Stefanie Cairns

Presentation Makers

 

PowToon: Choose from a variety of templates to begin creating your video. This website is perfect for students of all ages. There are several animations to choose from. Add text, pictures, and audio! Great for a student oriented project to present the information.  Free version and paid version.  The free version has a "PowToons" icon on each page and ends with a 2 second clip of a loud PowToons advertisement but still has several features that make PowToons different from most other presentation makers such as the animations.

 

Glogster: This is not an ordinary poster, this website allows you to create a online interactive poster. Drag and drop videos, pictures, words, graphs, etc. When you present you can click on the videos to play or zoom in on the pictures. A great way for students to compile their resources into one space.  Be cautious when using though, Glogster is not an easy drag and drop.  Takes time to figure out how to upload pictures and videos.  Once you play around with it, Glogster can be a great tool to display your info electronically.

 

Wevideo: A free online tool to make videos with an array of themes to choose from. You can incorporate audio, text, pictures, and videos.  Similar to iMovie.  The audio needs to be all in one, which can be constraining at times.  It also forces you to have a certain amount of time per clip if you add text, which is frustrating at times but also helps you judge how much time per slide.

 

 

Assessment Tools

 

Kahoot.it: This is an online assessment tool.  Students each need a device or a group of students per one device. The teacher creates a quiz online giving four multiple choice answers.  When you begin to play students use their devices to choose the right answer.  The hard part is the answers are on the screen but just the color choices are on the students screen, so they have to look back and forth.  This may be confusing at first but the kids get use to it quickly.

 

Poll Everywhere: This online assessment can be done via text or on any device.  Teachers make the questions, students text in or type in the answers.  Great way to quickly assess how your students are doing.  Posts go directly on the screen.  Be careful here if students post things you don't want up on the screen.

 

Plickers:  Don't have 1:1?  Plickers allows you to print off your own clickers.  Once printed students choose a side to face up (A, B, C, D) according to the answer they think it is.  Take your iPad scan the room and you've got your answers right there!  Good for assessments.  Sometimes you have to scan the room a few times before getting all the answers.

 

 

Mind Mapping Tools

 

Popplet:  Organize your thoughts with this interactive tool. You can color code a group of ideas and stem off of your ideas in multiple directions with this easy to use app. Available on tablets and website. Make sure to create a log in right away, if not you can't save your projects.

 

Padlet: A great collaboration tool to use with a group of students. Post your question at the top, have your students put their ideas all over with their name attached.  Doesn't take long to show up on the screen.  Just be careful if you have it displayed at the front and a student posts something they shoulnd't.

 

 

Blog Websites

 

Kidblog: A great website to get your kids blogging. Easy to use for both the teacher and the students. Teachers can choose to approve posts before students post them.  Not as many features as other blogging websites, but this seems to be ok for elementary students.

 

 

Maker Tools

 

MaKey MaKey: An “invention kit for everyone,” MaKey MaKey should be a part of any tinkering classroom. MaKey MaKey creates a simple connection between the computer and everyday objects. Imagine playing music on bananas or using playdough as a game controller. Create MaKey Makey invention time for students to tinker, explore, and invent! Check out educade.com for some great lessons to use in our classroom!  This tool must be connected to a computer at all times, so easily portable once connected.

 

Drawdio:  this tool will allow you to turn everyday objects into musical instruments! Great for bringing music into the classroom. You can play different notes using drawdio and everyday objects around your classroom. It also shows how water is a conductor. This would be great to bring into the classroom to let students explore and find their own way to make things “sing.”

 

Raspberry Pi:  This credit card sized computer can plug into any display device and works just like a computer. It can do anything you want it to do. It’s great for students to learn how to program. Students can get creative with this tool and use it in any way they want!

 

Little Bits: A great tool to teach sequence. Connect the little bits together to create a circuit. They are easy to use because they are magnetic and only work in one direction. You can create a light and switch it up by dimming it or creating a flash. It also includes a pressure sensor, motor, fan, noise maker, and many lights. Have your students create a sequence of whatever they want or give them constraints and see if they can solve the puzzle. Great to use for teaching problem solving and trial and error.

 

 

Coding

 

Code.org:  A great way to get your students started on computer programming. Easy to use for K-8. Uses the themes of Angry Bird and Plant vs Zombie.  Participate in the Hour of Code to get started. Later your kids can make their own video games.

 

 

Augmented Reality

 

colAR:  A great app to do with the younger kids. Students color a coloring page from the website then take a picture with the iPad. Watch the picture come to life with the colors the students used!

 

 

Other Tools

 

ScreenChomp:  A great tool to record what you're doing on a whiteboard. Great for tutorial videos. Have your students create videos of how to solve problems to share with other students.

 

Tagxedo:  A great tool to turn words into a word cloud. This website will allow you to choose shapes and colors to put your words in. A great use for listing character traits or starting introductions for your students.