Students, first watch the video on Sketchnote Elements:
Next, view the tutorials below to view which will demonstrate the drawing apps that we are going to use for our sketchnote. Please watch at least 2 tutorials and decide which app you like better and want to use for your upcoming project. Use your iPad and a stylus to try them out while watching the tutorials and after you are finished watching them. Then practice and explore using the app you like best.
https://vimeo.com/235130787
This past week, the Middle School Multimedia Tech class worked on learning ways to improve their iPad photography. We used a variety of FREE iPad apps including Prizma, Pixlr-o-matic, PaintMee, and MySketch to add filters and effects to self portraits. We also used the Pic Collage Kids app to design collages that showed off their best work!.
We then looked at my teacher friend David Caleb’s wonderful free eBook “Stories Through the Lens” for some ideas about photo composition.
Since it was a warm beautiful day, we headed outside. Students picked one subject and took photos of it using a variety of perspectives following ideas that they learned from the book.
It was a fun way to end the week. Next week students will be blogging about about what they learned about iPad photography and sharing some of their examples!
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Our Book Shelfies multitouch book was published on iTunes today! I am so excited that it is available for free download on 51 iTunes stores around the world! I am very proud of the students’ creative work in this project. Here is the link to the book on iTunes:
https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/book-shelfies-2017/id1245385011?mt=11
“Book Shelfies” is an anthology of multimedia “book reports” created by the middle school students of Southfield Christian School in Southfield, Michigan USA during May of 2017. Students used iBooks Author and a variety of Apple programs and iPad apps to share a “self portrait” of a book that they love. Each student created a chapter which included a video book trailer, an animated book character, a GarageBand recording of portion of the book, an interactive quiz widget about the book, and a creative element of their choice. Some of their creative choices included book scenes created in Minecraft, an interactive map, book quote posters, and texting videos to illustrate a scene from the book. We hope you enjoy a glimpse of how the traditional book report can be transformed and energized by using 21st century tools! This was our final project in the class, and students needed to use many skills to pull all the elements together into their book chapter!
To download the book, you will need to use the iBooks app either on an iPad, iPhone, or on a Mac computer. Because of the special multimedia features that we included, it will not work on different platforms.
We would love for you to download, share, rate, and leave comments for our book! Thanks!
Here is a link to see some examples of the multimedia which the students created on their iPads.
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The middle school students have been working on a “Book Shelfie” about a book they love. They are creating a book chapter in iBooks Author and adding in multimedia pieces that they create either on an iPad or on a Mac Computer. Look for the multitouch book to be published soon to iTunes!
Here are a few examples of media they created to illustrate their books;
Above is Lacey’s Book Trailer for Eddie Red. She used the Pickayou app to make the characters, animated them in Puppet Pals, and then pulled the clips into iMove to make the trailer!
Ethan used the SpokenPhoto app to make this amazing talking video of Fire Star who is one of the cats in the Warrior book.
Bobby used Tellagami Edu to make a character animation of Sadie, one of the characters in the book Throne of Fire.
Giovanni used the Texting Story app to illustrate a scene from the book Maze Runner.
Brooke also used the trailer feature in iMovie to illustrate the book The Skin I’m In. She used live video clips. She also included a video collage into her trailer using the Pic Play Post app.
Carter created this creative talking Wanted Poster using the Wanted Poster app and Facejack!
Quentin really made the basketball theme come to life by using a variety of images and clip art in his video.
Here is Antonio’s book trailer for The Longest Ride. Did you notice how he drew a hat on one of his characters using the Sketchbook X app? That was a great creative touch!
Matt also used a combination of Pickayou, Puppet Pals, and iMovie to make his trailer.
The middle school multimedia class recently explored the Project Shapeshifter website. This site is free and does not require a login to use! It lets you design complex shapes in 3D by changing patterns and parameters like the number of segments, the size, thickness, taper, and the twist. It also lets you add a base and lip to your shape. This was one of those sites that you heard the kids saying, “Oh cool, look at this!” as they explored.
The shapes can be downloaded as .stl files and can be printed as is. These designs work perfectly as pencil holders or vases. We did discover if the shape was very complex with many twists and segments that sometimes there were too many errors or supports to be able to print successfully.
Since the students had already gone through a 5 step design process lesson earlier in the year, I wanted to see what creative ideas they would come up with if they brought their design from Shapeshifter into Tinkercad and added additional elements. Here are some of their completed designs from this project.
Carter designed 2 pieces in Shapeshifter and sized them to match exactly. He then added a knob to the top of the curved lid using Tinkercad.
Lacey made a twisting complex shape in Shapeshifter, then customized it in Tinkercad with a base labeled “Markers.”
Quinten designed a beautiful vase in Shapeshifter, then added a base in Tinkercad to make it more sturdy.
Matt began by creating a sleek curved bell shape in Shapeshifter. In Tinkercad he made a separate clapper for the bell and added a loop inside to attach it with a wire. We realized that the clapper would also make a great handle for the bell, so we printed a second one and crazy glued it to the top. The bell actually makes noise when you ring it!
Here’s a video showing the students at work on this project. Note: the video was created with Apple’s new Clips app!
It was exciting to see how the students used these shapes in creative ways to develop functional and fun objects!
Disclosure: As a part of the Dremel 3D Idea Builder Ambassadors program, our school is receiving the use of the 3D40 printer for one year. If you are interested in learning more about the Dremel Idea Builder 3D40 printer, you may contact https://3dprinter.dremel.com/education-request. I’d appreciate it if you noted Karen Bosch/this blog post as a referral in the comments/questions section at the bottom of the form. Thanks!
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Recently a few of my middle school students did a test run of the free Texting Story app. They really enjoyed the app because it let them create a digital story using a format that is second nature to them – texting! The app lets you build a text story between two characters. It also lets you add photos into the story. (This is a paid inapp feature, but when we used the app we were able to add it for free.) Once your story is crafted it will generate a video version of the story complete with clicking sounds!
Here is an example based on The Warriors book series. What a great way for students to illustrate a scene from a book! (Note: students were just testing the app, so spelling and some other aspects of their videos might not be “publication perfecct.”):
Here’s another example with a conversation between Alexander Hamilton and Aaron Burr. This app is a perfect 21st century way to share biographical facts, compare two historical figures, or illustrate a historical event!
I believe this app could be used in almost any subject. In science, two animals or planets could be comparing and contrasting traits. It would work wonderfully for practicing conversational writing in World Language classes. Even in math, there could be conversations between shapes, vocabulary, terms, or even two characters showing 2 different ways of solving a problem.
Texting Story is currently free on the US iTunes store.
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The middle school tech class has been working on recording selfie videos to share 5 life lessons. Here are some shots of the students recording their clips. Now they are using iMovie on their computer to combine all the clips together into one video. While working on this project they will be using workflows to download video and music. They also will be using many of the editing feature in iMovie including transitions, titles, and effects.
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For their final project, the Multimedia Tech Class students were asked to create an eBook using the Book Creator app that shared one of their personal passions. Along with text, images, and audio, the students also used a variety of iPad apps to created video and multimedia pieces to enhance their books. Miss Bosch combined their eBooks into one anthology and submitted it to iTunes where it now has been published to 51 iTunes stores around the world! Talk about a global audience! We would love for you to download our book and would appreciate if you would leave a rating and/or a review!
If you have an iPad, iPod, or iPhone or a Mac Computer, you can download the book directly from iTunes:
https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/passion-portraits/id1192999472?mt=11
If you have a different type of device, you may be able to download this ePub file:
Link to Passion Portraits ePub file
On a PC computer, try using the Chrome browser with the Readium app to download/view the file. If you have an Android phone, you might be able to use the ePub Reader app, or another app for ePub files. (I have not tested this on an Android, so I cannot verify that this will work.)
Teacher Note: Book Creator is both an easy and creative way for students to create and publish their own content! It is one of my favorite apps. It currently is available on the US iTunes app store for $4.99. There also is a free version that will let you create one book.
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One of the places I go for inspiration for 3D printing projects is the dollar store! I look for ideas of small items for which our students could create new design elements. In December the middle school multimedia class used Tinkercad to design their own custom night light cover for printing with our Dremel Idea Builder 3D40 printer.
After students had viewed a few tutorials for Tinkercad and had some “playground” time just to explore, they began the design process. The first challenge was to design a base the would perfectly slide onto the night light. This involved a lot of real world measurement and evaluative thinking (which I love).
Each student ended up printing several iterations of their base design before they designed one that fit perfectly. The bases were pretty quick to print, so we wanted to make sure they were right before continuing. Since these students had already done several projects using the our Dremel Idea Builder 3D40 printer, I was able to let them take charge of getting their files downloaded and ready to print, loading the filament, leveling the build plate, and starting the printing process. The onscreen directions on the control pad are easy enough for middle school students to follow on their own after being instructed on the process!
Next step was designing a front for the night light. One design was a Minecraft style face with holes for the eyes, nose, and mouth. The student used the tools available in Tinkercad to create shapes and holes.
Another design used a reindeer .svg icon that was downloaded from the Flaticon website. This file was imported into Tinkercad and was used to cut out a shape into the front of the night light. One challenge in this design was trying to figure out a way to keep the nose and eyes connected to the cutout. (Unfortunately, my photo of the finished project is a bit blurry, but you get the idea.)
The third design was a mermaid. This student could not find a .svg icon that she liked, so she decided to create her own. She used sharpie markers to draw her mermaid, photographed it with her iPad, and then downloaded it to her computer. She used an online converter to change the .jpg file to .svg which could then be imported into Tinkercad. Her design looked amazing when done! This student ended up taking her .stl file home to continue working on it in Tinkercad over vacation to get it to fit the night light better. She is fortunate that her dad has access to a 3D printer! I’m looking forward to seeing the revised design.
Teacher Notes: Tinkercad does not let you to create drawings or upload .jpg files, but it will upload .svg files. We used the following website to search for .svg files to use for this project. Black and white solid icon images work best. You will have to choose to download the file in .svg format.
If you want to create your own drawing or have a .jpg file that you wish to use, you can convert the file to .svg format. Here is the website that we used:
http://image.online-convert.com/convert-to-svg
Disclosure: I am delighted to have been named one of 10 Dremel 3D Idea Builder Ambassadors for the 2016/17 school year. Our school will have use of a Dremel Idea Builder 3D40 printer and will be developing and sharing lesson ideas.
As a part of the Dremel 3D Idea Builder Ambassadors program, our school is receiving the use of the 3D printer for one year.
If you are interested in learning more about the Dremel Idea Builder 3D40 printer, you may contact https://3dprinter.dremel.com/education-request. I’d appreciate it if you noted Karen Bosch/this blog post as a referral in the comments/questions section at the bottom of the form. Thanks!