finish sentences provided by the teacher such as, “As I read, I was most surprised by…”

Communication

Voicethread allows students and teachers to communicate via comments posted on a Voicethread presentation. Comments can be added to individual slides, allowing for specific feedback to be given and may be posted as video, audio, or text. This facilitates a collaborative learning environment, as students can construct and express knowledge through meaningful comments posted on a Voicethread presentation. Not only can students communicate with students in other classrooms, but they can easily communicate with students in other schools. Such a capability makes it a great medium for learning different perspectives and for research projects focused on geography.

Collaboration

Student groups can work together to create a unified Voicethread presentation. Working as a unit, groups select the media necessary to successfully share their knowledge. Communication and executive functioning skills will be developed as a group makes decisions and develops their plans for creating their Voicethread presentation.

Journal

Throughout a unit or semester students can add slides to their Voicethread, documenting their knowledge and thoughts during the learning process. This can act as a future resource for review and contemplation as the student looks to apply learning while also providing the student and teacher with indicators of growth.

How have you used Voicethreading in your classroom?

Creating Knowledge as Student Authors

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https://pixabay.com/p-99506/?no_redirect

The use of search engines has made it easy for us all to consume knowledge as they have streamlined the process of finding valid and reliable information online. However, consuming knowledge is only half of the picture. By helping students become authors in the classroom they are learning more about the other part of the process- creating knowledge.

An engaging way to do this is by providing students with the opportunity to create and share their own comics online. This active learning experience switches their role from knowledge consumer to knowledge creator while helping them construct their own knowledge. Furthermore, students are learning how to use the 21st century skills of communication, information literacy, and creativity & innovation. Below are a few comic book creators that can be used in the classroom.

  1. Make Beliefs Comix (Free)

Make Beliefs Comix is an easy to navigate website that has made the comic creation process simple. Comics are 2-4 panels long and include backgrounds, characters, objects, talk and thought balloons, and panel prompts. One great feature about this comic book creator is the detailed artwork available for use. Editing features for objects in panels include moving, resizing, flipping, layering, and deleting.

When comics are completed they can be saved as an image file, printed, or sent by email. Since there is no login for this site comics are not saved and therefore are not accessible once the window is closed.

The Make Beliefs Comix website offers various resources to teachers including lesson plans, a list of ways to use the site in the classroom, story ideas, writing prompts, and language options. There are also pages with information about how Make Beliefs Comix may be used in ESOL/Literacy and special needs classrooms.

Make Beliefs Comix is available free online and as a free or paid app. Here is a short video tutorial.

2. Pixton 

Pixton provides many customization options to users. Students can add and customize full color characters, down to how the character’s hand is positioned and the expression on the character’s face. Preset background images can be edited by selecting the color and gradient used in the image. Speech bubbles can be a variety of shapes allow layering options and props can be added to panels.

When finished comics can be printed, saved as a file, embedded, or shared on the web. Once submitted comics can be graded using a 5 point rating system or a built in rubric. There are opportunities for students to view their classmates comics on the site, with options for providing comments. There are opportunities for self-reflection and peer reviews with the format of the site. Pixton offers lesson plans in a variety of content areas and discusses the implications of using Pixton for second language acquisition.

With the teacher accounts students do not need to create a login, and students are added to one of the teacher’s groups or classes. The teacher and school accounts allow comics to be created in a private and secure space. The teacher account is free to try and has a monthly subscription, whereas the school or district account is a one year paid subscription. There is a free account, however, there are many features like privacy and grading options not available on this type of account. Pixton is available online and as an app. Below is a Pixton video overview.

3. ToonDoo

ToonDoo offers a nice balance between customization and ease of use. Comics can use horizontal or vertical layouts of 1-4 panels. Characters are mainly cartoons that offer multiple poses per character. Students are also able to create their own characters, editing emotion, physical features, stance, and clothing. These characters can be added to their gallery and comics. There are different text options, as well as a variety of props and backgrounds. Two additional features of this cartoon creator are that uploaded images can be and drawings can be added to comics. Editing features allow students to size, clone, flip, rotate, and layer objects.

When comics are completed they can be published on the ToonDoo website for everyone to see, associated with a title, description, and tags. Other options include keeping it private or sharing via email with friends.

Much like Pixton, a free version of the website is available to those who register. This version, however does not offer the same privacy and sharing options as the paid version called ToonDoo Spaces which uses a social media network format to feature cartoons. This version only allows students and educators to create and access content, site administrators monitor and manage content, and students do not need to register with an email. A free trial is available for ToonDoo Spaces.

Have you used any of these or other comic creator sites in your classroom? I would love to hear how! Please share as a comment!

Cloud Based Site to Organize and Share Links

Michelle Reiser Leave a comment

Every think about how great it would be to access and share all of those great resources you have bookmarked on your computer… from anywhere?

Symbaloo is an online website and app that allows users to view, share, and access organized links on one easily accessible page. What makes it different from similar sites is its visual nature that makes it simple to navigate.

Using Symbaloo, users can organize important links on a page or “webmix”, which can then be further organized into categories by using color “markers”.  Each webmix has its own sharing link and embed code so it can be added to a website.

Here is an introduction to Symbaloo.

In addition to organizing your websites and links in one place, Symbaloo delivers benefits in the classroom.

1. Benefits to Students

Symbaloo is a great place to house links to class documents and it provides flexible viewing options (device, time, place). Furthermore, an entire project’s documents are easily included within a marker on a webmix.

For example, students in my health class created comics using ToonDoo to refuse peer pressure, and everything they needed to complete the project were under one Symbaloo marker. From the Symbaloo link they accessed:

When completing projects using Symbaloo students are using 21st century skills of information, media, and technology literacy.

Symbaloo is a great place to place for students to compile important resources of their own. By creating their own Symbaloo webmixes students are saving important resources for later use and organizing them so that they are easily found, thus practicing executive function skills.

2. Benefits to Colleagues

A benefit of being part of a professional learning network is the ability to share your knowledge while learning from your peers. Often, a disadvantage is that shared notes and photocopies are easily misplaced and the group may not meet regularly. With Symbaloo teachers are easily able to access many resources from one place and at anytime. Additionally, as new links are added the webmix is automatically updated.

Final thoughts…

Symbaloo provides so many great options in education. One improvement that could be made is ability to add multiple administrators to edit a single webmix. This would allow professional learning communities or student groups to collaborate in adding to the same webmix.

Have you used Symbaloo in your classroom? What are some of the ways you have or see yourself using this website? We’d love to hear… share your comment!

Resources:

http://www.imls.gov/about/21st_century_skills_list.aspx

3 Benefits of Technology in the Classroom

mreiser 2 Comments

http://www.schooltechnology.org

Technology integration is a buzzword in education right now- and has been for a few years. The way we live our lives is changing due to technology, and so is the way we are teaching. Here are a few benefits of technology use in the classroom.

Constructivist Learning

One benefit of using technology in the classroom is that it allows students to construct their own knowledge as they take problem solving into their own hands. Rather than being passive listeners, students are actively using their 21st century skills of accessing, evaluating, and applying information. Whether they are using tablets, computers, or cell phones students are learning to use these tools as consumers and producers of information. An important lifelong skill for many professions today.

Differentiated Learning

As educators, we know how individual the learning process can be for students. Technology provides students and teachers with more resources and tools to meet diverse needs. Using technology resources in the classroom also helps diverse learners succeed by providing multiple means of representation, expression, and engagement- helping teachers align their lessons with the principles of Universal Design for Learning.

Collaborative Learning

As we know, it is important to have strong communication and problem solving skills. There are many technology resources that provide students with the opportunity to learn and share online. Google Drive allows students to work on the same document simultaneously while chatting about ideas and feedback. The website epals.com connects classrooms around the country as they complete research projects together. Collaborative learning websites foster skills that help prepare students for college and career.

As we can see there are great benefits to using technology in the classroom. However, it is important to remember that technology is constantly evolving and changing. Thankfully, there are excellent resources available to teachers online including websites like edutopia.org and iste.org that provide information from researchers, teachers, and writers in the field of educational technology.

Resources:

http://www.udlcenter.org/aboutudl/whatisudl/3principles