EdPuzzle: I used EdPuzzle to add to a video I found on YouTube. I chose the cropping tool to shorten the ending. I did not choose to use the audio track or to insert audio notes because the soundtrack for the video was already expertly done. I did choose to insert quiz questions that had to be answered in order to continue through the video. I can see how this tool is very useful to assure that students are actually watching the videos with a certain level of interactivity. The teacher gets a summary of the students’ answers and a time stamp for when the student watched the video. You could actually use this feature as an assessment, of course, in the context we were exploring you wouldn’t use the quiz feature as a summative assessment. It could, however, be used as a formative assessment. I really liked this tool because you can find already vetted videos and adapt them for your more specific use. Jing/Screencast: Jing was a very simple (and free) screencasting tool to use. You can simply take snapshots of any portion of your screen and copy them into a document or share them using Screencast. You can also take video and voiceover of your screen. I liked this tool for its simplicity! It’s an easy starter tool for those of us just beginning our journey into screencasting. I used this tool to do a demo for my students on how to use an interactive plot diagramming tool on the ReadWriteThink site. WeVideo I chose to try WeVideo because I’m looking for a way for my students to make their own videos or storyboards for books they read. WeVideo provides a basic video editing platform. It seems most suited for uploading and editing photos and videos you take of real footage. It provides some basic themes, a few overlays (like POW!), sound effects, and music background. You can splice together 2 tracks. Storybird: Continuing on my quest to find a site for students to make their own versions of a story, I found Storybird. This is a website for making and publishing your own storybook, short story, or illustrated poem. The user brings their own text and uses illustrations provided by users, both amateur and professional. The site seems to begin at the premise that the image is the beginning of the story. When designing your story, you begin by choosing images. The illustrations are varied, grouped by themes and by illustrators. The interface is simple - select and drag the image you want for the page, type in the text. Add the next page. In my opinion the artwork is of good quality. StoryboardThat Of all the storymaking sites I explored, this was my favorite. For my capstone project, I want my students to interact with their favorite books by storyboarding. StoryboardThat lets you choose how many frames you want and select and drag the elements into each frame. Provided for the user is a multitude of backdrops, characters, dialogue bubbles, and the ability to upload your own. All of them are able to be layered, positioned, and edited in multiple ways. Though there are MANY options for editing, the interface is amazingly easy to use! There is a certain style to the outcome, but the storytelling tools are vast and rather easy to use. The site also comes with sample lessons already created. As always, when using digital technology, student access to devices and the internet can be an issue that must be considered. Another aspect to take into account is that each tool takes time to learn. Just my own surface investigations of these sites took hours of time. When giving assignments that incorporate making videos or storyboards, the time commitment involved must be taken into account. I also think it would be wise to stick to one or two platforms to give your students (and you) time to master it and plumb the depths of its capabilities.
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I have used both Storybird and Storyboard That in my classroom. My students really enjoyed both of them. My Littles especially loved Storybird because it made their work look so polished. My 5th graders used Storyboard That as a way to show understanding a various books we read in reading class. I used it in place of a traditional assessment. They liked working with it, although it does cost money (I paid for it out of my own pocket).
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Nai Saelee
7/10/2017 02:15:54 pm
Nancy,
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7/10/2017 03:23:30 pm
Hi Nancy,
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Patrick
7/11/2017 02:28:03 pm
I really agree with your thought about sticking to just one or two platforms to use, especially when considering the age of student. When I work with sixth graders at the beginning of the school year, getting them to submit a journal post in an assignment that is linked in their daily agenda can take 30 minutes. Not to say that we shouldn't use technology but we need to keep in mind the learning curve for students. Maybe in high school they have built enough generalized tech literacy to have more options. but it is probably wiser to focus on a few platforms per class in middle and elementary school. Like, many of my students can pick things up quickly and use them enough, but they don't really get deep into mastering the platform and all the tricks it has. That is an investment of time. The big difficult decision for us as educators then, is which tools do we choose to play with. Like I really enjoyed your description of Storyboard this and it LOOKS like a great tool. However, realistically, how effective would it be in multiple lessons or projects in my classroom? Even though I like it a lot, is it worth not using another tool?
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December 2017
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