SMART Technology and Mind Mapping

This week we've been looking at SMART technology that can be used in the classroom, specifically with SMARTboards.

While on my first teaching placement, I had my first encounter with a SMARTboard and I have to say, I was pretty overwhelmed. I had no idea how to use it and what it could be used for, but it learned pretty quickly that I don't need to be wary of using them. I had my PowerPoint presentations on there, and I used SMARTnotebook for brainstorming and taking notes, but I knew I was only scratching the surface. 

Today we took a look at some mind mapping tools that can be used online, and can be interactive if used on a SMARTboard, one of them being Inspiration.

I almost laughed out loud when I saw we were looking at Inspiration; I used it in my grade 5 keyboarding class way back when I was in school! It has thankfully been updated though, and really it does work pretty well for mind mapping. I started one on Cluster 3 in the grade 8 Social Studies curriculum, which I'll be teaching in a couple of weeks:

I created this on my iPad using the free app, but it can be done right on the SMARTboard using the online Inspiration program. 

I have yet to download the SMARTnotebook program for my computer, but I have the app for my iPad which will come in handy I'm sure. I'm looking forward to playing around with SMARTboards more and hopefully to become more competent!

Movie Presentations!

Well, this week has been a short one, but yesterday we finished working on our movies, and today we presented them to the class!

Here's mine!



Please feel free to like and share it, as I would love to become a world-famous YouTube star!

But seriously, the presentations were hilarious today! One group did a parody of Miley Cyrus' "Wrecking Ball" using a giant hopping ball with handles, it was quite funny. Another group did a "Kid Snippets" kind of video, dubbing over each other. (Sidenote: if you haven't seen any Kid Snippets, check out their YouTube channel here.

Another thing I've been working on this week is my Eportfolio. It's basically an online portfolio where I can display work samples, experience, pictures, video... anything that will help me when I am looking for a job. It's not done yet (I still have to add to the work samples) but if you'd like an early look at it, you can click on the link below:

Kelsey's Online Portfolio

That's all for this week! Don't forget to watch my video and share it with everyone you know so I can be on Ellen!

Sign Up Genius and Movie Making

This week my cooperating teacher from last semester tagged me in a post on Facebook. It was about a program called "Sign Up Genius" that a teacher was using for parents to sign up to bring supplies for an ice cream party. It looked so cool the way she used it... Take a look at her blog:

The Organized Classroom

Also, take a look at Sign Up Genius.

I can totally see myself using this for parent volunteers. Thanks for the tip Mrs. Bergen!

Now, on to what I've been learning in class - this week we've been working on making a movie! It's been so much fun! Three of us planned out a story, filmed it, and we've been putting it together in class. It's been hard to keep it to only class time... we worked on it for the rest of the afternoon and we're almost done! Once we've presented it to the class I'll be sure to post it on here, but for now, here's a little teaser clip:

It'll look quite different when it's edited, but you'll have to wait for that!

And finally, just a bit of news, my brother-in-law just created an Android App that is a pretty cool game, and he's working on coming out with an iOS app too. Also, my talented husband created the music for it :) I've added a link to the app here.

Photo Editing

This week we've been working on photo editing, and I am starting to think I am a pro.

Well, maybe not a pro, but it's so easy that really anyone can do it.

One of the programs we've been using is Pixlr which is a free online editing tool. I used it to add some text to a photo and turn it into a poster:

In the process I learned a bit more about creative commons and what is and isn't allowed regarding using photos I've found online. This photo is classified as creative commons, meaning I can use it on my website/blog, and I am free to edit it, but I need to give credit of where it is from.

I played around with Pixlr to edit a couple pictures for my website too, pixelating the names of my students on a card they gave me.

This will come in handy, since I'll need to protect my students' privacy. By pixelating names and faces, I will be able to use photos from class and post them online without being able to recognize them.

I also touched up some of my photos using Ribbet :

Before:

After:

I softened these picture, enhanced the lighting, used the eyebrow pencil to touch up hair and eyebrows (and make my sister blonde, sorry Courtney), added some eyeliner and whitened our teeth. All that took a total of about 10 minutes, and I know with more time and playing around a bit I could have made it look better.

Here's another one I did in about 2 minutes:

Before:

After:

All I did with this one was increase the contrast, crop it, and sharpen the image.

So there you have it! It's really simple to make adjustments to photos to make them brighter, sharper, or accent different things. I will have to take advantage of these programs more, they take no time at all to use!