Screencasts, Instagram and Flipagram

Today I have made a screencast on Google Keep. Google Keep is an app extension that can be added to chrome. I thought it would be a great tool to use in the classroom for students to write summaries of what they are reading. It could also be a great place for kids to keep notes when doing research. If your students have chrome books I highly recommend looking into this app to add to use in the classroom. It can take the place of a paper journal. Students can share their entries with the teacher which allows the teacher to be able to read and comment on their summaries or notes. I also recommend the website Storylines Online  were students can go and have books read to them from famous people and authors.

I have done a few screencasts for teachers to help them be able to use google drive and upload data into Eduphoria for student records. The more experience I have with making screencasts, the more comfortable with creating them. I recommend Screencast-O-Matic as a resource for making your screencast. Then uploading to YouTube.

Instagram - I just created my Instagram account. I have done a few posts of books I am reading. I can see how this could be fun to use in the library as a quick pick reference of what students are reading. Teachers need to be careful to create a private account to use within the classroom to protect their students. This app is a great way to allow parents to see what is going on in the classroom. Teacher's can have kids post pictures of projects, that then parents can see. Middle School students, High School students and teachers I think will get more use out of this app than elementary students.

Flipagram - I just created my Flipagram account, also. I am still playing around with it and learning how to create short videos. I could see students enjoying using this app to create quick educational videos about concepts they are learning about. I also think because they are short students will have to use some pre-planning skills before using the app. I have not figured out how to take pictures and create a short video. I still have a lot to learn and explore with this app. I think I could use it in my classroom to film my Pre-k students retelling stories or taking pictures of a block tower being built. I am sure older students from 2nd grade up could use this app in the classroom with out much teacher assistance. A teacher could video a student telling how to solve a math problem, then other students could watch it as a little tutorial if they are struggling. 

I personally like the screencast the best out of the three different media recording applications. I like how you can go over how to do something on the computer and then post it for others to use. I have fellow teachers who struggle with technology applications. I have created screencasts to help them. It allows others to learn at their own pace and view the video as many times as they need. Which saves me time because I only have to share it one time. Each application offers different ways to share information with others. I think I like the screencast the best because I have experience with it. Who knows maybe in the near future I will be making all kinds of Flipagrams in the classroom with my sweet Pre-k students.