FEATURE: HOW TO left it when you prepared it at home, on another PC or Mac. It is really easy to embed rich media into the presentation for your class – the whole process is contained within the software. Simply search for a video and it will perform a ‘safe search’ of YouTube. Click on the video and it is ready to go in your presentation. Already have the URL, then just paste it in the search box and it automatically embeds it into the presentation for you. This process is the same for images as well. Nice and simple, nice and quick and safe – the kids could do it. Built into the software is ‘ProConnect’ a simple tool that allows any child with a tablet device and the app to interact with the content on the board. You can create interactive quizzes, take votes, race against other children and all the data can be stored for you online – great for assessment, and you can filter what results are shown on the board. You can even export the data into a spreadsheet to further your assessment. The ProConnect app is available on Android and iOS.
PROWISE: PRESENTER AND PRO CONNECT Your interactive whiteboard is the centre of your classroom, but not much has changed with whiteboard software over the years – Notebook seems to be the choice of most schools up and down the country. Prowise Presenter is an alternative to that very software given to you all those years ago and is, once again, free. Firstly, and most importantly, and one of its big ‘selling’ points (it’s free, remember) is that all the files are held in the cloud. You can work at home, not bother with Dropbox or memory sticks, hoping that the right software is installed on the Mac or PC they you’re using when you get to school – it is entirely browser based. Log in and your work is waiting for you, exactly as you
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SCRATCH AND SCRATCH JR: PROGRAMMING Want to create a game or animation with your children and all you have is access to the internet and a class full of laptops? Then Scratch is the way forward for your school. Scratch is a simple ‘block-based’ programming language that allows children to learn the basics of computer coding and create some great looking content at the same time. The software is online, so the children can create their own logins, allowing them to continue their learning at home.
With Prowise Presenter you can hold all files in the cloud
This is a great feature and one that shouldn’t be overlooked as it means the children can start to build up collections of games and work on them over weeks, instead of starting afresh each time. Scratch Jr is a simpler version of the full online version. It is available on iOS and Android and is aimed at the younger child who is starting out on their coding journey. It is bright, colourful and intuitive – the children can even upload their own images to animate from the world around them.
EDUCANON: EMBED QUIZZES INTO ANY VIDEO We’re starting to see more and more use of video in our classrooms, particularly with the advent of the flipped learning model. Children will view content outside the classroom and come armed with the knowledge they need to tackle the application inside the classroom – sounds simple, but how do we know they’ve watched the content? eduCanon is the answer to that question. The software allows you to take any video from any site and embed interactive questions straight into it – you even get graphical feedback from each question answered by the children. The software allows you to see who has watched the video, which questions they answered, and which ones they need help with. This information is priceless for any teacher – it feeds into
TEN FREE APPLICATIONS FOR YOUR CLASSROOM 1 Edmodo 2 ProWise Presenter and ProConnect 3 Scratch/ Scratch Jr/ Bee-Bot 4 eduCanon 5 Vittle Free 6 Twitter/Facebook 7 Book Creator 8 iMotion 9 Tellagami 10 Blogger
your planning without the children even being there. If you’ve got Edmodo, you can add a link into the homepage and their log in details are automatically synced with eduCanon. The children do not need to go elsewhere to watch the videos, as they are on their homepage – no other logins, no hyperlinks to follow; it’s all in front of them.
SOMETIMES FREE SOFTWARE IS GREAT There is a plethora of free software out there all claiming to be the best for your classroom, but you must remember that it must have sound pedagogy behind it to be successful. Many pieces of software are eye-catching and attention grabbing for your students, but only have a couple of weeks of shelf-life – choose carefully and think before diving in head first.
eduCanon can help you get more from video content
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