Just discovered #BreakoutEDU and super excited! #busedu

Our district technology facilitator posted a summer workshop that included a "breakout box" the other day. So, I Googled it, as I often do. I learned about BreakoutEDU, which is apparently a big deal thing that somehow wasn't on my radar.

Essentially, you purchase locks and boxes or bags or something to put the locks on and send your students on a classroom mission to find clues (hopefully related to your lesson) to unlock the boxes (to decipher the lock codes, alphabetic, numeric, etc.). It's like those "Escape the Room" activities but in reverse.

Of course, that costs some money to buy all the stuff. And, you want locks you can reprogram with various "new" codes, so not just any lock will do. The setup sounds a bit time consuming. But, it sounds like a highly engaging activity. I plan to attend a PD this summer and participate in one.

However, that lead me to the DIGITAL version of BreakoutEDU. And, wow! That really intrigued me being that I'm in a lab and it can all be done basically through Google (Docs, Slides, Maps, Forms, etc.), which means FREE. So, I found this site loaded with some digital breakouts.

http://www.breakoutedu.com/digital 

It. Is. Cool. I tried my first one yesterday, but I was only able to figure out 3 of the 4 codes. I was so frustrated. So, I wrote it down and came back to it today. And, I solved it! Woo hoo! It was quite the feeling of accomplishment. And, they emailed me a badge. Yay.


So, my Web Design 2 kiddos finished their final exam a little while ago and I let them try it, as a class, to earn phone time the rest of the hour today (we have long block finals). They are working pretty hard right now and have 26 minutes left of class, so hopefully they solve soon. Waiting on two more codes!

I totally plan to try to create some digital breakouts this summer to use in the fall. They had some great and super useful ideas on the one I tried (like using a Google Sheet with conditional formatting... genius). And, they have a website that gives you tips for creating digital breakouts, too.  I think having them work in teams would be most ideal as some will struggle and others will excel. Now, I just have to figure out what units of instruction to try to tie this to.

Oh, and they have figured out 3 of the 4 now.... it's getting real in here! :) Happy Thursday, friends!

EDITED: So, they finally figured it out (it took them teaming up to do it) with 10 minutes to spare in class. And, I tried another one today that really stumped me on one of the clues, but finally accomplished it! I think the students are really going to enjoy this next school year!

Smashing Windows? #busedu #appsmash

I get envious sometimes of all the cool "class activities" surrounding App Smashing and the cool teacher who use Ryan Read's App Dice. I don't have classroom iPads to do those cool things. But, I do have a big room full of Windows computers. Why can't I have fun, too?!?!

So, I decided to start Googling. Windows smashing. The Google results weren't quite what I was looking for, but the first thing I clicked on was quite amusing and my first hour class got a kick out of it... check it out. Apparently, there's a fast food window smashing "alleged gas leak so you should bust out the windows" prank happening. Classic.

But, I digress.

I started thinking about how I use various websites, since it would be more of a website-smashing instead of "app smash" in my classroom. I need in-browser things to smash together. So, what are some fun items we can smash in the browser?

• To record a "webcam" video from the browser, try Clipchamp. It has easy share options to upload straight to Vimeo, YouTube, Facebook or Google Drive. Then, you can embed it onto a webpage or blog post. Or, you can download it and use it in an editing app or program.
• To record the screen, I like the Google Chrome plugin called Screencastify. The lite is limited to 10 minutes and you can even add a webcam.
• A fun way to create a cartoon image of yourself is using Bitmoji. They have a Chrome plugin (and it works great with Gmail, too... I constantly put them at the bottom of e-mails) and apps at Google Play and iTunes.
• How about putting it all together in Blogger or Microsoft Sway? You can embed videos into both! (NOTE: Blogger uses Google logins and obviously you'll need a Microsoft login for Sway, but Sway is pretty neat if you've never tried it). 

I love Tellagami, but it's an Apple app, so naturally I can't use it in my classroom. I'd love to know if someone knows a program like that for the browser!

I'd love your feedback! Certainly, I know it's important not to use tech for the sake of using tech, but the use of app dice is intriguing to me and I think would help students become more creative in applying knowledge in a way to help reinforce their learning in other classes or with specific concepts.

Got any good ideas to share?

PowerPoint Kiosk Project #busedu

Well, it's getting near the end of the school year and our days are numbered. And, that means I don't have sufficient time for the project we did last semester in Advanced Computer Apps for our PowerPoint unit... so, I made a new one!

This is my example (made up today) for my "Personal Kiosk" Project. It's a timed PowerPoint with specific "rules" and requirements.  It shouldn't look like a traditional PowerPoint and not a bunch of bulleted lists. They must:

• Teach me something “star quality” about yourself
• Give me some FACTS (if you are a video game star, it could be all about that… or a mix of things)
• Tell a personal story through fast-moving imagery
• Keep me entertained
• Make it professional (think “infographic” and visual and less “text” and PowerPoint-y)

The scoring guide, if you wish to use or adapt for your own classroom, is here. I will have my students drop theirs into a Google Drive folder for grading (and I am old school and have a USB drive we'll float around). They must export it as a movie file so it plays automatically. I hope you enjoy!

Photoshop Obama Hope Poster Project #busedu

As we are nearing the end of the presidential term and entering election season, it's fun to see the various takes people have made on the "Obama" Hope poster. I found it quite amusing and then it served as inspiration for my next class project!

From Pinterest

I actually started by watching a tutorial on how to do this from Blue Lightning TV, but it didn't use our version of PS, utilize shapes, and wasn't clear on clipping adjustments, and I wanted to incorporate that into the project. So, I developed my own resource adapted from theirs. I figured I'd share it with you! I really enjoyed their tutorial. I didn't really use the Channel Mixer or the Gradient Map adjustment features in Photoshop before, so I was psyched to learn something new.

• Handout Link
• YouTube Playlist Link

Here is one of my examples:

I'm going to have the students follow the steps (and/or watch the video tutorial I created) to recreate it using their own image of themselves. Then, my early finishers will have the option to parody the poster for a character of their choosing. Like this!

What do you think? It's actually a pretty quick, short project. So, if you are headed into Spring Break with a day or two to kill, maybe give it a shot! Or, perhaps district testing is happening soon and you need filler. Enjoy!

Photoshop Class Group Project #busedu #gafe

Last year, I was watching an episode of Celebrity Apprentice and got inspired to create a Photoshop project for my class.


The whole task is from about the 5 minute mark to the 31 minute mark (if you want to see which team wins) or the  43 minute mark (if you want to see the Board Room to see who goes home). My students enjoyed getting to watch the thought process and pitches and I liked that it gave me a little more "business" in my Photoshop class.

The students enjoyed it when we did it last year and, though we didn't do it last semester, I decided to bring it back this semester. It's sometimes difficult to do cooperative activities in computer classes so this is another effort to incorporate.

I changed a few things around this time. Here's the general process:

1. I talk about the project and my inspiration and show them clips from the show.
2. They pick groups (I let them pick by putting a sign up sheet on the wall with assigned group names and then a certain number of lines underneath, so anyone without a group could easily just add themselves to a line and not feel totally left out).
3. Day 1: They decide a leader and a recorder. Groups do a brainstorming session and the recorded writes down info. They all sign their names to the sheet and record the product and a shared hashtag that they will all use. They write that down and I pick up those papers to review and return the next day. 
4. Day 2: The group leader sets up a Google Slides project and shares to all group members and me. The leader sets up the first slide, which is the title (includes the product, hashtag, and group member names) and the second slide, which is the "logo brainstorming" slide. All group members then locate and copy/paste logos for this company/product from online. They must source the image in a comment. Then, all group members collectively decide which one to use. All group members will use the same product logo. The leader adds the chosen logo to the title slide. All group members create two slides with their first names at the top for their finished projects. Then, they all set up the basic page setup (10"x8") and put their logo on the page (removing the background if it has one). Finally, they start obtaining images for the first project OR they can work on finding the perfect font and adding their slogan and hashtag. 
5. Day 3: All group members will update their class portfolio to embed the group Slides presentation and to discuss their project so far (what they picked and why, etc.). Then, they continue working.
6. After that, they continue working on the project with the last 5-7 minutes daily being group feedback time. Group members walk around to provide feedback. They are collectively in charge of ensuring all group members have the requirements, the logo, a slogan and the shared hashtag, and that the project is set up correctly. 
7. As they finish an ad design, they are to save it for the web and post to their class portfolio AND to the Google Slide. (My students write a reflection for their projects on the class portfolio site)
8. Eventually, each student will have 2 or 3 designs. I grade the best 2. And, the group will present their group slideshow and discuss (using Photoshop terms) how they created the design.

Here is one of last year's projects (it doesn't have the logo and feedback portion... that's new, but this one was used to show my kids examples of good and not great... and we also did a short fonts unit before this project because you could obviously see font issues on a few of these ads):

Here is a link to my project explanation and scoring guide:
http://classjump.com/s/skinner/documents/Hashtag_Photobomb_Campaign_Group_Project.docx

SD card idea! #busedu #photoshopclass

In my Photoshop and Multimedia classes, students are required to purchase SD cards to use for the cameras. However, I have struggled over the years managing how to keep them from losing their cards! If I let them keep them, I have to require a pencil case or something with a zipper. But, then they forget and leave them in the computers or they are found on the floor. And, half of the time, they try to write names in pencil or they rub off so I have no idea who a card belongs to.

I have had binders with those "baseball card" holders (9 per page) and even photo albums from the Dollar Tree with one SD card per slot. But, none of that is perfect. And the album pages would rip or they will fly out as the students turned pages. 

But, I had an idea this year over Christmas! What about a jewelry holder? So, I went to Five Below, a store near me, and bought this pretty dotted one (yes for $5!). It actually had 30 small slots and three large at the bottom and it's perfect. I bought sticker dots and put numbers on each slot that correspond with my 30 student workstations (their assigned seat numbers). Then, I came up with a key! Each hour is assigned a different color (see the Spring 2016 card below). And, they put that sticker on the SD card and label with their initials, hour, and computer number. Then, everyone who sits in seat 1 will store their cards in slot 1 on this! And each has a different color so you can easily identify your card. Since it's not in an album, they aren't lined up waiting to turn the page and several can retrieve their cards at the same time.

I mean, maybe I'm a genius. Just kidding, but this idea is working out really well and had to share. Happy Friday!

Responsive Web Design thoughts... and fun first week thing! #busedu

In my Web Design 2 class this semester, I've decided to just totally redo the curriculum. As I shared the other day with a link I posted, I am done with Flash. And, I need to refocus and teach more about preparing sites for mobile use and responsive web design. So, I've been learning.

But, I wanted something fun to do as we introduce this topic and ran across this neat little web quiz:
WHICH POPULAR WEB DESIGN TREND ARE YOU?

It's a "fun" thing that has you answer 10 questions and then pegs you into a certain category. I love it! I got Flat Design by the way (oh, man). Not sure what all of the choices are, but presumably fixed (glad I wasn't that one) and responsive have to be on there.

Then, I will be able to lead into those various types of design techniques. I'm actually pretty pumped!

Oh, and here's my explanation for my flat design personality... lol:
"Just like Flat Design, you are practical and straightforward. You tell it like it is, no sugar coating, no bells and whistles. Though sensitive ears may find you blunt and outspoken, most people will appreciate your bold voice of reason. Your cool confidence impresses those around you, and your drama-free attitude puts people at ease. You are content to spend your leisure time just shootin' the breeze with friends."

Pretty. Much. On. Point.