Saturday, February 2, 2019

Thing 7: Presentation Tools

Search Tools (briefly):
It took me a while to find a topic that I really wanted to explore; initially, I browsed through Search Tools Ninja but did not find too many new ideas.  One that I did like quite a bit though was Wakelet for sharing links of interest with others.  It may be more of a curation tool than a search tool, but it works a little like Pinterest as it is searchable for many topics.  I loved some of the collections that I found, like Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. (awesome for teachers), Why Is Denmark So Happy?, The Marie Kondo Effect, and more.  I decided to use Wakelet to create a collection of search tool articles that I want to read and explore when I have more time.  You end up with a webpage with links contained in graphic boxes that would make the person you are sharing your collection with more likely to open them!!  I have provided a link to my Search Tool Articles below:

Wakelet - Search Tool Articles

Presentation Tools:
I am familiar with Google Slides, Haiku Deck, and Prezi, but I did find some great new presentation tools in this lesson.  My favorite would have to be Adobe Spark!!  The art teacher at my school has been raving about it, but this is the first time I actually explored the options.  I thought it was just a blogging site, but you can create much more than just a blog post.  This is a super easy platform to create videos, slideshows, newsletters, digital portfolios, infographics, presentations (instead of powerpoint), demonstrate how to cook a dish or a DIY project, create photo journals, post items for an estate sale, etc.

I watched videos that students created about themselves and I can see this being an easy, fun, and creative way to document their lives to share with others at the beginning of the school year.  It works from elementary to the high school level, but the older students could make a more in-depth presentation.  I like the way one student shared the history of her family with pictures of events that were happening around the world at the same time, making history more relevant in the classroom.  Students can add their own voice or use music.  They can add text, an icon, or pictures.  Adobe has templates for beginners or the user can start from scratch.  Adobe also has free accounts for educators who can use it to set up assignments with templates or use the lessons available.  Students can hide their identity and share their work directly into Google Classroom.  I have created my own photo journal, which you can check out below:

Indy & Leo's Photo Journal

Lastly, I read a good article by Dr. Monica Burns on using Adobe Spark with Google Slides to collaborate and share student work.  This could be used for reading responses to book quotes using images to enhance the quote - text in the slide can explain the quote.  Students could also upload a video into Google Slides that shows how a science experiment is done.  The slide template would be set up by the teacher with the students using one slide each to demonstrate their learning in an online collaborative format.  I have saved the article to my Pinterest page, but I will also be adding it to a new collection in Wakelet on presentation tools. 






1 comment:

  1. Great ideas for using Spark! I love using it too. It's just so easy, takes away lots of barriers to creation. Love the kitty play dates. :)

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