ACS Elementary Tech TidBits
Instructional Technology Resources & Celebrations
❤️ February 16, 2015 ❤️
Alyson Carpenter
Where is Alyson this week?
I will be working by appointment this week. I am available on Tuesday and Thursday. Email me to get on the books! :)
- Monday- Central Office Work Day
- Tuesday- Open for Appointments
- Wednesday- Apple Language Development Training
- Thursday- Open for Appointments
- Friday- Coach's Training (Technology in Motion)
❤️ A Place for Everything & Everything in its Place! ❤️
New Tech Tidbits Website
Bookmark this site for future reference: https://sites.google.com/site/acstechtidbits1/ Tabs are located at the top of the site to help you find the resources you need.
❤️ Cool Tech Tools of the Week ❤️
Storytelling Apps--A FUN Way to Meet Many Standards!
Storytelling can be a fun way to meet many standards in different grade levels and content areas. Below are a few examples of ways you might use storytelling in your class:
- Sharing personal stories
- Story Retellings
- Book Trailers or Advertisements
- Writing to persuade
- Writing to inform or share a "how-to" demonstration
- Writing to entertain
- Explaining a Concept (ex: a new concept in Math)
- Sharing Poetry & Drama
- Explaining steps in a process (ex: Science Experiment or Project)
- Sharing stories of true events (ex: Timelines/Stories from history- Social Studies)
- See many more examples and correlations here: http://goo.gl/h6MPVn
Storytelling also provides students with opportunities to collaborate and share their work with authentic audiences.
There are many fantastic apps for storytelling. In fact, there are so many to choose from that deciding which to try can be an overwhelming process. One way to choose which is best for your lesson is to check out app reviews on reputable sites such as Common Sense Media and use these reviews as a guide to age/ability levels and appropriateness of content. https://www.commonsensemedia.org/
Below are a few popular and high-quality apps for storytelling. The first two were made FREE just this month! Let me know if you try any of these. It would be great to have feedback and ideas for use in different grade levels.
Telestory
~from Common Sense Media Review: https://www.commonsensemedia.org/app-reviews/telestory
Toontastic
~from Common Sense Media Review: https://www.commonsensemedia.org/app-reviews/toontastic
Gone Google Storybuilder
Link to try Storybuilder: https://docsstorybuilder.appspot.com/
❤️ Other Storytelling App Options ❤️
What About Doodle Buddy....More Than Just Doodling?
iPad Camera+Doodle Buddy = Easy Characters, Captions, & Cartooning!
Avatars are something I'm hearing about from students across the district. Because kids love avatars and cartoons, we can utilize this "hook" to engage them in meaningful tasks in different content areas. They can create story characters, cartoon style self-portraits, or diagrams using only their iPad camera and the Doodle Buddy app. They can then use these creations in stories, retellings, graphic comics, or assignments for science or social studies. This is a great way to put a drawing app to work in a meaningful way. I'd be happy to share a 10-minute demo of this with you or your students. If you'd like to try on your own, the steps are below. Have fun creating!
Doodle Character Creations
Use Doodle Buddy for more than just DOODLING!
Create avatars for stories or cartoons! (I promise our students will be better artists than I am!) :o)
Doodle Diagrams
Use Doodles As Teaching Tools
Doodle Buddy combined with Educreations can be used as a teaching tool for others. http://goo.gl/uTXWgi
❤️ Ready to Create? The link below will tell you how! ❤️
❤️ Athens City Elementary Tech Integration ❤️
#ACSPowerUP
"App Smashing" in 1st Grade
Video to Enhance Projects
Padlet in Action!
Creation & Communication
Magazine Cover Creations
Spreading the Word
Let's Collaborate!
Disclaimer- I am usually not an expert on an app or tool, but I am learning so much through each collaboration. This learning is helping me to help other classes across the district. I hope you will find lots of ways to put me to work! :)
❤️ Social Media- Learning & Sharing in Athens City! ❤️
❤️ Contact Information ❤️
Instructional Technology Specialist
Athens City Schools
Athens, AL
Email: alyson.carpenter@acs-k12.org
Website: https://sites.google.com/site/acstechtidbits1/
Location: 455 U.S. 31, Athens, AL, United States, North America
Phone: (256) 614-3554
Twitter: @alysoncarp1