I enjoyed creating a Digital Story using iMovie. Although I have created several projects for school using iMovie, it was good to have a refresher. In high school, I created iMovies similar to this project; however, it was a new experience creating a movie that could be used in a classroom. One of the main struggles I had was writing captions that effectively described the image while being concise. I also had to take into consideration the time for each frame to allow adequate time for the students to look at the picture and read the text. While I do not think I would have my young elementary students create iMovies, I would definitely consider creating short videos to help introduce or explain a topic in my classroom. I think the movie is a great way to engage students. However, a challenge to consider is selecting an appropriate topic that has many options of photos on websites such as www.pics4learning.com to consider copyright.
I chose to create a digital story on Animal Adaptations for a fourth grade science lesson. This video defines adaptation and provides examples for the following categories: camouflage, defense, hibernation, location, and mimicry. You may view my video below.
I really enjoyed using Inspiration 9 to create a digital diagram. The image above depicts a digital diagram I created for a second grade science lesson on the properties of matter. This program was extremely user friendly and I would definitely consider using it in my classroom. Although I created a digital diagram for a science lesson, this would be a great tool to create a plot diagram or character diagram for a literature lesson.
Initially, learning to create an Interactive Whiteboard was somewhat challenging. Even after explicit instruction, it was not until I had the opportunity to explore and test various tools that I finally got the hang of it. In order to complete an interactive whiteboard that could be used in a classroom, we used ActivInspire Software program. This program offers so many useful tools that could be utilized to enhance students' learning.This would be a great program to use as an interactive supplement to a lesson. By allowing students to come to the board, the teacher has the opportunity to informally assess participants, monitor and adjust, and engage students in the lesson. Additionally, the teacher has the ability to create an interactive flipchart specific to her lesson. Because this process can be quite labor intensive, teachers have the opportunity to share their flip charts via a sharing community called Promethean Planet.
For my project, I chose to create a tool that could be useful for a third grade science teacher. This interactive flip chart helps students identify and describe a food chain. Students will define academic language including: food chain, prey, and predator. Additionally, students will put a food chain flow chart in sequential order. In order to activate higher order thinking, students will be able to relate food chains to math through a relevant problem solving activity. This flip chart includes the following tools: pull tabs, infinite cloner, drag a copy, erase to reveal, move to reveal, and the table tool.
