Portfolio

Mcguireday602portfolio from jacquimday

Well, this class has certainly been a whirlwind!  Looking back at my blog, I can hardly believe how many different tools I've worked with between May and now.  I've fallen in love with many of them which only makes me wish that I had more time for exploring and playing with them.

My presentation highlights easel.ly, QR codes, Blabberize, Big Huge Labs, and Powtoon. 
It's really been a lot of fun learning about them and if you look at the presentation, I hope you'll walk away with a couple of new ideas about how you could use them in your own classroom.  Have fun!

The Adventures of Library Girl

The Adventures of Library Girl is an interesting read for librarians and future librarians alike.  The author, Jennifer LaGarde, has a fun and quirky style that shines through in her posts.  In the artwork on her blog, she is depicted as a cartoon superhero.  This artwork is a visual representation of the spirit of her blog.  LaGarde's blog is easy to navigate and depicts a brilliant combination of personality and professionalism.  It gave the feel of a social medial account with photos and comments.  Her blog is packed with wonderful links and information that any classroom teacher or librarian can utilize.  

AASL Best Websites for Teaching and Learning

AASL has compiled an amazing list of free websites in the following categories: Media Sharing, Digital Storytelling, Manage & Organize, Social Networking & Communicating, Content Resources, and Curriculum Collaboration.

Here are the websites I liked best:

Bookopolis
Bookopolis is like a social reading network for students.  Teachers or librarians can create a class of their students and from there, can track the reading progress and students can earn points and even write their own book reviews.  There are many helpful tools that this website offers, including online reading logs, book review/report templates and a book search tool.  I think that this would be a great resource for librarians to embed in their school website.  An incentive program could be set up where student earn points for writing book reviews and keeping track of their reading on the online log.  After students write a book review, they can post the review to generate interest among other students. 

My StoryBook
My StoryBook is a website that allows students to create their own digital book with text and illustrations.  Students do not have to create an account to make a storybook unless they want to save and share their creations.  It has basic tools for students to choose a background, add items, text, or even draw their story.  Students can very quickly add their story, illustrate it and read the e-book in just minutes.  This tool can be used with lower grades as well as upper grades.  Students can bring their stories, retellings, or even nonfiction text about a unit of study to e-book format.

FlipQuiz
If you've ever used a Jeopardy style review game in the classroom, you know how much work it is to get your game board ready.  FlipQuiz offers a great, free solution for all of your game board creation frustration. 

FlipQuiz allows you to create a review game with different categories, where points can be earned for correct answers.  Each question can have several answer choices, and even show the answer, if desired.  Actual quizzes can be created with FlipQuiz as well.  You can choose to use existing games, created by other users, or start from scratch and create your own. In the library, FlipQuiz would be an engaging way to review library procedures with students at the start of each school year and as a refresher throughout the year as needed.

Storyboard That
Storyboard That is an online storyboard creating tool.  This tool can be used with practically any grade level.  The storyboard creator has empty comic strip formatted boxes that students can drag and drop backgrounds, characters, images, and text bubbles.  Students can use this tool to retell stories that they have read or to create their own stories.  This would be a great tool to go with lessons on point of view.  After reading a story or hearing one read aloud, students can retell the story from the viewpoint of a different character.  Students could also use this tool to practice identifying parts of the plot such as exposition, rising action, climax, falling action, and resolution by understanding how to include and identify all of these parts in their own stories.  This tool would also go along great with a graphic novel unit.  Young students love reading graphic novels and this tool would give them an opportunity to create one of their own. 

QR Codes and Augmented Reality

 QR Codes

 

Geralt. (2016). QR code. Pixabay. CCO.

 

I love QR codes! What a fun way to engage students and get them interested in a lesson or a book.  This QR code is linked to a video of  a book trailer that I created for Wonder by R. J. Palacio.   I love the ides of embedding a QR code on the library website with videos of student book reviews or student book trailers.  Students can get really excited about reading books when they are presented in a fun way by their peers.

Librarians can use QR codes the first week of school as a scavenger hunt so that students can get familiar with the library layout and the routines and procedures.  QR codes for the scavenger hunt can be linked to things like how to check out a book properly or a poster showing how to use the library catalog. 

QR codes can be used in the classroom or library to give students self-checking assessments.  Students can be given a worksheet or activity and they record their answers in a notebook or on a separate piece of paper.  After they have recorded their answers, the teacher can five the student an answer key with QR codes.  Students use the QR code and a phone/tablet to check their answers and grade their own work.  This would definitely be a fun way for students to check their work and less grading for teachers.

QR codes are also a quick and easy way to get student directly to a link you want them to view.  They can make research projects much more simple, especially for younger students.  Instead of giving them a long web address or letting them freely search on a search engine, they can use a QR code to go directly to a teacher-approved website.

Finally, QR codes provide a great way to differentiate.  They can be used in stations, and a different QR code can be provided to different groups that link to assignment of varying levels.  Each code can be linked to an activity working on a similar skill, but the difficulty level can be altered to accommodate the specific learning styles of each student.

Augmented Reality

 

Sndrv. (2010). DIY Augmented Reality. flickr. CC BY.



 



Although I can think of a number of cool ways to use QR codes, augmented reality was a little bit more difficult for me.  I'm not sure if I quite have my head wrapped around all of the possibilities for this new technology.  I think students would absolutely love to create and use this in classroom applications such as:

• Using pictures of famous Americans, we could input different pieces of text that tell about the notable qualities of each person that the students need to know
• Scanning scenic pictures could show words in a different language to assist someone who is trying to learn a new language
• When studying compound machines, scanning a picture of a machine could help students to identify the simple machines that have been used to make it a compound machine

3D Printing, Coding, and Robots

3D Printing:

When I first heard about 3D printing, I thought it was only for high school students in affluent schools.  Boy was I wrong!  What I love about 3-D printing is the ability to create something and have an end product that can be held and is not confined to a piece of paper.  Students could use 3-D printers to create artifacts from digs around the world, print miniature aqueducts when studying ancient Rome, and print models of tropical plants so the parts can be compared to indigenous plants.  To embrace creativity, students could write descriptive paragraphs for imaginary creatures.  They could then design the creature using a program like Tinkercad and print out a model of their creation.  3-D printing is truly applicable to all areas of study!

Coding:

Who wouldn't be in favor of teaching our students something that's going to help them be better thinkers and problem solvers?  I think it's great that coding offers us another way to get students to work on something and then have to go back and fix it.  I'm always a fan of good old 'trial and error'; but I find that unless there's a big reward in the end, my students often give up too easily.  Coding would offer that reward!  Can you imagine how excited they would be if they could get a little robot to move by themselves?  Now, that's empowering.  I'm excited to the opportunities that we have available for us in teaching.  The games and toys are mentioned in Cool Products for Teaching Kids How to Code look like they would be fun for even the youngest children. 

Robots:

Okay, now robots are cool!  Who doesn't love Bumblebee and Optimus Prime, Johnny 5, R2D2, C-3PO, and WALL*E?  However, they're not real, right? Wrong!  These totally awesome creations are making their way into our lives.  Now, they aren't not the famous ones that we see on television and the big screen, but they are impacting our lives in real ways.
I would love to have my own Musio to talk to and interact with.  He is just too adorable.  He was created to interact with students trying to learn a new language, and that is a wonderful idea.  Musio also reacts to what he hears and formulates conversation, giving a person much needed feedback with the fear of judgement.  Teachers always struggle to find enough time for each student.  Robots could eventually help teachers provide differentiation for students.  Students could practice basic conversation or practice vocabulary.

Citations:
Tahnk, J. ( April, 2015). Cool products for teaching kids how to code [The Huffington Post]. Retrieved from http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jeana-lee-tahnk/neat-products-for-teachin_b_7138030.html

Presentation tools

There are so many choices for presentation tools and digital storytelling.  I remember about seven years ago being amazed by PhotoStory, and there have been wonderful advancements in presentation software since them.  It is so easy to become complacent with just using Powerpoint that you don't take the time to look and see what else is out there. 

Blendspace would be a fantastic tool for a lesson or giving a presentation.  What I found to be interesting is that fact that you can incorporate videos, text, and images by simply dragging and dropping them right on the program.  You can label each element as you go.  Usually, when I want to show a series of videos and text, I spend time trying to remember where this document is saved and them waiting for the link to load.  I really liked how everything was in one, interactive place.  This could also be great for a group presentation.  We could upload pictures and videos taken of our Sphero assignment when we come to the Summer Institute.

Slide.ly is one of the easiest presentation tools I have used.  You simply import the pictures, download the music, and presto!  You chose which photos you want to use and the order the photos will appear.  Instead of searching for music, all you have to do is type in a song and the program finds it for you.  How much easier could it be?  This option would be the quickest to create a presentation and would be easy to use for a group project. 

Haiku Deck is another presentation tool that really impressed me.  This site has the same mentality as Reynolds from our textbook in that simple is better.  Only a few lines of text are allowed on each page.  This tool is also great to use full size, full-bleed photos.  The templates of Haiku Deck really emphasize the presenter is the main focus and to not clutter each slide with too much information.  This tool would be a great resource to use in the classroom to get students to understand how to make an effective presentation and focus on public speaking and "telling a story" instead of reading information off of a Powerpoint slide. 

Emaze is my favorite tool this week.  This is a much more dynamic presentation that Powerpoint, designed full of interactive elements.  You can incorporate Powerpoints into this program as well as include music, sounds, etc.  It is much more lively than other programs and is a way to document group work. 

Video Websites

Animoto
My favorite video website was definitely Animoto.  This site was easy to use, and it offers many templates, songs, and images.  You may also use your own music or photographs.  The ways to utilize this site in the classroom or library are endless.  I would definitely like to use this site to create a video to play on a back to school night to welcome my students and parents to my classroom or library.  Additionally, I also think it would be a great resource to create an end of the year video to say goodbye to the students as well as honor their achievements and remember the memorable events that took place during the school year.

Using this site would also be a great anticipatory set.  Teachers can create a short video to introduce a lesson or unit.  A video is a great way to get students excited and intrigued about what they are going to learn.  At the same time, students could also use it as an exit ticket to show what they learned from a lesson or unit.  Another fun activity, especially for the library, would be to have students create a 'book trailer' of their favorite story to get their peers interested in a variety of books. 

Here is the video I created using Animoto:

https://animoto.com/play/97GsoODSE8JnYTfOenf4SA

Powtoon
Powtoon was another great website.  It offers fun animations and simple drag and drop templates and images.  Like Animoto, this website would be a great way to introduce yourself or introduce a lesson.  It would also be a fun way to go over the rules, routines, and procedures of your classroom or library on the first week of school. 

Students can also use Powtoon to create digital presentations instead of using PowerPoint slides.  For example, students can create a project on a famous historical figure using Powtoon.  Images and links can be embedded into the animation slides so that students can use additional research information as well as the features offered in Powtoon to create a fun, interactive presentation. 

PixiClip
PixiClip is a video website tool that is also an interactive whiteboard.  You can embed images, draw using the tools, and even create screen recordings.  This is a great tool for teachers to use to narrate solving word problems, creating a diagram, and many more possibilities.  Students could use this site to create and record an exit ticket of what they have learned after a lesson.  Teachers could also use it to create recordings for remediation purposes for their students.  Instead of the teacher having to repeat themselves as they go over the steps to a problem, students can watch the narrated video on PixiClip.