Tackk

If you're a fan of Smore {read my post about it here}, you'll love Tackk! I heard about it over the summer, but I figured there was no reason for me to have accounts at two very similar websites. Now I'm kicking myself for not investigating it earlier... 

What It Is

Tackk allows users to create online posters with text, videos, audio recordings, pictures, and embedded widgets and links. Each Tackk {poster} is stored at its own unique URL for easy sharing. 

Features

• 100% free
• Account not necessary to create a Tackk {only downside? Anonymous Tackks are deleted after 7 days.}
• E-mail address not needed to create an account or sign in -- kids can sign in with a social media account or with Edmodo! 
• Free iOS app
• Customize the poster's text, colors, and design
• Add headlines of different sizes, colors, and fonts to make them stand out next to regular body text
• Add photos -- upload your own, grab from Instagram or a specific URL, or use Tackk's partnership with 500px or Giphy to find a photo to use
• Adjust the size and add captions to photos
• Add video from 150+ {YouTube, Vimeo, Instagram, U-Stream, Animoto, ShowMe, etc. included -- here's the complete list}
• Add audio from 22 sources {SoundCloud, Spotify, Rdio, Grooveshark, etc. included -- here's the complete list}
• Add a button to make links more visible:

• Ability to add "listings" of things you can sell directly from your Tackk {PTO and spirit shops, I'm lookin' at you.}
• Add a contact form -- all responses are sent to your e-mail inbox
• Embed widgets to things like other Tackks, a Poll Everywhere poll, Prezi, Listly, Screenr, SlideShare, Twitter, etc.
• Add an RSVP {I'm thinking of field trip, class party, extracurricular group event, etc.}
• Make your Tackk public or private
• Option to add password protection to a private Tackk
• "Tag" Tackks -- similar to tagging in Blogger or Evernote -- as a way to collect and/or organize data. {For instance, I would have my students tag their Tackks with special phrases to ensure I could find them easily.}
• Customize the URL {only downside? the URL is an extension of tackk.com and not your profile, so no other Tackk user can ever personalize their poster with the same name}
•  Add an interactive comment stream -- great for encouraging conversation between your students. {Admin rights gives ability to moderate.}
• Create an assignment template so students only have to click and edit {more about that below}
• Saves automatically every few seconds -- similar to LiveBinders 
• Duplicate your Tackks to save yourself time creating similar posters
• Transfer ownership of your Tackks to a different account
• Variety of sharing options when you're finished:

I like that I could embed all the class's Tackks onto my school webpage, or even create a Tackk that links to everyone's Tackk {how's that for a confusing sentence?} to show off student work to parents and the community.

Assignment Template Feature

I have to  share the assignment template feature with you. There is currently no tutorial on the Tackk blog that tells how to utilize the lesson template feature, but I got the inside scoop from a sweet and knowledgeable Tackk rep {shout-out to Andria!}. She's going to write a blog post about it soon, but I thought I'd share here, too. 

The assignment template feature lets you create a Tackk that is editable and share that with students. So instead of sharing a static page that no one can edit {here's example I created about ABCD drawings in a science notebook}, you share this editable page that acts as a template for the assignment. For instance, here's an editable template about the scientific method. If you give students the special link to your template, they can edit a copy of your template without ever changing your original. 

To create an editable assignment template:

1. Create a Tackk. 
2. Customize the URL under "Tackk options." 
3. Make the Tackk private, and then publish it so it's live.
4. Before sharing the link with students, edit it so that "/create/copy" in written after tackk.com. For instance, my scientific method page is www.tackk.com/scientificmethod. So to let kids edit it, I would share this link, instead: www.tackk.com/create/copy/scientificmethod

I love the idea of this for my elementary students! 

Because I only have 50-60 minutes total with each class per week in Science Lab, I often print a recording sheet to glue into the notebook -- especially for my youngest students. Not only does it help prompt them about what step in the scientific method comes next, it's a way to help speed up their writing so that we have time to do an experiment and write about it in our notebooks, too.

I can definitely see myself transferring some of my recording sheets into Tackk templates. From there, I envision students tagging each assignment with a specific phrase so that I can assess and share. 

I'll leave you with my first full assignment created on Tackk {link here if you want to see the full version on the Tackk website}. My fourth graders are actually in the middle of this assignment, so I probably will not get to use Tackk for it until next year. But now that I know the process, I'm sure there will be plenty more Tackk projects to come.

     

Trading Cards

Constructing a biography is a fairly common school project. I know that, for instance, both the first and second graders at my school have to write a biography for their research project. The Trading Card function from Big Huge Labs might be a way to spice up that report!

The Trading Card function allows students to upload a picture of a person (or animal, I suppose... the website doesn't monitor what you upload), add a title, facts about that person or object, customize the color of the "trading card," and even add a couple of fun icons to the sides.

There are just enough options to keep things interesting, but not so many that it becomes an overwhelming project. 

One of the best parts is that students do NOT have to have an account or e-mail address in order to use this. Another great thing about the Trading Card project is that students can download their project as a .jpg (picture file). From there, you can incorporate it into a a FlipSnack book to share with parents or store in your Dropbox account for easy access later.

Here's an example I made. Mine is over Albert Einstein:

Try the Trading Card feature from Big Huge Labs for yourself by clicking here.

Map Maker

Big Huge Labs has a lot of cool {and free} tech tools. 

Logo from the Big Huge Labs website

 One of them is called Map Maker.

 

The idea is that you can display a map of the whole world or a specific part, and then you can place "pins" on the map. From there, you can embed the code on a website or, of course, take a screenshot of it. Here's an example of a map I made:

Places I've Visited

Make yours @ BigHugeLabs.com

Ideas for Use:

1. Mark places where students have visited as a "getting to know you" game.
2. Social studies students can mark a place they're researching. 
3. Elementary students who are participating in a Flat Stanley project can mark where Stanley has visited.
4. If your class is connecting to other classes or professionals -- pen pals? Skype chats? -- mark the places your class has reached on the map. 

I'm sure there are more ways to use it in class, but those are just a few to get you started. :) Click here to start making your map. 

Popplet

There's a brainstorming app I really like in the iTunes store called Popplet.

I swear I got it for free {probably from Apps Gone Free!}, but the iTunes store is now advertising that it's $5. Bummer. Regardless of the price, it is a fun mind mapping app that the kids and I use in the classroom, so I wanted to share it with you.

Here's a video I made to explain how it works and what to do:

The Popplet company also has a website, and it looks like you can take advantage of that for free. Click here to try it, and have fun creating mind maps!

Create a QR Code from an iThing

Do you feel proficient about scanning the code above but are now ready to start making your own? Here's a tutorial.

There are several websites I use to make QR codes from a browser on a laptop or desktop computer, but there are certainly times when I need to create a QR code on the fly from my iThing {iPhone, iPad, or even iPod Touch}. I created a tutorial to show you how I do that with my favorite QR code creating app -- QRReader.

Also included in the video are various ways in which I think you could use these QR codes in your classroom. Please watch the video below for more information, and let me know if you have any questions!

Flip Snack

Have you ever published a book? When I was in 4th grade, I created an entire book (from cover to illustrations to text), and my beloved teacher had it bound professionally so it looked as though I had been "published." She made two copies: one for me and one for my school's library so that my peers could actually check the book out and read it. I was in awe.

When I had the pleasure of watching my niece give her dad a very similar book as a gift last Christmas, it solidified my belief that being a "published author" is a definite motivator to get kids to write more {and love doing it}.

While publishing students' stories in a hard- or softcover format may not be a financial option, publishing an eBook with student work is completely do-able.

Via

Enter FlipSnack (a part of SnackTools). This website gives you the option to upload PDF documents and convert them into an eBook of sorts.

FlipSnack was originally intended to help website users/bloggers "create stylish digital flipbooks out of your PDF documents. You can use it to share or embed into your website or blog all kinds of documents, from books to newspapers and magazines."

You can use FlipSnack to post assignments to a classroom websites, examples on your blogs, and/or eBooks that feature student work. While I think the first two are really cool, it's the last option that excites me the most. I posted assignments and examples to my website when I taught 8th-9th grade English. But making eBooks out of student work? That never occurred to me. {Plus, how fun would it be for students to see it?!}

Cool features of FlipSnack:

1. It's free.
2. Publish your eBook on several different websites {personal websites and social media sites}. There's an embed code so that viewers can actually see the eBook on your website instead of having to follow an external link to see anything.
3. It uses Flash when posted on regular websites, but is also optimized for iPhone and iPad.
4. There are several customization options so that you can personalize the book(s) in a variety of ways. 
5. The end result looks professional.
6. Many, many people can view your eBook for free. The way I understand it, people with a free membership can have a max of 25,000 views per FlipSnack book per day on sites external to FlipSnack (VIP members get 50,000 views). Even after all the day's views have been exceeded, the embedded codes won't work until the next day, but users can still click the link and view the eBook on FlipSnack's page. I don't ever expect to reach that 25,000 view maximum, anyway, so I don't see this as a problem. 
7. You can enable the ability to download the file(s) inside your book.
8. Besides all the customization options inside the eBook, you can decide which type of book you'd like to make: hard cover, soft cover (looks like a magazine), or wire bound (looks like a notebook). 
9. Display your collection of eBooks in a widget on your website. My favorite has to be the "bookshelf." How cool would it be to convert your students' stories into FlipSnack books and then display them on a "virtual bookshelf" on your classroom website?! It would look something like this:

Source

The website only allows users to upload PDF documents, but converting files to PDF is pretty easy, so I don't consider that a disadvantage of the website.

Details about $$ involved:

• There is a free version, but there are a few limitations. The free version puts a watermark on all eBooks. There's also an upload limitation: you can only upload 3 PDF files to each book, and each PDF has a limit of 15 pages each.
• You can have the watermark removed from individual eBooks by purchasing points. It costs 10 points in order to do this, and the price of the points varies, based on how many you purchase at a time. {A purchase of 10 points will run you $19, a purchase of 25 points will run you $39...you get the picture. There's a slight discount when you buy points in bulk.}
• If you don't want to mess with the limitations at all, you can always purchase a VIP membership for $14/month. This membership actually gives you premium access to all of SnackTools's apps, so you're getting quite a bit for your money.

Here's an example of a FlipSnack book that I'm partial to:

Click the picture to see the book for yourself

I wasn't able to embed that particular book because I didn't write it. An embedded book looks like this, though:

Just click "click to read" to enlarge it. Use the arrows on the left and right of the screen to flip the virtual pages.

Vocaroo

Vocaroo is an incredibly easy and versatile voice-recording system that can be a huge asset to your classroom.

Via

Features:

• Very easy-to-use interface
• Completely free
• No e-mail address or account registration necessary to use it
• Ability to e-mail your recordings, post them on social media, or download the file to your computer 
• Instead of recording, users have the option to upload a segment of audio
• Ability to access recordings from iOS devices {although there is not an app for it...yet}
• No limit on the number of minutes you can record using Vocaroo

Cons

• Since you don't have to have an account for this website, you can't save any "works in progress" and edit them later
• No app, and iOS devices don't support in-browser audio recording, which means you can't record anything from an iPhone, iPod Touch, or iPad

Tips

As with all audio recording websites, you do need access to a microphone in order to use this tool. If your computer doesn't have a built in microphone, you could always purchase a headset with a microphone like this one to help you:

{FYI: a headset microphone like the one pictured above might actually be the best option to record, no matter what kind of microphone situation you have on your computer. Because of the close distance between the microphone and your mouth, the headset microphone blocks out a lot more background noise than a built-in microphone does. I have the luxury of a quiet house, since I don't have kids yet and my husband works a lot, but for those of you whose homes are a little more hectic, you may have a harder time getting a clear recording without a headset microphone.}


How Do I Record?

The homepage of Vocaroo is incredibly simple:

...Seriously. That's it. So if you're normally a little intimidated by technology, rest assured that you can do this. :)

Click the giant red button in the center of the screen labeled "click to record," and just start talking. It is honestly that easy.

There is no time limit on the length of a recording through Vocaroo, so you can ramble away for as long as you need to. ;)

After you hit the "record" button, you'll see this screen, which means that it's recording:

After you've finished, hit "click to stop" to stop the recording. You'll then see this screen:

You have the option to listen to your podcast to make sure it sounds okay, and you can re-record if you don't like how it sounds. If you're satisfied with your recording, however, you can click the "click here to save" button, which is located in that last green box at the bottom of the page.

After you click to save your recording, you're met with this screen:

Ignore that link...I didn't say anything on this podcast; I was just taking a screenshot. ;)

Notice the options you have at this point. You can....

• embed your recording on a website {which is what I did on our class blog last year to explain some of the features of the website}.
• e-mail a link to the recording, right from Vocaroo {you don't have to download anything to your computer or attach anything to your e-mail in order to do this...it just sends a link to somewhere in the interwebz so that your recipient can listen. It's pretty painless. :) }.
• share on any number of social networking sites, including Facebook and Twitter. 
• link the recording to a QR code...and you already know how much you can do with a QR code
• download the file in a handful of formats.

See how simple all of this is? If you do have any questions, you could always read Vocaroo's FAQ section.


How Can I Use This In My Class?
{A lot of these options work best if you attach the link to your recording to a QR code.}

Back to School

1. Record yourself saying "hello" or "welcome" at back-to-school time. Embed the recording on your website or "meet the teacher" page.
2. Verbally explain the features of your website and/or how to navigate it; embed this recording on your website.  
3. Create a welcome message for students and parents, and place it on your door during Open House night. {This would also work well if you had to be absent during Open House night.}
4. Record a welcome message and place it on your BTS newsletter or postcard. Hearing your voice and how excited you are to have them in your class might be especially helpful for little ones.
5. Create an "I'll be with you ASAP" recording and place it on your door during parent-teacher conferences. Parents who arrive early and see a closed door could scan the recording to hear that you are there, but that you're speaking with another parent at the moment and will be with them shortly. 

Make a Substitute's Life Easier

1. Record a message to remind students about behavior expectations and when you'll back, and let the substitute play it at the beginning of class.
2. Record the directions for an assignment. Put it in a QR code and put the code directly on the assignment page. If you had a substitute, students could just scan the QR code at the top of the handout and get your directions. 
3. Record directions to centers or stations, put the info into a QR code, and put the QR code at the center.

Make Your Life Easier

1. Record directions to centers or stations, put the info into a QR code, and put the QR code at the center. Instead of asking you over and over what they're supposed to be doing, students could just scan the QR code to re-listen to the directions. If you're a fan of file folder games or compact centers, it would easy to place a QR code of directions for that activity on the back of every folder or Ziploc baggie. If this works like I think it would, you would only have to explain things once. Imagine how much time you'd save and how much else you could get done! 
2. Record instructions or examples to an assignment or project and place it at the top of the worksheet/handout/rubric. Students could re-listen to these if they get stuck during an assignment. 
3. Save audio files of things you use regularly so that you can access them later without having to re-record. 
4. Record yourself reading a book, page by page. Embed the recordings onto a QR code and place the QR code on each page for the student to scan. This would be great for conquering the "listen to reading" portion of Daily 5 without having to physically read to every single student. 
5. Record your instructions for a substitute. Put the files in a special folder that a substitute can access. Then all she/he has to do is play the recordings for the class. It's like you're "teaching" even when you're not physically there.

Modify

1. Modify work for ESL or LD kiddos by reading things to them, repeating directions, or telling them to skip every other problem... etc.
2. As a modification, read an assessment and the possible answers and place it in the top corner of SpEd kids' papers. They could go into the hallway and listen to the test being read to them...they could even pause to comprehend and answer questions.

  
Help Students and Parents

1.  Record project or homework explanations so kids can listen to instructions at home. Embed this recording next to an uploaded copy of the presentation template or written instructions on your blog. 
2. Language teachers: record yourself naming items around the classroom in the new language. Put the recording on a QR code and put the QR codes around the room. If students forget how to say "door" in Spanish, they can just go scan it to get a refresher. :)
3. Record instructions, the agenda, etc. for students who are absent. When they return, students can scan the QR code to see what they missed.
4. Place vocabulary word pronunciations and/or definitions right next to the word in books available in your library.
5. Place thinking/discussion questions on back covers of books or at the end of chapters so that students can have a starting point for group discussions in Book Club.  
6. English teachers and librarians: record book reviews.
7. Put the mp3 file on your iTunes and then upload it to your class iPods/iPads. If students are absent, they can hear instructions/the agenda/whatever fits your class best from the day they were gone. You can provide headphones so that students can catch up quietly during their free time.

  
Student Use:

1. Let your students record book reviews for other students. Attach the review to a QR code and post it in your library! 
2. Allow students to dictate their stories/essays. 
3. Allow students to perform reports/presentations into Vocaroo. Embed on the class blog to share with parents. 
4. Allow students with speech issues record themselves speaking/reading. They can listen to it and make self-corrections. 
5. Ask students to talk about a project they completed, a poster, or an assignment that they're particularly proud of. Students who are afraid to speak in front of others might be able to give their oral presentation via podcast, and just stand in front of the room, holding their poster or prop, while the recording plays.
6. Ask students in a group to explain their role in the group activity. 
7. Ask students to be in charge of classroom announcements or an audio newsletter. Let kids talk about upcoming events and what's been going on in class lately; embed this recording on your class blog or post the link on your newsletter.
8. Let students draw a poster to define a vocabulary word. Then they can record the actual definition using Vocaroo, put the recording in a QR code, and post the QR code on the definition poster. 
9. Let students create book summaries, embed them into QR codes, and stick them on the inside cover of books in your library. 

Vocaroo lets you embed the recording widget directly onto your blog, so you can try it for yourself without ever leaving this page:

Powered by Vocaroo Voice Recorder

Other ideas for use can be found here.