Top Tech Tools of Two-Thousand Fifteen
by April van Buren, MJE
As my students and I are eagerly counting down the days left until Winter Break, I am also reflecting on the technology that has helped us get to break! I have a new favorite for easily creating polished infographics, I’ve found a web tool for engaging my students during quizzes and discussions (while I also collect data), and have learned some simple tricks for working with YouTube video clips. This is a good time of year also, to think about what’s next, and as such, I also present to you my technology New Year’s Resolution to learn and pilot Google Classroom in the new semester.
Create infographics to communicate information:
You too can look like a professional graphic designer with little or no design skills!
These sites all help with clean, clear templates, a variety of font choices and the option to upload and incorporate your own images, but Canva.com is my absolute favorite. It is so easy to use, has a contemporary style palette, students can upload their own photos and finished designs can be downloaded as a high-resolution pdf, jpg or png file or share via a direct URL from Canva. More suggestions on Canva design suggestions here: https://designschool.canva.com/blog/create-amazing-infographics/ )
Sample Canva graphic from: http://positionly.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/canva_example.png
Turn your class into a video game:
As a classroom teacher, using online quizzes to spark discussion, gauge where my students are before starting a lesson or actually test them (and have the test or quiz be automatically graded in real time) is so wonderful.
Kahoot has started to catch on at my school! Even teaching kids about plagiarism and database use, which is dry material no matter how I sing and dance, is more engaging and memorable when I use this platform to teach it. Kahoot allows you to incorporate your own images and even embed YouTube videos. It is teacher-centered, as the whole class must be taking it at the same time, while also interactive. Students use their smartphone or a desktop computer and must look at you/ the main screen to see your answer choices. Their screen only shows the shape and color options. Honestly, students who won’t put their phones away for even two minutes are just as excited and invested in class activity when I put a Kahoot up on the screen. This will be worth your time!
source: a screenshot of a Kahoot I use in Video Production
I’ve recently also found out about Quiziz, which can be self-directed. A student can be taking a Quiziz on plagiarism, while a different student is taking one on something else. There are also a variety of quizzes you can adapt for your own use – or you can create your own quiz from scratch.
Boost online video capabilities with these:
I often use YouTube videos for absent students, sub plans, to visually illustrate an idea, and for a million other educational purposes. And I’ve often wished I could just share the clip of the video instead of having to add a note like “scroll forward to 1 min. 22 sec.” or to note on a worksheet, “hint: the answer is somewhere in 1-2 min. of the video.” EdPuzzle allows you to pull in a video from YouTube, Vimeo and a handful of other video websites or to upload a video you’ve personally created. Next, you can crop it to the clip you want isolated for your audience, you can record your own voiceover or an audio note that pauses the video so you can elaborate on the video. You can embed quiz questions (multiple choice or open-ended) that “play” at whatever points in the video you choose, or simply embed text notes that you can time as well. EdPuzzle also has a setting that keeps students from skipping ahead through a video. To share it with your students, EdPuzzle creates a class code and students use that code to “join” the EdPuzzle class, allowing the teacher to track who has watched the video, what grade(s) they have for multiple choice questions or what answers they’ve provided for open-ended questions. It’s a simple way to use video to flip lessons.
Videonot.es, on the other hand, is more limited in its use, but still a simple tool for adding to videos as an academic tool. It allows you or your students to type notes as they watch an online video. Those notes are automatically sync’ed with the video. If you click on the note, the player goes to that part of the video. You can save and share video notes via Google Drive.
Do you want to show YouTube videos in class but YouTube is blocked or you simply don’t want to deal with all of the clutter or ads involved with YouTube? ViewPure.com, plug the URL for the video you want to show and click the “purify” button. After that, just copy the URL at the top of the screen and share that web address with your students or their parents instead of the YouTube link.
New Technology Resolution! Google Classroom
Yes, I am familiar with Google drive, Google Docs, Google plug-ins and all of those collaborative tools connected with gmail. Google Classroom takes those functions and organizes it in a way that is so helpful for the teacher and yet has a social media feel that kids easily take to. Or, at least that’s what I’ve been told as I’ve been poking around the Google Classroom. So, stay tuned. Mid-spring I’ll be back to report on how this program is working for my Video Production class, with tips, tricks and pitfalls to avoid.
April van Buren, MJE, has taught journalism at Parkway Central High School in suburban St. Louis, at Mesa Vista Middle and High School in rural New Mexico and is now starting a broadcast program in Madison, WI. She’s taught Beginning Journalism, Newspaper Production, Yearbook and some video and creative writing. She has also been an adjunct professor for the Communications Department at the University of New Mexico-Taos. From 2010 to May of 2013, she served as the New Mexico director for the Journalism Education Association and as the Vice President of the NM Scholastic Press Association. She earned her National Board certification in Language Arts in 2012 and studied journalism, education and library sciences at the University of Missouri-Columbia. She is currently KEMPA President, and the National Quiz Bowl coordinator for the Journalism Education Association. In her free time, she likes to read young adult fiction, and plays roller derby and ice hockey.
