PicFont

Finding creative ways to use text in graphic organizers, infographics, and slides, can at times be a challenge. PicFront gives users a platform to design custom graphics with images and text that is curved. Tony Vincent’s Instagram post gives te by step instructions on how to curve text. Keep in mind that if you want to design the rest of the content in Keynote or Google Draw, you can design the curved text using the features in PicFont and then disable the background when you export the design to be transparent.

Below is an example of a post created fully in PicFont with curved text and shadows.

StoryWeaver

This quarter we are focused on students as creators of content published in books for an authentic audience. StoryWeaver is one tool your students can use to publish content. Another benefit of Story Weaver is students can read hundreds of stories created by other students. There is a section of the website, Readalong, that has books students can listen to aloud and follow along as each word that is spoken is highlighted on the page.

If your students are secondary learners, they may enjoy creating a book for a class of younger learners. Consider partnering your secondary class with a primary class, having each older student interview a younger student about their likes, career goals, and interests. After this interview, the secondary learners can author a book that is designed to meet their peer partner’s interests.

 

Make Your Own Leprechaun

St. Patrick’s Day is next week and our students are excited to build leprechaun traps and search for gold. The templates below are designed to help students imagine life as a leprechaun. If you have Keynote on the iPad or Mac, the Keynote template has editable fields where students can insert their answers to the sentence starter and drag icons to create their leprechauns. Also posted below is an image for students who do not have access to Keynote and instead could open up the image and annotate over it in Notability or Seesaw.

Working with secondary students? Have your students create a Leprechaun, animate it in Keynote, write a creative story and share it with younger learners.

If I Was a Leprechaun Keynote File

 

Mindfulness with Calm

Mindfulness is a prevalent topic many schools are choosing to address in the classroom. Whether it be through deep breathing, meditation, or slow movements, students benefit from the quiet time in contrast to their fast-moving, digital world. A common app for meditation, Calm, is offering schools free access to Calm’s paid subscription service. These mediations and mindfulness exercises are designed for students pre-K through high school.

Looking for more information on mindfulness? Attend this upcoming free webinar on March 18th, 2019 through PAECT. If you are not already a PAECT member, you can join for free.