A little bit of this and that!

Hello! I just wanted to share a couple of the cool things that I've been doing lately. First I was very excited to be accepted to go for one day workshop that was going put by Edtechteachers and Google. It was held at the Google headquarters and was absolutely amazing!!!! I got to spend the day with 200 other edtech nerds and it was pure Nirvana. I went to an amazing workshop on Google Classroom and got to ask questions of the actual developers. I also went to a fabulous workshop on apps and extensions.

 

We aren't allowed to take many pictures but I was able to get some great ones that I then uploaded to my students' Google Classroom accounts and they were able to check in while I was there. The entire day was amazing and I really feel that teacher morale would go up if we got a barista located in the front office much like Google:)

Secondly, I just wrapped up the 2nd Annual Wilke Awards with my seventh graders. Click here to see how this project started last year. They used Zimmertwins to create movies where they created a claim about ancient Egypt and then they supported them with textual evidence. We viewed the movies with all the pomp and circumstance if the Oscars including a red carpet, statuettes, green screen photos and 20 bags of microwaved popcorn in a garbage bag;)

 

 

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Humbled and Excited!

I am very lucky that when I started in my new district, last year, I quickly got to meet our amazing head of technology and our integration specialists.  They have been beyond supportive and recently they got me to apply to be a 2015 PBS Digital Innovator.

Well!  I was selected!!!!!!

How amazing is that?  Click here to see the other 99 amazing educators from all across the country that are kicking butt and using tech!!!

Video created a Classroom Star!

I love video! I use video for everything in my class. I create videos to launch activities and give directions.  I let my kids make videos all the time.  Since this is becoming a constant in my class, I thought it would be a good time to make a list of my favorite go to video accessories and apps.

1)  I use my iPad for most of my videos.  My best investment was purchasing a decent tripod.  I love this one I got from Amazon.

2) I was blessed and was able to get an iPad mount from my tech department.  I love it and it makes it so I can trust the kids to videotape on their own.

3)  I set up a little recording studio in my class where the kiddos can take green screen videos.  We absolutely love the app Green Screen by DoInk.

Because the kiddos often have to record while class is going on, I just invested in lapel microphones and a long cable.  

Now I place the mic in the middle of their shot and the volume is much better!

4)  On the iPad I am a huge proponent of iMovie.  I think it has an ease of use that can't be beat.  My kiddos absolutely love making videos on their phones and they find iMovie to be the best.  Once the make it they share with my on Google Drive.  I absolutely adore the ease of them getting me their videos!  Gone are the days when I ran out of space on the school server or could never buy enough flash drives.  Now it's just shoot and share!

5)  If you need to edit movies on a pc, I really like WeVideo.

WeVideo is really easy to use and can hook right up to a Google Drive account.  My students have used this software as well and they learned to use it in about ten minutes.

6) Sometimes I just like to have fun.  A great purchase was the IntroDesigner app.  I've made a class intro that the students love to see and we can easily add credits to the end.

7)  Lastly, who knew it, but my selfie stick comes in really handy in the classroom!  Kids made Common Craft inspired In Plain English movies and used my selfie stick to hold their phone as they video taped.

So, these are the things I'm doing in my class to make video a go to form of learning and creating.  What are you doing?

Current Events Bulletin Board: February

I've had a lot of you asking for a new Current Events Bulletin Board.

If you're interested, click here to download the file from Google Drive!

The Murders in My Classroom Continue

Every classroom benefits from these two purchases:

So, in the weeks before the holiday break, my kiddos walked into this.....

I you are a reader of my blog, you will recognize this as an activity I did last year on the Boston Massacre.  Read about it here! For those of you that followed along last year, do you love my new tablecloth?  Bloodier than last year's window clings and I get to use it again and again.

My eighth graders were so excited because they saw the set up of this last year.  They did such an amazing job!!!  These kiddos are champions of textual evidence and totally would have gotten those British soldiers off in a court of law!

If you are interested in using this in your classroom, click here for the resources and click here for the video website.