Sunday 4 August 2013

EduCampAKL 2013

 EduCampAKL 2013
EduCamps are informal gatherings of educators who get together in their own time to share their knowledge and learn from one another.  It's informal arrangement allows the discussions to happen that the participants need and want.
Pinterest Inspiring Writing via @MrWoodNZSmackDown is a great way to share professionally, you could use it in your staff or team meetings.  Like a Petcha Kutcha on a small scale, you get two minutes to talk about any tool or idea, about learning.  I presented two tools.  First was the way I have been using Pinterest to help teach and inspire writing with students.  I have created a large collection of images in boards labeled "characters" and "settings" which I used to model writing with.  Like many of our students, I am a highly visual person and although not an avid writer, I feel more inspired and creative when I have a visual to scaffold my words.

Next was EduClipper because I love Pinterest and find it a valuable tool for visual bookmarking, great for inquiry.  EXCEPT they do not allow users under 13 years old, a common problem with online tools.  EduClipper uses the same basic formula but is designed for teachers and students, an excellent alternative.

Minecraft
My favourite discussion of the day was about Minecraft for learning.  There is obviously a lot of interest out there and I enjoyed being bale to share my passion for Minecraft as a game and a teaching context.  

I shared my Minecraft Quest blog with the group, which is a blog of challenges with some guiding research, vocabulary exploration and questions to engage fun and thinking.  Students can share their creations on the blog or leave comment linking to their own blogs.  Some teachers are using the challenges for their Minecraft Clubs at school.

Another great day with teachers modeling life-long learning, collaboration and reflection, I am proud to have been that company; and I had fun.


Read my tweets and those from #EdCampAKL on my e-portfolio.

Thursday 1 August 2013

Animated Characters for E-learning

My new favourite iPhone/ iPod / iPad app is Tellagami.  It's free, score one.  Tellagami allows you to create a range of animated characters with different clothes, skin colours, facial expressions and head size; don't let that get to your head!  You can also record speech or type in text and choose a voice type.

The backgrounds are simple, but what makes it effective is you can use the free vector images provided or use your own photos.  Below I have used a photo from a text as a background in a mini literacy.  Then I embedded it into my blog, which is only one of the ways you can share your creations.

I can see students using this for reports, responding to literacy; teachers using it as a hook for inquiry or a guide for a student activity on their website.  I can e-learners using it to introduce a course or make a point. 

What e-learning possibilities can you imagine using Tellagami?