PicLab HD

One of my favorite FUN apps is FREE... TODAY ONLY!!

PicLab HD creates beautiful, funky, and creative text overlays on your photos. They have a free version, but PicLab HD has more free fonts and editing features than regular old PicLab.

Here are some examples of what it looks like:

So why am I sharing a photo editing app? Well, I think that 3rd and 4th graders especially would love it. It makes me cringe when they ask me if I am on Instagram, but this is their digital world and what is "cool" in it. 

Some of the ideas I had were:

- Create a New Year's Resolution image

- Create a picture of a quote from a book 

- After reading, design an image for the moral of a story

Look for it on our iPads after the New Year.. but download it today if you're interested!

Photo Peach

Photo Peach is a website that you can use to create picture slideshows with text captions and music.

With Photo Peach you can...

Easily upload multiple photos at once from your computer.
Choose background music from Photo Peach.
Embed interactive quiz questions!
Easily email the video within Photo Peach
Set your slideshows to be public, unlisted, or invitation-only.

Here's how easy it is to make one:

Step 1 - Upload Photos

Step 2 - Choose Music & Speed

Photo Peach will then create your slideshow! The next step is to add captions, or create a quiz, if you'd like. Just click on Edit - Edit Caption and Photos. 

Then choose what type of caption you want.

Here's an example of a Bird Quiz. 

And an example of an Australian Heritage slideshow.

Want to learn more?

Check out this video:

or this How-To Guide with pictures.

I think Photo Peach would be a fun way to quiz students on vocabulary. Or save it for a Getting to Know You activity next year! Take pictures of each of your students and quiz the class on everyone's names. What a fun way to get to know your new class!

A Technology Blog Hop

Spring into Technology with Classroom Freebies!

Several phenomenal teachers, Technology Tailgate Coaches and bloggers are joining forces for an amazing classroom technology blog hop!  As you hop from blog to blog, you will visit some of your favorite blogs and discover a few new blogs too!  Each with a fabulous freebie just for you!

Thank you for hopping over!

This stop on the blog hop is a super easy and fun QR project that 3rd graders did. They are studying biographies right now, so every student is assigned a different person. To make the QR Codes, students used an audio recording website called Vocaroo. You don't need an account and it's free to use!

Each student came up with a "fun fact" about their person, and then used Vocaroo to record their fun fact. Then, they put their QR Codes on their lockers for other students to scan and learn about their person. 

On Vocaroo, you have many choices of what to do with your voice recording, such as just use the weblink, embed it, share it through a social network platform, download the file, or create the QR Code. 

Your freebie for stopping by is a quick start guide to Vocaroo for your students to use the website and make their own QR Code independently! Click here to get it!

Thank you so much for stopping by and visiting!  If you are new to my blog and liked what you see, don't forget to follow me!  The next stop on the path is  

Jan at The Science Vault

In case you didn't start from the beginning, here is an ordered list of all participating blogs!

The Technology Tailgate

Kate from EduKate and Inspire

Kristin from iTeach 1:1

Heidi from Rakis Rad Resources

Leah from Learn With Leah

Amanda and Aylin from Learning to the Core

Nikki from An Uncommon to the Core Teacher

Karla at The Connected Teacher

Shana at Enchanted with Technology

Kristen at Teacher Playground

Jen at Tech with Jen

Kay at A Little Tech

Melanie at I Luv Twek

Carrie and Caitlin at Table Talk with C & C

Lauren at iWonder

Jan at The Science Vault

A special thank you to Jen at Tech with Jen for designing the blog hop button!

Interested in joining our next blog hop?  Join here! 

Little Bird Tales

Little Bird Tales is an easy to use digital storytelling tool that can be used online (they do have an app also that is $2.99). Students can upload their own artwork, record their voice, add text, and can be shared by purchasing an mp4, emailing, embedding in your classroom website, or creating a PDF. 

Here's how it works:

You could set up accounts for individual students and have them write stories...

 or create class books, like this example:

They also have Common Core templates build in for grades K-5 when you set up a teacher account!

Looking to learn more? Here is another tutorial and other ideas to use it in your classroom. 

PuppetPals

While this week's post is mostly about the PuppetPals iPad app, let me blow your mind a little bit.

First off, I recorded a screen cast for this week's iWonder to try something new! 

To record the screen cast, I used ScreenCast-o-Matic.com. It is a very easy website to use, and I was recording in less than 30 seconds! I've used it in the past also to record directions for my students when I was absent- that way I know they hear exactly what I want them to do. Next time you leave sub plans, maybe you could record one too! Why not record you explaining directions that a sub might have on the SmartBoard? Or try "flipping" the classroom and have your students watch something at home on your website to discuss the next day in class? I see so many possibilities!

I also used a program called AirServer to have my iPad projected onto my laptop wirelessly. I'm currently testing out a 7 day trial, but so far it's pretty cool! 

In my screencast, I mentioned that my cousin is a Kindergarten teacher in Wisconsin. We got to talking on Thanksgiving, and he has iPads in his classroom that his students use daily. He has uploaded some of their work onto a YouTube channel, and it's amazing what his kids are doing! Check out one of his students using PuppetPals to retell a story. I think it aligns perfectly with some Common Core literature standards!

I also found another idea for using iPads with the Common Core standards on the Technology Tailgate (where else?! :). Check out how this teacher used ShowMe to do a reading response. (We don't have ShowMe, but you could use ScreenChomp to do the same thing on our iPads).