Book Trailers for Readers

Book Trailers for Readers is an excellent site for those who are looking to revamp the tired book report.  This site contains examples, tutorials, and even handouts for how to create these projects in your own classroom. Students can use it to find a good book to read or use the examples to create their own book trailers.  Or, integrate some other tools like the Flip Video camera and Prezi to create a spectacular multimedia project!

Infographics: A 21st Century Tool for STEM

I have to admit, I've been rather intrigued by infographics lately.  They are so sleek and shiny and share pertinent data and statistics in an aesthetic fashion.  Not to mention, they seem to be everywhere.  They seem so simple, but try putting one together.  They are complex little animals that force you to think about your audience, your relevant information... and your communication skills.  As a result, they are the perfect tool for use in a STEM education classroom.

By requiring students to create an infographic, students are required to use those higher level thinking skills of Bloom's Taxonomy.  Students must consider which data to use and summarize it in a succinct way that will communicate effectively (Evaluation).  They must plan and organize the content (Synthesis) and prioritize and categorize it, allowing the user to make visual connections to the content (Analysis).

Infographics are a creative way to teach 21st century skills through STEM education by seamlessly integrating them into your curriculum.  There are many infographics creators to pick from, but my favorite right now is Picktochart.  It's easy to use, allows for student creativity, provides a decent selection of themes, images and icons and best of all it's free.  Students can also export their infographics to a standard format (PNG or JPG) for use in another program or medium. And, for creative minds or first timers, there are video tutorials that walk through the entire process as well as a comprehensive resource section.




Starfish Education is not affiliated with Picktochart (other than being happy users of their service) and is not compensated in any way for posting about their company or online tools.

Prezi- The Best Tool for Online Presentations

Has anyone ever used Prezi?  This online presentation software makes it really easy to make and share a dynamic presentation.  The best part of it for schools is that it's on the internet.  So, no software to install and no school server space being used.  Students can create non-linear presentations that can include links, images, and even videos.  What a great way for students to use the top three tiers of Bloom's Taxonomy!

Buncee

Buncee is one of my favorite Web 2.0 tools for creating engaging presentations.  This is an excellent learning tools that educators can use to "flip their classroom" or guide instruction on any subject.  Students love using Buncee for a wide variety of purposes such as: digital storytelling, creating posters, and more.  It's a very simple site to use that has users adding clipart, video, text, etc to create a dynamic and interactive presentation.  Best of all, is the educational portal that allows teachers to create student accounts and manage/assess all student presentations in a safe environment.  Finally, a Buncee can be embedded into a site/blog which makes it ideal for sharing w/ a wide audience.

I highly recommend checking out Buncee by clicking here!!!

Below is a brief video of how Buncee is being used in education...



*Buncee is an advertiser of Technology Tidbits.