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iOS

Digitizing Your Memories with PhotoScan

by Lori Gracey December 7, 2016

written by Lori Gracey

If you’ve got some spare time over the Christmas holidays, you might consider digitizing all of those photos you have lying around. A new, free app from Google, PhotoScan, makes this easy.

Available for both Android and iOS, the app scans photos using your smartphone’s camera in a way that eliminates glare and shadows to improve overall quality. It will also automatically crop out edges, like the white border of a Polaroid shot. Google says it should work with photos in frames and picture albums, too. That can certainly save you some time.

When scanning a photo, the app asks you to line up a circle in the center of the screen with four dots located near the corners of the photo. The app then takes multiple individual images and stitches them together. That reduces the glare you might get when taking a single photo from one particular angle. Photos are automatically cropped, rotated, and color corrected. You can save them to Google Photos with one tap — and then, when you want to find them, you can just search for “scans” inside Google Photos and they’ll all come up. (You can also save them to your camera roll or share them to other apps.)

The app is so easy to use that you could even have your children or your students busy digitizing the past. So grab those old photos and get busy scanning them. You’ll be glad you did!

December 7, 2016 0 comments

iOS Tips and Tricks

iOS Movie Effects

by Miguel Guhlin November 11, 2016

written by Miguel Guhlin

Looking for a way to engage students with video and video creation? The Apple iPad’s rich ecology of video editing apps empowers students to be directors of fantasy and science-fiction flicks by using special effects. Educators like TCEA member Lauren Houser (@lauren_houser) have also taken advantage of Do Ink’s Green Screen app (see example) to create amazing videos. But you can also combine green screen with movie FX apps to get startling results.

Lesson Connections

When writing a story, students often want to take their tale to the next level. One approach involves converting it into a movie script. Then they can record that script as a movie to be shared. Imagine your students creating a story, converting it to a script, then making a movie replete with special effects. The apps below will make illustrating a movie possible. Students can shoot their video, whether they rely on clay animation, action figures, or real people. Younger students can be introduced to digital graphics/animation aligned to TEKS Chapter 126.25, as well as TEKS Chapter 110.31 English Language Arts.

Effects Apps

Here are several apps that enable you and/or your students to add special effects to photos and videos. All apps include in-app purchases to expand the range of effects available to you. Save these enhanced clips and/or photos to your iPad’s Photo Gallery, then drop them into another app (e.g. iMovie, Tellagami).

Action Movie: This incredibly easy to use app assists in adding Hollywood FX to iPhone and iPad movies that you record. And you can share your creation as a video or animated GIF. (View example of video. View animated GIF.)
FxGuru: Add horror, sci-fi, or action effects to a video you record. Available for Android, too. (View example)
Super Power FX: Enable your students to add super power effects to their clips. You are able to “shoot fireballs from your hands, lasers from your eyes, or control the elements, teleport, and more!” (View example)
Extreme Movie FX: Snap a picture, select the effect you want to apply to it, then save the still image to your Photo Gallery. From there, you can import the picture into a movie app like iMovie or Videorama. There are various effects you can apply, including shark attacks, UFO attacks, and more. Some effects are free, but others require in-app purchases. (View example)
Videorama: Unlike other apps, this one allows you to combine photos and videos, add effects, adjust the speed of the video, and more. It’s less about the effects and more about video editing. Combine clips you create in other apps in Videorama. Easily add text, music, and transition effects to your video.(View example)
Prisma: Although less about action adventure and more about art, this app allows you to apply nine different styles to videos, as well as photos. The astounding result resembles a work of art. (View example)

Teach the Language of Sound and Images

“If students aren’t taught the language of sound and images,” points out George Lucas, “shouldn’t they be considered as illiterate as if they left college without being able to read or write?” With these apps and imagination, you can enable students to engage in scripting and digital graphics/animation at a younger age. The sooner they begin, the better they will be. After all, who doesn’t have a budding filmmaker in their family?

November 11, 2016 0 comments

iOS Tips and Tricks

iOS 10 Features You’ll Want to Use

by Lori Gracey September 14, 2016

written by Lori Gracey

(New content was added to this blog on September 23, 2016.)

Apple released their latest software update, iOS 10, on September 13. Like most of their updates, it has some new features that you will definitely want to take advantage of. Here are some of my favorites.

Get Rid of Those Annoying Apple Apps! – We can finally delete the apps that Apple has forced on us for years. This includes Contacts, Maps, Podcasts, and Stocks. Once deleted, if you want them back (?), then you can just download them again from iTunes. There are still some Apple apps, however, that cannot be deleted, including Health, Messages, Safari, and the Clock app.

View Two Screens in Safari – If you want your students to compare two websites and so need to have two Safari windows open at the same time, you can now do that with iOS 10. There are several ways to enable Safari Split View once you have the app open:

Drag a tab to the side of the Safari screen.
Tap and hold a link from a website and select Open in Split View.
Use Command and N on the keyboard to open a new screen.
Tap and hold the Tabs button and select Open in Split View.

Find Your Car – If your car has Bluetooth or CarPlay, the Maps app will now automatically display its location, along with notes you make to yourself about where you parked (like garage level). You can also ask Siri “Where’s my car?” and she’ll give you directions to it.

Sort Your Mail – It’s now easier to sort the email that comes into your mailbox. Go into Settings — Mail — Swipe Options and select Move Message as your Swipe Left option. Now, in your inbox, swipe left on any email and be presented with the option to move it to another folder, archive it, or six other choices. After you’ve moved a few, Mail will start to offer suggestions on where you should file the message, which will save you even more time.

Magnify Your World – For people like me whose eyesight is not quite as good as it used to be, the new Magnifier setting in Settings — Accessibility is fantastic. When turned on, it uses your device’s camera to magnify things. To access it quickly, just triple-click the Home button.

Get Rid of Unwanted Email Subscriptions – iOS 10 attempts to identify emails for which you have subscribed and now gives you an unsubscribe banner that’s easy to see (no more searching for the Unsubscribe link at the bottom of the email). Just tap the banner to automatically unsubscribe. (Of course, you wouldn’t want to do that with any email coming from TCEA!)

Mark Up Your Photos – Ever wanted to draw on a photo you’ve taken to illustrate a point? Now you can. The Photos app uses the same Markup extension as Mail does (which lets you annotate or draw on an image in any email), allowing you to draw on your screenshots or images, add callouts, and more. If you don’t like what you’ve drawn, you can erase it with no changes made to the photo and try again.

Get More Sleep – Inside the Clock app, there’s now a Bedtime button that will help you get more sleep. Answer a few simple questions about how much sleep you think you need and what time you have to get up in the morning, and your device will now remind you when to go to bed to get enough zzz’s. It features a nice selection of reminder tones and a good, but basic, sleep analysis of whether you are going to bed on time regularly. I can see this being really handy for young children and teens.

Help for Those with Special Needs – The new update includes some very nice accessibility additions, which is amazing, considering that Apple is known for accessibility features on all of its devices. You can read an explanation of them here.

Use Third-Party Apps Inside Maps – Now you can use third-party apps, like OpenTable for reservations, inside the Maps app. To turn this feature on, go to Settings — Maps and toggle the switch to On for any apps that you want.

Access Street View – The free Google Street View app will now work on your iOS devices.

Have Your Voicemail Transcribed – Once you receive a voicemail message, the system will take a few minutes to try and transcribe it. Once it’s finished, just tap the message to expand it and you’ll find the transcription.

Empower Siri – Siri is now stronger than ever with apps that integrate inside it. This makes it even easier to have Siri call you a cab, leave a message, or make a reservation for you.

There are a lot of other new features in iOS 10, especially for the Messages app. But this list should give you enough to get started with. And remember that the update is always free from Apple. So what are you waiting for?

September 14, 2016 0 comments

Hello September graphic with fall leaves.

iOS Tips and Tricks

Celebrate September with Your iPad

by Peggy Reimers September 14, 2016

written by Peggy Reimers

I love offbeat holidays, and just like my city’s motto – “Keep Austin Weird”, I firmly believe we should mix a few weird holidays into the yearly holiday calendar. When I was teaching, we would always celebrate Dr. Seuss Day by making green eggs and ham. And if the day fell just right, we would celebrate Friday the 13th with games about superstitions and phobias. At TCEA, we love Geek Day, Talk Like a Pirate Day, and peaches. Did you know August is designated National Peach Month per executive orders from Ronald Reagan? Thanks to Margaret, our TCEA accountant, we celebrated the month with H.E.B. Peach Cobbler Ice Cream. Delicious.

So why not meld the power of the iPad with weird and wonderful holidays? Below you will find several September offbeat holidays that, with a little imagination and creativity, will blend technology with fun and learning.

National Play-Doh Day

September 16
Play-Doh has been around since the mid 1950’s and is a great, inexpensive way to express creativity. How about making a stop motion animation of a Play-Doh monster? Using a googley eye or two, Play-Doh, and a wonderful free app, iMotion, storyboard your monster and film the creation. A stand-up case or tripod is a must for a steady hand. But in a pinch, students will get creative and find anything to prop up their iPads. A little trick is to limit your stop motion animations to 10 seconds or less. Check out this great example.

National Butterscotch Pudding Day

September 19
Use a graphic organizer of your choice (I recommend StoryKit) and have your students take a photo of each step in making butterscotch pudding. Record voice of each step and add the appropriate text. Wrap up the activity by eating the pudding, of course!

World Gratitude Day

September 21
This is a great day to show your gratefulness and appreciation to a school helper, such as the custodian, nurse, or cafeteria staff. The Padlet app makes it easy to set up and each student can post a message on the gratitude wall. Just share the link with your favorite school personnel and their day is MADE!

Elephant Appreciation Day

September 22
Download the free WWF Together app and explore the elephant section of this beautifully-designed app. Students can look at stunning photos, videos, and interactives in this World Wildlife Fund production. Bonus: Discover multiple ways to get involved and protect elephants and other amazing animals.

Checkers Day

September 23
Celebrate this day with a free iPad app, Checkers for Kids HD, from Amusedo Games. The app has three levels: easy, medium, and hard. The cute user interface is easy to operate and has fun sound effects. Bonus! This day is also Dogs in Politics Day. Celebrate the day with some presidential canine trivia.

Which President’s dog wrote a book?
What was the name of President Clinton’s dog?
Checkers was the name of which president’s dog?
Bo and Sunny currently live in the White House. What kind of breed are they both?
Did our first president have a dog in the White House?

National Comic Book Day

September 25
Take a break from a novels and textbooks and practice those ELA skills with some comic books. Or perhaps celebrate the day by having students create a short comic book story or joke with the free app Pixton Comic Maker.

There are lots of other great apps to use to celebrate fun holidays each month. You can find some of them, if you’re a TCEA member, on our list of recommended iOS apps. And, of course, many of our free-to-members Lunch and Learn webinars feature amazing apps for both you and your students.

Featured Image: Created in Canva by author

September 14, 2016 0 comments

iOS Tips and Tricks

Drawing to Learn on the iPad

by Diana Benner August 24, 2016

written by Diana Benner

In a recent free-to-member workshop on integrating iPads into the classroom, I talked about the power of using drawings and illustrations to help students master both simple and complex concepts. When I think back to my time in school, I never took an art class, which is where most drawing activities would occur. However, today, drawing can be incorporated into any subject area.

The Benefits of Incorporating Drawing into Your Classroom

There are so many benefits of incorporating drawing or sketching in your classroom. For example, it helps:

Develop students’ visual literacy skills
Develop students’ observation skills
Encourage creativity
Reveal student understandings and misconceptions
Make connections between observations and ideas.

iPad Drawing Activities

During the workshop, we used the free Doodle Buddy app in order to participate in some of the drawing activities. Any iPad drawing app can be used; however, the Doodle Buddy app is a favorite among the TCEA Professional Development staff. (Peggy Reimers explains her love for Doodle Buddy in the Get Your Picasso On blog entry.)

One activity we did centered around drawing conclusions. The participants in the workshop were to gather all available information as I read to them, reflect on past experience or knowledge to see if there was a connection with the present information, make inferences, and use the sum of what they knew to make a judgment about the situation. They then drew their conclusions using the Doodle Buddy app.

I created “App-Tasktic” cards for each of our activities, which contained the teacher lesson, as well as the student activity. You can view the sample cards of the drawing conclusions activity here. I think these will spark other activity ideas for you.

iPad Drawing Apps

As I mentioned earlier, Doodle Buddy isn’t the only app you can use. There are several iOS apps that can be used to incorporate sketching or drawing in the classroom. Below are a few:

TCEA iPad Resources

Don’t forget about some of the other iOS resources that TCEA has available for our members such as:

iPad App List – Find recommended apps for every subject area and concept.
iPad in the Classroom Group – In the TCEA Social Community, you can become a member of the iPad in the Classroom Group. Then, each day, you’ll receive an email with educational iOS apps that have gone free or on sale that day. You can save hundreds of dollars a year with this great member benefit.
App Evaluation Rubric – This rubric will help teachers evaluate apps they are considering for the classroom and is available to everyone.

What are some lesson ideas for your classroom that incorporate drawing apps? Please share in the comments below.

August 24, 2016 0 comments

Coding/Computer Science Digital Literacy STEM/STEAM

Envision the Future: 3D Printing Apps

by Miguel Guhlin August 4, 2016

written by Miguel Guhlin

“He’s not a programmer!” cried my Mom when my father bought me a $3,000 Apple //e computer, dot matrix printer, and software (e.g. VisiCalc, The Print Shop) at age 13. “He’s terrible in math.” Would you say the same about drones and 3D printers that involve programming?

Computers, obviously, were for programming. Her words stuck with me through the years, and true enough, coding and math remain anathema to me. Having served as a technology director for many years, I can honestly say my Dad made a good investment and he passed the “vision” test.

Can the same be said of educators in schools who say NO to drones and 3D printers because they involve GUI (a.k.a. object-oriented) programming? Consider that technology gets easier to use and less expensive over time. Look no further than the OLO 3D Smartphone Printer for yet another marvel that may soon be in your home or classroom.

Will you pass the test when it comes to envisioning ways your students can use 3D printing technology for learning or will a too-narrow vision constrain their possibilities? Introduce your children to 3D printing with some no-cost apps on your mobile device.

123D Catch (Android/iOS): Create 3D scans of any object.
123D Design (Mac/PC/iOS): Design and edit 3D creations with this program or app.
3DMaker Case (iOS): Enables you to design and create a customized case for your mobile phone. Having paid for multiple cases for my son’s phone, enabling students to design their own would provide a great learning experience!
3D Creationist (Android/iOS): Create 3D models using basic shapes.
Cubify Draw (iOS): Make 3D models using your fingers.
FabZat Shop (iOS): Print 3D figurines. You design them, then order them for printing.

Additionally, other apps such as Thingiverse and Maker Amino allow you to connect with various Maker or 3D printing communities.

August 4, 2016 0 comments

Chromebooks iOS Tips and Tricks Professional Learning

Collecting, Curating, and Sharing with Seesaw

by Miguel Guhlin June 19, 2016

written by Miguel Guhlin

Looking for an easy to use tool that makes collecting, curating and sharing student work from tablets simple? Then Seesaw is a solution worth exploring.

At the Tots and Technology Conference held in Galveston, Texas in June, TCEA member Brittany Adcock shared her experience using Seesaw, which bills itself as a student-driven digital portfolio solution. Seesaw works on Android and iOS devices (e.g. iPads), making it an incredible tool to simplify and streamline content sharing by students. In the past, students and teachers encountered limits to their sharing. The app works quite easily (check tutorials online) in this way:

The teacher creates an account on the Seesaw website, setting up a class.
The teacher prints out a flyer emailed to her by Seesaw containing a QR code, then hangs that flyer on the wall where students will be working.
Students who are ready to submit their work open the app on their device, select the “I’m a student” button, and then scan the QR code on the flyer. They will then be given a choice to add a variety of content, including video, audio, text, web links, or images/video from the device’s Camera Roll (iOS).
Once students have submitted their work, the teacher can decide to approve it for inclusion in the Class Learning Journal, which is viewable by all students in the class today.

Teachers can also create a Seesaw-based blog, and adding content to the website is as easy as clicking a globe beneath a student’s creation.

In her presentation, Brittany (listen to this interview with Brittany as she shares her insights at TCEA Tots) describes Seesaw in the following way:

A digital portfolio that collects students’ digital and physical work in one place. Everything is organized, making grading and conferences easier! A space that each student can “own” with built-in tools that make it easy for them to capture learning, reflect, and learn new skills. A parent communication tool that seamlessly shares what’s going on in your classroom and builds a strong school-home community.

We Are StoryMakers Seesaw based blog. Are you sharing your students’ work with a global audience?

After exploring Seesaw in the context of professional development sessions for adult learners, here are three ways that my session participants took advantage of the app:

After creating paper slide videos, learners saved those video creations to their Camera Roll. These were shared via the Seesaw blog (view blog created with products from a Lubbock workshop on Tablets in the ELL Classroom, as well as the Becoming a Storymaker pre-conference session).
Since learners were working in Star Trek-themed teams, they submitted their work to “Away Team: Janeway” (a reference to Captain Kathryn Janeway from Star Trek Voyager television series; other captains included Captains Archer, Kirk, Hernandez and Uhura). This organized student work by their group, rather than just an individual submission.
Students created content with PicCollage, web links, and Notes and then submitted it.

A versatile solution for collecting work on tablets, TCEA member Karen Balbier (El Paso ISD) shared that she uses the app to collect work from participants in her professional learning sessions, and in turn, asks them to share their K-12 students’ best work for inclusion. An innovative use of a technology intended for students, adapted for adult learners, Seesaw is a sensational tool for facilitating collecting, curating, and sharing work created on tablets.

June 19, 2016 0 comments

iOS Tips and Tricks

Some Weird But Useful iOS Apps

by Lori Gracey June 1, 2016

written by Lori Gracey

As you know, we’re all about the educational apps and learning here at TCEA. But once in a while, we like to talk about unusual leisure apps that have nothing to do with education, but are still useful on a more personal level or are just fun. Here are a few of these strange apps that we think you should try.

Laundry Day – Care Symbol Reader

This is definitely a unique app. For just $0.99, it uses your device’s camera to scan the laundry tags on your clothes and tell you precisely how to best wash them. Now I know that sounds strange. But sometimes those tags with all of their new symbols can be hard to read. The app works well even if the tags are faded.

Sidekix: Urban Navigator

If you live in a large city and will be out walking, this is a great free app to have. Tell it the kind of places you’re interested in and where you want to go and the app will create a personalized walking tour for you. Whether you’re into food, nightlife, art, shopping, or more, this app will help you enjoy the journey.

Charm: Collect Tweets on Twitter

Okay, you could use this free iOS app for an educational purpose like saving Tweets from an edchat. But you could also use it as your personal Twitter repository, saving up jokes that you like or building a playlist of all of the music your favorite musicians and music accounts have posted. Charm will organize your favorite Tweets into collections, save articles for later, cue up playlists of music you find, or transcribe conversations. And it works with whatever Twitter app you’re already using.

OnCamera

I love the premise of this app. Register (for free) and then have the app open when you are walking alone late at night or in any situation where you may not feel safe. If someone threatens you, hit the large red button and be instantly connected via a direct video call to a uniformed police officer who is standing by live. He will warn the potential assailant away and let him know that he is being recorded and scanned with facial recognition software. The app has limited areas of use right now, but they are adding to it every day.

Dog Whistler – Your Free Dog Whistle

If you’ve got a pooch you want to train, use this free dog whistle app. You’re able to select from a large number of sound frequencies and so can pick the one that works best for your dog. IAPs are available, but not needed.

MSQRD – Live Filters & Face Swap for Video Selfies

apps I am not a selfie kind of person. But even I couldn’t resist taking my photo over and over again once I got this free app. (You can see one of my photos as a cat to the left.) MSQRD uses your app’s camera to add masks and live effects to a selfie. You can even swap faces with a friend in the same photo. It is so much fun and incredibly easy. Really, you have to try this app!

What are some fun personal apps you love? Please share with me in the comments section below.

June 1, 2016 0 comments

iOS Tips and Tricks

Four Tools to Help You Find the Perfect iOS App

by Lori Gracey May 20, 2016

written by Lori Gracey

With more than 1.8 million iOS apps now available in the App Store, it’s easy to spend hours searching for just the right one for a particular standard, topic, or student need. But there are ways to simplify the process. Learn four of them below.

Finding an App Based on Recommendations

TCEA staff members who are former educators regularly look at new apps that have been released and evaluate them based on their ability to meet the needs of teachers and students. Those that make the grade are listed by subject area and then by topic in our Recommended iOS Apps List (available to members only). We lean more toward free apps on the list because we know that funding for schools is still not what it should be. So if you want to find an app on a particular topic, like life science, spelling, or collaboration, this is a tremendous resource for our members. (We have similar lists for Android and Chrome apps.)

Finding an App Based on Content or Topic

You’re working on your lesson plans for next week and know that app you’ll be teaching adding fractions to your students. In the past, they have had difficulty with this concept. So you want to add an activity with an app for them to use. How do you find the right one? Try fnd. This website does what the App Store should have done from the beginning: allow you to search for apps by content or topic.

Type in “adding fractions” in the search bar and the site will provide you with a lengthy list of apps that include that content. And not just apps; fnd searches everything in the iTunes Store, including music, movies, TV, books, podcasts, and even Mac apps. To limit your search, simply click on Apps. (You can narrow the search down even further by selecting iPhone or iPad-specific apps, but I usually leave it on all as they will both run on the devices students are usually using.) Now you can quickly glance down the list of recommended apps, seeing the price, how many stars they’ve received, and screenshots of each app. When you find one that interests you, just click on the app name and you’re presented with tons of details about the app, along with reviews. If there are YouTube videos about the app, those are also included, along with any awards the app has won. Fnd makes locating an app specific to a topic or content idea very simple.

Finding an App Based on Student Need

There are times when a teacher needs a resource to help one or two students who have a special need that app others may not have. Perhaps they are special education and need to use an app with a switch. Perhaps they are needing help with their emotions or learning a second language. The Insignio database can assist in finding the right apps for that need. Insignio was developed by BridgingApps, a program of Easter Seals Greater Houston. Apps for a wide variety of devices are reviewed by educators and then included in the database. You can search by category, age, price, grade level, mobile device, or Common Core standard. Once you’ve selected your criteria, a variety of apps are returned with reviews, pricing information, app details, and screenshots. The database is more limited in the apps that it contains, but they are all educational and reviewed in great detail.

Finding an App Based on Pedagogy

If you’re looking for an app that will allow your students to create knowledge and share their learning with you and others, then the Padagogy Wheel is the tool for you. The Wheel, created by genius Alan Carrington, sorts apps by both Bloom’s Taxonomy and the SAMR Model of teaching. The teacher selects a level of Bloom’s or SAMR that she wants to use in the lesson. The Wheel provides action verbs to help ensure that what the students are doing is in the correct domain, along with recommended activities that match that level. And then, it finally recommends specific apps to accomplish all of that.

As an example, let’s use the cognitive domain of Analyzing. A sixth grade ELA teacher wants her students to examine words that begin with several common Latin and Greek prefixes, determine the meaning of the prefixes, and then use that knowledge to create their own new words with the prefixes. For the creation portion of the assignment, she will let the students pick from a variety of apps to showcase their new learning, including Corkulous, Pic Collage, Explain Everything, and Puppet Pals 2.

Once the teacher has defined the verbs and activities that will get students to the content she wants them to learn, the Padagogy Wheel provides her with the best apps for that particular need. This greatly simplifies the search for the right app.

Using one of these four tools is guaranteed to help you find the best app for any situation or student need.

May 20, 2016 0 comments

Online Tools and Apps

Four Tips for Green Screen in the Classroom

by Miguel Guhlin May 19, 2016

written by Miguel Guhlin

Image Source: https://twitter.com/SandScholars/status/726850903953670144

This past week, a photo of me has been popping up in various situations, from standing next to my wife as she models dresses that she is considering wearing at our daughter’s wedding in June to beautiful vistas. “Have suit, will travel” might very well describe my experience with green screen apps.

Jen Sandland (@sandscholars) recently tweeted the image shown right, which shows us all how to empower students to easily create a “green screen” in their home and see what they can create using inexpensive apps on their mobile phone. For $1.00 for one or $48 for a case of 48, you can easily equip a classroom of young photographers to setup their own green screen at home. I first heard this idea from Dr. Bruce Ellis (@drbruceellis).

Join the ongoing TCEA Microsoft Innovative Educator (MIE) SkypeChat via your mobile device or online. Explore and share concepts at the intersection of teaching, learning, leading, and technology!

Getting Started with Green Screen

Camtasia Studio: Adjust Image properties on green screen image and remove a color.

Camtasia Studio: Adjust image properties on a green screen image and remove a color.

A green background works well because it is the furthest color away from human skin tones. That makes it easier to remove the green and place a background. If you aren’t familiar with green screen creation, follow the tips below to get started:

Pick your app. Whether you are on iOS or Android, it is quite easy to create the special effects green screens afford. Some apps you can use include Green Screen by DoInk ($2.99) for iOS or Green Screen Pro ($1.99) for Android. For Windows or Mac users, do NOT spend hundreds of dollars on a green screen program. Instead, get Camtasia Studio for Education ($179) (you can follow this easy tutorial to create the green screen effect) or MoviePlus for $79.
Decide on the type of project. Consider allowing your students to choose. For example, you might assign them a book trailer, a holiday portrait, or thank you note to a guest speaker, a commercial for a product, news/morning broadcast, or historical report. They might even decide to do something else like a sports or music video.
Keep the following technical tips in mind:

Avoid shadows.
Use tripods.
Place your subject 6-10 feet in front of the green background to avoid “green light spill” onto your subject.
Make sure no one wears clothing that is green, brown or a combination of those two colors.
Light the green background separately from your subject(s).
Create a green background using one of these (in order of preference):
- Vinyl – an inexpensive shower curtain may work (like the one from Dollar Tree above)
- Muslin and/or other cloth
- Green paper (matte or glossy, although the former is preferred)
Take advantage of a teleprompter (like the free online CuePrompter on a computer) to help cue students.

green

Ready to get started? Consider the possibilities for your classroom:

Consider Bradley Grant (fourth grade teacher at Salado Intermediate, East Central ISD), who offers this advice:

Select an overarching theme. Focus on a theme, perhaps one that you are going to take advantage of throughout the grading period or for a particular lesson. In Mr. Grant’s classroom, he chose Star Wars. Brad says, “The classroom theme…reflects the excitement and furor over the latest installment in that franchise.”
Storyboard the tale. Working collaboratively, the class creates a story together on the board. Students create a transcript that will later be converted into a “movie script.” Each student researches examples from that genre and develops a character to include in the overall story.
Reward innovation. “When students show extra effort and initiative,” they are awarded “power points” that can be spent purchasing professions for their characters and equipment to be used in their stories. Students find that “purchasing a Jedi costs more power points than a pilot.”
Role-play characters. “Students further the plot by volunteering their impression of their character’s response to the situation presented in the story. The student then writes the cooperative story and publishes it to the character’s website as a new adventure.”
Develop costumes. Students design and develop costumes, enlisting the help of parents. You can also use stuffed animals or cardboard cut-outs as characters.

For the fourth tip, consider purchasing a green bodysuit, available online and at Party City for around $35. With the green bodysuit on in front of the green screen, the wearer won’t show up at all. This makes doing some fun special effects, like manipulating puppets or having objects move apparently without anyone holding them, easy.

Need help getting started? If you are a TCEA member, you can watch the Lunch and Learn webinar on this topic that models how to create your own images with both Android and iOS apps. If you’re not a member, you should join today for just $49.

This blog was updated with new content on June 4, 2017.

May 19, 2016 2 comments

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