Tech Tuesday 4-20

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1- Write about your tech idea on your blog and grab the image above to include in your post. Make sure to link back to this post.

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I am enjoying this time of year with my second graders so much because it is just so exciting to see how much they have matured, grown, and the academic progress they have made.

I have mentioned in other posts how my class is doing inquiry projects we called “passion projects.” We were doing a class study on turtles. To bring our knowledge together in one place to teach others, we decided to create a movie. We used green screen technology so the students could reporters in front of turtle images/videos.

We used an app called Do Ink ($2.99). I found it really easy for the students (and me) to use.

Here’s how to use it in your classroom:

1-    Set up a green screen in your classroom. We use a large piece of green fabric, but you could also use green paper.

2-    Record your video clips. (It helps to have tri-pod because then you do not have to worry about the iPad moving and staying focus on the same space.)

3-    Open the app and you will see three bars along the bottom to upload your content. Press the plus sign for the second bar to drop in your videos.

4-    Press the plus sign along the bottom bar to drop in your photos.

5-    If you want to add animations, use the plus sign in the top bar.

6-    Watch your video and save to Google Drive or DropBox.

What I loved most about this project was that I could really step back and let the students complete this project. It was such a team effort, and they are so proud (and amazed) with the final product. A student served as the “recorder.” She stood by the tri-pod and quietly called students up one at a time to record their part. Meanwhile, other students were taking notes, searching for images, or working on other work. I was able to move around the room to help students.

A fun hint a student thought of in my classroom: If they are using a note card, use green or put a green paper behind it so it won’t show up if they hold it off the side in front of the green screen!

The students truly feel like super stars! It only took two days (about 35 minutes per day) for us to record our videos and make our green screen movie.

As students move into their individual passion projects, this will definitely be a creation option for them!

An InLinkz Link-up