We've all been there, in a classroom full of students who just can't stay on task. Then you bring out the ipads, laptops or take them to a computer lab and suddenly they are laser-focused on what they are doing. Students these days are steeped in a digital world and often often this is where they feel most comfortable. Bringing digital tools into the classroom can greatly enhance our teaching and the students' learning, but how do we know what is best to use and when? Sometimes the options can be overwhelming and learning new tools can feel daunting. Below I have listed a few tools classroom use and given my personal opinion on how and why to use them. If you have used any of them before, feel free to leave a comment and tell me what you have done with them and what you think of them!
Website Creation
There are some great tools out there for creating websites, that are intuitive and students may choose them unprompted. As a final project for an inquiry project in a Geology 12 class I was teaching, I had given students the option of creating a powerpoint presentation or a poster, and many students came to me themselves to ask if they could make a website instead. Many of them used Weebly or Wix to create incredibly professional websites, without requiring any classroom time to learn these tools. I myself have used Weebly to create websites (such as this one for educators wishing to learn how to use 3D printers) and found it to be very intuitive.
Gaming
Anyone who works with kids these days knows how much they love to play games. There are amazing apps out there now that allow students to make games on their own. I have always enjoyed having students create board games as large projects in class, however, for the more tech inclined, why not try a video game project? Bloxels is a combination digital and analog tool for those getting acquainted with creating video games. Students can design characters and levels by using custom blocks and then import them into the program using the games camera. This is a great option for younger creators who still really like to get hands-on when creating. The downside is that since real-world components are necessary, this does require spending a little money and finding a place to store all the blocks.
Older or more experienced students can use simple block coding that you can drag and drop to create programs and games using Scratch (I have also heard Scratch Jr. and Hopscotch are also options, or Kodable and Daisy the Dinosaur for younger students(Schwartz, 2016), but have no personal experience with these platforms) I have seen quiz games that test geography knowledge, math games, etc. When students create these games, they are simultaneously learning how coding works and they are necessarily learning the subject matter that makes up the game. My personal experience with scratch is that students using it for the first time are always amazed at how easy it is to create their own small programs, though they probably need a little experience before they can put together an entire game, even a simple one. Errors in code can be a pain to hunt down, so I recommend you have a little experience with the program before guiding the students through it. However, it is fun to learn for adults as well!
Audio and Visual Creation and Editing
VoiceThread is an online program for creating, collaborating, and commenting on visual presentations. This is a great option for group projects or for encouraging interactions and feedback between students in a class. Comments and feedback can be given in written form, audio form, or even drawn right onto the presentation. It's voice over images (example here), so there's no animation or video, so it's fairly simply and especially noteworthy for the collaborative aspect. I found it difficult to navigate at first, so some learning time is definitely required.
Powtoon is like a fancier version of Powerpoint with added animations and a large database of images and features. There are lots of templates to use, so students can start from something that exists if they need a helping hand, or they can create their own if they want something more customized. It's nice for creating a video that will play on its own and doesn't need a live presentation - a great option for students who are more anxious presenting (like myself when I was younger).
For something more hands-on, students can make their own LEGO movies with the LEGO Movie Maker app. I don't have any personal experience with this one, but I have to admit that it looks like a lot of fun! The cost of LEGO figures can add up, but if you already have a bit of a collection, why not give students the chance to tell their stories with minifigs? Just imagine students creating a film to summarize a book or tell the story of a major historic moment with all those yellow, blocky characters.
How about taking it one step further and allowing students to create a virtual reality scene? Using Google's Tour Creator, students can either use templates or upload images to create a 360 degree image and then add interactive elements. Through Google, they can search out images from inside museums or visiting historical monuments and then create their own annotations, add images, or even add recorded audio, or they can view and edit templates like this one about the history of the Earth. These virtual tours are great ways for students to immerse themselves in a location or to present their learning.
Citations:
commonsense.org (n.d.). Websites and Apps for Making Videos and Animation. Retrieved from https://www.commonsense.org/education/top-picks/websites-and-apps-for-making-videos-and-animation
Didlake, Jennifer. (2010). Music to My Eyes. Retrieved from https://voicethread.com/myvoice/thread/977069/5206978/55028688
Learn Learn Scratch Tutorials. (2017, September 14). Cat chasing mouse game - Scratch Absolute Beginner Game. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GQo7s7XUfFg&feature=youtu.be
Lego Access. (2019, February 16). Movie Maker Introduction - The Lego Movie 2 - Movie Maker Master Classes. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jWEKAmyCR3I&feature=youtu.be
Neilson, Sonya. (2019). Dimensions: Beginners 3D Printing for Education. Retrieved from https://dimensionsed.weebly.com/
Neilson, Sonya. (2020). Earth Timeline. Retrieved from https://poly.google.com/u/0/view/6f6zEdnfQle
Powtoon. (n.d.). How to Create a Powtoon from A to Z. Retrieved from https://www.powtoon.com/labs/tutorials/how-to-make-a-powtoon-from-a-to-z/?wvideo=02z2f6y7sr
Schwartz, Katrina. (2016, June 22). Librarian Approved: 30 ed-tech apps to inspire creativity and creation. Retrieved from https://www.kqed.org/mindshift/45197/librarian-approved-30-ed-tech-apps-to-inspire-creativity-and-creation
Vat19. (2016, July 15). Build Games with Bloxels! Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SF-BCPtb_GM&feature=youtu.be
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| Student on iPad. Image care of apple.com |
There are some great tools out there for creating websites, that are intuitive and students may choose them unprompted. As a final project for an inquiry project in a Geology 12 class I was teaching, I had given students the option of creating a powerpoint presentation or a poster, and many students came to me themselves to ask if they could make a website instead. Many of them used Weebly or Wix to create incredibly professional websites, without requiring any classroom time to learn these tools. I myself have used Weebly to create websites (such as this one for educators wishing to learn how to use 3D printers) and found it to be very intuitive.
Gaming
Anyone who works with kids these days knows how much they love to play games. There are amazing apps out there now that allow students to make games on their own. I have always enjoyed having students create board games as large projects in class, however, for the more tech inclined, why not try a video game project? Bloxels is a combination digital and analog tool for those getting acquainted with creating video games. Students can design characters and levels by using custom blocks and then import them into the program using the games camera. This is a great option for younger creators who still really like to get hands-on when creating. The downside is that since real-world components are necessary, this does require spending a little money and finding a place to store all the blocks.
Creating video games using Bloxels.
Older or more experienced students can use simple block coding that you can drag and drop to create programs and games using Scratch (I have also heard Scratch Jr. and Hopscotch are also options, or Kodable and Daisy the Dinosaur for younger students(Schwartz, 2016), but have no personal experience with these platforms) I have seen quiz games that test geography knowledge, math games, etc. When students create these games, they are simultaneously learning how coding works and they are necessarily learning the subject matter that makes up the game. My personal experience with scratch is that students using it for the first time are always amazed at how easy it is to create their own small programs, though they probably need a little experience before they can put together an entire game, even a simple one. Errors in code can be a pain to hunt down, so I recommend you have a little experience with the program before guiding the students through it. However, it is fun to learn for adults as well!
How to create a simple game using Scratch.
Audio and Visual Creation and Editing
VoiceThread is an online program for creating, collaborating, and commenting on visual presentations. This is a great option for group projects or for encouraging interactions and feedback between students in a class. Comments and feedback can be given in written form, audio form, or even drawn right onto the presentation. It's voice over images (example here), so there's no animation or video, so it's fairly simply and especially noteworthy for the collaborative aspect. I found it difficult to navigate at first, so some learning time is definitely required.
Powtoon is like a fancier version of Powerpoint with added animations and a large database of images and features. There are lots of templates to use, so students can start from something that exists if they need a helping hand, or they can create their own if they want something more customized. It's nice for creating a video that will play on its own and doesn't need a live presentation - a great option for students who are more anxious presenting (like myself when I was younger).
For something more hands-on, students can make their own LEGO movies with the LEGO Movie Maker app. I don't have any personal experience with this one, but I have to admit that it looks like a lot of fun! The cost of LEGO figures can add up, but if you already have a bit of a collection, why not give students the chance to tell their stories with minifigs? Just imagine students creating a film to summarize a book or tell the story of a major historic moment with all those yellow, blocky characters.
Making movies using LEGO Movie Maker.
How about taking it one step further and allowing students to create a virtual reality scene? Using Google's Tour Creator, students can either use templates or upload images to create a 360 degree image and then add interactive elements. Through Google, they can search out images from inside museums or visiting historical monuments and then create their own annotations, add images, or even add recorded audio, or they can view and edit templates like this one about the history of the Earth. These virtual tours are great ways for students to immerse themselves in a location or to present their learning.
Citations:
commonsense.org (n.d.). Websites and Apps for Making Videos and Animation. Retrieved from https://www.commonsense.org/education/top-picks/websites-and-apps-for-making-videos-and-animation
Didlake, Jennifer. (2010). Music to My Eyes. Retrieved from https://voicethread.com/myvoice/thread/977069/5206978/55028688
Learn Learn Scratch Tutorials. (2017, September 14). Cat chasing mouse game - Scratch Absolute Beginner Game. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GQo7s7XUfFg&feature=youtu.be
Lego Access. (2019, February 16). Movie Maker Introduction - The Lego Movie 2 - Movie Maker Master Classes. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jWEKAmyCR3I&feature=youtu.be
Neilson, Sonya. (2019). Dimensions: Beginners 3D Printing for Education. Retrieved from https://dimensionsed.weebly.com/
Neilson, Sonya. (2020). Earth Timeline. Retrieved from https://poly.google.com/u/0/view/6f6zEdnfQle
Powtoon. (n.d.). How to Create a Powtoon from A to Z. Retrieved from https://www.powtoon.com/labs/tutorials/how-to-make-a-powtoon-from-a-to-z/?wvideo=02z2f6y7sr
Schwartz, Katrina. (2016, June 22). Librarian Approved: 30 ed-tech apps to inspire creativity and creation. Retrieved from https://www.kqed.org/mindshift/45197/librarian-approved-30-ed-tech-apps-to-inspire-creativity-and-creation
Vat19. (2016, July 15). Build Games with Bloxels! Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SF-BCPtb_GM&feature=youtu.be
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