Week 12 Learn At Home Challenge Part 3

Week 12 Learn At Home Challenge Part 3

This week I decided to use the same format as last week, using a themed Google Slides as the tool. This week, however, I wanted to create a virtual choice board for my preschool students. I chose to make the virtual choice board because that is the approach my district has decided is best to deliver instructional resources for the preschool program.

The Creation

To create the virtual choice board, I first came up with a list of must haves in the Google slides theme I wanted:

• Child friendly
• Format of 6-8 shape boxes with headers
• User friendly

With these in mind I set out to find an appropriate theme on Slidesgo. After searching, I decided to use the same theme that I used last week to create the preschool activity guide.

I downloaded the Early Childhood Center theme from Slidesgo. I then chose a slide that had six option boxes on which I could enter the resource description and link. I saved this particular slide to use alone for the choice board. I then put in the title at the top of the slide "Virtual Choice Board." I resized the boxes a bit and put in the content areas I wanted to focus on, Read, Math, Literacy, Science, Hygiene and Movement. I resized the boxes to put where the resource links would go and then found the content I wanted to add to the choice board. Once I found the resources I wanted to include I put in a brief description or direction and hyperlinked the resource to the Google slide document.  

The Content

Last week I used one resource, Scholastic Learn at Home, to create the preschool activity guide. Instead of offering one resource, this week I wanted to branch out and find virtual resources for a variety of content areas. 

The content areas I wanted to include are: Math, reading, literacy, health/hygiene, music/movement and science. Instead of using one resource for all content areas, I wanted to research a variety of apps and tools to give parents more exposure to different resources. This way parents can check out what each resource has to offer and investigate them more if they want. 

Preschool Numbers and Math     

When looking for preschool content for numbers and math, I consulted the Common Sense Media website and searched for a recommended app. The reviews led me to Education.com website for math content for preschool and Kindergarten.

I chose to include the Counting Pizza Party Game in the Virtual Choice Board. I like that the game includes fine motor skills (using mouse; clicking), following directions (using certain number of toppings) and simple math concepts like addition. The site also gives lessons for teachers/parents and gives suggestions for more games to play using math concepts. It also provides advanced levels (grades 1+) for students who move through the preschool/Kindergarten lessons and need more challenging work.

Reading & Literacy

At first I wanted to combine this content area to include both reading resources and literacy resources. After some thought and researching some apps, I decided it is important to stress reading aloud with students in addition to providing literacy activities and games. I separated the two and decided to look for read aloud resources as well as literacy game/activity resources. I wanted to use something familiar to students so I decided to use two resources I use in my own classroom curriculum. I chose to offer Storyline Online as the read aloud resource and Starfall as the literacy resource. I use these resources with my students often so they should look really familiar to them. 

I chose Story Line Online because they offer a variety of quality stories that are read aloud by many well known, famous people. I really like the quality of the videos and the selection of stories they offer. It is a resource that students can use over and over again.

I chose the Starfall website for literacy games and activities because that is the main curriculum my preschool program uses. I use the site to teach and review many literacy concepts during the school year. The ABCs activities are fun and engaging for preschoolers, my students really love to "teach" their friends about letters using these activities. Starfall provides an interactive way for children to learn letters and a variety of other literacy concepts like rhyming, nursery rhymes and print/book awareness.

Science

I consulted the Common Sense Media reviews again to search for an app for science content for preschool learners. After searching a bit, I decided to include Brain Pop Jr. in the Virtual Choice Board for science content. I liked this resource because it is child and parent friendly, offers many science topics, and provides a variety of ways to extend student learning. Each science concept has a video to watch and the same choices for extending learning such as word play, drawing prompts, writing prompts, quizzes, games and activities. The information is presented in ways that are interesting and engaging for young children and teaches them all about science. I like the format of the site as well, it has a choice board theme for students to choose what they want to work on, it goes nicely with the Choice Board approach the district is offering to families.

Health & Hygiene

Last week I created an activity guide based on Scholastic Learn at home and really liked the way the site is set up so I decided to utilize it again for the content area of health and hygiene. When I was exploring the site I noticed a lesson on Hand washing and Cleanliness and thought this would be a perfect health concept to include on the Virtual Choice Board. 

I really like Scholastic Learn at Home for many reasons: Child friendly concepts, easy to navigate, and provides parents with a "plan" instead of just leading them to a site. As I mentioned last week this will be a resource that I continue to use for distance learning as we as for classroom learning. 

Music & Movement

I wanted to include a fun, engaging resource that allowed for music and lots and lots of MOVEMENT!  I want to make sure families know that gross motor activity is essential to child development and is a necessary part of a well rounded daily routine. So, I did not need to research any apps or websites to know which one I wanted to include in the Virtual Choice Board, it is one my students have LOVED this year and never wore out its welcome...........    ..................................the one........................the only...............................................

GO NOODLE

Not only does Go Noodle provide activity and movement songs they also provide learning through movement opportunities in a variety of concepts like math, science, social studies, Spanish, health, SEL and mindfulness. It also has movement activities for sensory and motor skills like balance, body awareness and cross lateral skills. Needless to say, this is one of my favorite resources to use to get children excited about learning through MOVING. 

Overall the Virtual Choice Board came together very well!  I am excited to offer this as an option for my students and families as they learn at home.

Check out the Virtual Choice Board and let me know what you think!

Week 11: Learning at Home Challenge Part 2

Learning at Home Challenge Part 2

Early Learning Resources

As I realize that at home learning and teaching is the only way to continue to education my students, I also realize how many resources teachers and parents have access to make this difficult time more manageable. This week I explored the Scholastic Learn at Home Resources. I decided to create a Preschool Activity Guide to send to parents and students in my class instead of just providing the resource name and link. I wanted to create a guide that parents could use with their child to help them navigate the resource for the first time. This is my way of attempting to teach my parents how to engage and interact with their child while exploring the learning material. 

Scholastic Learn at Home Resources

Celebrate Spring Activity Guide

To create the Spring Activity Guide I looked for a child-friendly theme to use in Google Slides and used one of the template pages to create the activity guide. To send out to parents and post in Google Classroom I saved it as a pdf file. This allowed me to create a simple guide for parents to follow in addition to learning activities for students. Once parents and students follow the steps and work through the activities I will feel more comfortable with them visiting the resource on their own and allowing them to choose the activities they want to do based on student interest. 

Some cool things I learned about the Scholastic resources include:

• They have a simple layout for the activities; teacher, parent and student friendly
• The site offers Tips and Tricks
• Offers activities for grades PreK through 9
• Has resources for teachers
• Has resources for parents
• Offers a FREE collection of worksheets and activity sheets
• Has links to their Twitter and Instagram so you can see what other parents and teachers are doing while staying at home

One thing I noticed and really like about this resource is for the Prek-K resources the themes are child friendly, promote important health concepts such as hand washing and brushing teeth, offer science resources along with social-emotional learning. 

The Scholastic resource is easy to navigate, user friendly and provides enough information without being overwhelming, which is important especially for families who are overburdened right now anyway. Overall I am impressed with this resource and plan to continue to use in my own At Home Learning lesson planning, and when we get back into the classroom! 😉

Week 10: Learning At Home Challenge

Learning At Home Challenge

The Challenge Begins...

With the announcement of Governor Northam's decision to close all public schools for the remainder of the school year, educators and administrators are all scrambling to figure out what this means for educating our students and what role everyone will play. The announcement came as a shock to many and certainly created a sense of overwhlem and panic in others. So the question is now How do we effectively teach students at home and how do we do this cohesively to include all learners both young and older? Needless to say with these questions come many, many more...

How do we get administrators, teachers, parents and students all on the same page?
How can we get materials to students and families? 
How do we get materials and information to families who do not have Wi Fi connections?
How can teachers effectively teach new material using an all online format?
How can we introduce students, families to online learning for those who have not had the experience?

This is just the tip of the iceberg as we endure the crisis at hand and learn to cope with a "new normal" with limited access to virtually everything. While educators are concerned about survival, health and just keeping sane, we are also concerned about students and how they will fare during this difficult time. This is certainly a one of a kind experience, one that no one has lived through or have solid answers for that could guide our next steps. The situation raises many concerns, fears and challenges, but it also has the potential to create one of a kind opportunities from which we could all grow and learn.....if we allow it.

Challenges Accepted!
At a time when most people are concerned with basic needs, staying healthy, and surviving this pandemic, we are forced to face many other challenges including teaching and learning from home. There are many challenges to be overcome during this process and it can seem daunting. Some major challenges that are coming into play now include:

• Overwhelming teachers, parents and students is a huge concern at this time. To what end should we be expecting teachers to teach new material or review previously learned material? How can we ask everyone to add education to their list of responsibilities when many parents still have to work to make ends meet and many who are considered "essential employees." While overseeing student education will work for some people, for others it will be another burden added to their already demanding life. 
• Getting information and materials out to all families and students. Many families in my county live in areas where internet and WiFi connections are spotty at best if they have a connection at all. The challenge is then, how can we get information about their child's education to them and how can we get them the materials needed to best help their children at home?
• Another challenge includes getting actual material--paper, pens, art supplies, manipulatives, etc. to families who do not have access or means of purchasing them. This is especially true for young learners who cannot read yet, learn through play based experiences and whose families are struggling to provide for basic needs.
• Providing services to students who have special needs...  Many of the students I work with who have special needs have goals that are specific to their interaction, communication and socialization skills and development. Teaching these particular skills will be challenging especially for those young preschoolers who have limited attention spans and language
• Getting everyone on the same page and having the online, at home buy-in will be a struggle as we move towards finding solutions to the issues that arise. 

via GIPHY

Light at the End of the Tunnel: Opportunities in the Midst of Distress
While the list of challenges we are now faced with seems long and daunting, there are many opportunities that can arise out of these challenges, if we are open to them. Some of the opportunities I see arising from our current state include:

• Encouraging and showing parents how to be active in their child's educational journey. So many people do not have or do not take the time to show an interest in what their children are learning. This may provide an opportunity for teachers, administrators, etc. to encourage parents to take a more active role in what their child is learning in school. In turn, it could lead to stronger bonds and connections between children and parents and between parents and teachers as they tackle this challenge together. 
• Just Breathe!! As an educational system we could use this time as an opportunity to stop, think about what can and should be done, and to decide what is truly essential for our students. This could be an opportunity to forever change the way we  look at education, we could ultimately be building a system that could be used in dire circumstances to continue to educate students and keep them moving forward. What we learn now could ultimately help guide efforts in the future with extended school closures and the issues that come with that. This doesn't have to be a frenzy of what to do right now, but it could be a let's work together to form an action plan on how this can be done in the best way. 
• This can provide teachers with a great way to inform parents about what we do and how we do it each day in the classroom. 
• Creating online learning platforms such as Google Classroom.
• Providing parents with educational information on learning and how to create a learning environment at home. 

Getting Started with Online Learning

Creating an Online Community of Learners

One way to create an online platform to share with students and families is through Google Classroom. Alice Keeler of Teacher Tech, suggests "the most important thing kids need right now is some interactions and support." Finding ways to connect with students is essential in during this time, one way to create this is by setting up a Google Classroom. This week I tried my hand at creating a Google Classroom of my own, following these steps made it easy and effortless:

• Go to classroom.google.com
• Choose the account you want to use
• Choose if you are a teacher or student
• Click on the + located on the top right of screen
• Click on "Create Class"
• Fill in the information: Class name (required); section; subject; room
• Click "Create"
• This brings you to the stream section of the classroom
• To change the theme of the class, click on "Select theme" on the border
• Select the theme you want to use or choose a picture to upload to personalize 
• To get started, add students to the classroom by clicking on the "People" tab at the top of the page
• Add students by clicking on the "person +" icon next to student and enter in the names or email addresses of students you want to invite to join

How to Create a Google Classroom

Starting Slow

In Remote Learning with Google Classroom, Alice Keeler, provides a lot of tips for getting started in online learning including:

• Start small; Doing small things first, send small tasks first and build up from there
• Create a routine and schedule around online learning
• Use Google Classroom to create an online learning environment for students

Helping Parents with Online Learning At Home

Alice Keeler mentioned the article Am I Expected to Home-school My Kid Right Now? By Carrie Bauer who has great tips and strategies for teachers and parents. These are a great starting point for teachers as they guide parents through the online, at home learning process. Here are some helpful points from the article:

• Create a schedule and home routine: Devise a typical daily routine for the family and children and stick to it as much as possible; allow for “work” time as well as quiet activities, self-directed activities, physical activities, and mellow “me” time; it is important to have a variety of activities throughout the day
• Let children help create the schedule
• Set timers to stay on track
• Change locations within the house throughout the day
• If children are not into what they are doing, move on, quit while you are ahead
• Save cool, interesting, valuable items/activities and sprinkle into the weeks to keep engagement
• Keep children stimulated, engaged and learning something

Carrie Bauer also provides some ideas, apps and sites for parents:

For young learners:

• let children learn through exploration and play
• put small increments (5-20 min) of learning time into the day like practicing letter sounds with alphabet magnets; examining nature and household items with magnifying classes; measuring items around the house with rulers; practice writing and fine motor skills
• Resources to explore for ideas:
  • @busytoddler
  • @dayswithgrey
  • @theworkspaceforchildren
  • 150+ Screen-Free Activities for Kids 

For older learners:

Libby app    

Khan Academy

Duolingo

BrainPOP

NoRedInk

Newsela

CommonLit

Other Screen Time options

streaming webcam of animals

ambient background video

audiobook

Cosmic Kids yoga

GoNoodle routines

Just Dance play-through

Week 9: Creating Formative Assessments--the Journey

Creating Formative Assessments--the Journey

Exploring Freckle

I started out this week with looking into Freckle and what it has to offer. As I researched, I found out that I could not actually create my own original assessment. I could assign assessments that are pre-made and go along with standards, but I could not create my own. It is important to me to be able to create my own assessments based on what I am doing in the classroom and based on preschool local/state standards. I am finding it difficult to find apps that are preschool specific and allows for teacher creativity with assessments. So, with this in mind I decided to look for another assessment tool where I could create my own assessments for my classroom. My goal in doing this was to be able to create assessments I can use from year to year, based on preschool state standards as outlined in the Virginia Foundation Blocks For Early Learners, AND, to create assessments that are age appropriate where I can add visuals so students can work on them on their own. 

Don’t get me wrong, Freckle seems like a wonderful tool to use for Kindergarten and up for assigning assessments based on K+ standards. It also seems like a wonderful tool for teachers to use where they do not need to create their own assessment, it will be a time saver in that aspect. It would be great to collect a lot of data on each student to inform instruction, to group students, and individualized instruction opportunities. 

Exploring More

Because I would like to be able to create my own preschool assessments and use images, I began to search again for an app with those features. 

I checked out Tailor Ed, it was only after I signed up for a free account and added students that I realized I could not create my own assessments. I also checked out Workbench that looked really cool but was not a platform to create assessments.

Next, I took a look at Socrative. I liked that I could actually create my own assessment here but I was not able to add images to the assessment. I played around with it a bit and actually did create an assessment on preschool rhyming words, you can check it by clicking the link below.

Socrative Rhyming Quiz

Socrative was easy to navigate and it did not take long to figure out how to create an assessment. But, it was still not exactly what I was looking for so I continued to consult the Common Sense site for more direction. When I found the next app I knew I had found what I was looking for.....

Quizizz met my criteria of creating an assessment AND ability to add images to the questions and answers. I was very pleased when I realized that not only could I create my own assessment but that I could add images to the questions and the answers!!  😂

When I started to create the assessment, I found that Quizizz is very easy to navigate, it guides you through making them and is very straight forward. This is how I created my Rhyming Word Quiz on Quizizz:

• Click on Create Quiz
• Type in the name of the quiz and click on the classes relevant for the quiz; click Next
• Click on Create a New Question
• For question 1 type in the question you want to ask and/or click on the Media button to the right to add image or video (once I realized I could add images I did a Google search for images--without restrictions--to use for the whole quiz and saved to my computer for easy access)
• When you type in information for a question you type it in on the left side and on the right side you can actually see it being created, images and all, very cool! 😎
• On the top right of the input screen you can click on single answer or multi answer for each question
• Next put in the answer options for the question, here again you can add text and/or images (I know, so exciting!)
• It has four answer options but you can add more if you want
• Under the question text box there is an option for turning on or off the Has a Correct Answer option
• On the bottom left there are two more cool features: Tag Standards option; a drop down list for how long students have to answer each question--the default is 30 seconds
• When finished inputting info for the question click on the green SAVE button to save the question
• On the left you will notice a check mark by each question, this is where you click on the correct answer if there is one
• Continue until you have put in all the quiz questions; once saved you can preview the question and continue to add more by clicking on + (purple plus sign)
• When finished adding all of the questions and happy with the product click on the top right Finish Quiz button
• Ta-Da you just created a very cool quiz in Quizizz

Here are some other cool features of Quizizz:

-Quiz Quality Score  This is a checklist that guides you to make a quality quiz

-You can also teleport quizzes into Quizizz

-Quizzes and can aligned to standards: put in state, grade level and subject (Virginia is a listed state)

-Quiz Image  An overall image can be uploaded to the quiz to see it easily when you log in

-Quizizz gives the option to Host a Game or Play Solo; teachers can assign it as homework, solo or live

Needless to say, I am very happy that I found Quizizz, it is a great platform where I can create my age appropriate preschool quizzes, assessments and actually add images to!!!

Overall I am very pleased with Quizizz and the features and options that meet my needs and I am sure will meet a lot of teacher's needs. There are other options and features that Quizizz offers, if you get a chance head over to the website and check it out! 

Quizizz.com

Take a look at the final Rhyming Word Quiz I created for my preschool classroom!

Quizizz Rhyming Word Quiz

Week 8: Exploring Formative Assessment Apps

Week 8: Exploring Formative Assessment Apps

Using Common Sense to Narrow the App Choices

I decided to look at the Common Sense website reviews to search for formative assessments apps that would be beneficial to use with my students. I set the timer and set out to find the apps that I thought would work best for my preschool class. There were several things I was looking for in apps during this search:

1. Preschool/Kindergarten apps
2. Content: What is offered besides the assessment tool?
3. Teacher & Commonsense ratings
4. Does it have a Free option?

During this timed search I was looking for these 4 criterion and was able to narrow down to 2 options, Sesame and Freckle. Sesame was at the top of my list because it specified it is for Preschool in addition to upper grades, it contains a portfolio and a parent communication component, the ratings looked fairly good and it has a free option. 

Sesame

Website

I was excited to explore Sesame because it advertised as an app for preschool students as well as upper grades. This was the only one I saw that said it was intended for preschool use so I was interested to see how it all worked. I was also interested to find out if the portfolio and parent communication options would be an easy way to share student work and successes with family and if it would double as another communication option for parents. 

When I first found the website I saw a little banner at the top of the page that read......

Sesame is shutting down on June 30, 2020. Click to learn more.

So, I clicked on it to read the Dear Jane/John letter that they are shutting down because it is "no longer a sustainable business." 😩

Sesame shutting down

Needless to say, my research into Sesame ended just like that!

So, my attention focused on my #2 Freckle.

Freckle

Website

The Freckle website is easy to find and navigate once there. It is easy and quick to sign up with a Google or Facebook account. Overall the website is easy to navigate and has site contents neatly located on the left side of the screen. I like the layout of the website and that the Help Center is set apart from the rest of the topics (bottom left).  

Freckle

Help Center

The Help Center has FAQs and an option to Submit a Support Ticket. There are many topics in the Help Center including Getting Started Guide, General, Signup & Login, Teacher Dashboard, Student Dashboard just to name a few. It appears that the Help Center is inclusive of many topics that would be important in getting started and to maintain the app as a classroom resource. 

Help Center

Getting Started Guide

The Getting Started Guide is located within the Help Center of the Freckle website. It has numerous articles on signing up, how to get students started and how to use Freckle for different grade levels, K-2, 3-5, 6-12.  In the Getting Started Guide is has more support information linked to their education blog. 

Video Overview & Tutorials

Within the Help Center and Getting Started articles, there some videos and tutorials available for certain topics. I did a YouTube video search for Freckle tutorials and came up with many options such as the following:

My Freckle Rating

My overall rating for Freckle is 3 stars. 

My criteria for rating: 

• PreK friendly                                                                                   ✖
• Easy to navigate                                                                             ✅
• Help and guidance available                                                          ✅
• Assessments are editable or easy to create for differentiation       ✖
• Free option available                                                                      ✅                                                                                         

I think Freckle would be an easy way to provide formative assessment tasks for young learners, K-2. One of my criteria for choosing an assessment app was that it needed to be manageable on a preschool level or at least adaptable for preschool use. Although it is recommended for K-12 usage, it appears that it may be adaptable for some preschool students but not for all for formative assessment tasks. 

In the Video & Tutorial section above, the first video describes some of the pros and cons of Freckle. In this video it is discussed that teachers cannot include specific questions based on student/teacher data needs. For this reason I do not think it would be an assessment tool that could be used for all of my students since they are on many different levels. I could, however  possibly use the app for those students who are on the higher end of the spectrum. For me though, it is important to work with an app that could be adaptable for all of my preschool students, and, easy for me to differentiate assessments based on their needs and levels.

One of the features I really like is the "view student app" feature, this provided me with a general idea of what students would see and how it would work for them. Freckle seems to be easy to navigate and has many options for getting started and help when needed. I like that there are various videos on YouTube for tutorials of the app and working with specific components of the app. 

I played around a bit with Freckle and signed up a student and assigned a pre-assessment on the Kindergarten level. I found that it is more advanced than I thought and I am not sure if even my more advanced students would be able to access it without extensive guidance/prompting. But, I do think for Kindergarten and higher grades this would be a great tool to use with students....it is colorful, engaging, easy to navigate with picture and word prompts. 

Week 7: Formative Assessment with Google Forms

Formative Assessment with Google Forms

A look at Formative Assessment

Formative Assessments are assessments that occur during the learning process. I like to think of formative assessments as a "check in" to see how students are doing with the material or concept. Formative assessments do not need to be full length quizzes, instead they can be fun interactive ways for students to show their knowledge. It is a way for teachers to assess their own teaching strategies as well. It is a great way to see where student learning is taking place, and where more attention is needed. Formative assessments should occur on a daily basis as a way to assess progress before the more high stake summative assessments take place. 

The formative assessment process is beneficial to teachers and students in a variety of ways. These quick check ins allow teachers to informally assess whether or not students are understanding concepts. If they are not, teachers can go back and reteach the material or find ways to differentiate their instruction for students who need extra help. This type of check in process can help teachers see which students are ready to move on and which students need additional instruction. Formative assessments also help students assess themselves to see if they are understanding the material and concepts. Students can ask for more help if needed, or feel confident in knowing they are on the right track.  Teachers can guide students in self-assessment practices through providing formative assessment opportunities.

Creating Formative Assessments with Google Forms

Although I have had many occasions where I have filled out a Google Form, I have not had the opportunity to create my own Google Form. This assignment was a great way to explore ways to create formative assessments with Google Forms. I found Google Forms easy to navigate and was able to create a very basic Exit Ticket using the template found within the tool. I wanted to create a formative assessment for the e-course I am working on for early childhood teacher professional development so that is where I started. I created an Exit Ticket that I can insert into the e-course at the end of each section to gain an understanding of how teachers are doing with the material. I used one of the assessment strategies found in the resource 10 Innovative Formative Assessment Examples for Teachers to Know, 3-2-1 Countdown to create the exit ticket. 

Here are the steps I took to create the basic Exit Ticket:

• Once in Forms, I clicked on "Exit Ticket" under create new form
• This gave me a basic form to build my own exit ticket from
• I started at the top and changed the theme of the exit ticket first by clicking on the top right paint palette; here I could change the picture at the top--click on image upload and choose the image; once the image changed it gave suggestions for complimentary colors to choose for the border and background colors.
• From there I clicked on each section to change the wording and questions asked.
• I clicked on and changed the Title and description box to better suit my needs for the e-course
• I chose to keep the name and email section the same and made sure I put the "required" setting on--located on the bottom right of each section. When "on" it requires learners to answer the question before it can be submitted
• I changed the first question to:  "List 3 things you learned today" and set it to required; Forms has many options for ways questions can be answered I chose "Paragraph" for this one by clicking on the upper right drop box
• I clicked on the next section and changed it to "List 2 things you want to know more about" and set it to required and answer in "paragraph"
• I clicked on the last section and changed it to "List 1 thing you will start doing in response to what you have learned" and set it to required and answer in "paragraph"

Overall, the Google Forms process was easy to follow and create. I liked the way that templates were already there to build upon since I have not created one previously. I can see where Forms would be an easy way to provide formative assessment tasks to students that would not take up a lot of class time. Learners will be able to provide feedback to teachers quickly and easily by using Forms. Teachers can then use the feedback to prepare, change or alter instructional strategies and activities to suit the needs of students.

I would like to explore more with Google Forms to create a survey for the program evaluation I am working on for another class. I think Forms would be an easy way to get a survey out to many people and easy for them to fill out quickly. I am looking forward to exploring more with Google Forms for this purpose.

e-Course Formative Assessment

Week 6: Exploring Adobe Spark Videos

Exploring Adobe Spark Videos

My Experiences Working with Adobe Spark

I enjoyed switching gears this week and working with Adobe Spark. I wanted to take a break from the usual education projects I have been working on and wanted to focus on something for myself instead. I chose to create a video with Adobe Spark using some quotes that I see daily at my school and have provided some inspiration for me, especially on those days when I ask myself "why am I here?" 😱

Last year my school focused on building an environment of community and lifting others up. So, in response to this challenge the staff decided to paint murals and quotes all around the school as a way to encourage and lift up our students, as well as ourselves! As I walk down the hallways I am constantly seeing these uplifting quotes and images so I wanted to collect some of my favorite quotes and create a way I can see them anywhere instead of only at school. I figured putting them into a video with some calming and relaxing images would fit the bill.  That is why Everyday Inspiration was created.

Creating Everyday Inspiration

Before creating the video for this assignment, I explored with Adobe Spark for a bit, played around with images and sound before actually starting on my creation. I wanted to initially use my desk top to create the video because I figured it would be easier to save and then embed into this blog. However, when I was playing around with sound in the video, I realized that my microphone on the desk top was not working so I had to go to Plan B.....the iPad. 

I downloaded the Adobe Spark app onto my iPad and started to explore again with the video. I was pleasantly surprised when I began the creation, the iPad app was user friendly and worked similar to the desk top version. I really did not run into any issues as I created the video, overall I think the process was pretty straightforward. It helped to explore the app before trying to create the video to get familiar with the options. 

Here are the details of how I created the video on Adobe Spark: 

1.  I started by choosing what kind of video I wanted to create--by choosing the story template

• There are several story templates to choose from
• Creating your own story template is also an option

For this project I decided to use one of the story templates--Promote an Idea

2.  Next I started to create my inspiration video

• I started by locating the video options on the top right of the screen
• There are many options for Layouts, themes, sizing, and music
• Here are the options I chose to begin creating my video--I chose these before I began putting in pictures, text or slide sound:
• Layout:  Caption--this puts the image as full screen and has text as the caption over the image
• Theme:  Tidal--the theme changes the font of the text and how the slides and text appear on the screen
• Resize: Widescreen--the options here are widescreen and square
• Music: Sunlit Valley--there are numerous music choices here, they are grouped into categories; there are also options for choosing from iTunes or from a file

3. Now it was time to start choosing the quotes and images I wanted to use. I remembered parts of the quotes I wanted to use but could not remember the authors so I conducted a google search for positive, uplifting quotes and found the ones I wanted to include in the video. Then I started searching for the images I wanted to use that are inspirational, relaxing and calming. Here is information on how I selected the images I wanted:

• First, I clicked on the first/top plus sign, clicked on photo to add the images to each slide
• There are many options for choosing images to add to Spark: Access your own photos on the device; find free photos from Adobe Spark; take a picture; and syncing to various apps to collect images--Facebook, Google drive, Dropbox, light room, etc.

• I chose to Find Free Photos on Adobe Spark
• I entered in phrases such as waterfall, path at beach, dreams that would provide me with images that would match the quotes I chose
• I ended up selecting 3 images to go with the 3 quotes I chose and an image for the title slide
• Once I found the image I wanted I clicked on the image and it automatically appeared on the slide
• I went to each slide and added the photos I wanted using the steps above

4. After adding the images I needed to add the quotes to the slides, here is how I did that:

• After adding the images, there is only one plus sign left on the slide, this is for the text of the slide
• Click on the plus sign and a text box appears so you can enter in the text for the slide
• I added text on each slide with the quote I chose for each image; the first slide is the title slide and has the title Everyday Inspiration; I added quotes on the other slides 

5.  Once I created the slides I wanted I went back and deleted the slides I did not use, leaving the last two slides for credits

6. After I had the images and quotes ready on each slide it was time to add the voice over for each slide; I simply said the quotes for each slide:

• Press and hold the red microphone button under the slide 
• Read the text on the slide or add any instructions, explanations, etc that you want
• Let go of the button when finished
• Move to the next slide and follow the same steps

7. I then went to the credits slide and added a credit for the websites I located the quotes from; the images I used in the video were already in the credits

8.  Once I thought I had the slides complete I hit play to see how it looked; Something that surprised, and I had forgotten I chose was the music. Even though I had spoken on each slide, the music kept playing throughout the video. I think this added a great effect to the finished project. 

9.  Once I was pleased with the video, I hit the share button on the top right, there were several sharing options:

• Save to Camera Roll
• Post to Facebook
• Post to Twitter
• Send an email
• Send a message
• Copy link to clipboard

I copied the link the clipboard and then tried sending it to one of my own email addresses. After several unsuccessful attempts of sending an email I decided to save it to my camera roll. From the camera roll I could then access it and send it by email. After I sent it to my email, I downloaded it to the desk top and saved a copy to my documents. From there I was able to access the file when I clicked on Insert a Video on blogger and added it here to my blog. The finished video is below👇

How I will use Adobe Spark

I liked the ease of using Adobe Spark, I think it is a straightforward and simple way to begin creating videos. I really liked the selection of images that are free to use as well as the music choices. The options they have to select images, music, etc. from other sources will be useful to complete a variety of creations. 

I would like to incorporate the use of Adobe Spark in my classroom by using it to create review videos, picture stories of our classroom activities, and end of the year slideshows for parents. Adobe Spark will be a great resource to use to create short videos of special projects we do in class that I can share with parents. Spark will be useful in creating documentation of student work and as a means to review concepts. Using Spark as a means of introducing concepts will be a creative way to grab student attention. I would also like to explore using Spark as a way for students to be creative in their own work by creating their own story videos, classroom story video, and concept videos. I may explore the use of Spark in creating a video of the Friend book we completed a few weeks ago in class. It would be great to show their work in video form--and to let them talk on the video to explain their own pictures. 

Overall I enjoyed working with Adobe Spark and plan to continue to explore the possibilities it holds for my classroom.