Presentation Tools

When I saw that this week's focus was on presentation tools, I was a bit excited, but a bit apprehensive as well.  I hate PowerPoint, so I'm always looking for better platforms - especially ones that are accessible online.  Generally, I use Google Slides or Prezi.

I really enjoy using Prezi, even though I don't think it's super intuitive when you're starting out.  I like their templates, and think that Prezi's tend to be more interesting to students and more interactive.  I hadn't logged into Prezi in quite a while, and I'm intrigued by their new features.  I haven't tried Prezi Next or their infographics, but look forward to checking them out in the future.  Because I've used Prezi before, I didn't want to spend too much time messing around with it, so I moved on to Emaze.

Emaze has a pretty incredible website.  I enjoyed looking through their templates and thought that they offered some great suggestions for how to use their platform.  Students would enjoy the interactive design features - I know I did as well.  I spent a fair amount of time checking out other people's presentations and thought this one was a great example of what you can accomplish on the platform.




Next, I checked out Haiku Deck.   I liked their introduction video, but didn't think that the platform was as interactive as  Prezi  or Emaze.  Then again, as Reynolds (2014) points out (frequently) there's something to be said for simplicity.  I can certainly see students and myself using Haiku Deck, but found it to be the least exciting of the four.

Finally, I made my way to Blendspace . I've been curious about Blendspace ever since I heard about it during LIBS 605 last semester.  I saw the way other groups utilized the platform to create some really incredible projects and put it on my list of tools to explore.  Then the end of the school year happened, and in the midst of all that, I forgot about it.  When I saw that Blendspace was one of the tools that we could explore in this week's sandbox, I was glad I'd finally have a reason to give it a shot.

The first thing I did was create an account.  I love when websites have the option to link to your Google accounts - huge time saver.  So, that was an immediate plus for me.  On my homepage, I was prompted to create my first lesson.  After clicking there, a tutorial video popped up and explained how to use the platform.  Before I got started creating my lesson, I checked out their "help" section.  It's extensive, so if you get stuck, I'd encourage you to check that before giving up!

Because Romeo and Juliet is required reading in English 9 (honors and general) and that's all I'm teaching next year, I decided to try to put together a lesson that would support that unit.  I typed in "Romeo and Juliet" as the title, hit enter, and got a whole bunch of resources that could be easily linked to my lesson.  Some were free, while others cost money.

Using this platform is pretty simple.  You can scroll through the resources that are already available and preview them.  Anything that you like, you can simply drag and drop into your lesson.  You can easily delete, and move pieces of the lesson around.  

I started by writing a brief introduction to the lesson.  Next, I linked certain resources that I had used in the past.

There are many features of Blendspace that I think are really useful.  It's easy to upload your own resources (from Google Drive, Drop Box or your computer).  You can also link to resources, search the compiled resources that other teachers have provided, and search Google and Youtube for helpful resources directly from the platform. 

As the summer goes on, I'll definitely continue to add to this lesson so that I can utilize it during the 2017 -18 school year.  I may also create a board that is full of teacher (as opposed to student) resources so that I have digital copies of everything in one place.  Blendspace reminded me a lot of Pinterest except that it's more interactive.

Here's the link to the lesson that I created using Blendspace:

Moore, K. (2017, March 29). TCEA 2016 digital youth. Retrieved June 24, 2017, from http://www.emaze.com/@AFOTWLQC/tcea-2016-digital-youth

Reynolds, G. (2014) Presentation zen design: A simple visual approach to presenting in today's world (2nd ed.).  San Francisco, CA: New Riders.

If a picture's worth a thousand words, then a video's worth . . .

I was due for a cell phone upgrade a few months ago, and purchased the Google Pixel.  I'm always fascinated by the videos it pieces together automatically, using photographs that I take in rapid succession.  There's just something about video that's different, and as much as I try to shun many types of social media, I'm a sucker for Snapchat because of the ability to share a quick video with my family, friends or husband.  Granted, usually my Snaps are goofy videos of my dog or cats - but still.  I love seeing my best friend's daily videos of her son, and my sister's videos of life in Queens never disappoint.  

I began this week's adventure by viewing Garr Reynold's TedTalk, Story, Imagery, and the Art of 21st Century Presentation.  Was anyone else surprised by how amusing it was?  It's always interesting to compare our interpretation of an author's voice with his actual one.  Although I enjoy Reynold's writing style, I didn't picture him as having much of a sense of humor.  I loved Reynold's use of storytelling during the final minutes to really drive his point home.  That's the part of the presentation that stuck with me most.  

I don't have much (read "any") experience with creating my own videos using the tools from this week's sandbox, so this week's exploration was an eye-opener for me.

I started with PowToon.  I've used other people's PowToon's for mini-lessons in the past, and was always curious about the platform.  First, I checked out the tutorial, which was helpful and, blessedly, brief.  I decided I wasn't quite ready to dive in without a safety net, so I started by modifying an existing template - the Syllabus one.  I entered in some information that I tend to include on my course syllabus, changed the character to a female, played around with the way in which text appears and changed the music.  I think that with additional time and modifications, this is something I might actually use.  I love the idea of posting it in Google Classroom so that students always have access.  

Here's what I came up with:

Next,  I played with Adobe Spark.  Adobe Spark was my favorite tool, hands down.  I'm working on something on there now, but haven't quite finished it up yet.  Basically, I chose an image that I thought would be a great start to a story and went from there.  I recorded myself telling the story over top of the images.  There's music in there as well.  Adobe Spark is super intuitive, and I love that their images come from the creative commons.  It's a thing of beauty.  I would love to use this in my English classes exactly the way I'm trying to use it right now.  Each day my students begin class with a writing prompt, and I love the idea of incorporating video.  This tool could be used in any content area for research projects, step-by-step explanations for solving an equation, discussion of a science experiment, book talks, etc.

Finally, I tried PixiClip.  There were some features of PixiClip that I really enjoyed.  For example, I liked being able to use either just audio, or video.  I also liked that you could utilize the whiteboard features as you were recording.  One thing I struggled with, though, was not being able to preview the recording.  There's no way I'd publish anything without being able to see it first (maybe you guys had more success with that part?)  I would definitely use this tool to communicate important information with my students if I wasn't in the classroom.  For example, you could use this to go over directions if there was a substitute teacher in for the day.  You could also use it in conjunction with something like Google Classroom to go over instructions for an assignment.  Students could use this in art/graphic design classes.  I'd also be alright with students using this platform in lieu of completing a presentation in front of the class.  That being said, I'm not sure that I liked it better than PowToon - and I definitely liked it less than Adobe Spark.

I did take a look at some of the apps that were included in this week's sandbox, but the one's I really wanted to try aren't supported by Android (sock puppets?!? it's almost enough to make me want to convert to Apple).  I did take a look at the Google video function that's available through Google Photos.  If you're a Google/Android user, give it a shot! It does most of the work for you.

You Can Say That Again . . .

Summer break!!!  Had to get that out of my system.  For those of you who are still wrapping up the year, you've got this!  As my principal likes to say, "tie a knot, and hold on." She's never really explained what she means, and uses it in a pretty wide variety of situations, but I like to think it's about perseverance.

I had so much fun playing with the audio tools in this week's sandbox.  My favorite was definitely Voki.  I spent way too much time messing with avatars and having them say weird things.  The one drawback with Voki is that in order to embed a code or publish directly to WordPress or Blogger, you need to pay for the service.  I think it would be really cool for students to use this tool as a way to answer questions that are posted in an online discussion platform.  I use Google Classroom, and could definitely use this as a fun way to encourage participation.  Here's the one I ended up with.  Can you guess what's on my mind now?

I also really enjoyed Blabberize.  I had a bit of trouble getting the mouth to work the way that I wanted it to, but it was fun to play with nonetheless.  I used Blabberize and an old picture of my dog to create the video below.

Classroom teachers could use this tool in an elementary setting by having students complete a research project on a specific animal and using the recording feature to share important information.  In a secondary classroom, students could use Blabberize for weekly vocabulary, or for creating a character profile during a novel study.

I also checked out AudioPal and SpeakPipe.  I could see myself using both of these tools to record lectures or class discussions.  If I was going over a Powerpoint in class, for example, I could record the lecture and upload both to Google Classroom for students to refer back to or for absent students to access.

After reading Why Listening to Podcasts Helps Kids Improve Reading Skills, I was interested to check out some of the recommended podcasts.  Although I love listening to books using Audible and frequently read aloud to my students, I've never considered listening to podcasts or using them in the classroom.

There were several podcasts that I found intriguing.  I was surprised to find that there were some podcasts that I was familiar with, like NPR's Fresh Air and This American Life.  Although I'm familiar with the "This I Believe" essays, I didn't realize that there are audio recordings!  I'll definitely be using the audio versions in my ninth grade classes next year.  I had never heard of The Moth, and think it would be interesting to have students participate in their High School StorySLAM - maybe in the library or as part of a club?  Some of the stories on The Moth would definitely resonate with students, while others are for a more mature audience.

My favorite podcast that I investigated was Grammar Girl.  Linking some of the podcasts to lessons from class could be a really effective way to reach students and strengthen skills and understanding.  I love that Mignon Fogarty addresses questions on Twitter, and think students would, too.  I found her lessons interesting and fun, and could definitely see how they could be linked to classroom content - or posted on a school library website under a FAQ section.

Although I tried embedding one of my Pandora stations, I couldn't figure it out.  I'm a Spotify user, and thought I'd give that a try instead.  I pay for premium, so I'm not sure if that impacts other people's ability to hear the song. Here's a song called House of Mercy by Sarah Jarosz that I heard on NPR the other day.  Hopefully the embed code works - let me know in the comments please!

Infographics

Okay y'all, I managed to survive the last week of school - barely.  If you're struggling to get through, ask me about the the curse word coloring book that got handed in to admin. this week.  I imagine you'd get a chuckle out of it.  Honestly, I'll miss those kids, but with only a work day on Monday, I can almost taste freedom.  If you were to look inside my brain right now, you'd see "just one more day" repeated a million times over.  I know you can relate.

That having been said, it's been hard to buckle down and focus on this week's sandbox.  I can't tell you how tempted I was to just throw something together on Piktochart, and call it a day.  I've used that tool several times in the past, and although I wouldn't say it's intuitive, it was easy for me to pick up after playing with it for a while.  There are some pretty cool features as well, so if you get the chance to check it out (maybe after the 2016-17 school year is in the rear-view), you definitely should.

After checking out the 5 Great Online Tools for Creating Infographics, I decided to try Canva.  First impressions: easy to navigate, lots of design templates, great support features.  I scrolled down until I found infographic templates, and started looking through their design templates.  I was impressed by the number of options, and by the quality of those options.  I started putting an infographic together, but was immediately frustrated by the lack of free images for use.  Each time I found an image that I liked, there was a price tag beneath it.  I used the images anyway, because after checking out Easel.ly, I liked Canva better.

I thought that Canva was easy to use and I could see my students being able to pick it up pretty easily. The lack of free images to choose from would be frustrating, but the watermarks on premium content aren't as distracting as I originally feared.

Of the three platforms that were discussed in Sandbox, I think Piktochart has the most potential to be useful in a classroom or library.