Raff's rant

Almost a term and half into our Geography semester i am having my year 7 students create a movie about What is Geography? They can be as creative as they want, use any app or apps and equipment they would like and make a movie that covers what they believe geography is all about. I gave the students some ideas for possible apps to use; Puppet Pals, Reel director, iMovie (some have purchased themselves), the video camera. Equipment that could be accessed; Flip cameras and a camera connector, whiteboard and iPad dongle, microphones etc. Breifly as a class we discussed the key themes and concepts we had studied so far and i made a few notes on the board for students to refer. Task one was to storyboard their group ideas, allocate tasks and work out equipment and apps to use. Students were engaged in the task, love the concept of getting to create in groups and were challenged to think about what to include and how to create a movie that would engage an audience.

Using the free teacher app Nearpod create quizzes or other content for class. Created materials can be shared directly to students who have the Nearpod student app installed. Teachers can view students’ responses individually or as a whole class. I have created a presentation – you need to access the website to create your presentation rather than use the app. Note there is a size limit both to materials being uploaded and the total presentation. What is great is that you can include question and answer question, multi choice questions, video and other stimulus material and drawing / writing tasks. This awesome app is free and as an educator you can get a free upgrade to Silver edition to create the presentations for your classes. Students can work through the presentation individually or you can direct and control the presentation through the teacher app and type of material and questions your include. There is a great community help site to help resolve issues when they occur. Ticks all the boxes so far, although my first presentation was too big and won’t publish! Oh well that is why i test them before rolling out to staff Awesome app and website.

Sharing keynotes when they are too big to email – use iworks.com beta to share your keynote presentation with your teacher. As the recipient of an the email i have the option to view, or view and comment, or view, comment and download the presentation. It is easy to set up and use and share your creation this way.

Using Adobe Photoshop Express, a free universal app for fieldwork pictures to rotate, crop, and enhance the images students have taken at the lake.

Use Nearpod app teacher and student app to access free presentations which incorporate quiz material, video and other stimulating materials to engage students on a range of topics. Oh and did i mention it is free!

Using the app smartnote in built graphic orgnaisers like the Venn diagram to compare and contrast change with different, same, different. Students brainstorm individually then compare with a small group and add to their diagram before class discussion about why change has occurred.

Create a digital portfolio for students quickly and easily digitize student work and build the resource for authentic assessment in your classroom using the app three ring – it is free and easy to set up your classes and then use to create digital portfolios or record student progress or authenticate student work.

Making creation of a timeline interesting and fun by using QR codes using http://qrcode.kaywa.com/ and then students use i-nigma app, which is free to read the codes and put them into a timeline order using an app of their choice.

Compare and contrast Ringwood Lake using a Venn diagram – what has remained the same and what is different about the Lake. Use smart note, bamboo paper or paperportnotes for this activity.

Create a table to show the cause and effect of change at Ringwood Lake – identify causes of change to the area and then the events and effects that occurred as a result. Use an app where you can draw as well as write like smartnote, noterze, sketchbook express or bamboo paper