Canva

 Canva is another content creating site, that I have actually used many times in the past for both education, as well as personal use. I actually used Canva as a resource to create some images for my Animoto video that I shared with you! I also wanted to create a fun banner that I could use as a header for my class website, my class facebook page as well as my class newsletter! Canva is fairly easy to use but can be overwhelming at times with the amount of options and features that it has. It does require an account to use, but is free once you create an account. Those things being said, Canva would be a tool best used by older students as it is not very little kid friendly. I personally would not find myself using Canva as a tool to have my students use, but is one that I utilize to create things to share with them quite frequently. For older students the possibilities are endless with Canva! They could create propaganda about what they are studying in history class, or facebook banners to convince others to read the novel they are studying. There are so many options! Encourage students to explore with on open mind, and they might find ideas that they never would have found otherwise!

Animoto

 This week I was able to explore a cool video making tool called Animoto. Animoto is a video creation software that allows you to easily create videos using photos and and text together. I was able to quickly make a video that discusses my classroom whole body listening expectations that I am going to share with families coming up at Kindergarten round-up in a few weeks. There are so many options of ways to use this tool in the classroom, especially for classrooms who are using project based learning. I struggle to find tools that are little friendly, but I think Animoto wouldn't be too far of a stretch for me to teach my Kinders how to use. The formatting is straight forward and they can easily upload pictures from their devices. We are currently working on writing "how to" books for writing and I think that Animoto would be a great platform for them to publish their finished stories on! For reference, you can check out my expectations video using the link below!

https://animoto.com/play/CSoDqZJP8LSy2Gpg0Z1fCQ 

Using Tiktok in the Classroom

I wanted to share with you guys a really interesting article that I read about how using tiktok in the classroom can be helpful and not a headache! This article focuses on ways that we as educators can use tiktok to our advantage instead of fighting our students to turn it off. The article discusses how youtube videos are becoming a thing of the past and students just aren't interested in that anymore, but they are interested in tiktok. In the article Tutt discuss three main ways that teachers can utilize the social media platform. The first way is by creating bite-sized mini-lessons. Even though the videos are only 60 seconds, you can still fit quite a bit of information in that amount of time. The second way is to use tiktok as a way to get students interested and engaged in their learning. Make a teaser trailer of what is going to taught in class or activities that students are going to get to do, give them a reason to want to come to school. The last tip was to use tiktok as a platform to connect with students. By showing students that you are interested in what they are interested in, it will give you and them a common ground. If is also a great way for students to get to know you and for you to share yourself and your personality with them!

I personally have never used tiktok so I never understood the fascination that many people have with it, but I think this article has some really great ideas on how to use this social media tool and make it an asset to the classroom. I love the idea of the bite-sized mini lessons and how students can go back and look at them any time that they feel like and that they can rewatch the videos as many times as they want. With younger students, they might not be as independent on this, but I know my Kindergarteners are watching it at home even though they are "too young" to have an account. 

If you are interested in learning more about how this resource is being utilized by teachers everywhere and get some ideas on how to create content of you own go check out tiktok.com and explore #TeachersofTiktok!

A little bit more about me...

As my infographic shows you, my name is Cassie Pickens and I am a Kindergarten teacher at Avery Elementary in Bellevue Nebraska. I grew up in Omaha, NE where I attended Millard Publics Schools and when I graduated I moved to Lincoln to attend the University of Nebraska - Lincoln and become a Cornhusker! After graduating UNL I returned to Omaha where I joined the Bellevue Public Schools family teaching Kindergarten at Avery Elementary, and this is my second year of teaching. 

On a different note, I have a special relationship and bias when it comes to technology. My dad has owned the only company to be an authorized apple repair and reseller in the state of Nebraska for many years now. As such, I grew up on Macs and Apple products and a strict bias favoring them. My husband is a computer programmer and has tried to convince me otherwise for the eight years that we have been together but has yet to be successful. Luckily for me my classroom is a 1:1 iPad classroom, so I am able to stay in my element. Being a 1:1 iPad classroom has been both a blessing and a curse, but I have learned to love it. The iPads are very user friendly for my Kinders and offer a wide variety of content and tools for them to use.  As far as office goes, this is not a tool that I use in the classroom as my kiddos are barely writing, let alone typing yet. They also aren't reading so I don't find it to be useful. When I do need to use a tool like MS office, I tend to use Google Docs or Slides as it is easier to share and collaborate!

My all about me infographic gives you a little bit more information about myself but there is still more to know! I chose to pursue a masters degree at Peru State because of the Cohort program and the flexibility that came with it. I loved the option to complete the program with my coworkers and that we could all be placed in the same classes together. That has really helped to keep us all accountable and to bounce ideas off of each other. My goal is to continue on to my doctorate and be the first one in my family to be able to claim the doctor title. This is especially satisfying to me as many members of my husbands family are nurses and my mother-in-law has just graduated with her master's degree to become a nurse practitioner. 

All About Me!