Tech EDGE: Mobile Learning in the Classroom Podcasts
This week we checked out the podcast channel on YouTube, Tech EDGE. EDGE stands for Education in Digital and Global Environments. The podcasts are made at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, and there are over 300 videos to watch that include information on apps of all sorts.The description on their channel says,"We focus on innovation in teaching, learning and teacher education. Much of our current work is focused on iPads in the classroom." There are videos on vocabulary apps, Google apps and resources, certain subject areas, as well as so many other things. Some videos are about how to use apps and things with your students in the classroom, but some of them are also just resources for teaches to use and how to use a certain thing. The video I chose to watch and review is about presentation apps. The host, Guy Tranin, talks about three different presentation apps that you can use in the classroom, and he talks about how to use each. The threes apps are Google Slides, Haiku Deck, and Prezi. I really like that he talked about all three together because if the students have several options to make a presentation from they can choose the one they want to use and it gives the students a sense of choice. Students can choose one that they are familiar with or one that their group is familiar with if its a group project. Below is the podcast I watched, check it out!
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The first app that Guy talked about that I am going to review is Google Slides. The description on the app store says, "Create, edit and collaborate with others on presentations from you iPod, iPhone or iPad with the free Google Slides app."I have use Google Slides before and personally like it a lot. My favorite part about it is how easy it is to share the presentation with other people and how easy it is to have multiple people working on it at the same time. Google automatically saves, so you don't have to worry about students accidentally clicking out and the presentation being lost. You also can see the changes that people make so if there is a problem with students changing another students work, you can see who changed it and when and most times you can restore to the previous version if need be. You can also work offline, so if the internet is down or something your students or you can still work on the presentation. You can also upload slides from PowerPoint and edit and tweak them however in Google Slides. The design of Google Slides is simple, there is not a lot of themes or designs to choose from, so the students can't get too distracted changing things. Also, it keeps it simple to use. Students can easily work collaboratively to create a project. If you haven't use Google Slides before, you should definitely give it a try!
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The second app he talked about is called Haiku Deck. The description the app store is rather long and detailed, but I chose a little snippet of it that I liked; it says, "Whether you're pitching an idea, teaching a lesson, telling a story, or igniting a movement, use Haiku Deck to create beautiful presentations that wow your audience." I was just introduced to this app this semester in one of my classes, and I think it is really cool to use. Haiku Deck is a free app that is really about the visual presentation of the presentation and it makes anything look cool. The app is free to use, however you can buy packages online that get more out of it. These can be a bit pricy, and I have found that I do what I want to do with the app version that is free. You can also pay for certain aspects in the app, but you really don't need to to get the best out of the app. You can do a lot with out purchasing anything. It is simple to use and doesn't have a lot of frills to it. I really like that there are TONS of images already included that are copyright free and you can use them. There is no watermark on the images so the presentation still looks professional. You simply search for what you are looking for, choose, and add it to your presentation how you would like. You can also only add so much text so it makes you focus on the visual presentation more than put a huge amount of words on it. It syncs seamlessly between iPhone, iPad and computer so you can easily switch from devices. You can also use your phone as remote when you are presenting your presentation which I think is really cool. This would be a cool app for students to do small individual projects/presentations with. It is definitely something I will be using in the future if not for my students, for myself. Haiku Deck is certainly an app that you should take a look at for yourself!