This afternoon I was talking with some of my students about computer programs that are in still in use but are older than they are. I mentioned PowerPoint and their response was, “Boomer.” Dismissing their insult for a minute, they did raise a good point that there are lots of older programs that continue to get updated with new features. Here are the five PowerPoint features that are worth trying if you haven’t done so before today. (I’ve previously featured all of these individually on Free Technology for Teachers).
Playing a sorting game can be a fun way to review a set of vocabulary words and terms. This week I came across two templates that you can use to create your own online sorting games. Both are free and relatively easy to use. The first template is Vortex from ClassTools. The second template is Google Sheets template from Flippity called Manipulatives.
Vortex by ClassTools lets you create an online sorting activity that has up to four categories. You specify the categories and the vocabulary terms that players have to sort. Your game is assigned its own unique URL. Give that URL to students to play your game. Watch the following video to see how the whole game creation and play process works.
Flippity is a site that I’ve used for many years to find Google Sheets templates to make things like multimedia flashcards, word games, and timelines. Flippity recently added a new template called Manipulatives. The Manipulatives template lets you create an online sorting activity from information that you enter into a Google Sheet. Watch my video below to see how it works.
Flippity’s Manipulatives template offers more flexibility and design options than the Vortex template from ClassTools. However, the ClassTools Vortex template does provide a true game experience with points and instant feedback for students.
We all have that one colleague that uses “reply all” way too often. I made the following video to help that person. By the way, if you can’t think of who needs to watch this video, it might be you.
There’s nothing wrong with using “reply all” when it’s necessary, but it’s usually not necessary. We all have plenty of email and don’t need twenty more messages saying, “yes” or “ok” or “I can’t make it because my sister’s brother-in-law is having an in-grown toenail removed that day.”
Creating a comic strip can be a great way to get students to start writing. When I taught social studies I had students create comic strips based on historical events. When I taught language arts I had students make comic strips to summarize key points The Odyssey and Romeo & Juliet. If you want to have your students try making comics, here are three online tools that I’ve used extensively and recommend to others.
Make Beliefs Comix
Make Beliefs Comix is a free service for creating online comic strips. It doesn’t have the most features that you’ll find in an online comic strip tool, but it does have all of the features that the vast majority of students need. Make Beliefs Comix provides a simple interface that lets students search for and add drawings to comic strip frames. Most importantly, Make Beliefs Comix offers support for writing in eleven languages. Registration is not required in order to use Make Beliefs Comix. Watch my tutorial below to see how it works.
Storyboard That offers an education product that allows you to create an online classroom in which you give assignments to students to complete using Storyboard That’s comic strip or storyboard tools. In addition to distributing and viewing assignments in Storyboard That classrooms, you can create templates for your students to follow. My introduction to Storyboard That is embedded below.
Google Slides doesn’t have a comic strip template, but it’s easy to make one with it. Check out my video below to learn how to make comic strips with Google Slides.
There are other tools out there that I’ve tried and used at various times for making comic strips. The ones listed above are the ones I’ve used the most. Some other tools you might consider using to make comic strips include Pixton, Book Creator, Write Reader, and good ol’ PowerPoint.
NPR recently announced their second annual Student Podcast Challenge. The challenge is open to students in grades five through twelve in the U.S. Students can produce a podcast on any topic of interest to them. Winning submissions will be aired on NPR broadcasts. If you’d like to have your students participate, but you’re not quite sure how to create a podcast, here are three tutorial videos to get you started.
Create a Podcast With Anchor
Anchor is podcasting platform that includes built-in audio recording and editing tools. You can use Anchor on any computer. In the first video below I demonstrate how to record directly into Anchor. In the second video I demonstrate how to import audio that was created with Garage Band.
Create a Podcast With Garage Band
If your students have Macs, Garage Band offers everything a student needs to record and edit a podcast. The video below provides an overview of how to create a podcast on Garage Band.
Create a Podcast With Audacity
Audacity is open-source software that you can use on a Mac or Windows computer. If you’re ready to move beyond the basics of Anchor and Garage Band, Audacity is the tool for you.
Upload a Podcast to SoundCloud
If you are going to have your students participate in NPR’s Student Podcast Challenge, you’ll have to upload their podcasts to SoundCloud. In the following video I demonstrate how to do that.
Thanks to Larry Ferlazzo for the tip about the podcast contest.