Apple Clips is quickly becoming one of my favourite creative apps to use in class. Recently with Year 4, we have been using it to explore our teeth and how they differ to other animals. I love how creative my pupils are with it and how it helps them demonstrate their knowledge and understanding in a fun and engaging way.
Check out some of their work here:
For step-by-step tutorials for how to do this with your class, make sure you sign up and subscribe to MrPICT.com
Last half term, Year 4 were looking at Digestion. As always, I wanted to explore how technology can be used to enhance learning and allow them to creatively share what they have learnt.
There are some fantastic consumer apps that can help with this including the fantastic Curiscope Virtuali-tee app I have previously blogged about here.
For a more in-depth tutorial for this tool, including an exclusive discount code to subscribers, click here.
There is also a fantastic Google Expedition that links to the Digestive System which allowed the learners to jump inside the body to learn about each part of the digestive system and the job it does. Again, you can access an in-depth tutorial through MrPICT.com here.
Once we had used these consumer apps to acquire knowledge, I wanted my students to use the technology to create content to show what they have learnt. This is what my pupils created using a range of apps such as Doink Greenscreen, Apple Clips and Shadow Puppets Edu.
I have posted exclusive tutorial videos for every step of the process which you can access when you subscribe to MrPICT.com. Over the past couple of weeks, I have added the option to subscribe directly through the website. There is also the option to subscribe as a school so your whole staff can access all the training videos and content.
The subscriptions options are:
Individual Teachers: £3.50 a month through Facebook - Click Here
Individual Teachers: £3.50 a month through the website or subscribe annually and save £5.
Small Schools (under 180 pupils) whole school access: £119.99 a year
Big Schools (over 180 pupils) whole school access: £199.99 a year.
I am a huge fan of technology that can not only enhance learning but save me time. Over the past year or so, the one tool that has stood out has to be Learning By Questions.
There is a paid element to the tool, which I think is well worth the money. I will explore these features in more detail in the near future. In this blog post, I just want to explore what you can access through Learning By Questions for FREE by simply signing up. I posted this video exploring the thousands of questions you can access to support learning in English, Maths and Science:
For more information on the exclusive CPD content you can access as a supporter of my facebook page, watch this:
With Lego Movie 2 hitting cinemas this week, I decided to embrace the children's enthusiasm to introduce stop motion animation. Stop Motion Animation is a brilliant and creative way for students to tell stories, explore ideas and explain different concepts.
There are plenty of different stop motion animation apps. My go-to app is I Can Animate.
There are so many possibilities with this app as you can link it with greenscreen to add an animated background before editing further in iMovie.
Here is an example of something we created:
I have posted a step-by-step tutorial video for how to create something like this exclusive to the supporters of my facebook page. Click here to sign up.
As I recently discussed in a previous blog post (click here to read) I really think, when used effectively, technology can enhance and support a student's love of reading.
In most classrooms, once a child finishes a book they will be asked to then fill out a book review worksheet. Something along the lines of this...
I don't want to sound like I am having a go at any teachers who do these types of worksheets. I just believe with technology so easily accessible in schools, it should be used to enhance this task to add more purpose and engagement.
Using an app like Apple Clips, children can turn their book review into a VLOG (video blog.) Not only does this add more purpose to the writing (children have to write the script of their book review first), you will be developing key oral speaking objectives and ICT skills. In my experience, these worksheet type activities are rarely done to the best of children's ability as they are used as a time filler or carousel activity. If the students know the book review they write will then be transformed into a video blog, it suddenly becomes more meaningful.
Here is an example of a finished book review vlog about Gangster Granny by David Walliams:
Tonight, I did a Facebook Live Video discussing a few thoughts around the proposed new Ofsted Framework, please give it a watch and let me know what you think.
I love using Christmas as a way to engage children in their learning. They are excited, inquisitive and generally really interested in anything Christmas. Recently, I worked with Year 2 where they created their own Interactive Christmas scene using Chatterpix Kids and Thinglink. Here is an example of what they created:
I have posted a step-by-step guide for how to do this activity on the supporter part of my Facebook page. Sign up by tapping the picture below:
This idea can easily be adapted to other areas of the curriculum, such as:
Here is a taste of what is included in the Disney Villain Comprehension eBook:
Tangled - Mother Knows Best
You want to go outside? Why, Rapunzel...! Look at you, as fragile as a flower Still a little sapling, just a sprout You know why we stay up in this tower Rapunzel: I know but... That's right, to keep you safe and sound, dear What does Gothel compare Rapunzel to? A flower What is a sapling? A young tree What is a sprout? It can either be the shoot of a plant or describe a young plant growing. Which word shows Gothel thinks Rapunzel is too young? Still Why does Gothel compare Rapunzel to a flower? It links to the reason Gothel wants to keep Rapunzel in the first place, the magic flower. How do you know Gothel has spoken about this before? Gothel starts the line with “You know why we stay.” Can you think of a word to describe Gothel? Controlling, selfish, self-centered, manipulating. What evidence from the text makes you think this? Open for discussion. She doesn’t let Rapunzel speak. Why do you think they live in a tower? It keeps Rapunzel hidden away from the real world but also keeps her trapped.
The Little Mermaid - Poor Unfortunate Souls
The only way to get what you want is to become a human yourself Can you do that? My dear, sweet child, that's what I do It's what I live for To help unfortunate merfolk like yourself Poor souls with no one else to turn to What is it that Ariel wants? To be human. Why does Ariel want to be human? She’s always been intrigued by humans on land, collecting items and she loves Prince Eric. Why does Ursula address Ariel as a dear, sweet child? She is trying to lure Ariel into thinking she is trying to help. Do you think Ursula does live to help others? No, she is saying this to mask her cunning, deceiving agenda. What does the word unfortunate mean? It means to have or be marked by bad fortune; unlucky. What does the word merfolk mean? Both mermen and mermaids.
How does the last line help Ursula trick Ariel? She is tricking Ariel into believing Ursula is her only hope, her only answer.
Lion King - Be Prepared
I never thought hyenas essential They're crude and unspeakably plain But maybe they've a glimmer of potential If allied to my vision and brain
What does the word essential mean? It means absolutely necessary; extremely important. Why are hyenas essential to Scar? With no backing from the military (the pride) for his coup, for the pride supports brother Mufasa, the wayward royal has had to seek military support from the traditional enemies of the kingdom in order to support his ambitions. Why would scar have never thought hyenas would be essential? As he states in the next line they are crude and plain. Does Scar see hyenas as an equal partner? He denigrates the hyenas. He clearly views them as dispensable tools, rather than deadly partners. Why does he only see a glimmer of potential? He isn’t overly confident in the hyena's ability, but they’re his only hope. The word glimmer shows a slight, little chance. What does the word allied mean? it means to join and work together. Why does Scar use this word? It is a word closely linked to war and that is what Scar envisages, a war for the throne. Can you think of a word that Scar might use to describe himself? Open for discussion, clever as he only thinks he’ll win if the hyenas use his brain.
Click the picture to sign up and download a copy
Here is what supporters have received over the past couple of weeks:
You will have seen over the past half term I have been working on a very important topic with Year 4 inspired by the Greenpeace "There's a Rang-Tan in my Bedroom" advert.
This has since been used by Iceland Foods as their Christmas advert but has been banned from TV.
This has culminated in a very special project where my class have all become published authors.
To read what we have done so far, click the pictures:
The first link looks at the advert in more detail and the work my class produced writing in role as an Orangutan seeing their home destroyed.
The next post looks at the letters my class have written to all the companies with links to dirty palm oil and the responses we have received.
Over the past couple of weeks, we have been learning more about Orangutans. We started by generating questions we wanted to find the answers to and then looked at researching on the internet to find the answers to the questions. This gave me the opportunity to discuss and teach the children about researching and how to do it effectively.
The children used their research to create interviews with the Orangutan using the app Animate Anything:
Every pair was then given a question to answer and using the app Book Creator, they designed a page sharing the knowledge and understanding linked to the question. The finished pages were then combined to make a class eBook. What we decided to do with this eBook is publish it onto the iBooks store. Click here to learn how we did this.
We decided to sell it for 49p with all the proceeds going to help the Orangutans. You can download the eBook by clicking the picture:
Since its release, I have been astounded by the response! Over the weekend, I watched it shoot up the iBooks store chart, eventually peaking at number 8! That's 8 out of every eBook on the iBooks store. Yes, not only have my class become published authors with a book that has a proper ISBN number but at one point over the weekend they were the author of the 8th best selling eBook in the UK!
So the next time you hear a teacher question how technology is a waste of time, a gimmick or adds little to learning, show them this blog post.
Here are my class with the money they have raised so far:
They will be splitting the money between the WWF and Greenpeace. They have already used some of this money to adopt an Orangutan.
A few weeks ago, I blogged about a project my Year 4 class had started, inspired by the recent Greenpeace advert - There's a Rang-Tan in my Bedroom. To read that blog post, which includes original questions linked to the advert, please click the picture:
The response we received from the video the class created where they wrote in role as a helpless Orangutan, seeing their home destroyed was so positive and empowering. Again you can read more about this by clicking the picture above. If you haven't yet seen the video, here it is:
From the reaction to the video, my class were inspired to go further and investigate the issue more. We discovered this from Greenpeace, which identifies companies with links to Dirty Palm Oil:
According to Greenpeace, these companies made a promise to be clean of dirty palm oil by 2020. My pupils decided to write to these companies to provide a polite reminder and ensure they are on target to keep their promise.
After drafting their letters, I gave quality oral feedback through our iPads, this is something I cover on all my CPD sessions and will also be demonstrating on my subscription page on facebook.
The pupils were then given the opportunity to transform their writing into a video using Adobe Spark Video. This is another example of the READWRITEPERFORM approach in action. These videos were then tweeted and emailed to all the companies identified in the above image. Here is an example from our pupils:
Please let my class know what you think by leaving a comment on this video on facebook.
So far, we've received a lot of replies from the companies. I can't wait to share them with my class as they'll see how their writing is making a difference:
We will keep you updated with this project as we continue to learn about it in class.
I think music is one of the most powerful yet underused tools in the classroom. If you've joined me on my training, you will know how I use it in class to support different areas of the curriculum. There are plenty of examples on this blog which demonstrates the power of music. You can see them here. BBC Teach Supermovers is a brilliant and FREE resource which gets your pupils moving, singing and remembering! This video explores the Supermovers resource:
I was very excited when they asked me to get involved and make a video for their website. You can watch it here -
In Year 4, we have been inspired by the latest Greenpeace Advert - There's a Rang-Tan in My Bedroom. The advert tells the story of Rang-Tan, a young Indonesian orangutan that has been forced out of her home by humans. It is a beautifully animated video with a very powerful message:
We decided to look at the text used in the advert in more detail:
There's a Rang-tan in my bedroom and I don't know what to do. She plays with all my teddies and keeps borrowing my shoe. She destroys all of my house plants and she keeps on shouting 'oo'. She throws away my chocolate and she howls at my shampoo. There's a Rang-tan in my bedroom and I don't want her to stay, So I told the naughty Rang-tan that she had to go away. Oh, Rang-tan in my bedroom, just before you go, Why were you in my bedroom? I really want to know. There's a human in my forest and I don't know what to do. He destroyed all of our trees for your food and your shampoo. There's a human in my forest and I don't know what to do. He took away my mother and I'm scared he'll take me, too. There are humans in my forest and I don't know what to do. They're burning it for palm oil so I thought I’d stay with you. Oh Rang-tan in my bedroom now I do know what to do. I’ll fight to save your home and I’ll stop you feeling blue. I’ll share your story far and wide so others can fight too. Oh Rang-tan in my bedroom I swear it on the stars: the future's not yet written but I’ll make sure it's ours.
Some questions we explored:
What is a Rang-Tan?
Why do you think there is an Orangutan in her bedroom?
Why does the young girl not know what to do?
What does the word 'destroy' mean?
Why does the Rang-Tan howl?
Why doesn't the girl want the Orangutan to stay?
What word does the girl use to describe the Rang-Tan?
Do you think the Rang-tan is naughty? Why?
On a scale of 1-5 how desperate is the girl to know why the Rang-tan is in her room?
Where does a the Rang-Tan live?
Why are humans there?
Why are humans destroying the forest?
Why does the Rang-tan keep repeating the line "There's a human in my forest..."?
What do you think happened to the mother?
What is the main reason for burning the forest?
What is palm oil used for?
What clues in the video let us know what palm oil is used for?
How does the girl feel about the Rang-tan at the end?
Why do you think her opinion has changed?
How will she fight? Why will she fight?
How can she share the story far and wide?
What would you do if you were the girl?
Do you think this advert is effective? Why?
How can we help?
The advert certainly empowered the class to explore the issue further. We discussed how terrifying it must be for the orangutans when the diggers and trucks come and demolish their rainforest home. We decided to write stories as Orangutans going through this experience. We considered how to create the most effective story by using different elements:
A short, effective hook opening sentence.
Describing the weather to create the mood.
Describing how we felt through our actions.
Using multi-sensory descriptions to help the reader visualise the horrific scene.
Changing the length of our sentences for effect.
How to not use words like diggers/trucks but instead describe them as monsters and beasts.
Although it was their first draft, I was really impressed with the writing the students produce. The children knew that the work they produce would be shared online for the world to see, which added an authentic purpose:
During afternoon assembly, a group of pupils stayed out of the assembly and recorded some of their writing on the green screen to create this awareness advert:
We would love your support by sharing this video and commenting on it. We are hoping this will help raise awareness of this issue but also inspire year 4 to continue to write and share more about this issue. So far we have received messages from Greenpeace and WWF:
So please show your support and encourage our learning by sharing and commenting on their work. Watch out for more work which will appear on their class blog over the next few weeks!
If you want to support the Greenpeace campaign to #StopDirtyPalmOil, sign the petition here.
Since the update Keynote received over the summer, which unleashed a wealth of creative possibilities, I have been desperate to give it a go in class.
In Year 4, we decided to create our own self-portraits to get used to the drawing tools. Although we had an issue updating a few of the iPads (Keynote is a big app) we had a good go and I was really impressed with some of their efforts:
I've created a step by step guide for how to do this activity with your class. You can watch it here:
This will be an app I will be exploring a lot more this year in my school so stay tuned!
I've just seen the new Nike advert and was blown away. It has such a powerful message.
The advert has been in the news and faced a backlash because of the narrator - Colin Kaepernick. The NFL star was the first athlete to kneel during pre-game anthems to protest against social and racial inequality in the US. I was, however, impressed with the advert as I believe it has a very powerful message. See what you think:
Here is the text from the ad:
If people say your dreams are crazy
If they laugh at what you think you can do
Good
Stay that way
Because what non-believers fail to understand is that calling a dream crazy is not an insult
It's a compliment
Don't try to be the fastest runner in your school
Or the fastest in the world
Be the fastest ever
Don't picture yourself wearing OBJ's jersey
Picture OBJ wearing yours
Don't settle for homecoming queen or linebacker
Do both
Lose 120 pounds and become an Ironman after beating a brain tumor
Don't believe you have to be like anybody to be somebody
If you're born a refugee, don't let that stop you from playing soccer
For the national team
At age 16
Don't become the best basketball player on the planet
Be bigger than basketball
Believe in something, even if it means sacrificing everything
When they talk about the greatest team in the history of the sport, make sure it's your team
If you have only one hand, don't just watch football
Play it
At the highest level
And if you're a girl from Compton, don't just become a tennis player
Become the greatest athlete ever
Yeah, that's more like it
So don't ask if your dreams are crazy
Ask if they're crazy enough.
Some questions to consider:
What does the narrator mean by dreams? He is not talking about the dreams we have at night when we are asleep, it is more about our aspirations, ambitions and what you want to achieve in life.
What are your dreams?
Why would people think your dreams are crazy? Some people are dreamers others are realists, this clip from Modern Family is a nice way of exploring this - https://youtu.be/P1tcZDiOUSc. So realists are the people who may think that your dreams are unachievable.
Why would people laugh at your dreams? There are also people who are jealous and envious of others and if they don't believe in themselves, they don't want others to have that success.
Why does the narrator think people laughing at your dreams is good? He is trying to turn a negative into a positive, use people who don't believe in you as motivation to prove them wrong.
Why would some people think that it is an insult? It isn't very nice to tell people they can't do things they dream of.
Why would some people think it is a compliment? Often, the people who put you down are the ones who are jealous of your skills and talents.
Why shouldn't you just settle to be the best runner in your school, instead be the best runner ever? You should always aim for the highest achievement possible, not just the next step. It is a message to always be pushing yourself further. To move forward, challenge yourself and never be satisfied with mediocracy.
Why does he make this comparison? In the past, they are seen as opposites, but the message here is to break gender stereotypes, more on this here - https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b09202jz
What is an Ironman?
Why do you think this gentleman's story has been included even though he isn't a professional athlete? His story is very inspiring, to beat a brain tumor is one thing but to then lose that amount of weight and take part in one of the hardest races is incredibly inspirational.
Why don't we need to be like anybody to be somebody? A lot of people like to compare themselves to others, even with things like social media, we compare and want to be like others and conform. This can sometimes have a negative effect as it can make us feel incompetent, worthless and in some cases depressed. The message here is to focus on yourself and value that, rather than comparing and worrying about being like others.
What is a refugee? a person who has been forced to leave their country in order to escape war, persecution, or natural disaster.
Why does he use the phrase, 'if you're born a refugee' - To emphasise that people don't become refugees out of choice, most have to do it to stay alive.
Why has this story been included in the advert? The chances of becoming a professional footballer is around 0.012% which is extremely low. However, for a refugee, it would have been even more of a challenge. Again, the story is very inspiring and shows dreams, no matter how 'crazy', can still come true.
Why include his age? To play for your national team at such a young age is an incredible achievement.
Who is the basketball player mentioned? Lebron James
What is inspiring about this story? Lebron James is considered one, if not the best, basketball players in the world. At the top of his game, he wanted to go further and use his status to help others and so opened a school to help others, especially children living in poverty. Read more about it here - https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/basketball/45018003
Believe in something, even if it means sacrificing everything. Why is this such a powerful statement? allow for a personal response
It is up to you whether you make the connection to Colin Kaepernick's story here. I think it would be an interesting discussion to have and for pupils to see both sides of this issue.
Who is the tennis player mentioned? Serena Williams, here it would be good to share the story from the book - Good Night Stories For Rebel Girls:
Why does he finish talking about whether your dreams being crazy enough? It brings the advert full circle. Every story shared would have been described by someone as crazy, unachievable. It is an effective way to finish with a rhetorical question to make the viewer ponder. If all these people have achieved their crazy dreams, what is stopping you?
What is the message of this advert?
Do you like this advert? Why?
How effective is this advert?
Why has Nike created this advert without mentioning a single product?
Do you think this advert will work? Why? At the point of writing this blog post, Nike has already seen a 31% increase in revenue.
I hope you find these ideas useful, I think it would make for a very interesting assembly or PSHCE lesson. Please do let me know how it goes if you give these ideas a go!
#EveryoneCanCreate is a hashtag I have very much enjoyed following since the ADE summit in Texas this month. From some of the ideas I had seen, my son created this before his school trip to the zoo:
I decided to give this idea a try today and turned a video I had posted into a line drawing animation. You may have seen the #KikiChallenge doing the rounds on social media. A dance to the latest Drake song. It is something my daughter has picked up on and so we decided to make our own version (obviously done in a safe way with the car parked 😉)
Following the brilliant guidance from Mat above, I took a few screenshots, imported them into keynote and used the line drawing tool to trace around each picture, exported as a film and increased the speed in iMovie to create:
Although it took a while to create this, I felt very proud of the finished video. The possibilities for this tool is endless and I am excited to see how this will be used in the next year. It is another great way in which Keynote can be used to inspire creativity in the classroom.
Mat has now published an eBook exploring the line draw animation tool further. You can download it by clicking the image below:
I am not going to lie, I am very jealous of all the amazing teachers attending the Global ADE 2018 summit in Texas. I have been closely following the hashtag #WWADE2018 and #EveryoneCanCreate and enjoying some of the amazing content being created and shared.
It has reminded me of all the brilliant new additions to the Keynote app and inspired me to try some with a project with my children. They are going on a school trip tomorrow to the zoo and so created this animated quiz about animals:
Keynote has been an app that I have used personally in my CPD and training sessions for years. Essentially, it is Apple's version of Powerpoint. At the UK ADE summit last year I was very fortunate to get a one to one tutorial with a Keynote expert, Alan Rosenfield, who really opened my eyes to creating engaging content to support my training sessions. More recently, Apple have announced a number of new updates to Keynote which take the app beyond a simple presentation app to an incredibly powerful creative app.
Here are a few of the features we used in the video above. Each one can easily be adapted to a whole range of other topics and activities.
Drawing
The ability to draw adds an incredibly powerful dimension to the app in terms of creativity and animation. Take the Elephant example in the above video. The pupil added an image of the elephant from the shape tools and then traced over the top with an Apple Pencil (the pencil certainly helps in term of accuracy but isn't a necessity) they can then colour the image. But here is the lovely addition, once completed, you can tap onto the image, choose animate and select the line draw option. When you tap the play icon, it then plays back a video of your drawing. Here is a quick gif demonstrating this tool:
It was the brilliant @MrTullock who first made me aware of the line draw tool when I saw he had created this and shared it on his facebook page:
I had a play when I created this animation for our podcast:
The first thing we did in the animals video above was to create an image in Adobe Spark post of the glasses (see right). This was then added over the picture of the animal and using the Instant Alpha tool, you can make the lenses transparent.
To make the glasses move over the picture we used the Magic Move transition. This was repeated over a couple of slides. The following gif demonstrates this process:
The potential to this idea is massive. Giving clues about a part of the body or a planet linked to science for example. Maybe sharing clues about a book or a character in English. Revealing clues about a certain location in Geography or a famous historic landmark. This masking tool can also be added over video too, taking it a step further.
Recording Audio
Possibly the best addition is the ability to add audio recording to each slide. The best part is that it is so simple to do. Simply tap the + icon and choose the record audio option:
Once selected, the children can record at the bottom of the screen. The brilliant thing about it is how it easy it is for children to edit and re-record by just scrolling back and tapping record again. The pupils can stop, gather their thoughts and then continue to record and then insert the whole recording to the slide.
Image Animations and Transitions
With some of the other images, we simply used some of the animations to create the reveal picture. By adding an image and tapping the animate tool, you can then select the desired animation. You can then adjust the duration to match the audio the students have recorded.
Another option is to add different shapes over the image and using an effect to get rid of them one by one. Here choose the build-out effects and then order them to play automatically after each other.
These are just a couple of options we used but there is a wealth of others within the app.
Export as Video
Another brilliant addition is the ability to export every project as a movie. Previously, it would be a case of playing the Keynote and using the screen recorder option (which I have previously blogged about here.) With the movie export option, this saves a lot of time and improves that functionality.
So with all those amazing new additions to this fantastic app, the question is, what will you create?
As always, please do share anything you create using these ideas, all I ever expect is that you just give us a shout out and thanks for where the inspiration has come from. I can't tell you how demoralising it is when people use ideas from the blog and then try to pass them off as their own. Don't get me wrong, it inspires me to stay creative and original but when those ideas are then being used on other CPD sessions without any credit, I just find it very disappointing.
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