Poll Everywhere: engage your class in real time

Poll Everywhere: engage your class in real time

Posted in 4-7, 8-12, English, Not Subject Specific, Post Secondary, Resource | Tagged with , , , , , , , , , ,

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Poll Everywhere is a web-based and mobile app that you can use to engage your audience and to support classroom assessment. You can use your mobile device or log in with a web-based version to start a question and your audience can respond to your question with their own device by scanning your QR code, texting or finding you via the shared URL. Once students respond, you can see their real-time responses and present the results in your PowerPoint, Google slides, keynote, or on your website.

Depending on your needs, you can choose from a free educator plan or various paid plans. The K-12 Basic plan is Free (teacher account/sign-up needed; no student account or login required) and you get:

  • Responses per poll: 40 (explain)
  • Allows to present via Powerpoint, Full-screen web presentations, Many question types, Live word clouds, Text walls, Customize look & styles
  • Support: FAQ online

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Using Poll Everywhere in your classroom, you will be able to collect students’ answers and feedback in the moment. It can also be used as a great tool to engage your students and probe their understanding in a certain concept as an activity strategy or closure. This formative feedback can support teachers in planning and scaffolding instruction.

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To get started with Poll Everywhere, there are a few steps:

1. Teacher signs up/Login to Poll Everywhere

2. Create your questions on your laptop/desktop in the browser.

Using Poll Everywhere, you can choose from a large variety of poll activities, including multiple choice, open response, live word clouds, clickable images, up- and down-voting for Q&A, and rank order. Plus, you can write your questions in different languages as well!

3. Invite your students to respond.

They can go to a customizable web address on their mobile devices or computers (by scanning your QR code or inputting the address into their browsers ) or send a text message to participate. As a teacher, you’re encouraged to use a premium moderation feature, that will allow you to filter the response before they are presented on the shared screen.

3. Collect the results and share with your students.

You can simply use a live chart to present the results, and also change the color, font or images as you want. To display it, you can use a web browser or embed your results in your Powerpoint or Google Slides as well.

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MakeyMakey and Educational Games

Posted in 4-7, 8-12, AppliedDesignSkillsTechnologies, artSTEAM, English, engSTEAM, Fine Arts, K-3, Paid, Resource, sciSTEAM, techSTEAM | Tagged with , , , ,

Gadgets and more gadgets

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MakeyMakey is a fun and easily configurable controller students of all ages can use to interact with educational games while being creative and learning a bit about electronics. Once the MakeyMakey controller is connected to the computer students can use it to play almost any game or musical instrument that can be played with a keyboard! If you are interested in teaching your students to code you may even consider having them create their own games to play with MakeyMakey using software like Scratch. More tech-savvy users can also use circuit boards to reconfigure the controller.

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Students often learn best when given the opportunity to experiment independently, create content for themselves, and be creative. Tools like MakeyMakey are a great way for teachers to give their students the opportunity to do so, and perhaps give them the confidence to pursue knowledge and technological skills independently. Students not only gain a sense of how a keyboard or controller works, but they also learn about completing a circuit using conductive materials.

Design challenges are a valuable way to incorporate authentic learning with the makey makey and other controllers. View this TED Talk where Tom Heck shares an Assistive Technology Challenge for Middle or High schoolers. MakeyMakey has also developed a series of lessons for students (or teachers) to build their knowledge.

 

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Once you have your hands on a MakeyMakey kit just plug it into the USB port in your computer . Using conductive materials, connect the inputs to ground via whatever method you see fit to simulate button presses on the keyboard using the controller. Its that easy, no software installation or additional setup necessary. Check out the HowTo page for a more visual guide.

Once you have your controller set up start using it to play games! There are a number available on the MakeyMakey website and KnowledgeAdventure but here are a few more:

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VivaVideo: Free Video Editing Software for Mobile

Posted in 4-7, 8-12, AppliedDesignSkillsTechnologies, English, multimedia creation, Not Subject Specific, Resource, Video & Video Tutorials | Tagged with , , , , , ,

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VivaVideo is a free app available for both Android and iOS that allows even the most inexperienced of users to combine and edit audio and visual content on the go. While its interface is rather simple it boasts a wide range of features, form effects, transitions, and filters to live subtitles and dubbing.

Free version:

  • Powerful video editing
  • Creative camera lenses
  • Photo slideshow maker
  • Viedo collage maker
  • Export and sharing

Pro version:

  • all the above +
  • Watermark-free videos
  • Unlimited video length

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Video has become a central part of media as we know it today. It is a powerful supplement, and sometimes replacement, for writing as it is often more informative and engaging. As such it is becoming increasingly important that children learn about video production and tools like VivaVideo as part of their academic experience. The value in VivaVideo lies in the fact one can use it to edit media without moving the content to another device, speeding up and simplifying the production process. Students can use this software to create anything from short documentaries to amateur films or video presentations. Not only does this bolster student engagement but it also allows students to express themselves and communicate in a manner rather different to the run-of-the-mill essay, poster, or short-answer quiz. After all, the purpose of education is not only to inform but, perhaps more importantly, to create and inspire.

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Using the device on which you wish to install VivaVideo go to the app on the Google Play Store or the Apple App Store (depending on your device) and click install. Once you have installed the software check out some of the easy tutorials and start making!

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QR Codes in education – seek, share, scan

Posted in 4-7, 8-12, English, Not Subject Specific, Resource | Tagged with , , , , , , ,

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A QR (Quick Response) Code is a type of barcode you can use to point your students towards information or online content. They are free, easy to make and quick to access (once you have downloaded a QR code reader) and as long as you are able to point and hold the camera on your device over the code. QR Codes can be printed and scanned individually or displayed on a high res projector and scanned by the whole class.

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Ways to use QR Codes in your classroom/school:

  • Aid in student research by providing links to online sources
  • Create a treasure hunt or quest – this can be a physical journey like ours around the library or a strictly virtual journey in one classroom. I’ve even used QR codes on a ‘Community Unit field trip’ where groups of students, along with a parent, visited various locations around the community getting clues and prompts to learn more and find their next location!
  • Organize resources in your classroom library or help your students find resources around the school
  • Share long URLs more easily (especially with younger studnets)
  • Have students create QR codes to share multi-media projects or other content/questions/info with the class or the wider community
  • VISIT the following for more comprehensive info and lists of ways to use QR codes in educational contexts:

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How to create a QR code:

    1. Create and/or Decide on the content, multimedia, text, URL etc to which you want to link
    2. Find a QR Code Generator online (there are so many – I like the features allowed free with http://www.qrstuff.com/; I also use https://www.the-qrcode-generator.com/)
    3. Add your content and create.
    4. Download or embed the QR code (as I’ve done below… do you know where this QR code goes?)

How to scan or read a QR code:

  1. Find and download a QR code reader compatible with your device – again, there are many, but I like QR code reader – simple name, easy to remember and cross-compatible!
  2. Launch the app by clicking on it
  3. Now hold your device’s camera centered over the QR code so that it appears in the ‘lines’ or ‘box’ provided by the reader. Tap scan and you should be on your way!

Now get Scanning…

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Drag and Drop Programming: Scratch

Posted in 4-7, 8-12, AppliedDesignSkillsTechnologies, English, Resource | Tagged with , , , , , , , ,

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Scratch Logo by MIT Media Lab, modified (CC BY-SA)

Scratch is a simple drag and drop programming language for kids of all ages to learn the basics of coding. It is free and available both as a web and desktop application. ScratchJr for ages 5-7 is available on Android and iOS tablets. With Scratch you can create anything: animations, stories, narratives and games to which hardware such as the MakeyMakey can then be connected.

Features of the latest 2.0 Scratch version:

  • Student and teacher accounts
  • Cloud data
  • Drag and drop coding blocks
  • Upload files from computer
  • Draw your own elements
  • Custom blocks
  • Video sensing
  • Vector, Bitmap and Paint editors
  • Sound editor
  • Record project video
  • Project sharing

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Scratch is a simple and fun way for kids to learn about the basics of programming/coding and to practice computational participation. Using custom blocks that one can drag and drop, you can build a sequence of events and essentially code the actions to be performed by a certain element. You can add elements from the Scratch library, upload from your computer or draw your own. With ScratchJr kids even as young as 5 years old can learn to code! Visual programming, like that used in Scratch is relevant to the BC revised curriculum, in particular, the ADST curriculum.

ScratchEd provides teachers with an online space where they can view teaching resources for Scratch, engage with other educators and share their own stories. There, teachers can find examples of how they can apply Scratch to engage students in their subject matter and get inspired.

Check out this Co-Creative Activities for the 21st Century Kids guide to explore some ideas on how coding activities, both unplugged and plugged (using Scratch) can be integrated into the classroom.

Also take a look at the Creative Computing guide created by member of the ScratchEd research team at Harvard.

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1. Go to the Scratch website or download the desktop program.

  • If you go to the website, you can either just try it out  (which won’t save any of your work) or first join Scratch and then create (this way you can save and share your work).

To join, click on the blue “Join Scratch” button and fill out all the required information. You will also have to confirm your email.

After signing in, from the toolbar on the top of the page click “Create” start a new project or “Explore” if you first want to look for some inspiration.

  • If you decide to download the software to your computer, click here and then choose for which platform you are downloading.

Open the file that you downloaded and install it.

2. The interface of the web based and desktop application are the same.

  • Drag and drop code blocks from the “Scripts” menu (outlined red) to the building space on the right. Connect blocks to define a series of actions.
  • Add a stage backdrop and new characters/objects called sprites (outlined orange) from the Scratch library, upload from computer or draw your own.
  • As you create new sprites click on them to program their actions.
  • View you final project on the project display screen (outlined blue). Click on the green flag to activate your project and the red stop sign to stop it.

 

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Curious about creating a simple animation from scratch (no pun intended)? Below is a video demonstration using Scratch to build a solar system. The “remix” template is provided by the UBC Physics and Astronomy Outreach team. For detailed instructions, please check out their physics-at-home activity, with new challenges introduced throughout the summer. From adding comets to altering the Sun’s mass, there are many opportunities to unleash your creativity and make the project customized.

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