This post is inspired in part by another blog I read this week by Sam Gliksman. You can read it here. It discusses three different apps that allow students to add a voice over to a picture, as well as draw over top of the image to help explain it. I can see a ton of uses for this, but haven’t yet used any of them in class yet. (In fact, as I write this, these apps are only on my iPad, and not on the department ones yet at all.)
Here’s my first attempt at ShowMe: http://www.showme.com/sh/?i=99016
Ela and I did one based on her favourite science song (she wouldn’t sing it for you though):
http://www.showme.com/sh/?i=99272
As you can see, you can both upload your own photos, or draw right in the program (or draw the picture in another program, like DoodleBuddy and import it). Gilksman also suggests ScreenChomp, but we couldn’t get it to work as easily as ShowMe. In ScreenChomp the picture part was easy, and it looked like the recording worked, but when we went back to it, there was no audio.
I think students could use ShowMe to record their understanding of the carbon system that has become the touchstone example in CGC1D. They could be used in CHC2D/P to analyze a propaganda poster, or battlefield map. In the greenhouse courses, students could demonstrate their understanding of various cycles or soil types. This is an excellent way of getting students to demonstrate their understanding of something in a way other than through writing.
I was planning on discussing Voice Thread, but I haven’t had a chance to play with it on the iPad yet. Voice Thread is different than ScreenChomp or ShowMe in a few ways. The first is that you can make more like a slide show, with a variety of images or video that the speaker can comment on. The second major difference is that other people can also comment on the images, and comments can be recorded orally, through typed text, or video comment. In this way it is a little more like a conversation. Voice Thread is also a web based program so you can work on it on the iPads, or computers. More hopefully on this next week...
I’ve asked for a mic, which should cut down on background noise and make it easier to record at school. There is a built in microphone in the iPads if you want to try it before the mic comes.
I will try to spend some time with Voice Thread this week and write about it next.
Can you see uses for ShowMe in your classes? How quickly do I need to add this app? How would you use t?
This woud be useful in the greenhouse for tracking progress of veggie beds. Example: Student snaps pic of bed once per week, then voices over connections with course material: "We added Nitrogen this week which allowed the plants to grow more vigorously."
ReplyDeleteThe problem? Since our iPads don't have cameras, the student would have to use a digital camera, play around with uploading, etc. Maybe they could use their cell camera and upload more easily???
I would use this app for sure, starting semester 2.
I am so glad you can find a use for these apps. I really like how you can write over top of the images to better explain the ideas. I think you will like Voice Thread next week too.
ReplyDeleteYou know I have a solution to the picture problem, right? The new iPads will have cameras. That makes it really easy for you for semester 2. For the old iPads, we can purchase an accessory for the SD card that plugs into the iPad and uploads the images from the SD card onto the iPad. I have one I can bring to school to show you. The accessories come in 2-packs - one for the SD card, one for the USB cord from the camera to the iPad. This is easier than having them email pictures from their phones to the iPads, I think.
What I really like about Show Me is the verbal aspect. Some students are much better at explaining their understanding orally than in writing, especially at the applied and workplace levels. I also think that drawing on the actual photograph, propaganda poster, etc. will help students more easily remember the information and can then concentrate on the analysis.
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