Advantages - Easy to use and navigate - Personalize through captions - Can use this program on both computer and iPad - Easy to share final video
Limitations - Free subscription only allows 30 second time limit and some layouts - Layout of video cannot be edited
Possible Uses in the Classroom - Share pictures/video of current happenings in the classroom - Creation opportunity - Visuals for lessons
Animoto is a video slideshow creator. One great feature of Animoto is that it is easy to navigate. The easy navigation allows both teachers and students to use this program with ease. This program can be as basic as you need it to be, by just choosing images and/or video clips, deciding on a layout, then publishing the video. Animoto allows for many ways to personalize your video though to help to create a powerful video. This could be through the use of captions that can be added directly onto your photos or adding text titles and subtitles in your video. The layout with attached music can help to personalize the video as well. Another feature of Animoto is that this program can be accessed through the computer and the iPad through the Animoto app. The Animoto app proved to be easy to navigate (but one caution is that you are not able to add captions to your pictures through the app). Lastly, Animoto easily gives you a variety of options to share your video (i.e. sharable link, create YouTube video, embed code, etc.) Animoto does have some limitations that the user should be made aware of. One huge limitation of this program is that the video can only be 30 seconds in length with the free subscription. It is very strict about this time limit and will automatically take pictures, videos, and/or text in order to adhere to the time. Also with the free subscription, some layouts are not available to you. This includes the layouts will more customizable features attached to it. Another limitation of this program is that some aspects of the layout are not customizable, meaning that how the pictures and video are presented is automatic depending on what layout is chosen. Animoto does have a variety of uses in the classroom. First, it is a great way to share pictures and videos with parents to share current happenings in the classroom. Second, students can do creation projects through the use of pictures and videos. Teachers can also use this program to provide students with background knowledge on a topic or provide visuals to students during a lesson.
Advantages - Able to record what you are doing on a screen - Can be used for websites or computer programs - Can adjust the size of screen that you are recording
Limitations - No voice over feature - Cannot pause the recording - No editing feature
Possible Uses in the Classroom - Tutorials for how to use different websites or programs
Quick Time screencast feature is a screen casting program. One feature of this program is that you are able to record what is being done on the computer. You simply choose "New Screen Recording", from there a record button comes onto the screen. You can choose to record the entire screen or crop the screen to a certain area. From there, you just click record and start your screencast.
The advantages of Quick Time screencast by allowing the user to record what you are doing on the screen, whether that be using a website or a program on the computer. This allows the user to record their screen for a variety of reasons. Another advantage to Quick Time is that the user can adjust the amount of the screen that is being recorded. This can help the viewer to zoom in on certain components.
However, there are some limitations to this program. The major limitation is that there is no voice over feature. This means it is silent and does not allow you give the user an explanation of what is being done on the screen. If you use this program, you would need to use another program with a voice over feature (i.e. iMovie, Educreations, etc.) Another limitation is that you cannot pause the recording. It has to either be done all at one time or in sections. If you make a mistake, you have to go back and redo the screen recording because there is no capability to edit your screencast.
QuickTime screencast can be used in the classroom to show students something that they need help understanding (i.e. how to use a program or website) or possibly show students something they miss. But I would need to continue to edit this work in a program like iMovie to add more explanation through a voice over feature.
iMovie Advantages - Can add both video and pictures
Limitations - Can be difficult for younger students to navigate
Possible Uses in the Classroom - Book Reports - Show understanding of content
iMovie is a movie creator that can be used on the iPad or on a Mac. This program allows you to take both photos and video. This would help a student or teacher show their message in a variety of ways. iMovie gives you the option to create a movie trailer or a movie. A movie trailer is a pre made trailer where you use add the video and the music and transition are done for you. A movie can be created with either a blank template or a template.
Possible uses in the classroom would be having students show understanding of a book through a book report. Also, students could show understanding of a topic through creating a video. I have to say that it would be hard for my students to navigate this without adult support.
Symbaloo Advantages - Give students and teachers the ability to house multiple websites in one place - Easily shared with multiple people through a variety of ways Limitations - Icons or pictures are small to see - Limited number of pages that you can create with bookmarks
Possible Uses in the Classroom - Research projects - Teacher organization
The Symbaloo program is a bookmarking program that gives you the ability to organize websites in one place. You are able to share your Symbaloo in a variety of ways so that students and teachers can share their websites. One advantage to this website is that you are able to house multiple websites in one place. On one page you can organize at most 52 websites for students and/or teachers to use. The website allows you to personalize the center of the Symbaloo page with the default of a Google Search bar or another widget like a notepad for students to write on. Another advantage to Symbaloo is that you are able to share this in multiple ways (embed code, link, email, Facebook, or Twitter).
This website has some limitations. First, the icons are small so it can be hard to label the icon with what the website is with the limited number of characters. Another limitation of this program is that there is a limited number of pages that you can organize. This means that you might have to delete previous work before you can create a new one.
There are uses of this program in the classroom. You could use this to organize links for students for a research projects. For example, if you go to my WebQuestpage and click on the button, you will see one of my Symbaloo pages for their research of Connecticut people. It was great to have all the websites in one place for the students can explore. This can also help teachers to organize websites for units of study all in one place.
Book Creator Advantages - Can create their own fiction and non fiction stories with ease - Easy to use - Can illustrate these stories with drawings or imported images - Audio feature where students can record their voice - Can combine books together - Can be exported through iBooks or Google Drive Limitations - Audio cannot be edited - Free version as limited number of books that can be created Possible Uses in the Classroom - Publish fiction and nonfiction books - Buddy books - Teacher Created Content
Book Creator is an app where an interactive book can be created. One feature of this program is that you can create book and easily add text to a blank template. You can either type the text or use the pen feature to write as well. This app also allows you to add illustrations. These illustrations can be drawn with the pen feature or imported through the camera roll or camera feature.
The advantages to using Book Creator is that this app can be used for publishing both fiction and nonfiction texts. The text can be added easily that a variety of ages can use this program in order to create books so teacher can use this for a variety of grades. Teachers can even use this app to create content for their students. Another advantage of this app is that students can illustrate their stories in a variety of ways. Students can get images from the internet and save to the camera roll. Students can also take pictures through the camera. Students can also draw pictures through the pen feature. Another great piece to Book Creator is that students can record their voice. This is also a great feature for teachers who can narrate content for their students. Book Creator also lets you combine books together. This can allow multiple students to create pages and then combine the book later on. This will allow students to create pages on different devices and then later combine their book together. Finally, Book Creator allows you to export to iBooks or Google Drive. This gives the students multiple ways to share their work.
There are some limitations to this program. First, the audio feature allows you to record your voice; however it does not let you pause the recoding so if students make a mistake, they will have to go back and redo the audio. Another limitation to this program is that there is a limit on how many books that you can create. In order to use this app effectively, you have to buy the app to have more students creating books.
There are many uses to this program. Students can publish fiction stories and nonfiction pieces with ease. Students will be able to easily illustrate their stories too. Students can collaborate with buddy classes to create books because it is easy to make. Also, since you can combine books easily, students can work on a piece in different classrooms and then combine them together. Teacher can also use this to create differentiated content. I know my eBook is differentiated because the tough text can be read to students who might have a difficult time reading the words, but can still access the text.
Advantages - Engaging games on a variety of topics - Track student achievement - Play games on a variety of devices
Disadvantages - Games are not able to be differentiated by level - Some games are not engaging
Possible Uses in the Classroom - Enrichment of current topics
Arcademics is an online gaming website. This website provides students with a variety of games on a variety of topics. One advantage of this program is that teachers can create student logins and passwords so that they can track student achievement. Teachers also get detailed data about how students have performed. Also, students can play the games on a variety of devices (computer, iPad, Android).
Some disadvantages to this website is that some of the games are not as engaging as other websites like Sumdog (which my students currently use). Also, some of the games cannot be differentiated by strand like other gaming websites. But teachers could use this in their classroom for an enrichment opportunity. I personally would use Sumdog for a gaming programing for my students. This gives me the ability to differentiate more by strand than grade level.
Garage Band
I tried to use this program during our class time. You can create audio through either a whole song or just a snippet of a sound. I found this program very confusing. I had a hard time even making something. I think that if I need audio from my students I would use a different program, even a simple program like the video recorder.