"Creativity is contagious, pass it on." ~Albert Einstein

Thursday, November 20, 2014


It's free.  It's basic.  It's easy to use. The integration ideas are endless. It's Popplet Lite.  You can download it in the App Store for your iPad or you can use the web based version

I know, it's been around awhile, but Popplet Lite is like a long lost friend to me.  Sometimes we get caught up in apps that have all of the bells and whistles and that that can become a distraction in your classroom.  Sometimes it's just nice to go back to a basic app that you can use in a variety of ways!  

Popplet Lite is such a versatile app to use in any classroom regardless of grade level.  How could you use this app in your classroom?  Below are a few ways I can see teachers using Popplet Lite in the classroom.  Wait! Don't know how to use Popplet Lite?  No worries, here is an App Task Challenge I created to help you get started!



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Wednesday, November 19, 2014

It's a simple app smash that can be completed with a group of students in about 30 minutes. Originally, I was going to have each student create a ChatterPix using something they created in their class that pertained to Thanksgiving (turkey, pilgrim, etc.), then upload each completed ChatterPix product to my YouTube page.  I was planning on creating a QR code that linked back to each ChatterPix the students created, then have students glue their QR code to their original piece of artwork.  The students would love taking this home and showing Mom and Dad how to scan the QR code!

Well, I had to go with Plan B because I was having trouble saving some of the ChatterPix to the camera roll on the student iPads.  I had a room full of Kindergarteners with no time to think!  They were getting anxious!

I had the students use my iPad to take pictures of their artwork.  When done gathering all our images, I sat down and smashed them all together into an iMovie.  I like to use the IntroMate app with iMovie, but it's not really essential.  Leave it out if you don't want to spend the $2.99 for the app. I completed our simple iMovie and uploaded it to YouTube.  I then used my handy, dandy goog.gl URL shortener Chrome extension to create a QR code of our iMove and sent it off to the teacher so that they could make copies for their students to take home along with the URL to our new "movie."

It's simple, it's easy to complete and students love watching all of their creations come to life.  Here are a couple of our movies.  Enjoy!





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Thursday, November 13, 2014

Time for that reflective post of the conference event that I recently attended.  You know, the one where you get all gushy about all the cool people you met and new things that you learned.  I'm actually going to do my best to avoid that and instead head in another direction focus on what Felix Jacomino has created.

If you don't know Felix, he is the mastermind behind Miami Device.   Miami Device is a professional development learning event that is held in Miami on a bi-annual basis. This year was the first year and I look forward to many more. When researching Miami Device I noticed that I didn't see the word "conference" very much.  It piqued my interest that I saw the word "event" in its place.

And an event it was!  Every single detail was covered.

In reflecting on why I would consider this one of the best events that I have attended, I came came up with one reason.  When attending Miami Device I felt like I was a person and not a number.  I have been to some very large conferences and they just had a "corporate" feel to them.  Trying to pick a session from the plethora available was an arduous task in itself.  I had to walk a long ways to get to a certain session, I always felt rushed.

I had none of that at Miami Device.  I had the time (and energy) to have conversations with some of the people from my PLN that I respect and admire greatly for what they are doing with their students and staffs. One of the coolest things that I noticed was that the culture of the school at St. Stephen's Episcopal Day School permeated every inch of this event.  The St. Stephen's staff were present, positive and so welcoming to all of us.  What an amazing group of passionate educators.

Yep, my bucket was filled and I learned a lot.

Thank you Felix Jacomino and crew for such a wonderful experience, and thank you for putting on such a wonderful event.  See you in two years!


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