First of all, a big shout out to the awesome ladies I met at TCEA from Lamar Consolidated School District yesterday – @spletkalcisd, @KBoneGT, @imrielee and @StacieQuarles! Meeting them absolutely made my day!
Based on yesterday’s poll, here are the things I hope to share at TCEA on Thursday morning:
Canva
An awesome free web tool (and iOS app) for creating graphic designs in many different formats. Disclaimer: I recently wrote lesson plans for Canva’s Teaching Materials section in their Design School.
Augmented Reality
Click on the link above to go to my Augmented Reality Resource page, which is full of ideas for lessons, activities, web tools, and apps. It also includes links to tutorials for Aurasma and Daqri, two of the best tools for creating auras. Here are a few of my own lessons:
- You Matter Videos
- Outside my Snow Globe
- Daqri Elements 4D (Disclaimer: I also recently wrote some lesson plans for this product.) Be sure to sign up for DaqriEdu, and check out twoguysandsomeipads.com for great tutorials!
Cubelets
If you have a Maker Space or any room for creativity in your time with students at all, I highly recommend these robots from Modular Robotics. You can click on the header link to learn more. Put this at the top of your list for any grant application. They are pricey, but well worth it. I have seen so many creative combinations from the students as they put different cubes together to make robots that move based on temperature, distance, and light. They’ve made drawing robots and spent twenty minutes figuring out how to combine every Cubelet we have to make the robot in the video below. There are Lego Adapters to add, and really there is no limit to the imagination with these fun cubes that connect magnetically. There is even a Bluetooth one so you can control your robot with a mobile device. Don’t forget to check out the Lesson Plans! (Ironically, this is the one product that I’m hawking that will cost you money – yet I have no stake in it at all!)
By the way, this may be a spoiler if you read it before our 10:30 session – but don’t skip! There are several other people presenting, and they will have more awesome things to share! Plus, I’m bringing some of the toys to play with in case you want to try them out before or after the session 🙂
