Move Beyond PowerPoint

What is out there for presentation tools? 

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Death by PowerPoint - It's report/project season and that means many students will be dragging their feet up to the front of the classroom with 15- 50 slides of solid text in PowerPoint which they will read in a monotone voice while seemingly inspecting their shoelaces. Those awake at the end manage some applause and the next student takes his turn at drudgery. Repeat ad infinitum. 

While there are certainly exceptions, project presentations via PowerPoint can be brutal for both students and teachers who have to sit through five sections of presentations for a couple of days. As the graphic below shows, this problem is on an upward trend.

Figure 1: PowerPoint Deaths from Boredom by Year

So this begs the question: What else is out there? 

Here are two browser based options and two mobile app based options that allow students to spice up their presentations without making the task of creating them overwhelming. 

Prezi

Prezi has been around for quite awhile now but is still a great tool for an easy alternative to PowerPoint. It is browser based and thus works anywhere that has an internet connection. It is free but students and teachers will need to create an account. It is generally intuitive and students/staff well-versed with PowerPoint will have no trouble. You can even import your old PowerPoints and start spicing them up. Check out the basics (click the link below the logo):

Getting Started with Prezi

PowToon

PowToon is a newer player in the presentation market but has caught on with schools due to its focus on animation. Unlike Prezi or PowerPoint which focus on text plus "other stuff", PowToon focuses on the "other stuff" first. It provides dynamic moving characters and sounds for actions. This makes the presentation seem more fluid and lively. Just like Prezi, it is browser based and very easy to use. Kids can import pictures or videos and the animations are selected from templates.  Finally, my favorite element is that they have allowed Google Drive integration so projects can be saved and shared in Drive greatly adding to the flexibility of this tool. Check out the basics (click the link below the logo):

Getting Started with PowToon

iMovie

iMovie is an option depending on which lab you're using or if kids have the software at home. The templates make it extremely easy to make a video based presentation. I've found this to be a powerful tool for students too afraid to speak in front of the class. It requires a little more know-how, but can make a great option for certain projects or students requiring alternative options due to individualized plans. iMovie goes "in between" here (and isn't counted in my total) since it is available on certain iPads or desktops/laptops. 

Flowboard (Flipboard) & HaikuDeck

Looking for something simple? These two have got you covered. These two apps focus on form over function. Thus they can be limited in what they do, but will always give you awesome looking presentations. They are both simple enough for young students to create presentations once they have the account sign-in thing figured out. (Hint: You may want to create a "class profile" and let students use the some login in the elementary). 

Both Flowboard and HaikuDeck offer stunning images for backgrounds behind the text. They also offer image or video imports which covers the lion's share of features most students use in PowerPoint. Flowboard has more layout and customization options while HaikuDeck is better suited to younger children.  The apps are only mobile based so kids or teachers have to use iPads and will use Reflector to play their presentations on screen. 

Check out the following demo I did for both of these apps. As always, if you use any of these apps in class, please share how you use them with your students. 

3 Powerful Apps for All Teachers

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iPad apps are often a dime a dozen in that they have limited functions and often require teachers to sort through endless apps that essentially do the same thing. Then, after an app is found, a teacher quickly finds out all that it can't do. So, we're often left with the choice between adapting our teaching to the tool or spending more time finding a new tool.

Apps & software that are extremely flexible are always my first choice since I want the tool to support me not the other way around. If that app is flexible and fast, it goes on the shortlist. For this post, I'm sharing three go-to's when it comes to teacher apps that support instruction. These guys are super flexible, fast, and something I use/used on a daily basis.

If you use any of these apps, please comment below on how you use them in your classroom.

Baiboard

Want the ultimate hands free whiteboard solution? Baiboard is about as close as you can get right now. This app when used in conjunction with Reflector on your computer makes your iPad a wireless whiteboard that has the capability to write, draw, type text, and manipulate shapes which will display on your board using your projector. Plus, you can export your drawings, notes, etc. to a .pdf which can be posted or mailed to students for use later on. 

Baiboard works great if you start with a .pdf file or a picture of something as the background. You can draw over the top, highlight, circle, etc. It is very effective for giving instructions or providing clarification to students (and their parents). I used to project a document from my doc cam onto the whiteboard and then write on top of it to point out mistakes, show examples, etc. Baiboard lets me do that while walking around the classroom. I can take a picture of students' work at their desks and correct it on the board without ever getting near the whiteboard itself. 

And did I mention it is collaborative? Baiboard lets kids work on a whiteboard simultaneously via a "meet" which is great for group work or just having one teacher iPad and one student iPad this is passed from student to student during a discussion or activity. It makes it very easy to share and show work during discussions, brainstorming, or mind-mapping activities.  

Check out the video tutorial to learn more. 

Skitch

Skitch is very similar to Baiboard. It allows the teacher to take a picture of a document and annotate over the top. It exports and saves like Baiboard but lacks the collaboration features and some of the more advanced shapes functions. So why use it over Baiboard? I have three reasons:

1. Skitch's biggest bonus is that it exports directly to Evernote. So if you already use Evernote for yourself or your class, you can export your Skitch files as notes that will be saved in Evernote and can be assigned tags or timers. This is great for keeping track of notes, discussions, or instructions in an extremely organized fashion. 

2. Skitch's simplicity is also a big bonus. Limited options mean there is a greater focus on graphics that stand out. Skitch can be quicker if you plan on using it sparingly in class. Plus, its big colorful shapes, arrows, and checks can't be missed even by students in the back of the room. 

3. Pixelate - Yes, like on TV. Skitch allows teachers to pixelate over names or other personal information which means I can use student work regularly as exemplars on the board/projector without worrying about student privacy issues. 

Check out this video tutorial. 

ScreenChomp

Yet another awesome app from the guys that developed Coach's Eye, Jing, and Camtasia; ScreenChomp is an app for creating video tutorials. So, if you have been using Skitch and Baiboard to help you give instructions, tell kids how to watch out for common mistakes, etc., ScreenChomp will take it a step further. You can add audio and make the narrated notes available for students to access later during school or at home. 

ScreenChomp provides teachers a way to make instructional videos to explain concepts, give notes, or provide differentiated instruction for the "already meets" and "does not meet" kids. It works great for students who regularly receive support services through another teacher/para and need to hear instructions/explanations multiple times.  In a classroom, it provides a vehicle for teachers to split the class into groups and have each group receive different instructions/direct instruction from the same teacher simultaneously. 

Plus, it is easy and fast. If you can take a picture on your phone, you can make a tutorial with ScreenChomp. Check out this tutorial video (broken into two parts). 

iWorksheet - A different way to do study guides

iWorksheet

One difficult thing with extended review for large units or semester exams is a long study guide. While a necessity, it often bogs down the flow of a class when it comes time to go through it for correction/grading. 

While students may have similar questions on a problem, a lot of time is typically spent justifying the work by going through every question or answering one-offs from individual students in a large group setting. It would be more efficient to be able to focus only on the questions that many students had questions on. 

iWorksheet is an iPad app that offers an alternative. I can take a picture of my study guide or an alternate test (which I would often use as a study guide) and then plug in the correct answers. The answers are only available via multiple choice which can be limiting, but with review, formatting tends to lend itself to this due to the sheer size of information to be covered.  

To be clear, this is a homework or review app only. It doesn't track data. It doesn't make spreadsheets or put information in a gradebook. It won't work for long form writing.  It does offer a way for students to complete the review in a self-paced manner providing instant feedback when they've completed it. Students will always have access to the answers which requires some thought for grading if you grade review/study guides. Plus, it frees up the teacher from the drudgery of going through every problem in a review. 

This app is installed on teacher and cart iPads at the ML and HS. Check out this video tutorial to learn more. If you use iWorksheet, please comment at the bottom of this post and share how you use it in your classroom. 

Desmos Graphing Calculator

Desmos Graphing Calculator 

While iPads do have a calculator installed (as do Macs), sometimes you need something with a little more power (i.e. functionality). Desmos offers a great graphing calculator tool that is available on both iPads and as an extension that integrates with Google Drive.

Besides providing graphing functions, it also integrates the ability to save one's work in the Drive version. Younger users can take advantage of the table function to plot data in Math or Science courses.

When it comes to functions, the calculator integrates several common functions and provides sliders which allow students to see the effects of changing variables within an equation or function. Below is an example of the interface in the calculator.

An Example of Desmos' User Interface 

I created two videos that explain the features of both the iPad app and Drive version further. If you use the calculator, please comment below on how you integrate it into your classes.

ClassDojo & Tally Pad

Class Dojo & Tally Pad: iPad Apps for Elementary (& ML)

Class Dojo 

Class Dojo is a behavior tracking app primarily aimed at Elementary and Middle Level students. It allows real-time tracking of behaviors in class. It also has the ability to track behavior over time and show a breakdown of behaviors over time.

The image on the right shows the interface where teachers track both positive and negative behaviors throughout a class period.

Behaviors come with default settings but can be customized to fit the needs of teachers or specific courses. Additionally, teachers can share "classes" of students so that student behaviors can be tracked throughout different classes.

Watch the following tutorial for more information. If you use Class Dojo, please comment below on how you use it and how it is working for you. Class Dojo is installed on the classroom iPads at Eagle View but can be installed at the ML (or HS) if requested.

Tally Pad

Tally Pad is an iPad app that acts as a flexible counting tool for teachers. It allows teachers to keep track of points or a score during a class. Teachers can also use it as a tool for working with money, counting, budgeting, voting or as a rubric scorer.

Take a look at the images below to see the various way Tally Pad can be configured. If you need to count during a class or keep track of points, Tally Pad is a simple and fast app that will likely meet your needs.


             


Please take a look at the video tutorial below to learn more. If you use Tally Pad, please share below in the comments what you use it for and how it works for you. Eagle View but can be installed at the ML if requested.

  

Writing Wizard

Writing Wizard - An iPad app for Letter/Number Formation

Writing Wizard is an app for letter and number formation that allows students to practice tracing letters, numbers and shapes. It also has a limited number of words to trace. 

Tracing can be done with fingers or, when focusing on pencil grip, can be done using a capacitive stylus. 

The app traces the letter/number first and the allows the child to write over the top. Upon completion, there are shapes or colors that fall off of the letter and become manipulatives. 

Teachers have the capability to adjust the level of difficulty, size and a few other options. 

Currently this app is on the the Kindergarten iPads and cart. Please comment (below) in the blog if you have found this app to be useful or ways that you use it. 

Please view the video tutorial below and subscribe to the Tech Integration YouTube Channel for more Tutorials and Videos.