Puppet Pals

Puppet Pals is a digital puppet theater complete with a large array of characters and backgrounds. This is another creative app that can be used in your classroom in a variety of ways in all curricular areas.

How this app works? You can create puppet shows by moving the puppets around while recording your voice. You can also change the background (limited to 3 backgrounds). When you are finished recording it will guide you to publish the puppet show as a movie.

While this app is free and you can enjoy this app as is, I highly recommend purchasing the Director's Pass for $3.99. Now I am not usually a fan of having to pay for apps, especially if I am using them in the classroom, but in this case, bite the bullet and buy the in app purchase! With the Director's Pass you have a larger selection of puppets and backgrounds. Plus (and here is the best part) you can create your own puppets and backgrounds. They have made this a simple process of taking a picture with the camera feature then using your finger to cut around the shape of your body. Using your finger is quite sloppy and perhaps a better way to do this is with your stylus. You can also take images from your photo library and use them as backgrounds.

How have I used this app in the classroom? We have had a blast in my classroom bringing our reading summaries alive by creating a puppet show! First, my students brainstorm what they will say for a summary of the story we are reading (usually a self-selected leveled book or from our reading anthology). They brainstorm three main events in the story and need to be sure they use transition words such as FIRST, NEXT, and LAST. Then we took turns taking pictures. Each child needed a picture of themselves showing some kind of expression. For example, the Vanna White pose with hands outstretched. The kids can get pretty creative here, but remember they really only need one image. Then they used the "cutting tool" within the app to cut away the background so only their body is left. This puppet will be saved into the app. The next step is to add backgrounds. The app will allow you to choose pictures from your photo library. I have pictures from the story already downloaded into their photo library on their iPods. I do this when I sync their iPods. I have an album in iPhoto labeled Language Arts where I place pictures that we will need for projects such as this. This saves time, but you can always have the students take pictures of the book using the camera feature. Finally, each child created their story summary using themselves as the star puppet and the three backgrounds showing the main events of the story. Each child then published their movie and they all took turns sharing their puppet show summary on the docucam!

Storyrobe

Storyrobe is considered a CREATIVE app. A creative app is an app that can be used in a variety of ways. (Versus some apps that only allow you to practice one skill like grammar or math facts.) This app is open ended and is only limited to your own teacher creativity. This is a FREE app!

How this app works:

With this app you can take pictures (or retrieve pictures from your photo album) and create a slideshow. With each picture in the slide show your student can record their voice. There is a 3 minute limit to the slideshow.

How have I used this app?

I have used this app across the curriculum from reading, to social studies, to math. In language arts I have had my students take pictures from the story they are reading. First, they take pictures of the main events of the story. Then they record their retelling of the story. In social studies I have used Storyrobe for my students to monitor their understanding of the content area. They take pictures of what they have learned (right out of their social studies book) and then they record their understanding of the content. In math, I have had my students take pictures of each step of a math problem on a small whiteboard (we were working on adding two digit numbers with regrouping). Then they record how to solve the problem step by step.

This app really allows you to have a quick assessment of your students' understanding. It also provides a safe and secure way for your introverted students to have a voice.

Do you use ipods in the classroom?

Welcome teachers! I am excited to begin this blog. If you are on the cutting edge of education (or want to be) the future of education is the use of the iPod Touch and iPads in the classroom. However, beginning this new adventure for your students can be challenging. What apps are the best? Should I buy apps? Should I only use free apps? These are the questions I have been regularly contemplating since I began using iPods in the classroom.

As you know time is everything in the classroom and what little time we have with our students is extremely valuable.The purpose of this blog is to help guide you to making better choices about which apps give you the most bang for your buck. Please use this site as a resource to help make your iPod or iPad experience in the classroom successful!

Just so you know a little bit about me. I am a second grade teacher and have been teaching for 11 years. I obtained my master's degree in Literacy. My focus has been integrating technology into the classroom and preparing my students to be 21st century learners. I began using iPods in the classroom in 2010 and have enough iPods for my students to be 2:1 (two students per iPod). The success and focus of I have seen in my students is phenomenal. The use of iPods comes naturally to my students and provides a "hook" like no other I have experienced in my years as a teacher.

I hope you find this blog helpful and visit often to read review of apps that I have used in the classroom. I intend to only share the apps that are tried and true. I will only blog about apps that my students love and apps that have an educational purpose.

Happy teaching!