Pedagogy and creativity
When you design lessons that allow students to be creative, many times your lessons are PBL - project-based learning or design thinking lessons. Dr John Spencer has provided us with a great video called The LAUNCH: a design-thinking framework for education. This is a great resource if we want to teach more student-centered lessons.
Creativity tools
Creativity tools and presentation tools might overlap a bit, but I can't emphasize enough the power of creativity in sparking a students imagination, engagement and problem-solving abilities. Ask any student what one lesson they remember the most and it is almost always a lesson where they created something.
These tools are NOT digital storytelling tools, but tools to add CREATIVITY to digital storytelling tools.
Visit the Presentation Tools page to see tools to create digital stories
Visit the Presentation Tools page to see tools to create digital stories
Word Art - A word cloud visualizes text. Depending upon which tool you use, it will visualize it as a shape or image. This tool can help students pull out key words in a lecture or body of text, or can help students with vocabulary or key concepts covered in a lesson. Word clouds can be used is so many different ways...and they are fun! This one is my favorite! It is so easy to use, no account necessary and, there are a lot of features for FREE.
Word Cloud Generator - This is another type of word cloud creation tool. It doesn’t have the polished look that Word Art has, but it is quick and simple to use.
Tiki-Toki - Although this is a timeline creation tool, it has a strong creative element. You can create colorful timelines with lots of images and links. It is a great way for students to express knowledge of an historical event.
Canva - This tool allows you to create graphics; posters, badges, logos, invitations...and more. There are a variety of free as well as paid elements to use to build your product.
TinkerCAD - this free 3D design tool is perfect for introducing students to design theory and techniques. Think AutoCAD for amateurs. Great for teaching constructive geometry, coding, electronics, design and more. This is great if you have a 3D printer.
Autodraw - this tool designed by Google allows you to draw, then convert your drawing into clipart (from their library of clipart). My students LOVE using this tool, then inserting the clip art into other projects (building presentations or comics). There are a few drawing tools inside this tool.
Sketchnoting - a form of taking notes that involves words and images, is made easier with this tool.
Word Cloud Generator - This is another type of word cloud creation tool. It doesn’t have the polished look that Word Art has, but it is quick and simple to use.
Tiki-Toki - Although this is a timeline creation tool, it has a strong creative element. You can create colorful timelines with lots of images and links. It is a great way for students to express knowledge of an historical event.
Canva - This tool allows you to create graphics; posters, badges, logos, invitations...and more. There are a variety of free as well as paid elements to use to build your product.
TinkerCAD - this free 3D design tool is perfect for introducing students to design theory and techniques. Think AutoCAD for amateurs. Great for teaching constructive geometry, coding, electronics, design and more. This is great if you have a 3D printer.
Autodraw - this tool designed by Google allows you to draw, then convert your drawing into clipart (from their library of clipart). My students LOVE using this tool, then inserting the clip art into other projects (building presentations or comics). There are a few drawing tools inside this tool.
Sketchnoting - a form of taking notes that involves words and images, is made easier with this tool.
Digital Storytelling
The most effective approach to project-based learning is digital storytelling. Many of the tools you explore either allow students to create stories or give students a tool to enhance a story or project.
Resources for images and presentation templates
Explore digital storytelling tools
There are thousands of web-based digital storytelling and presentation tools. Some have a free or an educational version that lets teachers create student accounts. This allows the teacher to access and assess student work easily. The article by Edutopia gives us great information about the power of digital storytelling and lists a few digital tools. Below are a few more examples (my favorite ones)!
StoryJumper- a tool for younger students. This easy to use tool gives students the opportunity to create picture books. The teacher side of this tool makes it a valuable tool to use. Watch this video to learn more about Storyjumper Here is a shorter tutorial Here is a sample book created with StoryJumper |
Thinglink - an online tool that allows you to create interactive images. Upload an image, then create hotspots. These hotspots can be text, images, and videos. You can even link to other websites. Learn more about Thinglink from this video |
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PowToon - Create animated presentations. This tool is tied to your Google account so perfect for students to use. Students love to use this tool because of the multifaceted animation options. It is a bit more complex than any of the other tools presented so be sure to give students plenty of time to explore the tool before assigning a project.
Learn how to use PowToon by watching this video
Learn how to use PowToon by watching this video
MyStoryBook - a new tool for digital storytelling. Students create books by adding text and images. They can create many pages and then publish them online. There is a small fee if you want to download your storybooks as pdf files.
Watch this quick video to learn more about MyStoryBook
Watch this quick video to learn more about MyStoryBook
WriteReader - this free writing tool is for younger students to use when creating a writing piece in the form of a digital book. Teachers can set up classes and provide students with a code or use Google Classroom to add students. Once students start creating, the teacher can leave comments and feedback in the book for students. When they are done, students can share their book.
Watch the video to learn about the top features of WriteReader
Watch the video to learn about the top features of WriteReader
Book Creator - this digital book creator allows you 40 books with its free account. Your students truly are authors as they create digital books using text, images, video and audio.