This workshop with Jody was very valuable. She was engaging, knowledgeable, and shared a wealth of resources with us as well as her insight on connecting technology and creativity with the Common Core Standards.

The session started with all of us collaborating on a Google Slide Deck to play a getting to know you, Two Truths and a Lie, game. This moved quickly, and Jody encouraged us to explore the Bitmoji app, which is always fun! I think Bitmoji is a fun way for students to create a unique avatar to use as their profile image for Seesaw and Google, since photos are not always the best options due to privacy concerns.

The other thing that I will be sharing with my co-workers is Jody's "My One Screen" image where she shares her go to apps that allow her students to create across grade levels and curricular areas. It is incredibly helpful when you get a list of recommended apps from a trusted source because there are so many apps out there, and never enough time to explore them all.

I was already familiar with many of these apps, but some were new to me. I use Explain Everything often as a teaching tool, and for students to create screencasts. I have not used the app, Book Creator, but I was very excited to learn that they plan on releasing a Chromebook version of the app by this fall which will make it much more accessible for my students.

I would like to become more familiar with Evernote as an organizational tool as well as the companion app, Skitch. I still rely on notebooks and scratch pads, but having my notes organized digitally would be awesome. I am curious about the new Google Keep tool which may be a better option for me than Evernote since I already use Google so heavily. Implementing a digital note taking system for student information and anecdotal records is on my list for next year.

The other app that I learned about that I am excited to try is Piktochart. Piktochart is a web based tool that allows you to create infographics and presentations using drag and drop templates. I found it easy to use, but the free version seemed limited. I'm considering having my students create a top 5 moments infographic for the end of the school year. Below is the sample that I created. I can imagine students using Piktochart for field trip reflections, biographies "about me" infographics, or historical event fact cards. The program might be too challenging for my fourth grades to use, and at 9-10 years old, synthesizing information to get just the most important information in a meaningful infographic would still be a challenge. This is why I think a task with low-cognitive load, such as a "Top-5 Moments" reflection would be a good way to try out the tool with students.