Infopics

Ever heard of an inforpic???? Me either...until today.

So what is an infopic you might ask?!? An infopic is a photo with text layered on top that is designed to communicate a message.

At first I thought to myself this is like an infographic, but I quickly realized that it is not. An infopic is short, sweet and to the point.

We watched this video which was LOADED with apps that are great for creating infopics. There were so many apps listed that I wanted to try. So what did I do??? As he was listing and describing the apps, I was quickly downloading them all...all the free ones that is.

I chose to make an infopic on the PBL process we worked on today. You can see my post here on the Zombie Apocalypse PBL.

PBL Land

Today we were back at it at Pinnacle. Today we were immersed into the world of PBL. PBL stands for Project Based Learning. PBL has many components to it and it takes some serious planning to get a project that is worth while for the kiddos. This website PBL explains that parts to PBL and what it all entails.

Anyways...today we were introduced to the Zombie Apocalypse App Smash. It was a blast and I never realized how serious some people are about the Zombie Apocalypse.

We had a task at hand:

James Sanders Zombie Apocalypse

We Zombified ourselves: 

Then we began creating: The Walking App Smashers 

All About Me- App Smashing

Back in June during Pinnacle, we learned all about the fabulous world of App Smashing. There are so many possibilities and options of Apps to Smash and you can't go wrong...which is awesome!! App Smashing is great for creating and allowing students to have different projects on the same content. This is great instead of having 25 projects using the same exact tools.

Our assignment for August was to make an introduction video about ourselves that we could use on the first day of school to show to our kiddos. I used Videolicious, Pic Collage and Photo Mapo (See below for the pro's and con's of each App). This was a fun project and I am excited about the end video.

All About Me Video Introduction

Pro's and Con's of the Apps:

Pro's: 
Videolicious- Easy to use, you can record yourself and show your face while talking or you can just record your voice over your pictures, and it is quick to put together your video

Pic Collage- Simple to use and has several choices to pick from as far as fonts, backgrounds, picture arrangements

Photo Mapo- Great to show locations of places, uses various types of maps, and you can type in an address and get the absolute location of a place


Con's: 
Videolicious- You can only record up to 1 minute on a video

Pic Collage- Too many images can overwhelm the collage (especially with younger kiddos)

Photo Mapo- You can only insert one image onto your map

TPACK and SAMR- an overview

This week part of our focus was on TPACK and SAMR. My team created Piktocharts to explain the importance and uses of TPACK and SAMR.

A Day of Inspiration

Today was one fabulous day at Pinnacle! The morning started off with receiving 20 brand spankin' new IPad Air 2's!! These Ipads are going to be used to do great things. 

Then we had the pleasure of hearing Dr. Moore from North Gaston speak about Andragogy. At first I had absolutely no idea what that was, but after listening to her I learned it is something that I already do. She put a new perspective on adult learning for me. In order for workshops to be successful, you have to have a hook and make the training beneficial to everyone you are presenting too. Otherwise, you will have this...

We then ended the day learning the importance of TPACK and SAMR. Technology is a tool, not a learning outcome. Technology is to be used to take something that was originally impossible and make it possible. It is not a replacement for a worksheet to do the same worksheet on a Google Form. 

To display our learning, my group chose to create a Piktochart. Piktochart is a great tech tool to make inforgraphics (Alot of fun and options for the kids to play around with!)

Minecraft and Jellycam

Today in Pinnacle I was able to learn Minecraft! All I have to say is AWESOME! As soon as I was introduced to the game, I started to realize all of the potentials for this game!

This past year my students were really into Minecraft. When we had electronic day, my students would sit and play against each other in their worlds and I remember thinking what in the world is this Minecraft stuff?!? Then my three-year-old daughter asked me for Minecraft for her birthday and my initial response was "No Way!" Now I have a totally different outlook. I can see the benefits on so many levels.

I am really excited to bring this to my school and get my students to play a game, but on a whole level! I think I will have a greater connection with my students through Gamification.

We also played with Jellycam today to make Stop Motion Videos and this is another great tool that is simple for my 3rd graders to use!

We made our video about The Crocodile Hunter! Check it out!! This was so much fun!!

Goals as a Pinnacle Leader

Being a Pinnacle Leader for the second time around, I have a new outlook on my goals for the upcoming school year. I am learning ways to tweak projects that I have already done and ways to really enhance my teaching style. I am excited to learn new tools and tricks that I can take back to school and share with my colleagues as well as my students. I have high expectations for the upcoming school year long with many ideas that are already brewing in my mind to help my students go farther and create. I hope that I can reach my students in new ways and to make my 9th year of teaching 3rd grade refreshing and fun again!

photo credit: Day 36: teamwork via photopin (license)