Tech Tool of the Week: StoryKit

Those of you who noticed what your 1st-5th graders were doing in computer class last week will be familiar with this week's highlighted technology tool, StoryKit.  StoryKit is a digital storytelling app for iPad.  It allows students to create their own electronic storybooks by writing and illustrating a story, then recording their own voices as they narrate the story.  In computer class during the two weeks after spring break, all students in grades 1-5 created a storybook about what they did during their spring break.  Once they were finished, students uploaded their storybooks to the web and received a private link to their story.  They could then share their storybooks by emailing the link to parents, friends, etc.  Students can also read and listen to their completed storybooks on the iPads.


Please take a look at these examples of stories created by our students to get a sense of what StoryKit storybooks look like!


Colby C., 2nd grade
Hannah F., 4th grade


If you're interested in learning more about StoryKit, here is a short video tutorial that will teach you how to use the app.

Tech Tool of the Week: Jing

This week's highlighted technology tool is Jing, a free, easy-to-use program that allows you to take screenshots or create screencasts on your computer.  


To use Jing, select any window or region on your computer screen that you would like to capture.  Then decide whether you want to take a picture (screenshot) or create a video (screencast).  If you are making a video, Jing will capture everything that happens in the area you selected.  From simple mouse movements to a fully narrated tutorial, Jing records everything you see and do.  Also, it will record your commentary at the same time as your movements.  


Once you have created your screenshot or screencast, it is instantly ready to upload and share over the web or email.  You can easily share it online via Jing's free website, Screencast.com.  Or you could embed a video on your Veracross page using the embed code provided by Jing.

Using Jing is a great way to create video tutorials on your computer.  Want to see some ideas for the kinds of things you could make a video tutorial for?  Here is a video made by Peter Moore (who is a big fan of video tutorials!) that explains how to to reserve library time using a Google Doc.  This is a video I created for 4th graders to explain how to insert a text box in PowerPoint.  Finally, here is a training video I created for teachers on how to post a video in Veracross.  (Both of my videos were made using Jing!)

If you would like to download Jing on your school computer, please email IT Requests or stop by the IT office!

Google Art Project

Have you heard of the Google Art Project?  Google has been taking extremely high-resolution images of famous works of art from around the world and posting them online.  Not only can you see highly detailed images of famous paintings and other works of art, but you can even take a virtual tour of galleries like the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, the National Gallery in London, the Uffizi in Florence, the Palace of Versailles, and more!  


To use the site, select a museum from the homepage and then either choose "Explore the Museum" or "View Artwork".  Once you are in the main site, use the drop-down menus or the side info bar to navigate between artwork and museums.  You can even create and share your own collections online!  


If you are interested in showing artwork to your students in class, using Google Art Project to display images of paintings can allow you to zoom in to see the tiniest details.  You can zoom in so close, in fact, that you can actually see more detail than you could see in a museum (where guards would undoubtedly stop you from getting too close!)  Another fun class activity would be to take your students on a Street View tour of one of these famous museums.  


Google Art Project can allow you to dig in to artwork and discover things you might not otherwise see if you were looking at an image of art in a book or magazine.  Check it out!