Bring Your Stories to Life!

What Is It? Puppet Pals is an app that takes your stories and brings them to life through animations and audio in real time.  It works through simply choosing actors and backdrops, dragging them onto the stage, and recording your story.  During recording time, Puppet Pals allows you to add movements and animations to your characters which can be viewed during playback.  The Puppet Pals app brings out creativity in everyone!  With features such as using customized characters, using your own photo backdrop, and zooming, rotating, and flipping your characters, you are sure to create a story that is appealing to all ages.  With this app, you have the option of downloading the Director's Pass, which allows you access to a wide variety of characters as well as all of the current and future content that becomes available. 

Can It Be Trusted? Much like any other app, Puppet Pals does many great things, but from time to time, may experience a glitch or two.  For the most part, however, you can trust that Puppet Pals will allow you to create, watch, and share your movie.  Puppet Pals is a highly reliable app to use in the classroom.  It can take your students' thoughts and transform them into something magical.  And, with the big shift on the Common Core, integrating technology is huge.  So when your students are able to use Puppet Pals to finalize the final step of the writing process, the possibilities are endless.  

Is It Easy To Use?  If you can click a button, you're good.  Installing Puppet Pals is simple.  As long as your iPad or iPhone is operating on iOS 6.1 or later, you can start creating your shows in no time.  Once the app is downloaded to your device, it doesn't take much to get started.  In fact, give your device to a child, and the finished product will be here quicker than you know.  Best part is, if you're hesitant to try out the app, there's lots of tutorials that will walk you through the program.  But no worries!  If you make a mistake, you can always go back and fix it - just have some fun, and see how easy it is to create an eye appealing, entertaining, and fun movie.  

Do Students Like It? Of course they do.  In fact, students get very excited when they are given the opportunity to bring their stories to life through the use of Puppet Pals.  Allowing students the chance to use Puppet Pals brings out their sense of creativity.  With the many options that students can choose from, the possibilities of what they create are endless.  

And The Teacher? If the teacher is lucky enough to have access to one, or even better - a class set, of iPads, her job is really very simple.  Once the app is downloaded to the iPads, all the teacher has to do is give her students a quick introduction to using the app, and viola - off they go.  Chances are, students have already used this app, or one very similar.  And we all know, kids aren't afraid to try something new, so once they get the chance to start exploring the app, there's no limit to what they will create. 

So...Would I Recommend It? This is one app that I would absolutely recommend to be used in the classroom.  It's easy to find and even easier to use.  The amount of time and effort put into learning how to use the app is very minimal, and once you bring one story to life, it's hard to stop.  Overall, I would rate this app a 9/10.  The only reason for not giving it a perfect score is because it can be hard to go back to correct a mistake - basically your only option is to re-record that part of your story.  But the possibilities are endless. The amount of time that students put into writing a story can very quickly be transformed into a work of art with the Puppet Pals app. 

What Really Happens At School

Take a look at this Prezi to check out what really happens as a day in the life of one of my students.

Bringing Boring to Life

Okay, okay...I know, we've all sat through those long and sometimes boring presentations, right?  But that era can come to an end.  With PowToons, there's a new way to present by bringing your presentations to life.  Just check out this PowToon and see what I mean.

Whether you go from simple to elaborate, PowToons is a user-friendly tool that can help you bring your words to life!  It's easy to use, appealing to the eye, and is sure to grab your audiences' attention.  So, take a minute, explore PowToons, and see what you create! 

Big Huge Labs, So Many Possibilities

Okay, so who doesn't love a new way to present a picture?  How great would it be to see your child's picture on a magazine cover?  Or how about taking a family portrait and creating a jigsaw puzzle?  Big Huge Labs is the place to go! There's literally a million different ways to create fun and exciting projects (well, okay, maybe not a million, but close enough).  You can create everything from magazine covers, to pop art posters, to mosaic makers to badges - all with your own photos!  After exploring the site for a bit, check out what I created.

Okay, so maybe I took it a step further added the text (after saving the image and adding the text in Microsoft Word), but you get the idea.  There's a lot of great gifts that can be made - so go!  Start exploring!  The possibilities are endless! 

Looking for a New Way to Present?

In today's day and age, there seems to be a million great apps and websites out there.  But how do you choose just one?  With so many options, it's important to know just what you're looking for.  Next, you have to find a program that will suit your needs.  Once you've done some research and read some reviews, choose the site or app that might work best for you, create an account, and get started!

The first website that I chose to review is PowToon.  PowToon is a great tool that can be used to create animated videos and presentations.  To date, almost four million videos have been created using this new and exciting tool.  Wondering how I knew that statistic?  Simple.  It's right on the colorful, vibrant, and eye catching homepage of powtoon.com.

Getting started is pretty simple.  After you go through a few steps and create a free account, you're good to go.  No need to install or download anything - simply go to the site and get started.  I know, I know.  So many accounts and passwords to remember.  But trust me - creating a PowToon account is worth it for what you're going to get.  Just think about this.  Instead of settling for a plain Jane greeting card, resume, event poster, schedule, product launch, tutorial, special offer, whatever else you might want or need to present, think about having your work come to life with a PowToon.

Depending on your comfort level, you can choose to edit an already existing PowToon, OR...if you're feeling adventurous, you can start from scratch and create your own!  Either way, there's nothing to worry about because using the website is pretty easy, if you're not afraid to take a risk.  Good thing is, there's a ton of templates to choose from, so you're bound to find just the right one.  PLEASE: don't get overwhelmed when you open your PowToon and prepare to get started.  Although it might look like there's a lot going on - it's really all okay.

Now think of this.  If you have to sit through a presentation that seems to drag on and on and on - you get bored pretty quickly, right?  But imagine your students sitting through the same thing.  How fast are your students going to fade out if there's nothing to catch their eye?  PowToon is the perfect way to deliver your material to not only your students, but to your parents, faculty, and basically, anyone that you will ever need to present to.

Take a look at a few of the different parts of PowToon that I review below.  I'll let you know right now that out of a total 10 star rating, I would rate PowToon a 9/10.  Keep reading to find out why.

What you're getting: 
With PowToon, what you're really getting is a great new way to create animated videos or presentations that are appealing to the eye, at any age!  In your video, you can include everything from different characters, backgrounds, text, sounds, and so much more - all to help you bring your presentation to life and make it that much better.  If you're familiar with Microsoft Powerpoint or any other slide presentation tool, you're already a step ahead of the crowd.  As you begin using PowToon, keep in mind that you will be creating your presentation in a similar manner.  Phew.  One less thing to worry about, right?

Is it reliable? 
As with any piece of technology, whether it be a website, an app, or even new software, there's always little glitches that we might come across.  Overall, PowToon is a pretty reliable website that provides the user with ease and comfort while creating a presentation.

Can students use it? 
Of course!  Especially if your students are already familiar with creating a presentation using similar software (Microsoft Powerpoint or Google Presentation).  Additionally, the variation in characters, animations, sounds, effects, etc. that students can choose from make it that more appealing.  As many teachers sometimes find, there's always a student or two who may be a reluctant writer.  Great news is that when most students are given a new platform to work with, work usually gets done.

Overall, if you're looking for a new type of technology to present your information, introduce to your students, or just play around with, PowToon is the site for you.  So go ahead.  Don't be scared.  Be the teacher who wants to bring her presentations to life with PowToon.

Voki in the Classroom

                                    

And...here it is!  One of many great Web 2.0 tools that can be used in the classroom.  Voki is a tool that can be used to introduce students to a lesson, a concept, an idea...basically whatever you want!  Don't like a character?  Change it!!  Voki offers so much to choose from.  And not only that!  Voki is user friendly, too!  Students of all ages can create a character, record, type, or even call in what they want their character to say, and voila!  Voki at your fingertips!

Technology, Technology...Where do we Begin?

"Keeping up with the latest technologies isn't as nearly as important as keeping up with with the latest literacies," said no teacher ever...well, I would hope not. With technological advances rapidly becoming "the norm" for our students, it's about time that teachers step up their game and begin teaching their students with what they learn best.  You guessed it...technology.  Many teachers are already on board with immersing their students with relevant information through technology...both inside and outside of the classroom.  Manchester Kidblog and Iowa Grade 8 Kidbloggers are just two examples of how effective blogging can be when applied in the classroom setting.  But how do technology and literacy relate?  Have you ever noticed how much time we spend reading while surfing the web?  Ever come across a great blog with wonderful lesson plan ideas...aligned to the Common Core?  Or how about professional journals; a type of professional development, I would say.  Well, just like we spend a great amount of time reading online, it's easy for our students to do the same.  How about taking the time that our students already spend online just one step further.  That's where blogging comes into play.  Instead of just throwing a question out there for your students to ponder, what if they were given the chance to answer that question in a blog post?  I'll have to admit - it is pretty great having a blog that I can call my own...what's not to love.  I've personalized it just the way I like, and your students can do the same!  Using a program such as Kidblog allows teachers to create a class blog where each and every student can personalize a blog page and respond to questions.  Pencil and paper?  Not any more! 

Blogs, Blogs, Blogs

Blogging:

Communicating.

Creating.

Sharing.

Exploring.

Thinking.

Welcome to the world of classrooms today.  With the many technological advances taking place within our schools, children are being provided with more ways than ever to communicate with their teachers, peers, and others from around the globe.  Evidently, teachers who spend the most time teaching their students how to properly and effectively blog, have the most success.  Blogging provides students with the opportunity to reflect on their learning by achieving curricular standards in new ways.  With creativity, students are able to showcase their best work that will reach an audience beyond the classroom setting.  Blogging allows students the opportunity to respond to blog posts, to carry a conversation, and most importantly, interact with with others.  Students are able to develop a sense of global awareness through blogging.  Many blogging sites such as The Global Read Aloud, allows students to report responses to a common text while collaborating globally with students.  Participating in a blog like this allows students to understand how students from different countries interpret a common work of literature.  

Weblogs & Wikis

Although there may be many safety concerns associated with weblogs, teachers must keep in mind that through the use of blogging, students are provided with the opportunity to communicate with peers outside of the classroom walls.  As is the case with many blogging sites, teachers are able to set privacy settings to ensure student safety.  Richardson gives many great tips to starting small and eventually evolving.  With sites like blogger.com, it's easy to create fun, attractive, and easy to navigate blogs.  Now, bring Wikis into the picture, and that's a whole new playing field.  Instead of contributing to blogs and commenting on previous posts, Wikis allow contributions from anyone.  But what about Wikipedia?  Most educators don't allow their students to rely on information from the site.  But why?  Allowing students to retrieve facts from a collaborative environment isn't completely horrible.  Actually, it's kind of great.  Because so many people are able to contribute their ideas, the information provided on a specific topic provides many points of view.  Yes, there are also safety concerns that educators must be aware of, but with proper monitoring, wikis can be great tools for students to use both in and out of the classroom!

Blogs, Wikis, and Podcasts

With so many technological advances in today’s world, educators are provided with so many options.  But that’s just it…all of the options.  Blogs, Wikis, Podcasts.  Where does one even begin?  How about beginning somewhere simple?  Somewhere that provides a level of ease and comfort.  But that’s just the half of it.  How about the legalities?  Richardson brings up many good points in the first two chapters of his book, Blogs, Wikis, Podcasts and Other Powerful Web Tools for Classrooms.  With safety concerns, both students and teachers must be aware of what is being shared.  Richardson states that research has showed that blogs can promote critical thinking in students (20).  Through the use of blogging, students can post assignments, journals, links, etc.  Although I have not seen these types of technologies utilized in the lower grades, I'm wondering how common they might be for teachers and students in secondary education.  

Why Technology?

With the recent implementation of the Common Core StateStandards in schools across the country, technology is making a greater impact than ever before.  With school-wide changes, students are being provided with resources beyond what was once available to them.  New literacies allow students to learn by gathering information that extends outside of the classroom walls, allowing teachers to foster student’s academic achievement. 

With the use of technology, students can access an abundance of learning tools and activities.  Dreambox, an online math program, provides students with support individualized to student needs.  The National Library of VirtualManiuplatives allows both teachers and students the opportunity to solve problems with more than just a pencil and paper.  Moreover, BrainPop provides a wide variety of educational movies to promote student learning. 

As the role of technology expands within the school setting, it is no longer expected that students are simply able to use technology.  Rather, students must obtain the necessary skills in order to analyze, learn, and explore through the technological age that this world is quickly moving towards.  As with any new learning adventure, NETS forStudents are the set of standards provided to educators by means of measuring student progress in an ever changing digital world.  

When teachers are prepared to provide their students with meaningful learning opportunities, there is a greater chance that students will appropriately analyze, learn, and explore many great possibilities.  NETS for Teachers are the set of standards used to evaluate how well teachers are able to integrate the set of skills and knowledge related to technology into their current teaching style.

But, where does training for veteran teachers come into play?  In many schools today, the Common Core State Standards have caused many teachers to lash out about the many changes taking place.  Throw technology into the mix?  For many, that’s just unheard of.  When do district officials decide how all of the teachers employed in a district will effectively incorporate the use of technology into their classrooms in this ever changing digital world?