I read a tweet by Krissy Venosdale, a gifted specialist from Missouri, recently that really hit home. She said, “Make a list of things kids created in your classroom today. If the list is blank, rethink what you are doing.” Wow! I know that I don’t let my students create enough and with the adoption of common core standards, that must change. This week the focus is on apps that help students create.
1. Draw and Tell: I love everything about the company that produces this app. I think I have bought everything ever created by Duck Duck Moose. This app is no exception. With this app you can draw, color, take pictures, add stickers, and then explain your thinking. It is easy to record your voice to explain a drawing and save it to the camera roll. My students have taken a picture of coins then used the app to illustrate how they counted the money. It can work with many subjects. This app is $1.99.
2. Book Creator: This app allows your students to create their own narrated books. Each page can have text, pictures, videos, and audio. Students can narrate their book with a click of a button. This will give you the option to add a voice to each page. Students can even collaborate from multiple ipads. I think that when I introduce animals I’ll have students annotate pictures in Skitch then add it to the book and have them add text and audio to create a class book. The only downfall to this app is the price. It is $4.99.
3. Little Bird Tales: This is a free web 2.0 tool. There is also an app that costs $2.99. With this you capture the voice of childhood with easy to create digital stories with recorded audio. Students can use pictures or original artwork. Students can then add recorded voice and email them to you or their friends and family. This is targeted for very young children but can be enjoyed by older students.
4. PicView: This app allows students to create photo stories. They can add audio to their pictures. The completed pictures tory can be emailed. This would be a fun app to use during a geometry unit. Students could use the ipads to take pictures of real world examples of geometry terms. They could then narrate and add audio to their pictures. This is a free app.
5. Video Star: This might be an educational stretch but it could potentially be a lot of fun. Use songs stored on your ipad and start shooting live video. You can also apply special effects to you video, including text boxes. Think VH-1 Pop Videos. (Google it your are too young to remember J) If you have educational songs on your ipad such as multiplication review songs, students could create a video to help them review their facts. Fun, Fun, Fun. This app is free.
(My kids used this app today with songs from the Rocking the Standards album from itunes. We have laughed, learned and created today!)
(My kids used this app today with songs from the Rocking the Standards album from itunes. We have laughed, learned and created today!)
Don’t let your list be blank! Go have your kids create.
Have a great weekend.
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