Augmented Reality

Congratulations to the participants and winners in the Talladega County Technology Showcase.  The level of authentic learning with PBL and Technology that was showcased made me proud to be a teacher in Talladega County!

1.    Aurasma:  I’ve included this app in Friday Five several times before.  I continually find different uses for this free app.  We’ve focused on QR codes in the past.  With the Aurasma App you can do the same thing.  Rather than a bar code being the trigger, a picture becomes the trigger to showcase student work.  The picture below has an aurasma trigger.  Just follow the directions beneath the picture.  Keeping my fingers crossed that this will work. (Not sure it can be transferred through on the blog.)

Once you load Aurasma on your device, go to http://auras.ma/s/4pHjx.  This will allow you to scan Scan Me to see a video of showcase winners.

http://www.aurasma.com

2.  Animoto:  According to their website:  Animoto is a video creation service (online and mobile) that makes it easy and fun for anyone to create and share extraordinary videos using their own pictures, video clips, words and music.

Simply upload your pictures and video clips, choose your style, add words and music, and click the "produce video" button. Then, Animoto’s cinematic technology does its magic and in minutes brings it all to life with a beautifully orchestrated production you can share with family and friends. I used the Animoto app to create the video used in the Aura for the Aurasma app. You can apply for an educator account and get a 6 month free upgrade.  You can reapply every 6 months. http://animoto.com

3.   Imag-N-O-Tron:  My dream is that more publishers will follow the trend of this app and book combination.  The book The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore is a great book based on a short film.  With the addition of the Imag-N-O-Tron app the book comes alive.  Scan each picture in the book for additional videos and activities.  Several pages have you look around the room in the book as if you were in a 3D room.  It is a fascinating tool for kids to become engaged in the book. 

https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/imag-n-o-tron-fantastic-flying/id534396897?mt=8

http://www.amazon.com/Fantastic-Flying-Books-Morris-Lessmore/dp/1442457023/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1365706715&sr=8-1&keywords=fantastic+flying+books+of+mr.+morris+lessmore

4.    Let’s Tell Time:  Botta Design has an app that lets students practice telling time on a 24-hour clock.  Download the app to your ios device and print the PDF from the company’s website.  Students can cut out the app and put it around their wrist.  Hold the camera from the ios device over the paper watch to see the time on a 24-hour watch.  What a great interactive way to check for understanding throughout the day. http://www.botta-design.de/download/ar.pdf

https://itunes.apple.com/dk/app/botta-design/id557909997?mt=8&ign-mpt=uo%3D2

5.  Just for Fun:  Need a break?  Try AR Basketball.  This Augmented Reality app is a print enabled basketball game.  Print out the game board. And you are ready to go.  When your camera sees the printed barcode, a 3D goal appears and you are ready to shoot.  There are several options for playing, including, single player and multiplayer. https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/arbasketball/id393333529?mt=8

Have a great weekend!

Hodge Podge

There is no theme in this edition of Elementary Friday Five.  Hopefully, in this random hodge podge of ideas you can find something you can use.

1. Today’s Meet:  This back channel microblogging website.  It is similar to twitter with the 140 character limit.  A Teacher has the responses set up on an interactive white board or large display.  Students type and share there thoughts and they can be seen by the rest of the class.  Each room has an unique code.  This code can be turned into a qr code that can be scanned and let students easily link to the class chat.  This can be used as a response during reading.  Students chat with each other during a read loud to show their thinking and predictions. http://todaysmeet.com

2. Infuse Learning:  This is s free student response site that works with any connected ios or android device.  Teachers use a private virtual classroom to push quizzes, questions, and prompts.  Questions can be multiple choice, true/ false and short answer.  Students can also respond with drawings.  You can also push links out to students so that can all go to the same webpage. http://teacher.infuselearning.com/register/index.lasso

3. Quizdini:  Quizdini is a multiple-choice game that lets you tailor your students' learning, adding in explanations and helpful hints (even with links and videos!) which allow them to work independently or in teams to master the material. Another popular option is our new matching game. Whether playing on a computer at home or in a computer lab, or on an iPad, tablet or interactive whiteboard in the classroom, this game allows students to drag and drop matching pairs, racing the clock to see how quickly they can make all their tiles disappear. http://www.quizdini.com

4. Story Dice:  Story Dice is a creative tool to prompt ideas for plot, character, and setting. This idea generator can be used effectively for both written and oral storytelling.

This app can be used with a wide variety of age groups ranging from preschoolers to teenagers.
The user interface is simple enough for ages 3+ to use without any additional instruction. This is available for ios devices, android devices, nook and kindle. https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/story-dice-creative-storytelling/id525351988

5. Spy Tools for Kids:  This app provides lots of pretend ideas for creative play.  Students can disguise themselves, create a spy agency id,  fingerprint scanner, voice changer, and night vision goggles. This would a great beginning to a mystery unit or for a writing spark. This app is $2.99. https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/spy-tools-for-kids/id549990577?mt=8 

Next week will be all about the 6^th Annual Talladega County Technology Showcase. 

If you are taking pictures or tweeting about the showcase, please use hashtag #tcboe21 in twitter and instagram. Follow us at the same hashtag!

Have a great weekend!

QR Crazy

 QR codes are all the rage in education. QR stands for Quick Response. These 3D images are more sophisticated bar cods than you see on grocery products.  They began as part of the automotive industry in Japan.  They have  become more mainstream because of the amount of data stored in such a small code. 

There are many educational activities that can use QR codes.  This week the focus will be on ways to integrate QR codes in your classroom.

1. QR Voice:  This site allows students to type in a 100-character message to create a QR code.  When someone scans the QR code, a robotic voice reads the message.  This could be a great way for students to give a brief explanation of a display or a project. http://qrvoice.net

2. Tag My Doc/ Scan My Doc:  The Tag my doc site gives you a place to house all of the scans that you made with the Scan my doc App.  It automatically loads what you scan into the Tag My Doc website.  It also lets you upload a document and it will add a QR code to your document and make it digitally available to anyone who scans the code.  You also have the option to get a stand-alone code. http://www.tagmydoc.com/documents

Here is the Tag My Doc Code for this week's Elementary Friday Five.

3. QR Treasure Hunt:  This is a fun way to review skills or have students work together to find answers to problems.  With the Treasure Hunt Generator, you add a series of questions and it will create a series of QR codes.  Hang them around the school and have students go on the treasure hunt to discover and answer questions. http://www.classtools.net/QR/

4. Make Centers Self Checking:  With QR Code Generator, you can type in text and it will create a code for the text.  Use this code and add it to a questions or a math problem to make it self-checking.  Create several and add them to a worksheet or center cards to make a self-checking activity.  Same work, add an ipad and a QR reader and you have a whole new level of enthusiasm. http://www.the-qrcode-generator.com

5.   Vocaroo:  This is a site I have used for several years to practice fluency.  It is the easiest recording option I have found.  Students record themselves reading or talking.  After they record themselves, you can take the URL from the saved recording and create a QR code.  Students could create a book review using this method.  The book reviews can be displayed in your classroom library to provide a recommended reading for their classmates.  They could also create these recordings to be displayed around the school to give information about different areas of the school. http://vocaroo.com

Have a great time creating and scanning.  I hope everyone has a wonderful spring break!

Talladega County School System will present the Talladega County Technology Showcase on april 4 and 5, 2013 at the Childersburg High School Arena.  More information can be found here.  I hope to see you there!

What Have You Created Today?

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. http://www.duckduckmoose.com/educational-iphone-itouch-apps-for-kids/draw-and-tell/

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. https://itunes.apple.com/gb/app/book-creator-for-ipad/id442378070

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. http://littlebirdtales.com

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. https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/picview/id538356858?mt=8

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. http://videostarapp.com
(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.

Fired Up and Ready to Go!

I’ve been researching and finding new things for Friday Five and my classroom for several years.  There have been few finds that have me as excited as some of the tech tools that I have discovered over the last few weeks for this edition. 

1.    Aurasma:  This is an augmented reality app.  It gives you the ability to let the physical world around you interact with the digital world.  You create a video and link it to a picture.  When the camera is held over the picture the over-layed video plays.  My students recorded themselves giving a book report.  They took a picture of the book cover and made it the aura.  When the camera is held over the book cover their video book report begins.  I have also used it with some intervention students.  I recorded a video reading the sight words at the back of the book.  When they scanned the book, a video began reviewing sight words before they read the book.   It is user friendly and free.  A great combination. http://www.aurasma.com

http://www.showbie.com

https://itunes.apple.com/app/kids-book-report/id388049087?mt=8

https://itunes.apple.com/gb/app/auryn-hd-lite-where-do-balloons/id524880880?ls=1&mt=8

https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/auryn-hd-where-do-balloons/id522189097?mt=8&ign-mpt=uo%3D4

https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/puppet-workshop-creativity/id595970717?mt=8

2.    Showbie:  This new app is the easiest way I have found for students to turn in their digital assignments.  The teacher gives an assignment and students can easily upload their completed digital product.  It houses them all in one place for each class.  It is like a digital drop box for students.  It is very user friendly.  My second graders easily mastered how to sign in and submit their work.  The showbie sight has several how to videos that show how to integrate with many of the apps you may currently use. http://www.showbie.com

3.    Kids Book Report App:  Book Reports go high tech with this app.  It allows students to type in the characters, setting, problem, solution, and review of the book.  They can then save it as a PDF that can be emailed or printed.  This app costs $0.99 but I highly recommend it for the reluctant writer.  There is just something about putting an electronic device in the hands of a child that will give them the confidence that they CAN write. https://itunes.apple.com/app/kids-book-report/id388049087?mt=8

4.    Where Do the Balloons Go?:  This interactive book was free earlier in the week.  It is beautifully illustrated with watercolor pictures.  Jamie Lee Curtis wrote it.  There are activities to click on  every page.  There is even a place to write a postcard or make a constellation.  The full version is $3.99 but there is a lite version that is still free.

5.    Puppet Workshop Lite:  Do you love sock puppets?  There is something about their creation that makes everyone smile.  With this app students can create a puppet by choosing a sock, facial features, and a background.  Students can save the puppet as a picture.  This could then become the inspiration for a writing assignment.  I wish this app had the ability to record a voice.  I still think it could be a useful app.  The lite version is free.  The full version is $2.99. 

Have a great weekend!

Going on a Safari

Every grade from Kindergarten through sixth grade has an objective related to animals.  These objectives range from identifying the parent and their offspring to classifying their type or identifying their role in a habitat.  Today’s focus is on different technologies that can be used with any unit related to animals.

1.   Live Cams:  There are quite a few live cams available.  You view animals in their natural habitat or in a zoo enclosure.  Some of my favorites are Africam, San Diego Zoo, and Wild Earth.  Please note that most of these are unedited LIVE videos.  Sometimes wild animals do what they do.  You may see them fighting, mating or killing each other.  Most of these sites do offer a limited amount of edited video on their sites.

http://www.africam.com

http://lite.wildearth.tv

http://kids.sandiegozoo.org/animal-cams-videos

2.   Prezi:  Prezi is a great tool for students to use to showcase their research.  Prezi is a virtual whiteboard that transforms presentations from monologues into conversations: enabling people to see, understand, and remember ideas. With the ability to import pictures and video, Prezi makes amazing presentation. 

http://prezi.com

3.   Animoto:  If you need a video to include in your Prezi, animoto provides an easy solution.  Today, Animoto is a video creation service (online and mobile) that makes it easy and fun for anyone to create and share extraordinary videos using their own pictures, video clips, words and music.  Simply upload your pictures and video clips, choose your style, add words and music, and click the "produce video" button. Then, Animoto’s cinematic technology does its magic and in minutes brings it all to life with a beautifully orchestrated production you can share with family and friends. Prezi and animoto combined can create a fun and exciting way for students to present their research.http://animoto.com/education

4.   Voicethread and Design a Habitat:  Using your favorite habitat maker such as kidpix, Habitat Maker, or   Design a Habitat Have students create a Habitat and save it as a picture.  Import the picture to a voicethread page.  Student scan then record themselves explaining their animal or habitat.  Other students can comment or ask questions about the expert’s research. http://www.arkive.org/education/games/design-a-habitat

http://mrnussbaum.com/habitatmaker2/

            http://voicethread.com

5.   Oldies but Goldies:  Recently, I have featured three websites and apps that would make a great addition to an animal unit.  Switchzoo, Build Your Wild Self, and Animal Mask Jumble.  All three of these are entertaining but valuable information can be gained from this play time.

http://www.switchzoo.com

http://www.buildyourwildself.com

https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/mask-jumble-animals/id548763608?mt=8

Enjoy your safari.

Have a great weekend!