Have you tired a 'smore' lately?

This summer I was exposed to a new web 2.0 tool called Smore when I attended the ISTE conference in San Diego.  This tool reminds me of blogs in that information can be placed in a linear format.  This tool can be used to announce an activity or event, promote a product, or to just share information through a flyer format.  Sure there are tools out there already that can do the same thing Smore can, but it is a great option for students and teachers who tend to view things linearly and enjoy an easy template.  Smore has the ability to easily embed YouTube video, upload pictures and include text.  It is very easy to change the background and layout as well.  I also like how Smore lets you know how many times someone has viewed your Smore flyer.

I decided to try this tool out in two different ways.  One was for a class that I co-taught with Mary Marotta @mmarotta on Mobile learning pertaining to apps for the iPad.  This Smore can be viewed HERE.  The second was for a beginning of the school year presentation to the staff about our network in the building and their responsibility regarding using the internet.  This Smore can be viewed HERE.  I also worked with Mrs. Cooney @BHSCooney, our Leadership teacher, with providing Smore as a possible web 2.0 tool option for a project on leadership traits.  To view one students' example, click here.

I do recommend at least looking at this tool to see if I might work for you!  As always, let me know if you have any questions regarding this tool!

Comic Making...

We all love comic strips and apparently students at BHS do as well.  Over the past couple of weeks students have been creating their own comic strips in their classes with the help of a program called Comic Life.  With this program, students are able to create a comic feel by easily adding color, text bubbles, pictures, and more.  The great thing about this program is that you can make as many pages as you want for the comic.


In Ms. Ciras's class, students were asked to write a story in Spanish.  Rather than having them just type the story and turn in the essay, she had the students use their creativity to turn that story into an engaging comic strip.  Some students actually drew their own pics and used Photo Booth to take a picture of their picture.  These images where then added to the comic strip.  While I might not be an expect in speaking and understanding spanish, this project was a great way of seeing students express their creativity.  Below is a screen shot of on groups comic strip.

In Mrs. Cooney's Psychology class, students used comic life to create a poster on a particular disorder. In this case, not all students were necessarily using the program to create a comic stripc.  Some used the program as a means of making a digital poster.  This was an alternative to using Glogster.  I am not saying that Comic Life is better than Glogster, it is just a different alternative.

Lastly, I have been using Comic Life for creating instructions on using particular software.  At times, documented instructions can look and appear boring.  This program would be a great alternative and more engaging for people in following instructions.  And if you are worried that not everyone has this program, you could always during your Comic Life product into a PDF so that everyone is able to open your masterpiece.

If you have never used the program before, I encourage you to at least try it.  You will be surprised at how easy it is to use the program.  For those of you who are iPad owners, you can also buy their app for $4.99.  I think I just might do it.

Again, if you would like help using the program or getting ideas, you know where you find me.