Innovative Teaching and Learning Showcase

For the 7^th Year, Talladega County Schools have showcased PBL and Technology.  There are 55 tables to show their student’s hard work.   Here are just a few of the tools that were shared during this amazing showcase. Our theme this year was ENDLESS DISCOVERY.  Through PBL and Educational Technology your students also have ENDLESS POSSIBILITES.

1.    Discovery Education:  Discovery Ed was a huge focus this year during Innovative Teaching PBL throughout the year.  Board Builder from Discovery Ed was seen across the arena last night.  Board Builder is an exciting tool from Discovery Ed that allows you to create multimedia posters.  You can create posters and projects that include text, photos, and video.  To access Board Builder from your Discovery Education account, just click on the Builder Tools drop down menu and select Board Builder. It is a great way to house activities to assign to students or have students show knowledge that they have mastered.

2.     Story Kit: This is a free multimedia storytelling app. Students can create stories with text, drawing, and pictures.  There is room for one sentence of writing on each page.  This is a simple way to publish writing.  It gives you enough options without having to many bells and whistles to confuse a younger student.

3.    Green Screen App:  Green Screen let’s you travel to far away places without ever leaving your classroom.  Green Screen is used in the movies to make it look like the actors have landed on the moon, and it's used on TV to make it look like your local meteorologist is standing in front of an animated weather map. This app works by combining images from multiple sources into a single video. This app makes it easy to create incredible green screen videos right on your iPad. Classroom-tested by kids and teachers, this app emphasizes ease-of-use and simplicity while still enabling you to get fantastic results. With this you can tell a story, explain an idea, and share an idea in a creative way.

4.    Videolicious:  This app lets students make a video in just a few minutes.  Choose your pictures and let videolicious do the rest.  It is a fun way to tell a story in a great video without having to do a lot of work.

5.     iMovie:  This puts everything you need to make a video at your fingertips.  You can combine Videolicious videos, pictures, or almost any other video into a longer video or a Hollywood style trailer.  Students can share their videos on your cameral roll, you tube, or any number of other video services.  The possibilities are endless!

Have a great weekend!

Break Time

Spring Fever has hit.  Little minds are thinking about the beautiful weather, baseball and softball games, and dance recitals.  School is the last thing on their minds.  Here are some fun things to reel them back in and finish the year with a bang!

1.                     Chromville:  This free app is similar to ColAR App.  You print off pictures from the Chromville website.  Students color them and use the app to make them come alive.  The pictures are all based on lands in the world of Chromville. Choose your land and download the page.  After Student’s color the picture they become great writing prompts. 

2.                     GoNoodle:  Go Noodle is a free program with brain breaks that channel classroom energy for good.  There are different brain breaks for every part if the day.  There are activities to calm, focus, and energize.  There is everything from breathing exercises to Zumba. 

3.                     TooNoisy:  This is an alternative to a Yacker Tracker or other noise regulator.  It is a noise level regulator for the classroom.  The lite version of the app is free.  After you set the sensitivity, the app rewards the class for each time interval that they remain within the acceptable noise level.  I use this app in conjunction with the Go Noodle Website.  When my students earn a specified number of stars, we choose one of the Go Noodle brain breaks.  It really helps with the antsy noise in my room.

4.                      Kahoot:  This is a game based student response program. This is a web-based response system.  Make it easy and create an icon on the screen of each iPad.  Students input a code and let the games begin.  You can create your own quizzes or use one that is already on the site. Look at the screen and choose the correct color.  You get points for the correct and answer and the speed in which you answer.  The top five highest scores are displayed after each question.

5.                     QLovi:  This is an ebook platform.  You can borrow books for up to 6 weeks.  You can give students assignments based on the books they read.  It becomes a personalized reading and writing for each student.  You can add books to the bookbag and assignments such as essays, warm-ups, and exit tickets. On April 4, 2014, QLovi offers free author read alouds in Google Hangouts and live on You Tube.   

Have a great weekend!