Digital Books

What great authors and illustrators we have in this class! I loved reading all the wonderful fiction and non-fiction books that our students designed during the hour.  We had such a wide variety of topics - from animal books  to silly martian stories. Regardless of which topic ended up being chosen, each child used their imagination and creativity skills to produce a beautiful digital book full of text, pictures, and their own voice reading each page!  Digital writing is always one of my favorite days  of a session; I only wish there was more time to complete the book!

If your child would like to continue publishing these books at home,  I recommend the apps, My Story or Book Creator (there are also lots of other book creation apps in the app store - these just happen to be my favorite).

In the app, My Story, students first set up 'author' pages to store their own books.  After, they proceed to the blank pages, adding more as needed.  They have all sorts of digital art tools at their disposal built within the app; however, for those  children who do not enjoy drawing - personal photos, stock photos, internet pictures, stamps, and stickers are easily accessible.  Additionally, students can access different type fonts to include text on each page.  Finally - my favorite part! - the children can read and record their voice for each page!  What a personal touch when you share these stories with family and friends!  Check out these great stories created in class this week!

Some pictures of the kids working on their books:

For older children (and adults!) I definitely recommend the app, Book Creator.  It is somewhat pricey at $4.99; however, I find it very easy to use and has all the functionality you will ever need to publish a professional-looking book.  It is also fairly simple to transfer your completed book to the iBooks app on your device or share with a friend.

iMovie Trailers

The iMovie App for the iPad is a wonderful, multi-media app.  It allows students to tap into the imperative 'Four  Cs' of a 21st Century education - collaboration, creativity, critical thinking, and communication.   

Students were given flexibility to choose any type of trailer.  

They worked together to plan, add text, act, and record. Such vibrant creativity and enthusiasm on display in class! Check out the pics from today:

These boys are focused on developing their trailer. They are so creative!

Collaboration is a critical 21st Century skill! 

Students work together and provide feedback.

Utilizing their critical thinking skills, this group is working on editing their trailer.

3….2…..1…… Action!

Many students brought their own 'actors' and 'props' to class.  What a great way to integrate home resources positively with technology! Thanks to Mark for sharing many of his items with his classmates!

Next week, we will move on to full-length movie features, as well.  To ensure we have enough production time in class, I encourage you to have your children write a script ahead of time and bring with you next Thursday.  Don't forget costumes and props, too!

Stop Motion

Amazing class tonight! Using only the iPad app, iStopMotion, students learned to create comprehensive stop motion videos.  We used this one-stop application (which combines a camera, sound, animation and speed variables) to produce a video. This stop motion animation technique - which once was a very difficult and time consuming process - now takes only minutes to see the results …. and is great fun!  Check out a few samples from our class below!

iStopMotion is a wonderful app to use for school projects.  I highly recommend its use as a visual alternative to book reports, biographies, demonstrating science experiments, and portraying historical events.  Technology, when used appropriately, can be a wonderful tool to be innovative!  I encourage you to urge your child(ren) to engage in this type of creativity and critical thinking when they are given the opportunity to demonstrate learning!

Digital Storytelling (Continued) and Presentation Apps

Last week the class focused on the iPad App, Puppet Pals.  Puppet Pals is one of my favorite Apps! In Puppet Pals, children can create simple animated movies with a choice of characters and settings.  Students use their own voice to record the conversations between characters.  Because of its versatile nature, children can use this app for pure fun and enjoyment, as well as a great educational tool for school.

The App itself is free; however, in order to purchase more stock characters, customized characters, and additional settings you would need to purchase the 'Director's Pass' for $4.99.  I think it is well worth the price!

I loved watching the children's videos over the last few days.  Your children are so creative and imaginative!

Tellagami is another simple app that the students used during class.  

The logistics of the app are basic - customize your character, design a background, and add dialogue.  What a modern and innovative way to share information!

Here are some sample shots:

And some examples from class:

We also used Toontastic (recently purchased by Google!) to produce cartoon videos.  This app is very easy to use because it guides children through the steps of a fictional story.  Starting with the setting and characters, the story increases in problems through the climate, conflict, and climax - and then, finally, a resolution.

There are so many first rate presentation apps in the digital world,  I just wish we had time in class to explore them all!!!  Unfortunately, we ran out of time to explore some of my favorites, but if you have a digital device at home, I would encourage you to purchase the following apps and let your children push their creative limits at home:  

Art Maker is another favorite for kids of all ages!

Creativity is unlimited when using this app! You can design movies, pictures, books - all with a set of movable props, setting options, and, of course, a microphone. What a great way to turn a super fun activity into educational lesson! Have your child recreate their favorite book using this app!

Prezi.com

Animoto.com

HaikuDeck.com

Digital Storytelling

The first App we explored today was another of my favorites, PicCollage.

PicCollage is a fantastic app for creating a collage of a family vacation, a poster on a particular subject, or a flyer for your team's end-of-the-season party.  Students used photos from the classroom and of themselves - supplemented with stickers, text, and backgrounds to create gorgeous designs.  Be sure to check your email as we sent MANY of these collages home! :)  

ChatterPix Kids is a free app that allows children to upload or draw a picture and then record sound.

The directions were simple - choose a background, draw a line for a moving mouth, and start speaking! The kids quickly took to the assignment and before we knew it, we had a classroom filled with silly talking iPads!  Although our objective was to have fun, an app like chatterbox could easily be used for book reports, history presentations, and many more academic projects!

Check out our work!

Finally, students used the app, Sock Puppets, to tell a story!

iPad Introduction and Digital Art

Wow! What a great first class! The children were really quick at learning basic skills to navigate the iPad.  They were provided with an overview on the different functions and instantly understood the functionality of the most important apps - internet, mail, camera, camera roll.  Students practiced taking photos and videos, and then finding them stored within the iPad.  We used two different applications in this introductory class so that the students of all levels could easily participate.  The first, and easily the one of the most versatile apps on the iPad, was Drawing Pad.  

Students used the digital markers, paint, crayons, and color pencils to design beautiful pieces of art.  They even had a little fun with the digital stickers and stamps! I really like how the students added their own photos (that they took in the beginning of the class) to personalize their pictures.  

Some examples from the class:

The second App we explored was another of my favorites, PicCollage.

PicCollage is a fantastic app for creating a collage of a family vacation, a poster on a particular subject, or a flyer for your team's end-of-the-season party.  Students used photos from the classroom and of themselves - supplemented with stickers, text, and backgrounds to create gorgeous designs.  Be sure to check your email as we sent MANY of these collages home! :)  

On a side note, over the next few weeks you will see that 'sharing' with an audience is an important objective weaved into our curriculum.  I know that digital technology often worries parents (myself included!) because of the interactive nature of it.  In this class, students will learn how to share information safely with friends and family, and to take precautions when participating amongst a global audience. We want to students to feel comfortable using digital technology; however, first and foremost, they must be safe, protected, and making a positive contribution to our digital world.  I encourage you to keep up the conversation at home, as well.