Wednesday, July 9, 2014

New Free App - Shadow Puppet Edu

Shadow Puppet Edu



I heard about the Shadow Puppet app awhile ago but didn’t really pay any attention to it because it had all the same features as 30Hands or Storyrobe (which used to be free).  Basically you take pictures and put them together to narrate and create a movie.  It’s great as a layering app to take pictures created in other apps like Doodle Buddy, Popplet Lite, Haiku Deck or even the camera roll and combine them.  It’s easier to narrate them in an app like this vs iMovie because it automatically sets the time that the picture displays for as long as your narration (in iMovie, you have to change the time setting for your picture after you narrate.) 

Shadow Puppet just added several features that I think make it superior to 30Hands so I’d recommend that everyone check it out.

First of all they’ve created a special Edu version with features only available for free to teachers and students. 

Secondly, you can combine not only images but also video clips from your camera roll.  That means that you can take videos created in other apps like Tellagami, Chatterpix Kids or Doceri and combine them with images.  

It’s easy to use.  Just pick your images or videos. Tap Start and narrate the story as you flip through the pictures.  As you’re recording, you can add drawings to your images, zoom in or add text. There are a variety of sharing options (tap the more icon to choose the option “open in” and save directly to Google Drive) or you can save your final project to the camera roll.   

You can add up to 100 items and up to 30 minutes long.  There is a built in search that includes the Library of Congress, NASA and “Web Images”.  Be sure to use the “Web Images” search with caution.  There is a possibility for finding inappropriate images.  I would recommend limiting your students to the Library of Congress and NASA sections and find other images on a website like http://schools.clipart.com (using the GCISD login) or http://pics4learning.com.  

Check out my presentation with suggestions for finding copyright free images here (you'll need to be signed in to your GCISD Google account to view):  
https://docs.google.com/a/gcisd.net/presentation/d/11qZF9zZ5vz5V-W6MIeYEHYpgvrrflyMxCx-oCT18MiA/pub?start=false&loop=false&delayms=3000 

Monday, July 7, 2014

Google Forms - Are they anonymous?

I LOVE Google Forms.  There are so many great uses for teachers and students in the classroom.

 Some of my favorites are:

  1. Collect parent information - Google automatically combines all the responses into one simple spreadsheet.
  2. Reading response journal - Use a "Choose from a list" question type to give options for students to respond to their reading.  (example here: http://www.thebestclass.org/bana.html)
  3. Collecting data - Students create forms to gather real world data.  Teachers can tweet the link to the form to encourage responses from all over the world... go global! (example here: http://langwitches.org/blog/2013/05/18/amplification-transportation-survey/)
More resources:

Are They Anonymous???

Since we've "Gone Google" in the district, several people have wondered about the anonymity of the forms.  When a form is created using our district Google accounts, there are 2 options at the top:  Require GCISD login to view the form and Automatically collect respondents GCISD username.


If only the "Require GCISD login to view the form is checked, you'll be required to login to your GCISD account but your username will NOT be collected.  

 Here's what the form looks like for the person filling it out:

 And here's what the response spreadsheet looks like for the person who created the form:

 If the "Automatically collect respondents GCISD username" box is checked too, your username will be collected but you WILL know it.  If your username is being collected, there will be a message at the top of the form telling you.

 Here's what the same form looks like for the person filling it out when this box is checked:

 Here's what the response spreadsheet looks like now for the person who created the form: