Getting Creative in the Classroom - Back to School Series

The Back to School Series for 2023 is upon us 🙌🏻🙌🏻

I was so excited to be asked to take part in this program for 2023, especially alongside the uber-talented Mandy Dempsey, Chantelle Sansness and Eric Luna. Throughout the week we will be sharing a huge range of quick tips and engaging classroom activities, as well as guided hands-on tutorials across various apps. Better still is that each and every one of these presentations will be available to view on-demand until the 31st of March on the Back to School 2023 Series Site: http://apple.co/b2s23 😍

My demos and workshop this week are all about getting creative in the classroom and I will be sharing some of my favourite creative projects using apps such as Keynote, GarageBand, Clips and Markup within the Photos app.

If you want to dive a little deeper into any of these projects - read on for tips, links and even some sneaky downloads 🫶🏻

Clips is one of my favourite apps to use in the classroom with our learners (a close second after Camera 📷 of course!). I have never met an educator who doesn’t ‘oooh’ and ‘aaah’ as they start to explore the power and opportunities behind this incredible app. My demonstration showed how quick and easy it was to pull together a meaningful message about 'Sustainable Waste Management' using fun comic book filters and other attributes within the app Clips.

This Clips movie is super simple and intended to showcase features of the app but imagine all the additional information your students could add to their own meaningful message. They could truly bring the comic book to life by duplicating clips and having our little flower character offer suggestions for each of the components. At the bottom of this post, you will find the 4 images used in this project in a zipped folder, in case you wanted to practice your Clips skills on the same project before completing it with your class 🙌🏻

For more information about using Clips:

• Learning with Clips Series from the Education Forum
• Chapter One of the Everyone Can Create: Video book from Apple Books.

Ahh GarageBand 🫶🏻 So so so many possibilities in one SUPER creative app. The early years teacher in me just LOVED sharing the fun voice effects and sound loops to create an intergalactic weather report.  

This project was created using a single voice recording of both characters which was split. I then added voice filters and some fun Loop sound effects. If you want to play around with this exact project, I have added a GarageBand file at the bottom of this post with the voice recording I used in the weather report - ready for you to split (although it is just as easy to start with your own recording). You can then find out more about adding Loops and Voice filters by exploring these links:

• Chapter One of the Everyone Can Create Music Book in Apple Books
• Project: Producing Podcasts
• Creativity Challenge: Podcast

Those who know me, know that my FAVE iPad app is the Camera - and everything that comes along with it. Features like Markup just take the use of photography to document learning on the iPad to a whole new level. In the Back to School series, I shared a bright and colourful self-portrait activity using Markup that would be PERFECT for the first few weeks at school.

I have also written a forum post offering heaps more ideas for using Markup in the classroom.... Check it out by clicking the link below:

• Marvellous Markup

Another great place to explore more ideas with Markup is:

• Chapter Two of Everyone Can Create Teachers Guide

One of the most rewarding things we can give our students is choice. Allowing them to have agency over how they might share their ideas and learning allows each student the opportunity to shine, showcasing their knowledge in their own unique way. Some students might choose a video masterpiece, others an epic sketch. Some might create a vocal soundtrack alongside a presentation whilst others might create amazing animations. 

That is why an app like Keynote is a go-to for me in the classroom from our youngest kindergarteners to our senior high school students. All of these options are possible - all in this one app. 

During the Back to School sessions, I shared how to put together an animation of the water cycle using Keynote. This project went through a range of ways to edit shapes to pull together all the assets needed for the animation, and then shared how to pull it together with some different animations.

The workshop kicked off with a group of shapes already put together on a slide. You can find this (very basic) keynote slide below. Why not download this and watch the workshop to follow along with me? Remember this can be viewed until the 31st of March by clicking here. You can also learn more about using Keynote in these great resources:

• Everyone Can Create Project: Design with Shapes
• Storytelling through Keynote Animations Forum post by APLS Mandy Dempsey
• Chapter Nine of Everyone Can Create Drawing steps you through keynote animations.

 I would love to know....

Attachments

WATER CYCLE PROJECT.key

Download  (785.9 KB)

Attachments

Clips Comic Project Images.zip

Download  (676.7 KB)

Attachments

Jupiter weather report.band.zip

Download  (6 MB)