Voice Thread

I created a blog last spring and have continued to use it to share my thoughts on technology and teaching. Check out this post about Voice Thread to find out how to use it and why it could be useful in your classroom!

Doodle Buddy

Doodle Buddy - the application that allows students to draw, scribble, annotate, and create. There are many things you could do with this app in your classroom and it is very easy to use; even better, it's free! Whiteboards are a common form of quick assessment in elementary classrooms, and Doodle Buddy could serve as a digital whiteboard to avoid an extra material needed in your classroom.

With Doodle Buddy comes some features that I will explain. As I stated before, it's really easy to use and you will pick up quickly once you start playing around with it! First of all, there are buttons across the bottom of the screen. Beginning on the left, we have the undo button. By selecting this it will undo your last action. Moving to the right, we have the trash can button. This will clear your entire drawing and leave only the background. The next button is the drawing tool. It allows students to select a color and type of writing utensil. The size of the pencil or brush can be changed by moving the white dot across the link at the bottom of the gray screen. Then they can begin drawing, annotating, or scribbling.

The next button is for stamps, or stickers. You can select small or large based on the size you need. There are many different types of stamps/stickers. I added this cute smiley face!

Next are the stencils. Pretty self explanatory - they work like regular stencils!

The next button is labeled "Tt". This allows you to add text. By selecting the button, a text box will appear and you can type your desired text. The choices across the top are the font options (helv, type, felt, times).

Then we have the option of selecting a background. There are some included within the app, but you can also use a photo you've already taken or take another.

I chose an existing picture on my iPad of the beach.

When you're all finished, select the wrench button on the right side of the screen. This will give you some options. Saving to the camera roll is the easiest for students! They could upload the finished product to Showbie so the teacher has access.

There are many ways you could use Doodle Buddy in your classroom. As you can see below, you could ask students questions and they could use the app to record their answers. Spelling tests could also be given using this app. 

Share with us how you use Doodle Buddy in your classroom!

Write About This

How many times have you heard your students complain about not knowing what to write about? I'm sure a lot! Elementary students have a huge imagination, yet when it comes to writing, it seems to disappear. Write About This is an application that erases this problem! It provides writing prompts for students to spark some ideas for their writing. There is a free version and a paid version for $3.99. The free version has a lot of limitations, but there are ways to getting around those if you aren't willing to pay $3.99.

I will go through how to navigate these 6 icons and the basics of the app. 

First, the search icon! This can be used to search for a specific topic or idea a student might have.

Next, the categories icon. This is where students can search for a topic by category. Unfortunately, with the free version, only one topic per category is available.

I chose animals as an example category. This lion picture is the only topic that was available since I have the free version. It provides a question at the bottom of the screen. Students can click the 'voice' button to have the question(s) read to them. When they are ready to write, they click the pencil, 'write' button.

Once they select 'write', this screen will appear. There is a space to provide a title and begin writing. If they wish, students can also record and audio about the writing prompt. It also includes the date, which is a great way to monitor students' progress over the course of the year.

To record an audio, click the 'record audio' button. The screen below will appear. When you are ready, click the 'record' button and begin speaking. Once finished and satisfied, click 'save audio'.

To begin writing, click on the notebook paper and your keyboard will appear. When you are finished, click the very bottom right button (icon of a keyboard) to make the keyboard disappear.

Before saving, you must create an author profile for yourself! Choose a existing picture or take one.

Then your picture will appear to show that you wrote this piece. When you're completely finished, click 'save to camera roll'. This will export the write about to your iPad's camera roll. However, with the free version, you can only save 1 write about at a time. If you don't have the paid version and still want to save it, you can take a screenshot by holding the home button and power button at the same time. This won't save the audio, but it will save the writing! The screens hotted photo could be uploaded through Showbie so the teacher has access.

The next icon on the home screen is 'random'. By selecting this, a random writing prompt will be chosen for the student. Once the screen below is shown, the same process as stated above is used to begin writing.

The 'My Write Abouts' icon will take you to all the saved Write Abouts.

The 'Create a Prompt' icon allows you or the students to create a writing prompt. The screen below will appear and you can create your own: adding a picture, text, and audio. 

For example, I took a picture of the ocean and added a question as a prompt. I added an audio clip to read the question aloud.

To save these prompts, click the 'Save to Category' button. The prompts made will appear in a 'Custom' category, found on the categories page.

The 'Quick Write' icon allows students to begin writing right away, without a prompt. By selecting this icon, the screen below will appear. Students can add photos, record, and begin writing immediately.

Next time you hear your students complain that they have nothing to write about, refer them to this app!

News-O-Matic

News-O-Matic is a daily newspaper for kids. It provides appropriate stories at their level. Each day there are featured articles. By scrolling down, students can view previous news stories, so there is always a ton of articles available!

As an example, I selected the "Team Time for with Kittens" article. Once in the article, there are many cool features. Simply use your finger to scroll through the article to see the entire thing. 

If you select the 'fact' button on the left side of the screen, a fact about something related to the article will appear. Click the red 'x' when you are finished reading it to return to the article.

There's also an 'act' button on the left side of the screen. If you select that, a similar box will appear, but instead of a fact, it will tell you to do something related to the article. 

Throughout the article, there are blue highlighted and underlined words. These are words that students may not understand. If they select these words, a definition box will appear, as seen below.

In the top right corner, there is a globe. If you select it, a map will appear. This will show where the article is talking about in relation to the students. It also provides facts about the distance and other things. Click the red 'x' in the top right corner to return to the article.

On the right hand side of the screen there is a 'play' button. If you select it, a video related to the article will appear. Click 'done' in the top left corner to return to the article.

Underneath the 'play' button, there is a 'plus sign' button. If you select that, additional pictures related t the article will appear and you can use your finger to swipe to the left to see them all.

And my favorite feature…. the read to me option! On the right hand side there is a button labeled 'read to me'. By selecting this, students can have the program read to them. This is awesome for younger elementary students who may not be able to read the entire article themselves.

Finally, if you select the blue button in the bottom right corner with a triangle in it, a few options will appear. The top one, with a person in it, allows students to learn about the author of the article. The other two options are only available if you create an account, which is not necessary.

Overall, this is a great tool to use in your classroom. It provides students with daily news that is appropriate and easy to access. There are many awesome features that this app offers - I highly recommend you try to incorporate this into your students' daily work.

Kid's Journal

Kid's Journal is a free iPad application that allows students to keep a digital journal ongoing. It is very student-friendly and easy to begin using. No account is required. 

Upon opening the app, you will see this screen. Tap the box to add a new journal.

Now you can begin personalizing your journal. Tap on the 'Name' and type yours! Click the camera at the bottom of the screen or the camera in the middle of the journal to add a photo.

You can add a photo from your camera roll on the iPad or take a photo.

Next, select the paint bucket at the bottom of the screen to change the color of your journal.

Once you're finished personalizing, click the purple mouse holding the checkmark to begin writing! The journal will open up to today's date. There are 4 boxes on each page. The first is a spot to choose an emotion to express how you feel. Use your finger to scroll through the options, there are more than just the first ones you will see!

Next, there is a picture box to select where you are on this day: home, school, or away. 

Another text box that is available is a weather choice. Select what the weather is like on the day! If you select the 'Photo of the Day' box, you will be asked if you want to take a photo (camera icon) or import a photo from your iPad's camera roll (pile of pictures icon). Select a photo to represent yourself, your classroom, or even the weather outside to document the day.

The calendar feature at the bottom of the screen allows you to quickly jump from day to day to see your journal entries.

There is an option to export journal entries by selecting the paper airplane icon at the bottom of the screen. The choices are the entry you have open, all entries, or entries between a certain date. Select one of these and click the blue 'export' button. 

Once you select one of those options, you will now have to decide how you want to export it. I chose Showbie, because this would allow students to virtually turn in their journal entries so the teacher can view and comment on them.

Once you select Showbie, it will open up the application. I was logged into Showbie as a fictional student.  This student is logged into 3 classes, so I had to select a class. 

After I selected a class, I had to choose an assignment. The only assignment 'Johny Jones' has right now is a journal assignment. I selected that.

Then it will ask you to add the file. Click the 'add file' blue button.

Now you can see the PDF file named 'Jenny' is uploaded to showbie and available for viewing.

You can click on the file in Showbie and see it, annotate on it, etc.

This is a great way for students to document their writing over the entire year. It gives teachers the ability to have record of their progress. By combining this app with Showbie, teachers have easy access to students' journals. It is a very developmentally appropriate app for elementary students - especially K-2! 

Try it out in your classroom!