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Tag: clifmims
Ideas for Making and Tinkering at Home
This week we’re investigating maker education, tinkering, and coding in our educational technology courses. Translating all the hands-on experiences from our face-to-face class meetings into the online learning environment has been a fun challenge. Thankfully, we actually began preparing this module for the online environment in Summer 2019, so it has been a work in progress. A special thanks to colleague and EdTech Team member, Melissa Marshall, for helping develop the module.
I thought I’d share some of the resources that I put together. Perhaps these will give families ideas to spice up their days of quarantine. Please share your ideas and recommended resources in the comments, so that our preservice and in-service teachers can learn from you, too.
Slideshow of Examples
Browse through this slideshow to view examples that might spark inspiration for your next maker or tinkering project.
Possible Materials
Feel free to bookmark, save, or print the following document.
Highlights from Last Night’s Thunderstorm
We had a big thunderstorm come through the region last evening. This electrical storm footage was shot in Arlington, TN, a suburb of Memphis. Our son, Zeb, edited it into this short highlight clip.
Ideas for Using ThingLink in the Classroom
“ThingLink is an interactive media platform that empowers publishers, educators, brands, and bloggers to create more engaging content by adding rich media links to photos and videos…Use ThingLink to create interactive news photography, maps, posters, family albums, infographics, and shoppable product catalogs in minutes” (Source).
Getting Started
The following video will help you start using ThingLink.
Setting up ThingLink for the Classroom
This playlist, compiled by Susan Oxnevad, contains tutorials for setting up ThingLink channels, embedding Google docs, setting up student accounts, organizing students into project groups, and more.
Educational Connections
ThingLink can be used:
- To communicate the directions and expectations for class projects, small group activities, independent learning, etc.
- With book reports, research projects, and science projects.
- To add narration to images.
- For teacher and student introductions at the beginning of the year.
- To develop interactive posters to communicate with students and parents.
- For student reflections.
- To integrate multimedia and dynamic data with maps, infographics, Wordles, and other images.
- For organizing and sharing professional development resources.
- To organize online scavenger hunts and webquests.
- As interactive digital bulletin boards.
Examples
Animal Cells: Their Composition and Functionality
Extended Learning
Creating ePortfolios with ThingLink
ThingLink launches Virtual Reality Lessons App For Education
VR Lessons by ThingLink – iOS App
Interesting Ways to Use Thinglink in the Classroom
ThingLink in the Classroom – One image. Tons of possibilities.
20 Ways to Use ThingLink in Education
Nutshell: Prezi’s New App for Visual Storytelling
Prezi introduces a new way to share life’s little moments, in a nutshell.
Combining the simplicity of photographs, the compelling nature of video, and the fun of animated graphics, Nutshell uses Prezi’s new storymapping technology to create short, shareable cinematic narratives that can be shared easily and instantly.
Besides creating fun social media updates, Nutshell opens the door for all sorts of unique messaging opportunities when videos feel like too much of a production and plain photos just are not adequate for capturing life’s moments.
3 Easy Steps
- Snap three pictures.
- Add captions.
- Choose graphics and let Nutshell turn it all into a shareable cinematic story.
Features
- Library of free animated graphics that you can use to create short cinematic stories
- Instant sharing to Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter
- Send nutshells directly to friends via email, text messages, and WhatsApp
- Full camera support for iOS 8.0 and above
- Much more
Educational Connections
- Provides students with a creative alternative for submitting reflections, journals, etc.
- Share engaging news and announcements with students and parents.
- Integrate with standards focused on communication: personal expression, propaganda techniques, etc.
- Enables creative ways for students to share their interpretations of poems, stories, books, plays, and other works of art.
- Empower students to collect evidence of their thinking during a lab or group activity.
- The finished product can serve as an artifact of learning, potentially making thinking visible in your classroom.
There are many other educational connections. Please share yours in the comments to this post.
Email Problems Impacting Responses
I’m currently dealing with technical issues related to my email. Recently two of the office administrators indicated that they hadn’t received information that I’d emailed them. Soon after, I realized that three of my students were not receiving my email replies. I began to investigate with the help of tech support. We tried several troubleshooting measures which I hoped corrected the issues. Then I recently received hundreds of failed email delivery notifications. These failed outgoing messages date back to early May and only just now arrived in my Inbox. I’ve not received a plausible explanation for any of this, but it does seem that my email Outbox is working again. I offer my sincere apologies to those that probably think I’ve been ignoring them. I’ll happily correct this if you’ll bring it to my attention.
Harry S Truman #eduquote
“It’s what you learn after you know it all that counts.”
Claude Bernard #eduquote
“It is what we think we know already that often prevents us from learning.”
Online Geography Gaming Tips and Resources
I ran across an interesting set of slides via @skipz on Plurk. The slides seem to be the ongoing work of Tony Cassidy. I encourage you to browse through the presentation and consider the ideas for integrating technology with geography.
Online Geography Gaming – Tony Cassidy
A compilation of more than 100 online games and simulations for use in the geography classroom.
Education at the 2010 Creativity World Forum #cwf2010
I enjoyed the opening session, Creativity Fueling the 21st Century Global Economy. It was a conversation among Daniel Pink, Sir Ken Robinson, & David Pogue. These thought leaders shared their insights on the importance of creativity and innovation in driving both our individual and societal growth.
Event Tag: #cwf2010
