Before I begin my reflection on the MACUL Conference, I can’t
help but express how it was a much needed change of pace for me – a bit of
fresh air to be quite honest. The last few weeks have been difficult for me. I’ve
suffered from an extreme lack of motivation. It’s not that I don’t want this; I
just feel so overwhelmed. Sadly, I feel as though I do the bare minimum at best
to get by with almost everything. But, I stretch back with every bit of perseverance
left in the tank to put forth my best effort into my lessons. Occasionally, I
find success. The trial and error aspect of teaching can be difficult. It’s not
easy to learn from discomfort. And because of this, I think many of us are
struggling through the program at this point. Maybe, I’m wrong. I’m certain there
are a few super humans among us. With that all said, enough with all my
feelings and cries for sympathy. It was extremely beneficial to see the fresh
ideas presented at the conference. I needed a bit of hope.
I would like to highlight one event in particular from the
conference– Ideas for Creative Projects by Justin Cowen. It was an onslaught of
amazing ideas, fascinating technology, and worthwhile experiences. A heavy dose
of creativity was just what I’ve needed lately. What I loved most about his
presentation was the practical use of many of the applications for educational
usage. In particular, Canva and Ease.ly were fantastic for creating online
posters. I am teaching an elective, Hollywood History. For each movie, I
planned for students to create their own version of a poster along with a
critical review. I intended for students simply use crayons, markers, or
whatever to make these posters. Now, I can mix it up and have students make
posters using this program, which then can be easily shared since they connect
with Google. I love Google. Google knows all and sees all. Perhaps, one day
Google will become Big Brother, but not today. Google is my friend. Getting off
track, I’ll leave the links to the applications along with Justin’s Trello,
which has everything as well.
But wait…there’s more. Cube Creator is an online app that
allows students to create their own stories. I haven’t had the chance to play
around with it myself. But, it looks very promising. Along with this app, Flip
Book allows for a similar means of storytelling. These apps are easily
transferable to humanities. I’m sure they’d fit with STEM as well. Yet another
thing he shared was Thing Link, which allows the user to basically link
anything and use awesome graphics to well… link stuff. He used this in
conjunction with Sound Cloud, which is very similar to Audacity. It was online
though and a bit more simplistic.
Now, the greatest thing ever was Chromville. I literally
screamed, “I want that,” during the presentation. So, I basically embarrassed Jimmy
and Derek. But, everyone knew it was super cool. So, how does this amazing,
fun-filled, magic work? You’re probably thinking…what is it first? This
application makes 2D paper come alive by somehow making it 3D and animated. I
just couldn’t believe it. It was like seeing a 3D printer for the first time make
plastic chains at a PD session at HFA. I felt like a child again. With that childhood
wonder, I watched as he took a cartoon figure and used the iPad to make it 3D
and move! You just have to print off the paper from their downloadable site,
which I have provided below. Then use the Chromville app on the iPad and follow
the directions. It’s so simple. My sole complaint is that it is only available
for Apple products. I think this is extra fun, but I’m not sure how exactly I’d
incorporate it into my classroom. It seems best suited for elementary or middle
school. Even so, I think just showing this off at the high school level would
be nice break from the mundane.
I really enjoyed the conference and was thankful to be a
part of it. On a final note, I’d like to thank Jeff and Rory for such a
fantastic course throughout the program. It’s been special to say the least.
Please use the links below for some of the applications:
