Arduino Exploration

I know that it's been a long time since I last posted.  It's not that I haven't tried any new things; it's just that I haven't made posting a priority as summer got underway.

During this last week of June, I puttered around with an Arduino board in my living room and got through many of the tutorials in the Arduino Projects Book.  While it was fun to tinker around with the wires and the different components in the kit (and even more fun to see the lights blink or buzzers sound when the code was uploaded), I've concluded that I am not a natural when it comes to electronics.

This kit is advertised as being easy enough for kids, which made me feel inadequate at multiple points during the journey.  With that said, I have learned that there are perhaps better kits for people like me (and kids). One platform with a variety of connectable components, similar to Legos, is called Little Bits.  At some point, I'd like to compare the Little Bits experience with the Arduino experience.

How to Embed Audio into a Google Site

It's been a while since I last posted!  I recently created this Movenote on an iPad to teach students how to embed audio into a Google Site.  In the process, I learned that Movenotes created on an iPad do not have embed code.   I had to download it as an mp4 and insert it as a video, which reduced the resolution.

Click here to view an original presentation with better resolution:   How to Embed Audio into a Google Site

                                         

(The Movenote above has lost some of its resolution.)

Vermont Google Summit

I attended the Vermont Google Boot Camp and Summit this weekend, where I learned so many new things that my brain is oozing information!  Luckily, most of the presenters linked their presentations to the Web for easy access later!

I'd like to report that I bravely took part in one of the demo slams, but I didn't fully gather up the courage that I needed to transform intent into action.   With encouragement from a friend at Brown's River Middle School, I am going to try to be a little braver in the future.

My goal for my next post is to test out a private Google hang-out, Snag-it, or Screencastify to teach a trick with Google Drawings!  Now that Google Drawings has added increased functionality in the form of cropping and masking tools, the possibilities are virtually limitless!

PowToon in the Classroom

PowToon EDU is a fun way to create animated presentations using creative templates.  While I was out sick, I decided that PowToon would be a perfect way to communicate with students from home while they have a sub. 

Here is my first PowToon. I think that students would really enjoy the process of using this for school projects!  

You may embed your work directly from the app or upload it to YouTube, which I personally recommend.  When I pasted the embed code, my presentation was not viewable on an iPad.

Here is my second PowToon, using a different template.  These presentations could easily be added to ThingLink projects, too!

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I've left the original embedded presentation here, at the bottom of this post, to serve as an example (in case you are viewing it from an iPad. 

I made my first tutorial using Movenote and Tellagami.

Today I made my first tutorial using Movenote and Tellagami. I was home sick without a voice, so the text- to-voice function of Tellagami came in handy!

iStopMotion is a Blast!

This afternoon, my 14-year old daughter and I decided to create our first animation using the iStopMotion app on my iPad.  She drew the background and I molded the aliens.  We worked together to move the characters, and I manned a remote camera on my iPod.  Through this process, I learned that it's important to position the camera horizontally rather than vertically!

I hope you enjoy our first movie, titled Alien Earthquake!

Here is the sequel. )

Using iMovie and YouTube Video Editor to Create a Visual Essay

As a requirement for a class that I'm taking, I combined the use of Google Drawings, Pixlr photo editor, an animation app on my iPad, iMovie, and YouTube video editor to create a visual essay.  I enjoyed the process.