Motivator

Using Big Huge Labs was an engaging way to merge a photo with text. I was able to create a professional final product in a few easy steps that were clearly outlined through the site. For the purpose of this example, I took my favorite photo from a backpacking trip along the John Muir Trail. It was nothing short of an adventure as two of my friends and I spent eleven days and walked 110 miles in the backcountry of the Sierra Nevada mountains with nothing but our backpacks. In this photo we spent the night at a place called Lyell Forks in Yosemite. Here my friend Adam was fishing in the shallows of the Lyell River right before sunset.

Photo: Taylor Lynch

Lyell Forks, CA in Yosemite National Park

Using the Motivator feature from Big Huge Labs students have unique opportunities to pair pictures with text. There are two ways that I foresee using this tool with my students. Using the weekly vocabulary and our Second Step curriculum, students would be able to make connections with vocabulary and real life context.

Treasures Vocabulary - Using the weekly vocabulary words from our Language Arts curriculum, students will use iPads to take pictures. They will make connections with a word and an activity in their daily routines. Students will include the word as the bold title and provide a sentence using the word or the definition. This will not only deepen students understanding of the vocabulary, but give them multiple ways of seeing the words in their lives.

Second Step - A curriculum that features developmentally appropriate ways to teach core social-emotional skills such as empathy, emotion management, and problem solving. We use this resource on a weekly basis to reinforce the means to make good choices, solve problems and show respect to others. Included in each lesson are key vocabulary that connect with the modeled skill. Currently, we follow the scripted lesson using the provided stuffed animals, but the lessons end there. Using the iPads, students can take photos of this key vocabulary in real life examples with their peers. Then, they can use Big Huge Labs to add the word and include an example of how this models each skill.

Tweet, Tweet

Not to be confused with the idea that I like talking about myself because that is far from the case, but writing an introduction of 140 characters or less is no easy task. Although it was a good exercise to show how we are continually striving to be more efficient. One component that changes the makeup of this tweet is the fact that four questions are posed for the purpose of the assignment. One of the most important pieces about using such few characters is staying to one subject.

Another digital tool sticking to 140 characters is Todays Meet. This resource allows you to create a backchannel conversation for anyone who has network access. Character counts in staff meetings and professional development opportunities can be a great way to keep conversations focused and on track.

It's nice to meet everyone and I look forward to learning about Digital Media as it's one of the core ideas of the Instructional Media MS that many of us are pursuing.