Consumption to Creation

I have been meeting with a lot of teachers this year to support technology integration in their classrooms. A main focus of our work is how to integrate technology with meaningful learning activities. Technology education is not an add on, but a tool to use in order to enhance learning and increase student engagement.

So, how do we get there? The more students create, the more they are using higher order thinking skills. Though there is a place for skill and drill apps, creation is the road we want to travel. The other benefit of using creation apps is that students can create projects connected to your curriculum, as opposed to a separate activity to keep kids busy.

Below are three of my favorite creation tools.

Book Creator 4: K-4

This app is AMAZING! Students as young as six can use this app to create books. I have seen kindergarten students use this for social studies and fourth grade students use it to put a creative twist on module writing. Students can import photos, video (or create videos), and audio. Books can also be created in comic book style.

Book Creator 4 can also be used to support academic vocabulary (make a vocabulary book for geometry), infographics (great tool for ELL students), or create a book as a culminating activity after a unit of study.

ChatterPix Kids: K-4

ChatterPix Kids is fun and has an easy learning curve. This app allows students to take a photo of themselves, a character, or an object to create a learning video. To do this, they draw a mouth on the photo they took and record a 30 second audio recording of the learning or prompt. For example, a younger student might want to photograph a character from a book and then tell about those character traits in the audio portion.

See for yourself!

Toontastic 3D

Toontastic 3D is a fantastic creation app. It is available for grades K-4. It is a digital storytelling app that allows students to select from pre-designed scenes and characters (it will also allow students to create their own). It will then walk students through the narrative arc or a science lab report where students manipulate their characters and tell their story.

This is a great tool for all students, but especially beneficial for struggling writers or ELL students because they can tell their story before writing it.

If you are interested in digging deeper into creation apps, please contact me.