App Review - Hailee Miradakis

The standard I chose is a second grade ELA writing standard number 40. Write a personal or fictional narrative using a logical sequence of events, including details to describe actions, thoughts, and feelings and providing a sense of closure. For this assignment, I will concentrate on creating a fictional narrative using a logical sequence of events.

 

https://edpuzzle.com/media/628552f08f242940e7995e69

To begin my lesson, I would assign an EdPuzzle. EdPuzzle is a website where you can assign interactive videos. Each student can watch the video at their own pace. These can be great for stations since they do not have to be completed whole group. Within the videos, there will be questions the students must answer correctly to move forward. If the students do not know the answer, they may rewatch the previous section of the video. The teacher receives live data of how the students are doing on the assignment. You can create your own interactive videos, upload videos from YouTube and add questions, or chose from a large library of already created videos. It is free to teachers, or school systems can upgrade to a larger package. EdPuzzle can be used with all ages.

https://www.storyboardthat.com/

Next, as a class we would brainstorm a general story, allowing the students to come up with their own details. Then, the students would write their story. Once they have written their story, they would create a comic strip on StoryBoardThat to go with their story. They would be required to create three scenes (beginning, middle, end). In StoryBoardThat, students start with a blank template. They can choose a background, characters and objects. They can position each character, choose their facial expressions and what they look like. The student can also add speech bubbles to the scene (this is also great for teaching quotations). Once finished, you can download and print out the comic strips. Teachers have a 14 day free trial, but must pay $9.99 a month after that or the district can buy it for whole schools. StoryBoardThat can be a bit complex so I would not suggest using it with students below second grade. 

https://info.flip.com/about.html

To finish the assignment, my students would present their comic on Flip (formally known as FlipGrid). Here. I would have the students show their comics one scene at a time and read what they have written to go along with it. On Flip. A student can record themselves. They can record themselves as many times as they like. What I like about flip is how simple it is. In second grade, it takes a lot of time to introduce new apps to students. With Flip, it is simply hit record and stop. This app is definitely geared towards lower elementary, although I have used it with fifth graders before. Once the students are finished, they upload their video, and the teacher and other students can watch. If the teacher chooses, students can even comment and like each other’s videos. Students do not need an account. The teacher has a free account and simply shares a code with the students.

For my students, writing is not a strength. Considering the majority of students are still learning to speak English, writing it is even more difficult. This can be made easier through the creation of comics and video recordings. I believe the most useful application would be FlipGrid. Through this app, the students can record themselves reading their story and critique themselves. They can hear out loud some of the grammatical errors they make, and revise and edit their own work. This also encourages them to do their best because once it is published, other students can watch their video.