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Evernote as an ePortfolio: Postach.io, Voice2Note, StudyBlue

June 11, 2013June 11, 2013Kelly Tenkely3 Comments10773 views

You know what no one tells you about starting a school? That ending a school year is WAY more work than starting a school year. Also, no one warned me that I would be licking cheap envelopes while everyone else was enjoying the freedom of summer. We have just wrapped up our second year of Anastasis Academy. I’m not sure what it is about heading into year 3, but it feels substantial and important. Odd numbers are like that I guess. This feels like the year that all of those nagging things that we wish we had time to tweak are going to happen. Like we have a great groove to work from and now anything is possible. (This could also be the optimism that comes with every summer when schedules are a little looser and there is more time to dream).

I digress… this post is about Evernote and some neat new add-on apps I’ve been playing with. At Anastasis, we use Evernote as our digital portfolio. For the most part, this works brilliantly! Students can record text, images, and audio directly into Evernote. Notes can be shared and emailed to teachers and parents alike. Evernote makes it easy to capture learning that isn’t natively digital in their eportfolio. Snap a picture or create a short audio recording directly in Evernote and the learning is captured, searchable and sharable. All of the incredible projects that our students create during inquiry can be reflected in Evernote portfolios. Another HUGE benefit to the Evernote/iPad combo: it goes with them everywhere. Recording learning on a field trip? Check. Recording learning at home? Check. Recording learning on the fly? Check. Teachers often send students a PDF instructions for an assignment or a picture to the student’s Evernote account. Parents can login to their child’s Evernote account from any computer or iDevice to see what they are working on. Not only is learning captured on the device, but it is stored in the cloud. This means that if a student iPad gets lost, damaged, etc. their work isn’t gone.

Postach.io

Postach.io is quickly becoming my new BFF. You see, we had this truly convoluted way of getting student work from Evernote portfolios to an edublog or an edu 2.0 blog. It worked smoothly about 1% of the time. BUT, we want kids to be able to “publish” their work for the larger community (Anastasis community and the wider education community). Postach.io is the answer to our frustrations!! Here is how it works: Create a pistachio account, click “create site”, authenticate your Evernote account, choose an Evernote notebook subdomain… finished! Postach.io creates blog posts and pages from student notes in Evernote. All the student needs to do is create a note in a Notebook they’ve specified when creating a site. Postach.io then converts those notes to published posts and pages. Add “published” or “page” to the tags in Evernote to publish it to the Postach.io blog. So, now our students can quickly edit their notes to be post worthy, add a little tag, and voila! they have a blog post. Currently Postach.io uses Disqus to add threaded comments. (This is a secondary account for your students to create.)

Voice2Note

Voice2Note is a fantastic way for students to turn their Evernote voice notes into text. Students record their voice (just like they normally do in Evernote), Voice2Note takes that note and converts it into text. Students can even tag their notes by saying “Tag with” at the end of their note! Now students can search even their voice notes! To use Voice2Note, students need to login to the Voice2Note website to register and connect their Evernote account. Then, students just record their voice note as they normally would. The rest gets taken care of by Voice2Note. This is another app that is going to make some of our students HAPPY!! Many students have fantastic ideas but struggle with getting their ideas out in writing. Voice2Note means that they can say their ideas, have them transcribed into text directly in Evernote, and edit from there. Not only is this ideal for struggling writers, it is also helpful for emerging writers who may have a large spoken vocabulary, but their writing is limited by what they know how to spell. Voice2Note could also be really helpful as a pre-writing brainstorming activity, during the design thinking process, or during group discussions. Previously our students were copying/pasting from Dragon Dictation…not a huge problem, but those extra minutes count!

StudyBlue

A connection with a StudyBlue account means that students can turn their Evernote notes into digital flashcards they can study from. Study Blue makes it simple for students to turn their Evernote notes into study guides, digital flashcards, and quizzes. Students can even set up study reminders. When students create an account with StudyBlue, they have the option to Sync with their Evernote account. The integration will create a new notebook in Evernote called “Study Blue.” If students wish to, they can upgrade their account to StudyBlue+ which will allow them to share their study guides and flashcards, merge with other teachers and students. StudyBlue gives students more efficiency in their school lives. They can easily maximize their time by taking notes in Evernote (or recording voice notes and using Voice2Note to make them text) and seamlessly creating study materials with StudyBlue. Students can download the StudyBlue app to their device or log on via web browser.

***Please note that while we use iPads for our Evernote eportfolios, it isn’t necessary! Any device that has a web browser will work (even that dusty old desktop in the corner of your classroom) and all of the add-on’s mentioned above will work with or without an iPad.

We use lots of other apps that enhance our Evernote portfolio experience because of their integration with Evernote. Click here for a guide I made last year with some of our favorites!

Science of Everyday Life

May 16, 2013Kelly TenkelyLeave a Comment10342 views

What it is:
Discovery Education and 3M have partnered to bring the science of everyday life into your classroom. This fantastic collection of resources is for students in kindergarten through twelfth grade. On the site you will find videos and interactives that help kids learn about the science around them and make connections to what they are learning in school. Lessons are inquiry based and encourage exploration in life science, physical science, earth science and technology/innovation. Virtual labs are interactive flash-based labs where students can discover more about science like wind energy. At the Innovation HQ portion of the site, students can travel through time and look at innovations that they use in their every day life and “meet” 3M scientists. On the Student page, students can see a young inventors hall of fame.

How to integrate Science of Everyday Life into the classroom: The Science of Everyday Life is packed FULL of great videos, lesson ideas, virtual interactives and student activities. I really appreciate that the approach to lessons is inquiry based! The lessons include great resources and encourage students to ask questions and dig deeper. The virtual investigations and labs are also really well done.

Content is separated out by grade level, quickly find exactly what best fits your classroom needs!

The travel through time feature is really neat for students to explore. This could be done as a class using a projector-connected computer or interactive whiteboard or used as a center exploration or individual activity in a 1:1 or lab setting. Split students into smaller teams or have them explore a specific time period independently. The timeline gives some basic information, and would be a great launching point for further investigation. Students could turn this into a larger project where they connect the innovation from history with innovations today. What learning had to take place in the past, in order for the innovation that we have today? This would make a great compare/contrast activity for students.

Because Discovery Education is involved, you can anticipate high quality videos and related resources.

Tips: The resources and interactives on the Science of Everyday Life are largely Java and Flash based. If you are running these resources off an iPad, you will want to use an app like Rover (which allows you to view Flash), Photon, iSwifter, etc.

I’ve been nominated for a Bammy Award for Educational Blogger. I’d appreciate your vote to help spread the word about iLearn Technology. Vote here. Thank you for your continued support!!

Leave a comment and tell us how you are using Science of Everyday Life in your classroom.

NBC Learn: Science behind the news

May 8, 2013Kelly TenkelyLeave a Comment4036 views

What it is:
NBC Learn has some fantastic free resources for teachers and students. One of these freebies is called Science Behind the News. In partnership with the National Science Foundation, NBC explores the science, technology and engineering found in current events. Here, you will find a collection of videos that introduce students to the science found in the world around them and current events. Students can learn about everything from quantum computing, to predictive policing, to crowdsourcing and weather phenomenon. Each video is around 5 minutes long and are well produced.

How to integrate NBC Learn into the classroom: I am a HUGE fan of embedded learning. Learning that is in context just makes sense. The learning is richer because students are able to make real connections to the foundational understandings that they already have. In addition, this type of learning gives them an idea of how the learning that happens in the classroom is connected to life. With Science Behind the News, students are able to see connections to the world right now. These clips encourage students to be curious about the world around them, and to dig into the bigger “why” of how things work. I like the thinking that is encouraged here. It is really modelling curiosity beyond just passively listening to a news story.

These clips are a wonderful way to kick off a new science unit, as a resource during inquiry, or for students and classes just to explore. Students can use these clips as a starting point for further research, a “spark” for more learning. Each student could choose a different video to watch and then conduct some research to learn more. Where else is the science used? How has our thinking about a topic changed over time as we have learned more about it? What math is involved? Help your students to see that subjects don’t happen in isolation in real life. Science is connected with social studies, math, literacy, history, sports, art, economics, discovery, etc. Can they find the overlaps in learning?

Tips: NBC Learn has other outstanding resources including: science in golf, science in hockey, science in football, chemistry now, fishing the dream, sinking the titanic, science of the winter Olympics, science of the summer Olympics, writers speak to kids and science in innovation. Check them all out!

I’ve been nominated for a Bammy Award for Educational Blogger. I’d appreciate your vote to help spread the word about iLearn Technology. Vote here. Thank you for your continued support!!

Leave a comment and tell us how you are using NBC Learn in your classroom.

Smithsonian Quests: Learning through discovery and collaboration

May 7, 2013Kelly TenkelyLeave a Comment3701 views

What it is:
Smithsonian Quests encourage students to explore learning through discovery and collaboration. As students learn, they can earn digital badges for their quests. Students can explore their own interest through a series of online activities while incorporating knowledge and skill-building in the online quests. The quests ask students to explore a topic of interest as part of a standards-based curriculum or as a student-driven after school activity. By signing up for Smithsonian Quests, you will receive an invitation to join a grade-level based group in the Smithsonian Quest Community. Students from kindergarten through adult learners can join Smithsonian Quest and collect badges.

How to integrate Smithsonian Quests into the classroom: Smithsonian Quests is a great program that connects transdisciplinary learning with digital badges. As your class works through the site, they will start to realize how they have been learning, exploring, connecting and acting. Students can unlock a badge by completing a set of quests that go with it. Some Quests are independent and others are collaborative. Quests get reviewed by a group of “specially selected experts” before badges are awarded. Badges include: oral historian, historical biographer, cool curator, cultural storyteller, portrait reader, community historian, symbols spotter, correspondent, dirt detective, art advocate, environ-scientist, culture keeper, eco-journalist, time traveler, H2O hero, conservation campaigner, invasions investigator and tree hugger. Quests include things like listening to audio, taking pictures, recording, etc. As you can see, there are quests for every interest!

When students sign up for quests, they get invited into a group (class group when the teacher sets up the account), can add friends, see the badges they have collected, and view friends who are online. Students also get an online journal where they can reflect on learning or update their status with the kind of learning they are doing.

I like that these quests can be done collaboratively (a whole class goal to earn the digital badges by learning?) and that they are largely discovery based learning. The quests really challenge students to dig deeper in learning and often lead to additional questions. Quests can also be completed individually by students. Students can explore areas that are high-interest for them. These Smithsonian Quests would be a fantastic end of the year project where students are driving their own learning but working toward a known goal. Spend the last week of school with a time for students to share their learning with others.

As we head into summer break in the United States, consider suggesting Smithsonian Quests to parents as a great summer-time learning opportunity.

Tips: Register for free and have a look around to see all of the cool opportunities for your classroom!

I’ve been nominated for a Bammy Award for Educational Blogger. I’d appreciate your vote to help spread the word about iLearn Technology. Vote here. Thank you for your continued support!!

Leave a comment and tell us how you are using Smithsonian Quests in your classroom.

Presefy: Go mobile with your presentations and give everyone a front row seat

April 22, 2013Kelly Tenkely1 Comment2899 views

What it is: Presefy is a new tool that lets you present with your mobile device wirelessly. The best part: those attending the presentation can view your presentations from their own web browsers (on a mobile device or a computer), and follow along using your unique “channel.” Upload pdf or ppt(x) files, at the moment those are the two supported file types.

How to integrate Presefy into the classroom: Presefy would obviously be wonderful to use when you are presenting at a conference or to a large group, but I also love the implications in the classroom and school setting. Have you ever been sitting in a conference or a session where your vantage point stinks? You go right ahead and check out because you can’t see what the speaker is referring to anyway. Imagine having the ability to follow along on your own device. Now you are more engaged than ever! The same is true for students, having something on a projector for all to see is great, but if you have a BYOD (Bring Your Own Device) or a one-to-one setting, Presefy is a great way to share. Students can follow along on their own devices. Added benefit: now there doesn’t have to be a front of your classroom.

At Anastasis, we don’t have clear fronts of the classroom. This is intentional. We want to be able to share and discuss in a variety of ways and locations. Presefy lets us do just that by taking away the need for everyone to be facing one direction, with one presenter at the front. Instead, the teacher can present and be a part of the discussion and conversation in a way that is more organic. Students can follow along on their own devices. Everyone has a front row seat. Everyone can see clearly and be part of the presentation. SO much better!

With Presefy you can broadcast and run your presentation right from your mobile device. You even have access to see your notes and jump to any slide. Additional features are coming soon including the ability to poll your audience, ask questions, make notes, etc.

Tips: Right now, you are limited to having two presentations uploaded at a time. If you invite a friend to join Presefy, you will get to upload additional presentations.

I’ve been nominated for a Bammy Award for Educational Blogger. I’d appreciate your vote to help spread the word about iLearn Technology. Vote here. Thank you for your continued support!!

Leave a comment and tell us how you are using Presefy in your classroom.

The Answer Pad: BYOD Student Response System

April 16, 2013Kelly TenkelyLeave a Comment4892 views

What it is: The Answer Pad is a student response system…only better! What makes it better? The ability for use with BYOD (Bring Your Own Device) classrooms and the ability to collect student responses outside of your typical, limited multiple choice answers that most student response systems are limited to. The Answer Pad is really made up of two parts. 1. The student response piece that lets students go interactive with outstanding drawing features. 2. The answer sheets that score and capture data from existing paper exams including full online reporting, the ability for students to show their work, and a variety of question types. The Answer Pad is available for the iPad, Android or from any web browser. Download the TAPit Free app for the iPad!

The free version of The Answer Pad is pretty robust for teachers and students. Premium features are available at a reasonable price that take it to the next level.

How to integrate The Answer Pad into the classroom: The Answer Pad is a really useful addition to the formative assessment puzzle. I LOVE that it doesn’t limit teachers to gathering low-level data in the format of multiple choice answer (although this feature is available for those times when you want to check for entry level understanding). The Answer Pad lets students draw and type out answers, making the feedback they give to you during a lesson that much more valuable. The fact that it isn’t limited to the basics is GREAT! Imagine a math lesson where students are able to actually show and demonstrate their understanding (not just their amazing guessing skills). The instantaneous feedback is wonderful for adjusting lessons and providing more individualized instruction based on what you are seeing.

In addition to collecting more valuable math feedback, The Answer Pad also gives you valuable feedback for any subject, a blank template lets students free write/draw their understanding. This might even be a great way for students to take notes during learning, you can give your students feedback on their note taking during a lesson. I am always amazed when I look at student notes, some of our students really don’t know what is important enough to write down and how to organize themselves best for later reference. Using the free draw in The Answer Pad would give you good insight into a student’s thinking process and help you to guide and direct them appropriately.

The reporting feature is also really helpful, being able to look not only at student answers, but also at the written work that led to the answer is SO valuable. This embedded feature makes Answer Pad more than just a self-grading platform, this is feedback and data that you can really use to drive instruction.

Tips: Premium features include: custom frameworks for scoring tests, ability to bundle assessments together for side-by-side comparison and reporting, advance functions for test scenarios, an additional drawing palette for the Go Interactive portion, support by phone, and access to black-line template library.

Thank you to @dkapuler for introducing me to The Answer Pad!

I’ve been nominated for a Bammy Award for Educational Blogger. I’d appreciate your vote to help spread the word about iLearn Technology. Vote here. Thank you for your continued support!!

Leave a comment and tell us how you are using The Answer Pad in your classroom.

Atlantis Remixed: Inquiry based virtual world

April 15, 2013Kelly Tenkely1 Comment5137 views

What it is: Atlantis Remixed is a great interactive virtual world that supports students and teachers in conducting rich, inquiry-based explorations during which students learn standards related content and develop pro-social attitudes regarding environmental and social issues. More than just making learning fun, project Atlantis Remixed aims to help kids realize that they can make a real difference in the world. Atlantis Remixed is really a combination of education, entertainment/gaming and social action. The game environment has been designed to support students in social commitment and real-world action. Atlantis Remixed was created for children ages 9-16 to engage in transformational play in both online and offline learning activities. The storyline in the online activities inspires students toward social action.

Atlantis Remixed is a combination of a 3D multi-user virtual environment, learning quests and unit plans, a storyline (presented through an introductory video, novel and comic book), a global community of participants, and a narrative programming toolkit that kids can use to remix user-created stories. The storyline helps bridge the virtual, fictional, world of Atlantis with the real-world. Students can travel to virtual places to perform authentic activities (Quests), talk with other students from around the world, build virtual characters and professions, and demonstrate learning through multi-media portfolios. The platform is transdisciplinary including math, science and literacy. Students are sent on virtual social missions that reflect global ideals such as social responsibility, compassionate wisdom, creative expression, diversity affirmation, environmental awareness, healthy communities, and personal agency.

How to integrate Atlantis Remixed into the classroom: Atlantis Remixed has full units ready to use. Each unit is aligned to standards, inquiry based and meets multiple domains of learning. A single water-quality unit puts students in role of scientists hired by a national park, to come to the forest to help explain fish decline in the area. Students interact with virtual park rangers, loggers, fishermen and indigenous people and discover multiple perspectives. After decisions have been made, students can log back in and see the impact of their decisions. They can reflect on the consequences (and unintended consequences) of their decisions, and make changes as needed.

In addition to the virtual component, there is guided offline learning that can take place including discussions and in class activities. Teachers can modify curriculum to fit their own classroom needs.

Units include: Taiga- a water quality unit, Virtual Mesa Verde- a social studies unit, Plague World- a persuasive writing unit, Ander City- a statistics unit, Spacenik- a planetary science unit, Biological Indicators Mission, Rights & Responsibility Mission, Two Cells-One World Mission, and Diversity Mission. You can look at a snapshot of any of these missions to learn more about it.

Think about the added components you could layer on Atlantis Remixed Quests and missions. Are your students practicing writing business letters? Who could they write to in the virtual world or real world? Are your students learning how to use a new tech tool? What tie-in is there to the inquiry? How can you integrate other learning and customize the Atlantis Remixed environment to best fit your needs?

Tips: On the Educators Page, you can choose to login to the 2D gateway without logging into the 3D world.

I’ve been nominated for a Bammy Award for Educational Blogger. I’d appreciate your vote to help spread the word about iLearn Technology. Vote here. Thank you for your continued support!!

Leave a comment and tell us how you are using Atlantis Remixed in your classroom.

Soo Meta: Digital Storytelling Tool

April 10, 2013April 15, 2013Kelly TenkelyLeave a Comment3082 views

What it is: Soo Meta is an awesome new site that lets students build mixed media stories. Students can use this storytelling tool to collect, sort, edit and publish web content easily.

There are two options for login, with name/email/password or through Facebook. For students who don’t have their own email accounts, you can have them login using a temporary inbox like Tempinbox (just type in a word or words followed by @tempinbox.com and you are in business!).

After students have logged in, they will be asked to enter a title for their new story. Then, they can search for videos, pictures, sounds and text or copy and paste their links into a new story. Videos can be trimmed and edited, pictures resized and text edited.

Soo Meta is incredibly simple to use. Just search the web, choose content to remix and off you go! You can also simply drag and drop content from your computers desktop to create something new.

When finished, just publish the story and you can share it via link on Facebook or Twitter or you can embed the story like I did above. (I literally spent a grand total of 2 min creating this story!)

How to integrate Soo Meta into the classroom: Soo Meta is a fantastic online tool for digital storytelling. It makes the process incredibly easy and the possibilities are limited only to your student’s imagination.

With Soo Meta, students can compile research on any topic or subject and create their own digital “textbook” of the learning to share with other classmates or students around the world. I love that Soo Meta combines the research component with the creation piece. So often students want to skip right to creation…with Soo Meta the two are so interdependent, it would be impossible to do one without the other!

Teachers can use Soo Meta to create learning stories for their students. Pull together various videos, pictures and articles and mash them up for your students. Embed finished video stories on a classroom website or blog.

Older students can create interactive video stories for younger “buddy” students. They can solidify their own learning of history, math, science, geography, etc. by putting together learning opportunities for younger students.

The storytelling aspect of Soo Meta is fantastic! Students can do story re-tells, current event mashups, historical documentaries, political commentary, science discoveries, etc.

Tips: Don’t be discouraged if your students are too young to create their own Soo Meta stories, create your own mashups for them to enjoy!

I’ve been nominated for a Bammy Award for Educational Blogger. I’d appreciate your vote to help spread the word about iLearn Technology. Vote here. Thank you for your continued support!!

Leave a comment and tell us how you are using Soo Meta in your classroom.

CompassLearning Learning Profiler: Getting to know your students

April 9, 2013Kelly TenkelyLeave a Comment2660 views

What it is: At Anastasis Academy, we individualize curriculum for every student. We don’t purchase any boxed, one-size-fits-all curriculum. Instead, we create a learner profile for each student. I pulled together a variety of learning style inventories, multiple intelligence strength finders, and brain dominance predictors and mashed them up into a child-friendly teacher/student survey. Our teachers spend two days before the first day of school going through these inventories with students. I compile the information (along with their interests and passions) and put it all in an at-a-glance document. I’m just revamping the document a little bit to look more like a big baseball card with learning stats. We use these learner profiles all year long as a starting point for pulling curriculum, lessons and resources that will best meet the individual child’s needs. (Learning Genome 1.0)

Educators often ask if we can share this process, unfortunately right now it isn’t pretty or sharable in any meaningful way. When the Learning Genome is completed and launched, we will be able to share this process with the world.

Today, I ran across a tool that can help bridge the gap for teachers who are seeking a way to better customize the classroom experience for their students. CompassLearning has created a Learning Profiler that is free to use and the results are easy to share. While it doesn’t include all of the components of an Anastasis learner profile, it is a great starting point! Students (who are independent readers) can go through the online survey and learn more about their learning style, interest areas and expression style. This information would be SO helpful as a starting place for getting to know the students in your classroom better. It would go a long way in helping you pull resources and tools that will best meet the needs of the individual. When a student is finished going through the profiler, they can share their result “badges” with others through a link to the badges, through Facebook, Twitter, email or a printed report.

How to integrate CompassLearning Learning Profiler into the classroom: At the beginning of a new school year (or semester), students who are independent readers could complete the Learning Profiler on classroom computers in a center rotation, or in a computer lab setting. Results could be printed out or shared with the teacher via email. I’ve found it helpful to compile these results so that I can see overlapping interests and learning needs in the classroom. It would also be interesting to create a bulletin board with the different “badges” represented and with a picture of each student. Students can connect their pictures to the badges using string and push-pins or staples. It would be neat to have a web of information about your students visual for all students to see. This would be a good getting-to-know-you activity where students could visually see their similarities displayed.

For non-independent readers, the process would be a little more arduous. During a silent reading or independent work time, pull students one at a time to sit and interview them. I actually prefer the arduous method because you get all of the in-between commentary from the students which gives you a more complete picture of who they are, what they love, fear, get excited about, etc. Even with our independent readers at Anastasis, we create our learner profiles through teacher interview. There is something more personal and human about it. Using this method may take a few weeks to get through all of your students, the information you glean will be invaluable! If you teach younger students but have an older grade of “buddies,” it may be helpful to have the buddy help conduct the surveys and record the answers of the younger child. Again, this would be a great way for the students to really get to know each other.

After you have received the results, use the information to help you plan learning activities. If you have a student struggling in an area of learning, use the strengths and interests you know they have to come at the learning from a different angle. Education blogs, your PLN, and Pinterest are great places to find the perfect learning opportunity to help the students in your class. I promise you that when you connect with students this way, you will be showing them that they matter, that you care about them as an individual and that you want what is best for them. They won’t feel like a number! If you are looking for a specific technology resource, iLearn Technology is a great place to start the search. Over there —> in my right side bar you will find a multi category search. Narrow down the search by Bloom’s Taxonomy, resource type, subject area, etc. Click search and away you go! You can also search by keyword in the search box toward the top of the screen. I try to tag the bejeebers out of all of my posts so that no matter how specific the search, you will find what you are looking for. Full disclosure, I use that search box ALL the time when I am pulling resources for students at Anastasis.

Tips: Want to see what the future of personalized learning will look like? Check out the Learning Genome Project.

I’ve been nominated for a Bammy Award for Educational Blogger. I’d appreciate your vote to help spread the word about iLearn Technology. Vote here. Thank you for your continued support!!

Leave a comment and tell us how you are using CompassLearning Learning Profiler in your classroom.

Mural.ly: Google Docs for Visual People

April 3, 2013April 3, 2013Kelly TenkelyLeave a Comment4209 views

What it is: Murally is a tool I learned about from my friends over at House of Genius. Murally’s tagline is: “Google Docs for visual people.” Being highly visual, that description immediately resonates with me! Murally reminds me a little bit of Wallwisher (now Padlet), it is a way for learners to come together to think, imagine and discuss their ideas. With Murally, students can create murals and include any content they want in them. Learners can drag and drop images, video, etc. from any website (or from their computer) onto their mural. Learners can create presentations from within a mural they have already created. The best part: this all happens with the ability to collaborate with others. Murally makes it easy for students to collect, think, imagine, show and discuss learning. Murals can be made public (shared live with a link) or private (only friends granted permission can access the mural).

*** email address, Facebook, Twitter, or Google Plus account required for login. You know what that means: 13 or older!

How to integrate Murally into the classroom: Murally is brilliant in the way that it enables learners to work and dream together. My FAVORITE feature: you can drag and drop content from ANYWHERE!!! It works like the spring-loaded folders in Apple’s iOS. LOVE this feature. Honestly, this ability to clip content is a game changer. It makes creating a mural incredibly easy. Stinking brilliant!

Murally is the tool that I wish existed when I was doing research projects in school. Students can conduct and collect their research solo or invite friends to contribute to their research mural. Students can add text, drag and drop links, pictures, video and other content. After they have gone through the hunting/gathering phase of research, Murally makes it easy for students to go through and mindmap it all into some sort of order. This tool is going to make me a better writer. Visually being able to organize research and thoughts is HUGE.

Being inquiry based, I love the idea of beginning a mural for students with the driving inquiry alone on the board. The learners job: be curious together. Ask questions, explore, research, collect evidences collaboratively. Capture all of that learning in one place.

Murally could be used for any mind-mapping appropriate project. This is mind-mapping in the future. Truly amazing! The collaborative nature of Murally is fantastic.

Students could begin a Murally with a novel as the base. As they read, they can include quotes, related thoughts, pictures, video clips, discussion, and related research. I’m always amazed by the connections that our students make to other learning, a commercial they have seen, or a song. Murally is a great way to visually collect all of this to share with others.

Murally would be an outstanding way to hypothesize about what will happen in a science experiment. Students can then add in any research, class notes, discussion, etc. After students have conducted the experiment they can include observations, photos, and final conclusions.

Use Murally with a projector-connected computer or interactive whiteboard for class notes. As class discussions unfold, notes can be taken for the whole class and shared later. Students can add to these later with additional learning, thoughts, and plans.

Because Murally can be used to show learning, consider creating map boards where students link what they know of Geography with the cultures, habitats, religions, politics of that area.

Murally would make the COOLEST “textbook” alternative. Student created, mashup of all different tools, collaborative, discussion included, and organized in the way that makes sense to the learner.

This is one of those tools that has my mind spinning. The possibilities overlap all subject areas and are endless.

Tips: The collaborative feature of Murally is so well thought out, see history and message collaborators quickly and easily. Wonderful!

Leave a comment and tell us how you are using Murally in your classroom.