Padlet/Wallwisher

Name: Padlet (name recently changed from Wallwisher.)

Price: Free

Format: Website.
www.padlet.com
*Website will work on all smart phones and tablets

Difficulty: Easy

Email Required: No

Description:
The full potential of Padlet is only now becoming clear to me. I have used it in almost every BYOT activity since I went 1:1 with my iPads. It has become an invaluable tool for my class.

In short, Padlet is an online wall. Simply go to padlet.com, and click build a wall to begin creating an online collaboration hub for your students. I would highly recommend creating a free account; however, as this gives you the ability to move, edit, and delete posts that your students make. Once a wall has been created, the teacher may change the wall's title, make posts, and most importantly, change the URL to the wall. Students can then visit the URL and post on the wall. They are able to post pictures, videos, text, and URL's. Padlet also has a built in share function that allows you to email, screen-capture or share a QR code for the wall. 

The question of "how does a student get their work to me?" comes up a lot when discussing BYOT. Even more so in my class now that we have gone 1:1. Padlet has pretty much put that question to rest. With Padlet, as long as a student can take a screen shot of their work, they can post it to me on a wall. If an app only has a "save to camera" function, then students can save the picture to their photo library, and then post it directly to Padlet. This means that students do not need to email me with their work. Instead, they can post it to a wall and I can view/download the file from the Padlet wall. If students are making videos for a project, I have them post it to their own wall (that I create for them). 

The many uses of Padlet become clear with examples. The following links go to some of the walls my students or I have created. 

• http://padlet.com/wall/ujausqxbpa -- Padlet as a collaboration tool for studens to post work and view their peers work. 
• http://padlet.com/wall/volumedefinition -- More collaboration
• http://padlet.com/wall/65onor6tgp -- Padlet as an online poster board for a student's project
• http://padlet.com/wall/Postermovies -- Padlet as a place to post ShowMe/iMotion videos. This page loads slow due to the large amount of videos on the wall. 

The following two walls are embedded into the blog. This means that posts can be made to the wall from this blog. Edits on the blog will show up on the URL version and vice versa. 

Screenshots of Minecraft and pictures of Minecraft in class posted to Padlet. One student used PicCollage to write the surface area of their building, while another used a photo editor and then took a screen shot. 

Created with Padlet

Created with Padlet

Students uploaded PicCollages and a few ShowMe videos to the above Padlet.


Conclusion: 
Padlet is a great tool that can fill a variety of roles. It can serve as an online collaboration board, an individual student-website, or a sort of drop-box for student work. It is easy to use and easily shared.  

GoAnimate

Name: Go Animate

Price: Free/Premium Subscription

Format: Website.www.goanimate.com
**not compatible with Apple devices (requires flash)

Difficulty: Easy
GoAnimate is one of the easiest to use websites for animated video creation

Email Required: Yes

Description:
GoAnimate is a website used to create animated videos. While users are limited with the free version, there is still more than enough content to create simple and effective videos. 

There is a Quick Video Maker and a Full Video Maker. I have a small group of students that use the full video maker, but the rest stick with the quick video choice. The full video maker requires much more work, as the video starts from scratch and the user must add everything. The quick video creator, on the other hand, only involves choosing a package, setting, characters, and adding the text. 

As of now, there are a total of 15 packages, each with its own set of characters and settings, for the free version of GoAnimate. The user selects one of the packages, then selects a setting, then the scene's characters, and finally, the user adds dialogue. For instance, I may choose to use the Space Odyssey package, the setting "Left Alone on an Unknown Planet," using two male actors in red space suites.

Obviously, the dialogue is the most important part of GoAnimate. This is where your students add content. With the free version, there is a limit of 10 lines of dialogue, with each character saying no more than 180 characters at one time. The user may also choose to change the accent, language, and emotion of their characters.

When using the quick video creator, there is not an option to save the project. This means that students must finish their assignment in one session. The full video creator does have a save function. 

Once a student has previewed and published their video, a link to the video can be easily emailed out or shared with the teacher. The ability to easily share a video is one of the main benefits of using GoAnimate.

While GoAnimate is a popular choice among many teachers and students, it tends to lose its flare eventually. Alternatives such as Pixton, Powtoon, or just using the camera function of a BYOT device allow for much more variation and creativity  Still, GoAnimate is one of the most popular tools for teachers just getting stated with BYOT. Students love getting to make their own videos and to share them with their peers or watch them on a Smart Board.

 Teacher Examples:
Multi-step equations by smbrot8150 on GoAnimate

Video Maker - Powered by GoAnimate.
Decimal/Fraction practice by smbrot8150 on GoAnimate

Animation Software - Powered by GoAnimate.




Student Examples:
Andrew by andi_dw on GoAnimate

Animated Presentations - Powered by GoAnimate.
EXPONETS Mary Beth and KAY KAY by mbh212 on GoAnimate

Video Maker - Powered by GoAnimate.



Summary
GoAnimate is an easy-to-use animated video creation tool. Its main flaws are that it cannot be used on an Apple device and there is no save function on the quick video creator. For teachers looking for a quick assignment that is easily shared and entertaining to students, however, GoAnimate is one of the best available options.