New Tech Tool: Educreations

I have received several emails regarding my "digital portfolio" post... along with requests for the next techie-tidbit I promised.  I love ya'll so much that I'm going to stay up late on this glorious second day of a killer migraine to complete this post!   (Don't underestimate the power of  "blogger-love!")

As you know, one of my techie goals this year is to create and use digital portfolios in my classroom. After much research and advice from my techie mentor, Lori Elliott, I decided KidBlog was the best option for me to accomplish this.  {Click here to read my tutorial post about how to set up your own KidBlog account.   KidBlog can be used as a classroom AND student blog... as well as a class blog which contains student "portfolios" where all kinds of digital media can be posted, stored and shared with parents!)  

If digital portfolios are on your professional goal list for the year and you have followed the directions on my previous blog post to set up your own classroom KidBlog home page, you may be asking "What do I do next?"  

Well, here is the answer.....

Check out Educreations.com! 

Educreations is a program that turns your computer or iPad into a recordable interactive whiteboard that captures your voice {or your students' voices!} and handwriting to produce amazing video lessons that you can share online. Students and parents (and anyone else you grant access) can replay your lessons in any web browser, or from within our app on their iPads or iPhones. Check out the "Showcase" on the Educreations homepage or the "Featured" tab in our iPad app to view some great lessons that other teachers have created with Educreations.

Imagine....

Little Jenny has just demonstrated mastery of one of the common core standards with which she has been struggling.  Let's pretend it is a math standard on patterning.  You want to document her progress and help celebrate this goal.  You call Jenny over to your table and have her sit down with the iPad.  (You can use a computer too!)   You go to your Educreations app or computer program and create a new "lesson."   You press the "record" button so that your conversation will be recorded.   You then ask Jenny to watch you as you draw a pattern of red and blue circles on the screen, creating an AB pattern.   You stop after 7 shapes and ask Jenny what should come next.   She answers correctly.  Then you ask Jenny to create her own pattern using the different colors provided. You ask her to explain what she is doing as she goes.   She does a beautiful job explaining her work and her understanding of what a pattern is.    You hit the button to stop recording... then using the tools provided right there on the app/program you send off the digital video clip to mom and dad via email... and then you import the digital video into Jenny's digital portfolio folder on your KidBlog page!  This video joins 10 others you have created on Jenny's learning progress, perhaps including videos of her practicing reading fluency... or describing an imported photo of the landforms you are studying in social studies!  :)  

Click on the pic below to see an example!  {I made this sample myself,  People.   Put your imagination caps on... and enjoy my goofy voices!}

Sound good?   Sound GREAT?   

Your principal will think you are a...

TEACHING ROCKSTAR!!!

If you are ready to dive in, follow this simple steps:

1. Go to educreations.com

2. Click on the green "Sign up here" button. (See below.)

3. Choose the "Teacher" option. (See below.)

4. Fill out a few basic info questions and hit "sign up!" (No picture for this one. It's easy.  Trust me.)

5. You will automatically be sent to your new "dashboard." (See below. Note that mine has a few things in it already because I've been playing around with things!)

6.  To begin, hit "create a course" on the left hand side of the page.  (See pic above.)

7. This is what you will see!

8. Fill out the page to create a new "course."   Think of a course as a big folder that you will put your digital videos inside.  To begin with, I just named mine "Mrs. Ehle's Kindergarten Class."   I plan to just save everything "under" this course name to begin with.   If I see that I start creating so many educreations videos that I need to start creating subfolders like reading, math, etc.  then I will do that when the time comes!   I'm keepin' it simple to start with!

Hit "create" at the bottom when you have filled in your course info.

9. You will be taken back to your "dashboard" and you will now see your new "course" (I like to think of it as a folder) on the left hand side of the dashboard.   You will see this:

10. Now the FUN Begins!!! Click on "Create new lesson." (See above.)

Time to play around a bit!  

Here are a few simple tips to get you started...

* Click on the black, blue, red and green color squares at the top of the page to change the color of your "pen."  {Your "pen" is your finger or stylus if you are using an iPad...or your mouse if you are using a computer!}

* Hit the "Record" tab with the red button at the top right in the tool bar to record you or your students speaking.

* If you would like to import a picture to use, simply click on the picture icon in the bottom tool bar.

* The eraser is for erasing...and the trash can icon at the bottom is for deleting.  Imagine that!

* If you want to make a digital video with more than one "page," simply click on the arrows to turn and start a new page.

This is SUPER simple, friends!    

Just play around....and imagine the possibilities!

If you have ANY questions...ask me!   

OR...

Check out the Educreations FAQ page!

How do you think you can use Educreations in your classroom?

Share your ideas in a comment!

{P.S.  I GOTTA find a way to make "tutorial-type" posts cute!  This post was chock-full of info...but lacked some serious visual appeal!}

Student BLOGs and Digital Portfolios

I don't know about you... but for some time now, I've been looking for a way to allow my students to securely create their own student blogs. I know what you might be thinking... "You teach KINDERGARTEN!"   Yes...I most certainly do...BUT... I feel like you are never too young to document what you are learning in fun, interactive ways.  So let me paint you a more detailed picture of what I am envisioning. I want to create a digital "space" where each of my students can document their learning...a "digital portfolio" of sorts!

Imagine...at back-to-school night, you share with parents a special link to your classroom blog. You explain {and perhaps show the blog on your SmartBoard} that this blog is JUST for your class...a special place to share classroom happenings, upcoming information, pictures, videos and links which can all be easily accessible via their Smartphones, computers or iPads. You continue by telling them that this is a completely secure site that can only be accessed by parents holding the class blog password.  -- Pause here as you see parents' eyes light up and hear sighs of "I'll never have to worry about losing classroom handouts again!" --Then dazzle them with this next tidbit. Explain that not only can they visit the blog to find out about general classroom happenings and events...but that they can also find their own child's name in the side column and check out what their child has been working on in class. You demonstrate this by simply clicking on a child's name and begin clicking on the contents...you see mini-videos of the child drawing colored shapes in a pattern, as you hear that little one's own voice explain what he/she knows about creating that pattern. You see another video of the child holding up his/her favorite book, identifying the characters and setting of the book...and then re-telling the beginning, middle and end of the story. You see sample pages from that child's writer's workshop book...and you compare for yourself how much the child has grown in his/her writing skills since last month. And on...and on...

Well, friends...it's not a dream!  It's a reality! And it's FREE!!!

My wonderfully incredible "Accidental Techie" mentor, Lori Elliott {SDE Presentor extraordaire}shared this "techie" tip with me at the "I Teach K" Conference in Vegas this month...and lovingly encouraged me to pass it on to you! If you do not know Lori yet...it's high time ya meet her! She is a classroom teacher...turned "accidental techie"...successful educational author...energetic presenter...rockin' momma...and well...just one of my favorite people on the planet!  Check. Her. Out!

       

{Before I roll into the simple "how-to" create your own classroom and student blogs/portfolios...let me preface this by saying that in today's post I am only going to explain how to set up the classroom blog site itself. In my upcoming posts, I will be diving in deeper into the specific programs and apps you can use to record and document your students' progress and knowledge. So definitely stay tuned! The programs and apps I am planning to share are AWESOME and can be used for many, many more purposes than creating blogs and digital portfolios!}


Let me introduce you to...

Kid Blog

1) First you will want to go to www.kidblog.com to create your "Kid Blog" account/class.  Click on the "Create a Class" button at the top right of the screen.

2) This is what you will see next...

Fill out the form on this page.

3)  Next you will see this...

4) First you will want to choose settings for the blogs. To do that...click on the "settings" tab near the top of the page. It's very straight-forward...so I won't walk you through ALL of the details. {In the settings you will want to make choices about your theme, posts, comments, and users. You can also add all kinds of widgets, or extra things, or take them away if you don’t want them.}  Below is an example of the "general settings" page.

5) Next you will want to create your "users" list.  "Users" are your students and guests. Simply click on the "users" tab at the top of the page next to the settings tab. You can add your students with a name and password, or students can enroll themselves by using the passcode provided when you set up the class.   You have lots of options on your users. You can password protect EACH student's account with a different password, use the same password for the entire class, or leave them open to free viewing. Play around a little. You will see what I mean! {Each user can --if you choose-- be listed at the side so that each student can have their own account to use as a student blog or digital portfolio.}

6) "Posts" are the place you type the recent news. Click on the "New Post" tab at the top to create a new post. You can simply type text...or add files and media also!  :) The "Review Posts" tab allows you to look at old posts or drafts that you have written. You can edit old posts at any time.

Those are the "basic" steps for setting up your own secure classroom blog...and student blog/portfolio pages. Play around a bit! Make up some "mock" posts just to practice...and delete them when you are done if you wish. I'm going to stop there for today. I don't want to overwhelm anyone! However...if you have questions, please post them! I will do my best to answer them, and if I can't, I will ask Lori to help us out! Set up your account and be sure to check back soon for further suggestions for using your class blog...in addition to some COOL programs and apps you can use to document student knowledge and growth. I can't wait to put my class blog into action...and build digital portfolios for all of my students this year! Won't parents just love them?? Imagine if you were "Mom"...connecting to the class blog from your Smartphone on your lunch break to check class schedules/events...and then taking a peek at your kiddo's digital portfolio and seeing videos and recordings of your child learning new skills and reading aloud to you!  

Just makes me smile thinkin' about it! If you are going to try using this in your classroom this year, please let me know! I'd love to create a little group that can discuss and support each other in this adventure!