Endless Possibilities with Educreations!

Hello!  I’m working on a keynote presentation I’ll be doing at the Gulf Coast Writing Conference this summer titled, “Why Am I Writing This?  Capitalizing on Purpose in the Writing Classroom.”  Planning to infuse some technology ideas, I came across a great example of using Educreations (a free ipad app) for sharing and celebrating writing.  http://www.educreations.com/lesson/view/thanks-mrs-harris/15898072/  Here a kindergarten student* shares his intentions in his writing by simply taking a picture, recording audio, then using tools to highlight specific aspects of the piece by circling them as he discusses each one.  Not only is this a unique way to celebrate student writing, but it adds purpose since students can teach others all kinds of writing lessons.  Just think of students contemplating how their writing might influence the writing of others! There’s a powerful motivator for them to engage with their writing at  higher levels.  Educreations can be posted on the internet and shared, increasing students’ potential audience.    

*This also happens to be my son, Max :)

Here is another:   http://www.educreations.com/lesson/view/favorite-holiday/15898069/ This is just me modeling another use of the app.  (It's a very basic example, using simple text from ReadWorks.org.) Students can take a photo of an excerpt from text then use the tools to highlight how they are using and elaborating on text evidence to support their opinions/arguments, while talking out how a speech or piece of writing might develop.  Obviously, a splash of fun is added by using the app, but more importantly, especially for students who are struggling, the app may support them in learning to use text evidence for a variety of purposes.  Additionally, students might photo excerpts of texts, then highlight, create annotations, and discuss portions to prepare for sharing in book clubs or for other purposes.  Excitement galore!

Educreations is more than simple to use! Students (and even non-techie adults like me) can figure it out in minutes.  There are endless ways the tool might be used and countless examples you can browse at Educreations.com.  Get an account and share it with students. They’ll undoubtedly invent new and surprising ways to use the application.

Enjoy!  I’d love to hear how you use Educreations!  Have a wonderful reading/writing/thinking week!

-Janiel