Want to start playing with augmented reality? The Quiver VisionApp is a simple way to begin.
1.Print out some of the colouring sheets.
2. Have the kids colour them in.
3. View them through the app on your iPad or phone.
Give it a go!
EngageLK Technology in the Classroom
Showing posts with label Free Apps. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Free Apps. Show all posts
Quiver App
Want to start playing with augmented reality? The Quiver VisionApp is a simple way to begin.
1.Print out some of the colouring sheets.
2. Have the kids colour them in.
3. View them through the app on your iPad or phone.
Give it a go!
Calm (free for teachers!)
I was introduced to this website by Colin Pattison who uses it regularly in his intermediate classroom. He says that he will often use the various sound options to help his students focus.
As educators we know the importance of teaching mindfulness both for ourselves and our students. In a world which often over stimulates a center of calm is important.
The website has free functions but also some paid content. Here is the great news, for teachers it is completely FREE!
This is what they say....
In today’s rapidly changing world, children face unique social and emotional challenges. Kids are experiencing greater pressures earlier in life, and feel more stress and anxiety than ever before.
What if their school day began with a few moments of quiet and stillness? Numerous studies have shown the many benefits of teaching mindfulness to children. Through mindfulness education, kids can develop a lifelong capacity for greater self-awareness, concentration, patience, and resilience.
Under this initiative, any teacher with a K-12 classroom, anywhere in the world, can get free access to Calm’s paid subscription service (available on Android, iOS and the web). Teachers will have unlimited access to our growing library of guided meditations and mindfulness exercises, including Calm Kids, our programs tailored for age groups from pre-K through high school.
Go here and sign up.
I have a confession to make. Sometimes I have used independent reading as a way of infusing the classroom with some quiet both for me and my students. I know shocking! Last year I started a silent time instead. For a period of time each day or so (decided after classroom discussion, experimentation and reflection) we were just silent. Students could stare out the window, doodle, close their eyes, read or catch up on work the only rule was... they had to be silent. As a class we found we loved this time let's face it engagement can often mean noise. This gave us a designated time to recharge and refocus.
Why not put a little CALM into your classroom?
TouchCast Studio
TouchCast is a must have media creation app if your students enjoy using green screen! It offers basic green screening options with built in news studio or talk show backgrounds, but you do have the option to use your own images and videos. What sets TouchCast apart from other green screen apps is that your videos can be interactive. Your audience can click on links, see a live Twitter feed, or even answer a poll question. Students are able to annotate maps, websites, images, or variety of other vApps (video apps). It even has a teleprompter and sound effects!
What's So Great About It?
How Can I Use It?
What's So Great About It?
- Creates high-quality interactive videos
- News studio, talk show, and other default studio backgrounds included
- Annotate websites, images, videos, and maps
- Various features include whiteboard, teleprompter and sound effects
- Editing features are built in to the app
How Can I Use It?
- Bring the writing forms to life with video. Students can report on a current event to demonstrate their understanding or create an opinion segment for news show
- Create instructional videos for science and math
- Take viewers on a virtual tour of a country, city or town
- Produce school news videos to share with the school community
- Role play a character from a story and bring it to life with video
Where Do I Start?
The TouchCast website has good tutorials, a quick reference guide and an Educator's Guide you can download to iBooks. It is full of ideas on how to engage students using TouchCast in the classroom.
Adobe Spark Post
Adobe Spark Post uses professionally designed templates and themes to create beautiful graphics. With just a few taps on iPad, students can add text and an image/video to design their graphic in minutes. A graphic can be remixed with a new layout or theme with a single tap. Graphics can be easily saved and shared.
What's So Great About It?
How Can I Use It?
Things To Know
The Adobe Spark apps all require a (free) account. If your students are under 13, create a class account so all students will log into the same account. You will be able to see every student's work. If your students are over 13 they can use their Google account to log in.
Where Do I Start?
When you open the app it will give you hints to create your first post. You can also watch the "Video Guide" located in the apps's settings (the gear icon in the upper left corner).
What's So Great About It?
- Easy to use K-8
- Multi platform (can be used on iPad, Chromebook, laptop)
- Professionally designed templates and layouts
- Search for photos within the app or choose your own from the camera roll
- Easy to edit a project
How Can I Use It?
- Design simple posters
- Publish a piece of poetry
- Create a meme for a piece of persuasive writing. The meme can support the main argument
- Identify key words/quote from a story and decide what colours and images support the mood
- Create an advertisement/public service announcement for an idea, event or cause
Things To Know
The Adobe Spark apps all require a (free) account. If your students are under 13, create a class account so all students will log into the same account. You will be able to see every student's work. If your students are over 13 they can use their Google account to log in.
Where Do I Start?
When you open the app it will give you hints to create your first post. You can also watch the "Video Guide" located in the apps's settings (the gear icon in the upper left corner).
SeeSaw: The Learning Journal
SeeSaw: The Learning Journal is a student driven portfolio that allows students to capture, document, share and reflect on their learning. Students can use photos, videos, drawings, notes, links or PDFs to show what they know and share it with their class, teacher, parents and even the world!
For teachers, SeeSaw is a great tool for assessment, feedback and teaching digital citizenship skills. It allows teachers to see work from the entire class or a single student. There is an option for creating folders to tag items by subject area and a calendar view to easily see when items were posted.
What's So Great About It?
For teachers, SeeSaw is a great tool for assessment, feedback and teaching digital citizenship skills. It allows teachers to see work from the entire class or a single student. There is an option for creating folders to tag items by subject area and a calendar view to easily see when items were posted.
What's So Great About It?
- User friendly and multi platform (can be used on iPad, Chromebook, laptop)
- Captures student thinking and learning (photo, video, audio, drawings, notes, links, PDFs)
- Sign in options that work for all ages (QR code or Google email)
- Builds connections between home and school
- Students can import work from over 100 different apps
How Can I Use It?
- Take a photo/upload a photo of a page of a book and use the drawing tool to identify parts of speech or use the audio recording tool to practice reading fluency
- Take a video/upload a video of a science experiment and have students explain what is happening
- Use the drawing tool to solve math problems and have students explain their thinking
- Use the notes tool to author short stories and then practice reading them with the audio recording tool
- Create a coding project and link it to SeeSaw to receive peer feedback
Things To Know
SeeSaw is a free app that offers unlimited storage and allows two teachers per class. You can upgrade to SeeSaw Plus for more advanced features but the free version offers many solutions in the classroom.
Where Do I Start?
When you open the app you will be asked to create a teacher account. Once your account is created you can create your class. SeeSaw's Help Centre offers excellent tutorials and activity ideas for Grades K-12. They also host a webinars series called "PD in your PJs".
Flipboard is a magazine app where content from social networks, publishers, online sources and photo sharing sites can all be stored in one place.
What's So Great About It?
- Create and customize your own "magazines" from multiple sources
- Easy to share magazines with others
- Add any weblink to magazine
- Students can follow topics of personal or educational interest
- Engaging, multimedia reading experience
How Can I Use It?
- To curate teaching ideas and activities
- To collect news articles about current events for students to read
- Gather many sources of information related to a class inquiry
- Share different magazines with groups of students to differentiate instruction
- Older students can create magazines to collect and share information related to an inquiry
Things to Know
Flipboard is intended for students 13 and older. As a teacher, you can create a class account for your students and provide them with the login information.
Where Do I Start?
When you open the app you will be asked to create an account and choose topics that interest you. To learn more about the app and how it works you can visit their tutorial website.
Where Do I Start?
When you open the app you will be asked to create an account and choose topics that interest you. To learn more about the app and how it works you can visit their tutorial website.
Paper by FiftyThree
Paper by FiftyThree allows students to combine shapes to create beautiful graphics, icons, and emojis.
What's So Great About It?
How Can I Use It?
Where Do I Start?
Students don't need to steal images from the internet! They can use Paper by FiftyThree to draw their own. If a student isn't sure how to draw something, they can find an download an image, import it into Paper, and then trace over it. Once their drawing is complete they can erase the photo so only their drawing remains.
Additional Resources:
Check out this blog post about how one primary teacher uses Paper in her lessons.
What's So Great About It?
- Easy to use K-8
- Bring sketches, text, and images together
- Create beautiful drawings in a virtual sketchbook
- Easily create diagrams and checklists
- Export as individual images or as a Presentation
How Can I Use It?
- To capture sketchnotes
- To draw on top of an image to clarify information
- Create original images to use in other projects
- Use the diagram tool to create graphic organizers
- To replace a paper notebook in the classroom
Things To Know
You can only import one image into each Card.
You can only import one image into each Card.
Where Do I Start?
While experimenting with the tools is a great way to get to know Paper, FiftyThree also offers some great tutorials to learn to use all the features of Paper.
Challenge Your Students!
Students don't need to steal images from the internet! They can use Paper by FiftyThree to draw their own. If a student isn't sure how to draw something, they can find an download an image, import it into Paper, and then trace over it. Once their drawing is complete they can erase the photo so only their drawing remains.
Additional Resources:
Check out this blog post about how one primary teacher uses Paper in her lessons.
Assembly
Assembly allows students to combine shapes to create beautiful graphics, icons, and emojis.
What's So Great About It?
How Can I Use It?
Where Do I Start?
Have students write instructions for creating a shape using math language. Each student can challenge a friend to create their design in Assembly.
Additional Resources:
Visit the Assembly Website.
What's So Great About It?
- Easy to use K-8
- Creates high-quality designs
- Layer, flip, rotate, stack, and position icons exactly as you need them
- Exports to the camera roll with a transparent background so you can use your image anywhere
- Export creations as a video so you can see the process students went through to build their image
How Can I Use It?
- Create logos for classroom-created products
- Create characters and backgrounds for graphic novels
- Create tessellations in art class
- Investigate 2D shapes and transformational geometry
- Create and visualize fractions
Things To Know
Assembly does have shapes for purchase, however, the shopping area is unobtrusive, and the free app allows access to all features and many shapes.
Assembly does have shapes for purchase, however, the shopping area is unobtrusive, and the free app allows access to all features and many shapes.
Where Do I Start?
The best way to get started is to open the Assembly app and go through the tutorials. You'll learn all the basics of creating your own designs.
Challenge Your Students!
Have students write instructions for creating a shape using math language. Each student can challenge a friend to create their design in Assembly.
Additional Resources:
Visit the Assembly Website.
Spark Page
Spark Page is an easy way for students to create stunning webpages from their words and images.
What's So Great About It?
How Can I Use It?
Spark Page creates public webpages that can be viewed anywhere. Students can create a webpage to inform the community about how to contribute to a solution to a local problem.
Additional Resources:
Get ideas from Adobe Spark in the Classroom
What's So Great About It?
- Easy to use K-8
- Search for Creative Commons photos and icons from inside the app
- Build webpages that include photos, text, and videos in minutes
- Choose from beautifully designed themes so your page looks amazing
- Edit your story on iPad or on the web
How Can I Use It?
- Create a newsletter to share with the school community
- Publish the results of an inquiry to share with the world
- Create an online art portfolio
- Share photos of a school event
- Publish a photo essay
Things To Know
The Adobe Spark apps all require a (free) account. If your students are under 13, create a class account so all students will log into the same account. You will be able to see every student's work. If your students are over 13 they can use their Google account to log in.
Where Do I Start?
The Adobe Spark apps all require a (free) account. If your students are under 13, create a class account so all students will log into the same account. You will be able to see every student's work. If your students are over 13 they can use their Google account to log in.
Where Do I Start?
The best way to get started is to open the Spark Page App and go through the step-by-step hints to create your first Page.
Challenge Your Students!
Spark Page creates public webpages that can be viewed anywhere. Students can create a webpage to inform the community about how to contribute to a solution to a local problem.
Additional Resources:
Get ideas from Adobe Spark in the Classroom
Shadow Puppet EDU
Shadow Puppet EDU is a simple way to capture student thinking and learning in the K-8 classroom!
How Can I Use It?
Where Do I Start?
The ShadowPuppet EDU website is full of resources and includes a quick start guide!
What's So Great About It?
- Easy to use K-8 with simple editing features
- Tell stories, explain ideas & document student learning
- Combine photos & videos, add narration & music and overlay text & drawings on the screen
- Educational image galleries including NASA, Met Museum of Art, The British Library and more!
- Add maps & satellite images directly into your video
- Export to camera roll, SeeSaw, Google Drive or copy/paste a link
How Can I Use It?
- Summarize a story's beginning, middle and end
- Geometric shape or fractions scavenger hunt
- Document a science experiment and explain the results
- Pretend to be a historical figure and share your thoughts on an issue
- Create flashcards for learning a new language
Where Do I Start?
The ShadowPuppet EDU website is full of resources and includes a quick start guide!
Challenge Your Students!
Are you learning about a famous artist? What about an artistic movement? Your students can create a virtual museum of projects they have created throughout the year.
Spark Video
Spark Video is an easy way for students to create compelling animated videos in minutes.
What's So Great About It?
How Can I Use It?
Additional Resources:
Get ideas from Adobe Spark in the Classroom
What's So Great About It?
- Easy to use K-8
- Search for photos and icons from inside the app
- Record and edit your voice separately on each slide
- Choose from beautifully designed themes and music to match the mood of your video
- Automatically creates transitions and enhances your voice so your videos look and sound amazing
How Can I Use It?
- Create "All About Me" videos to get to know students
- Create Public Service Announcement videos to persuade your audience
- Tell a narrative story in words and pictures
- Write a procedure to help another student learn a skill
- Create an advertisement for a school event
Things To Know
The Adobe Spark apps all require a (free) account. If your students are under 13, create a class account so all students will log into the same account. You will be able to see every student's work. If your students are over 13 they can use their Google account to log in.
Where Do I Start?
The Adobe Spark apps all require a (free) account. If your students are under 13, create a class account so all students will log into the same account. You will be able to see every student's work. If your students are over 13 they can use their Google account to log in.
Where Do I Start?
The best way to get started is to open the Spark Video App and go through the step-by-step tutorial.
Challenge Your Students!
Spark Video makes it easy to share your learning with others! Create a video to teach someone else how to count in another language.
Additional Resources:
Get ideas from Adobe Spark in the Classroom
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