Mash-up: Student Created Animated Dictionaries (UPDATED)

Updated as of June 2020.

An animated dictionary is a fun way for students to see vocabulary words come to life. The students can select a video that they feel best represents the word an create a GIF. Here is an example with the word geyser. 

To create an animated dictionary I suggest using the following tools:

• Google Slides
• gifrun.com (or another GIF maker website)
• YouTube

Here is a quick video showing you the steps I took to create the animated dictionary. 

I suggest having the students write the definition, in their own words, of the vocabulary word in the presentation notes section. 

Implementation Ideas:

• Create a dictionary for each unit and have students collaboratively build animations based on unit vocabulary.
• Group students and assign various roles (example: GIF Maker, Word Maker, Definer).
• Have students collaboratively create a whole class animated dictionary.
• Have students create individual dictionaries and share with one another.

18 EdTech Integration Ideas for the Language Arts Classroom

During the September 15th #gafechat Twitter chat, I posed content specific questions to drive conversation and sharing of ideas around 'Creating Digital Awareness'. If you missed the chat, you can find the full archives here.

Here is the Language Arts question that I posed:

Here are some of the ideas that the participants shared. 

The students could...

1. do an exquisite corpse - have each student write for two minutes and then have students switch and another student continue the story. (@mbswoods)
2. write using the new Voice feature in Google documents (@alicebarr)
3. write a collaborative story using a Google Document. Each student can take turns writing a sentence. (@LISDTechie)
4. summarize in "tweet" style (140 characters or less) (@curryhj2000)
5. Tweet a writer on Twitter to ask questions about a book (@curryhj2000)
6. blog and share their thoughts with the class or world. (@TeachingFactor)
7. create a writing E-portfolio on Google Slides and add images to support. (@TeachingFactor)
8. write stories together using Story Wars (@ShakeUpLearning)
9. write a story on a Google document and use the Research Feature to include images to support. (@LISDTechie)
10. post a question in Google Classroom and have them respond (@MLunoff)
11. create an online flipbook using FlipSmackEDU (@nsattler) 
12. record their reflection/thoughts using Vocaroo, save in Google Drive and share with others. (@LISDTechie)
13. compare and contrast two images provided by the teacher via a Google Form inserted image and paragraph text box. (@tntechgal)
14. create a Choose Your Own Adventure story using Google Slides or Google Forms (@LISDTechie)
15. create editorial style blog posts about current events. Have other students comment on posts. (@ospikes) Google Document with commenting rights is great for this. 
16. compose a quick conversation between two characters (historical, mathematical, fictional, etc.) using Story Builder. (@LISDTechie) 
17. draft, write, edit, revise, and then record a podcast using SoundTrap (@AlexaSchlechter) 
18. participate in quadblogging to infuse an authentic audience to engage students (@kilgoretech)

Additional Resources Shared:

• Google Tools for English Language Arts by Steve Wick
• Improving Writing and Research with Google Apps by Kasey Bell

Check out these posts for other edtech integration ideas:

• 15 Integration Ideas for Teaching with Maps
• 20 Integration Ideas for Math Problem Solving
• 16 Integration Ideas for the Science Class

Great Websites to Find Royalty Free/Creative Common Images

Many people forget that using someone else's image can violate copyright law. Here are some websites teachers and students can use to ensure they aren't breaking the law. 

Google Images
When finding an image on Google, it is important to change the usage rights to ensure the image is free to use. 

If you plan on changing the image in any way make sure to select one of the 'with modification' options. 


Pixabay
This site has nice royalty free images and you can log in with your Google account. 

Pics for Learning
Find safe photos to use in class with no login required. You also have the option to save the image to your Drive.

Photos for Class
This site has safe G rated images from the the makes of Storyboard That. There is no login required to download the images. 

Check out my page for more websites with creative commons photos. Happy image hunting!

Recording a Screen Capture Video with TechSmith Snagit's FREE Chrome Extension

TechSmith Snagit is a great tool to use to capture screenshots, capture screen capture videos and make quick GIFs. A GIF is a video that loops over and over with no sound. Here is an example:

What to learn more about using Snagit to record a video. Check out my quick tutorial:

Mash-Up: www.newsela.com + Awesome Screenshot Minus = Interacting with Online Text

This mash-up is going to showcase two tools: www.newsela.com and Awesome Screenshot Minus Chrome extension (the original post was created using Awesome Screenshot, but that extension has since gone away. Awesome Screenshot Minus is a replacement extension). Mashed together gives the students the ability to interact with online text. This one is not touchscreen computer compatible, which means students will need to use the touchpad or mouse to engage with the tools.

Newsela is a website that allows teachers/students to change the article's reading level by the lexile number. This will allow you to assign the same article at different reading levels. Great for having all students participate in a class discussion around the same topic, while allowing the students the ability to read the article at their respect reading level.

Awesome Screenshot is a Chrome extension that allows you to take a screenshot of the entire webpage and then interact by highlighting, adding text, drawing, etc. The screenshot with annotations can then be shared to Google Drive.

Mash-Up: awwapp.com + Screencastify = Interactive Whiteboard

I am starting a new series called Mash-Up. The idea came to me as I was thinking about the popular App Smashing concept. In App Smashing students use 2 more more iOS or Android applications to create a product. Mash-Up is going to show how to combine 2-3 web-based tools. For all the educators out there who don't have student iPads, this is for you. 

In this first Mash-Up I will showcase how to use awwapp.com, a web whiteboard, and Screencastify, a Chrome extension, to create an interactive whiteboard. 

I hope you will find this new series useful. There is no set schedule for when videos will come out, but stay tuned because more are on the way.

Get Student Feedback Using Geddit

I just discovered Geddit and am in love. This is an awesome assessment for learning tool. 

Here is why Geddit is so awesome!

Student Accounts
Student have the ability to sign in with a Google account or create an account. Students do NOT need an email address to create an account. They can give a username instead. 

Once they have logged in to Geddit, the teacher will give the students a code to join his/her class.

Students Can Check-in
Geddit allows students to "check-in" with the teacher to let them know how they are feeling about the lesson. The teacher is the only person who can see the students' response, so they can answer without fear of judgement. Here are the students' choices:

• I don't understand this :(
• I think I get it?
• I'm OK with this
• I've got this
• Easy, I could teach my friend

Teachers Can Push Out Questions

Teachers can create separate lessons filled with questions to ask students. The teacher then pushes out each question to all the students at the right time. Teachers have the ability to create standard questions (multiple choice, short answer, long answer, or poll) or a math question. 

There is even the ability to ask a question on the fly, by creating a quick question. For the quick question the students will see A-D for multiple choice, T/F for true and false, box for short answer and A-D for a poll. Verbally give the students the question and answer choices and push out a quick question. 

If your classroom is not 1:1, that is okay. Ask questions where students have to answer in a group.

Show Students Class Data

Teachers have the ability to share with students how the class as a whole answered a question. It will not show the students individual answers. Teachers can use this to have class discussions on why some students might have answered a particular way. 

Student Data

Teachers can pull up individual students to see how they answered all of the questions, as well as send them a private message that will show up only on their screen. This is a great way to redirect a student without embarrassing them or give a student encouragement when you see they are frustrated. 

Share Lessons with Other Teachers

After the lesson ends the teacher can export the data to see how all students performed and get a whole class picture. You can also share your lessons with your colleagues, so they do not have to reinvent the wheel. No student data will be transferred when you share a lesson. 

If you haven't tried Geddit, I highly recommend you check it out.