Tools to Help Students Follow Their Passions (Cult of Pedagogy)

     Jennifer Gonzalez posted way back in 2015 about tools to help students follow their passions. These "passion tools" (as she calls them), help students take their passions and talent to a whole new level. Passion tools help students develop and share their passions in the same way a professional would. Mrs. Gonzalez groups the tech tools into categories based on how they are used. Here is the list of "passion tools" (click on the name to go to the website):

Book Publishing

• LuLu
• MixedBook
• StoryBird

Video Production

• AniMoto
• iMovie
• Powtoon
• Windows Movie Maker

Podcasting 

• Audacity
• AudioBoom
• Jewelbeat

Image Making

• Canva
• Inkscape

Video Sharing

• Vimeo
• Vine (cannot make vines anymore)
• YouTube

Blogging and Website Building

• Blogger
• Weebly
• Wix
• WordPress

Screencasting

• Screencast-o-matic
• Explain Everything

Photo Editing

• PicMonkey
• Pixlr

     I have used Powtoon for EDUG 647 and it is very easy to create engaging and effective presentations. If you have used any of these tools, let me know how it went!

MAP Testing Technology Trouble

     I'm sure everyone knows all about MAP Testing, but I thought I would talk a little bit about it since my kiddos are taking it this week. My school has our students MAP test in the fall, winter, and spring. MAP testing is done on computers in the computer lab at my school. My students in the past have taken it on iPads, though. It ended up not going well due to technical glitches.

     For my kindergartner's MAP testing is the only standardized test they take and they need some important computer skills to be able to do it. I had not thought about the computer skills needed to complete the MAP test until they went to take it the first time. There is one teacher that teaches STEM and Computer, so the time is split between the two. At the beginning of the year, my kids started with STEM, so they had not practice computer skills before they took the MAP test. This became even more clear when they went in to take the test. 

     When my kids were sitting in the computer lab getting read to start their test, I had so many of them look at me and ask, "What is this?" while pointing to the desktop computer. Many of them only had iPads and tablets at home (if that), so they had never seen a desktop computer before. They had no idea how to use a mouse, so when I told them to hold on to it and use it to click on the screen, a few of them picked the mouse up and tried touching the computer screen with it. It made me want to laugh, but also cry a little. 

    Looking back, I wish I would have taken them into the computer lab before MAP testing and gave them the chance to get familiar with the desktop computers. They needed practice on how to use the keyboard, and how to use the mouse to click. On MAP, primary students can click on speakers that will read the question and answers to them. 

     My technology take-away from this experience, was that you cannot expect a student to use technology without first explicitly teaching them how to. For younger students, you cannot just throw them into technology without teaching them the basics first. The first bit of technology a kindergarten needs to learn is how to use the keyboard to log in to a computer and type and how to use the mouse to click.

     Now that my kids have learned the computer and taken MAP twice, I don't anticipate that I'll have that problem. If anyone knows of some apps or sites that teach keyboarding and/or how to use a mouse let me know! Also, if you have any funny technology stories I would love to hear!

mysimpleshow (Cult of Pedagogy)

     The Cult of Pedagogy Blog posted about mysimpleshow a couple years ago, but I'm just now discovering it. Mysimpleshow is similar to GoAnimate and Powtoon, because you are able to create videos that include animation and audio. What makes it different, is that it makes the process of creating a video quicker and easier.

Google Images

     When creating a mysimpleshow, you first upload or write a script from scratch. If you are writing your script from scratch, it will ask you what your topic is. You click on your topic and it will give you a script template. Then you can type in your text. Also, you are able to upload your script through PowerPoint. Once uploaded, it extracts the most important information, but still allows changes to be made.

Script Template (from Cult of Pedagogy)

     After a script has been uploaded, mysimplestory reads the script, picks out key words, and find images that you can use in your video. If the pictures it finds don't match up with what you want, there is a search bar that you can use to find your own images. Also, you can upload your own pictures. You are able to resize, flip, and put affects on the pictures you use.

From Cult of Pedagogy

     Once you have pictures chosen, you will be able to publish your video. To publish, you click on the "finalize" button. The finished video will have narration, soft background music, and the images will be timed to match the script. This is possible because the images are linked to a key word in the script. When that word is read, the image will appear.

     Finished videos are stored in the mysimpleshow library. Also, they can be uploaded, downloaded, and saved.

     Some possible uses for mysimpleshow:

1. Teaching chunks of content
2. Tutorials for classroom procedures
3. Introductory video for students and parents
4. Introduction to a topic
5. Students create videos about a topic (instead of using PowerPoint)

     I have tried Powtoon and it took me forever to make a video. I'm definitely willing to try out mysimpleshow. Also, my school's subscription to BrainPop and BrainPopJr. just ran out, so this would be a great way for me to create short, informational videos for my students. This would be a wonderful tool for students to use as well!

CoSpaces: 3D Creations

     During a faculty meeting, a coworker presented information she learned from an ELA professional development she went to. I received a handout that gave examples of how to get students to produce quality work that can be put in their Backpack of Skills. All of the examples given incorporated technology and how to encourage higher order thinking. For example, instead of decorating a bottle or pumpkin to explain the theme of a book, students could create a CoSpaces environment for the theme of their book. I had never heard of CoSpaces before so, I decided to go home and research it.

Google Images

     I learned that CoSpaces allows students to develop 3D creations that they can animate using code and view in virtual or augmented reality. The key features of CoSpaces are:

     Creation Tool Box: Students can choose the environment, characters, buildings (which they can build from scratch using geometric shapes), natural elements, animals, and transportation. This feature, basically, helps set the stage for the student's creation.

      

 
     Coding Features: The programming language for students is very basic and meant to beginners. If you have an advanced coding student, you can upgrade to scripted coding. This feature is meant to allow students to have their characters move. Students can select a drop down box and choose the character or object that they want to move, then they can choose how many degrees they want it to move, which direction, and how many times they want that motion to be repeated. Also, if they have a character that they want to talk they choose the character and select what they want it to say.

Google Images

     Virtual Reality: Can use a Google Cardboard (Virtual Reality Goggles) to view the environment created. This is possible because CoSpaces enables creations to be exported, which means it can be accessed on a smartphone.

Google Images

     Augmented Reality: Creations can be projected on to any surface with the CoSpaces mobile app and devices with AR Core. This feature overlaps reality and the 3D environment.

Google Images

     Class Management: Teachers can observe and monitor student progress on the dashboard

Google Images

     This tech tool would be a great to have students incorporate into their projects and presentations. You could have students create an important scene from a book or history. I would recommend this for older students who would be able to work independently and understand the purpose of each feature.

Sown to Grow (Cult of Pedagogy)

     Jennifer Gonzalez, the creator of the blog Cult of Pedagogy, wrote an interesting post about the tool Sown to Grow. This tech tool is a way for students to set goals and track their progress towards meeting them. It caught my attention because we all want to foster a Growth Mindset within our students and we want them to take ownership of their learning. What I've always struggled with was coming up with a way to do that. I've been looking for a way for students to track their own progress in mastering content. Sown to Grow seems like a great way to do that.

     There are certain features that Sown to Grow offers that make it a prime way to have students set and monitor goals.

• Creating a Learning Cycle- This is your first step. You set a time limit for when learning objectives should be met. Also, you assign activities that either get a numerical score or a completion score. 
• Students can check-in- When students log in they see the learning objectives and are asked how they feel about the upcoming learning cycle.
• Goal Setting- Students set their own goals. They decide if they want to get close to the mastery goal, meet it, or exceed it.

• Tracking Progress- Once students set their goals, then they work on the tasks. As they complete a task they record their scores and reflect on how they did. 
• Final Reflection- Students reflect on how they did and what their goals might be next time. It shows them what they mastered and how many goals they met. Then they click the appropriate smiley face to indicate how they feel about their progress. 

• The teacher can, also, track the entire classes progress by looking at the Student Performance Data and Student Performance Summary.

     I really like how it encourages them to reflect on their progress and use that to set goals for the next learning cycle. I don't think this is something that you could just put your kids on and let them figure out by themselves though. Younger students, especially, will need to be shown how to complete each step and have guidance when logging on the first few times. I may give this a try next year. If you want to watch an information video, click below:

Story Maker from ABCya.com

     My Kindergarten Kiddos have been working on their opinion writing piece for a little bit now. I decided to incorporate the use of a program that would allow them to practice using typing skills, which they will definitely need in the future. I thought having them type it would allow them to practice becoming more familiar with the keyboard. I wanted them to be able to draw a picture to go along with their writing piece, but I was worried that using a program like Microsoft Word would make that impossible. After reflecting back on last year, I remembered that I had my kids use Story Maker from ABCya.com.

     Story Maker allows the student to type on primary writing lines and has a space for a picture at the top. If they want, students can draw their picture on the computer. The drawing feature reminds me a lot of Paint. When students first get on Story Maker it has them type in their name and puts their name on the document for them. From there, students can click on the writing lines with their mouse and begin typing. Most of my students did really well typing, but remembering how to make a letter a capital seemed to be the hardest part. Once students are done typing, they can draw a picture or you can click the print icon and print it out. I chose to print my students pieces out and have them draw their own picture with crayons. They turned out great! Were they perfect, no, but my kids typed them completely on their own, which I was so proud of.

Drawing Feature

     To get to Story Maker, you go to ABCya.com and click the search sign. It's quicker to find it if you just search for it. Once you click on search, you type in Story Maker and it will come up. This isn't my first time using Story Maker and it won't be my last. It's a great writing/typing tool to use for primary students. My kids enjoyed it and were proud of the end result! I definitely recommend using this with your students.
   

Shmoop (Cult of Pedagogy)

     I discovered Shmoop when I went digging way back into the Cult of Pedagogy blog by Jennifer Gonzalez. Jennifer Gonzalez described Shmoop as "...Cliff Notes with more zing." Shmoop offers original content on subjects from Shakespeare to calculus, as well as, test prep and career guidance. Shmoop is centered on humor content depth. Shmoop offers many videos on a variety of subjects. The videos are usually animated with audio, and are very engaging due to their quirkiness and humor. Here is an example of a Shmoop video:

     The videos are fun and interesting to watch, but that is not where the content depth comes in. Shmoop offers free learning guides that include many topics. They even have a DMV Guide that provides driving information based on the users state. The example that Jennifer Gonzalez used was the topic infectious diseases. When she search those key words, Shmoop pulled up related tabs on terms, latin roots, infectious diseases in the real world, study questions, quizzes, and related websites. 

     

     Also, it has an essay lab where students can brainstorm, write, and edit sections of their essay. It, also offers step-by-step help on writing an argumentative essay, literary analysis, and college application essays.   

     Finally, it offers free online flashcards for students to quiz themselves with. The flashcards are pre-maid. 

     The paid materials are teacher guides, test prep, online courses, and Shmoop for schools. Personally, Shmoop sounds pretty interesting to me.