10 minus 1 awesome ways to App Smash Adobe Spark and Flipgrid

 

They say a picture is worth a thousand words, so how many words is a video? About 1 billion hours worth, or so says the latest Techcrunch survey of Youtube usage. Video is dominating the way in which we consume content and create it too. Today, nearly all social platforms have embraced the creator side of things, encouraging users to create content that rich with video, images, and text. In comes Adobe Spark Video, a simple and elegant video creation platform that lets your message shine while supporting it with incredible transitions, icons, and background music. The process is simple, and my 15 minute crash course tutorial can get you up and running in no time.

When it comes to giving students a safe, productive place to share their videos, there’s no better network than Flipgrid. Flipgrid is a platform that allows you to be part of a conversation by creating or uploading videos, and engaging with others in the group. Teachers and students can start “rooms” around topics and assignments and everyone can contribute in a safe, secure way without the distractions and risks of mainstream social media networks.

Both platforms keep your students work private and secure, while giving them freedom to create incredible video content to start engaging conversations. Below are a handful of creative ideas to use Adobe Spark Video and Flipgrid to help your students think outside the box in how they communicate and create.   

 

Adobe Spark x Flipgrid Mash Up Ideas

 

Project Pitch

When engaging in projects, we generally require students to run their topic by us. What if we had students create videos using Adobe Spark Video to pitch their project for the class to review and reflect on? Reflection is usually a conclusionary process so why not start with it? Here is a great example of a project pitch using Adobe Spark and Flipgrid – https://admin.flipgrid.com/manage/discovery/1167&

 

Global Collaboration

Many times we look to find ways for our students to use technology to learn and grow. What about us, the teachers? Adobe Spark Video and Flipgrid are a great way to connect with colleagues around the world to discuss topics of interests such as the English classroom or a STEM related theme. A quick topic starter? What are you working on? Why does it inspire you? What are the challenges you need to overcome?

 

Giving Students A Voice With Video

Not every student is comfortable being in front of the camera. Adobe Spark Video gives them the space to work on those verbal communication skills without being on camera, and take part in class discussion.

 

Meet your teachers

Imagine you get an email with a flip code that introduces you to all your teachers for the coming year? Using Adobe Spark Video teachers can create a powerful video with photos, video footage, and icons collaged together over a narrative all about you.

 

My School Year Goals

Students can create videos in Adobe Spark highlighting which areas they hope to grow in their learning, new skills or abilities they hope to develop, or anything else they want to share surrounding their academic growth. After watching the videos and engaging with them in flipgrid, students can then create a second round of videos how they plan to help their peers achieve one or more of their goals. Another approach with this project ideas is to have a second round at the end of the year when students can reflect on how successful they were at achieving their own goals, as well as supporting their peers.

 

Charged With A Chapter

Almost everytime I introduce Adobe Spark Video to middle and high school students, I get a “Spark Notes” comment. In this activity students are challenged to create a videos using Adobe Spark that captures the essence of a chapter or section of reading. Uploading it to Flipgrid gives students the space to learn from each other, validate the quality of peer work, and contribute to the conversation.

 

Get in Character

When reading a novel students can be assigned a character to evaluate and share insights by creating a video narrative around the characters action and behaviors. As the unit progress students can respond to other students characters to create a backstory in flipgrid by using the “name” field to stay in character and the “title” field to add context

 

Media and Marketing     

In this activity students are assigned the task of using Adobe Spark to create a video that best markets a topic, item, or term. The challenge involves students developing their verbal and visual communication skills as well as understanding of audience. Peer voting will establish which videos were best at engaging, informing, and convincing the audience around the video’s topic.

 

Video Based Test Prep

Using Adobe Spark Video and Flipgrid students can each curate a study aid to help prepare for an upcoming test. It can also be used as a formative assessment project as well.

 

Between Instagram and Snapchat, users, many of them our students are creating 3.5 billion pieces of video content and stories each day on these respective platform. Using video as a medium to communicate is a familiar platform for creation, collaboration, and conversation. It is  a powerful way to boost engagement and support student voice. Combined, Adobe Spark Video and Flipgrid are a powerful recipe to tap into student creativity, give them a feeling of empowerment and voice, and let them take charge of how they express their learning.

 

Here are some great Flipgrid x Adobe Spark Mashups!

https://flipgrid.com/singasong
https://flipgrid.com/positivenoise
http://flipgrid.com/robots
https://flipgrid.com/code
https://flipgrid.com/aquarium
https://flipgrid.com/sharks
https://flipgrid.com/musiccareer
https://flipgrid.com/whatif
https://flipgrid.com/globalvoice

Five Ways Multimedia Can Help Teens Tell Their S.T.O.R.Y.

I’ve been working on developing a framework for teaching more effective storytelling.  Storytelling is not just for kids books or a fun hobby. It is a method of communicating ideas in a way that is so concise and crystal clear that your audience immerses themselves in the ideas shared and Ken to an extent visualize them.  I would say that this is probably one of the most critical skills for the next 50 years. 

Read more on my S.T.O.R.Y. Framework on Edsurge.com

 

Learn How To Creative Interactive Diagrams In Google Slides In Less Than 5 Minutes

I love taking Google Apps to the next level. Here is a short video to get you up and running for the start of the school year. Learn to create interactive diagrams, maps, or photos in Google Slides that will engage students and inspire them to create their own! 

The Secret To Learning With Technology Is Not What You Think. It’s Why You Think.

When I was eight years old living in Southern California, my parents bought a video conferencing system to talk with my grandparents in Philadelphia. To this day I could never figure out how my grandfather, set it up on his end. The mammoth devices used a combination of wires to connect to our house phone and television delivering a blurry 200×100 image of my grandparents whose movement was delayed by 45 seconds as they their voices echoed through the telephone. It was at that moment through a mixture of “Hi Michael” , long pause, and a 45 second delayed handwave, that I realized technology was what I was going to use to change the world. That is because for me, having the latest and greatest tech was less about staying on the cutting edge, but more about trying to figure out ways in which technology could make people’s lives awesome.

So whether it was in the world of design, marketing, event planning, or education, I am constantly looking at how I can help others do amazing things because of not what technology an do, but because of what they can do with it.  

So how do we help others master technology, and believe that it is a tool to help others do great things? 

When I was a Director of Educational Technology, I thought stumbled on something amazing. It was 2011 and I was sitting in a packed conference room with 400 plus educators, learning about “100 apps for the English classroom”. As I sat there, I tried to discover the purpose, the magical essence of why anyone would need that many apps, methods, or approaches to anything in life, especially something so specific. That’s when it dawn on me, that in life, and in education we cannot use technology because of what it does, but because of what we can do with it. It’s about purpose and value. That’s how you master anything. 

“There’s an App for that”

This catchphrase represented something pretty amazing in 2011. The idea that technology could allow us to engage, share, or create digitized experiences on just about any topic was amazing. As the years progressed and technology advanced, the question that I started asking is “why”? “Why do you need an app for that?” WHHHY!!!!??? Why do you need to digitize EVERYTHING?!?! Technology is a tool of productivity and efficiency. Digitizing our lives can actually make them more complicated, confusing, and delayed. The truth is that for real technology integration to occur, you must understand why to use a tool in the first place and what can be achieved through its use. One way I have found to be extremely successful when discussing the idea of integrating technology in a classroom is to challenge educators to think about familiar and so to speak “safe” technologies that we know and love. Think about a typewriter, a calculator, and yes even a pencil. They are familiar, timeless, and their singular functionality leads to expected results. What makes these devices so trusted? Is it the device or what we do with it? Remember when you learned how to drive? What excited you the most? The appreciation for how the gasoline powered the engine? How the differential properly distributes power to the wheels? Like most of us, our focus was not so much on the inner workings of our automobiles, but all of the awesome places we can get to.

You want to master cutting edge technology? What’s the purpose? What’s the value? I do not mean knowing how to use technology. I mean literally mastering the ability to output high quality content through technological means.

Now I don’t write about technology because I have all the answers, or because I found some magical (and easy) solution to classroom management woes. I also don’t write because I believe technology is THE answer. I do however believe that technology is like a garment. No matter how classy you look in that garment, it won’t change who the person wearing it truly is. That’s why it is a bit of a paradox. On one hand, technology clearly can make things awesome, yet at the same time it can’t be about technology. In the end, I believe that when any technology is harnessed properly, it has the ability to engage, enrich, and enliven our learning and our life. In education, we view technology as an external process that is added to teaching and learning. If we take the 20th century education practice, and simply slap on 21st century technology to be “cutting edge” what do we get? We get a horse and carriage that’s equipped with rockets and roller-skates.

Check out Seymour Papart’s book Mindstorms that uses a similar horse/carriage and jet engine analogy to technology. 

 So when looking at technology’s role in your classroom, the first question you must ask yourself is – Why? Why should I use technology in my classroom, and what will it do for me and my students? It is a hard question, because it might result in a realization that technology might prevent learning from being successful. So before we figure out how technology might magically solve a problem or make an experience amazing, let’s look at areas in which technology can help us. Remember that car? Well it won’t do much for you if you are trying to get from New York to London.

The Reason Why Teachers Are Afraid Of Technology, and 2 Ways We Can Help Them Embrace It.

When I was eight years old living in Southern California, my parents bought a video conferencing system to talk with my grandparents in Philadelphia. To this day I could never figure out how my grandfather, set it up on his end. The mammoth devices used a combination of wires to connect to our phone line and television, delivering a blurry 200×100 image of my grandparents. It was quite a scene. With a mixture of movement delayed by 45 seconds and their voices echoing through the telephone, I felt as if I was in a 14.4K internet induction program. It was at that moment though, through a mixture of “Hi Michael” , long pause, and a severely delayed handwave, that I realized technology was the tool I was going to use to change the world.

For me, having the latest and greatest technology was and is less about staying on the cutting edge, and instead about trying to figure out ways in which technology can make people’s lives awesome. Plain and simple. When I was 12 and sent my first email, to my father (It was 1997 and none of my friends had email), it was awesome. When I was 15 and I learned how to use Photoshop 6.0 on my own without YouTube to create graphic and media content, it was awesome. When I video conferenced with my grandmother at my wedding when she couldn’t be there due to health reasons, it was awesome. So what do these three stories have in common? Meaning. Each experience was life changing, meaningful, and allowed me to help make the lives of others better.

If technology is not improving someone’s life and being seen as something of value, then maybe technology is the problem, and not the person. 

It’s easy to judge someone not embracing technology. It is 2017 after all. Have you wondered why? Have you tried to empathize with them and see from their perspective why technology isn’t viewed as something useful? There isn’t a dedicated teacher on the face of the planet who would pass up creating an engaging and thriving community of learning in their classroom. So why is an iPad, Chromebook, or laptop viewed as a barrier to achieving such an impactful reality? Once I understood that purpose and value must be viewed through an empathic lens, I was ready to impact education and support all faculty in adopting technology in their classrooms. Without empathy, I could not take credit for aiding in the successful launch of a 1:1 technology initiative. I couldn’t take credit for our school becoming an Apple Distinguished School 3 years after we went 1:1 and ditched that computer lab. Mind you that owning Apple products does not qualify you as a distinguished school, but rather, visionary leadership, innovative teaching and learning, evidence of success, use of learning spaces, and continued professional development. Many congratulated me, but at the ceremony in front of 800 members of our schools community I reminded them, this award was to the students who took charge of their learning with technology, and the teachers that helped them get there. 

 

 The students at my former school used technology to aid themselves in loving to learn. I must confess though that I haven’t always loved learning. It wasn’t the act of learning, rather it was the rigid and limiting way in which I was told how and what to learn but not why to learn. It’s ironic then, (like so many amazing educators) that I became the very thing that I didn’t appreciate. I became a teacher. In the beginning before any formal classroom roles, I didn’t even realize I was “teaching”. Soon enough, it was clear to me that I had a special ability to help people learn new things, and even more to learn new things on their own. After 3 years of teaching I then became a Director of Educational Technology, and it was in this role that I stumbled on something amazing. It was 2011 and I was sitting in a packed conference room with 400 plus educators, learning about “10,000 apps for the English classroom”. As I sat there, I tried to discover the purpose, the magical essence of why anyone would need that many apps, methods, or approaches to anything in life, especially something so specific. That’s when it dawn on me, that in life, and in education we cannot use technology because of what it does, but because of what we can do with it.

Now I am not writing about  technology use because I have all the answers, or because I found some magical (and easy) solution to classroom management woes. I also didn’t write this because I believe technology is THE answer. I do however believe, or even bolder know that technology is a garment, and no matter how classy you look, it won’t change who the person wearing it truly is. That’s why this is a bit of a paradox. It’s about how technology can make things awesome, and at the same time isn’t about technology at all. In the end, I am writing this because I believe that when any technology is harnessed properly, it has the ability to engage, enrich, and enliven our learning and our life. 

“There’s an App for that”

This catchphrase represented something pretty amazing in 2011. The question is how far have we come writing this in the middle of 2017? The idea that technology could allow us to view, share, or make digitized experiences on just about any topic is amazing. As the years progressed and technology advanced, the question that I started asking is “Why do you need an app for that?” WHHHY!!!!??? OR worse, “Why do you need to digitize EVERYTHING?!?!” Technology is a tool that provides ability, productivity, and efficiency. Digitizing our lives can actually make them more complicated, confusing, and delayed. The truth is that for real technology integration to occur, you must understand why to use a tool in the first place and what can be achieved through its use. One way I have found to be extremely successful when discussing the idea of integrating technology in a classroom is to challenge educators to think about familiar and so to speak “safe” technologies that they know and love. Think about a typewriter, a calculator, and yes even a pencil. They are familiar, timeless, and their singular functionality leads to expected results. What makes these devices so trusted? Is it the device or what we do with it?

Remember when you learned how to drive? What excited you the most? The appreciation for how the gasoline powered the engine? How the differential properly distributed power to the wheels? Like most of us, our focus was not so much on the inner workings of our automobiles, but all of the awesome places we would get to go.

So when looking to shift the mindset of a skeptical teacher, maybe this teacher is you, and their view of technology’s role in their classroom, the first question we must help them answer is – Why? Why should we use technology in our classroom, and what will it do for us and our students? It is a hard question, because it might result in a realization that one possible outcome is that technology may prevent learning from being successful. So before we figure out how technology might magically solve a problem or make an experience awesome, let’s look at areas in which technology can help us. Remember that car? Well it won’t do much for you if you are trying to get from New York to London.

It’s with this shift in mindset for both the techno-addicts and technophobics that together we can ensure that students are given the chance to not just redefine their learning, but prepare them for a way of thinking and processing to thrive in the world of tomorrow.

I Think In Pictures, Don’t You?

I think in pictures. Needless to say, I was quite surprised when I first heard that others thought with words. Then I realized even thoughts made up of words are pictures as well. We are visual creatures. Still, in the classroom we rely mostly on verbal communication backed by technology in the form of text based slideshows, and words on the board. This 20th century approach still in practice is not only outdated but is leaving behind a majority of learners to struggle on their own to internalize information. This approach was developed with technologies available in the 1900’s, primarily printed books, pencils, and paper. Today’s educators can no longer ignore multimedia technologies when looking to support all learners in the classroom. When exploring how to integrate more multimedia and visual communication methods in your classroom, consider these 3 ways to engage visual learners, and hopefully all learners.

Read more here…