There's this new app called "I'd Cap That"

There is this new app I have seen going around my clinical practice site. It's called "I'd Cap That" by Krisp Software. It is a unique photo app, currently only available on iOS devices, which adds a random caption to every photo a user takes. The idea is to be funny. Currently, the description for the app in the iTunes store states it "takes your every day iPhone photos and slaps a hilarious (and often crude) caption on them." It also disclaims this is for "entertainment purposes only" and it may offend people.

Aside from the grammatical mistake in that description, there is another problem to worry about with this app. iOS products are prevalent in high schools, and I have already observed a student use this app to harass another student by taking pictures and uploading embarrassing pictures with lewd comments to Facebook without the student's permission. These are great tools to have in the class, but not when they lead to cyber-bullying and harassing. (The described incident has been handled.)

So keep an eye out for this. Use it as a teachable moment for cyber-bullying, web privacy, and common courtesy.

Update: Photo Project

Here are some early submissions to my photo project assignment. See last week's post for the details.

Digital Learning Reflection

Digital Learning Reflection on Prezi

Photo Project

I am still working on Crime and Punishment with my English 10H class. This week, I am making them get out of their comfort zone by being creative, but not with writing.

I tasked them to create a picture that represents a theme of the book, not a scene, through computer software, such as Photoshop or the free program GIMP. They would have to use at least three pictures to make up their original, final picture. In class students are unable to use a computer, download this program, or struggle with it, I am also allowing them to use scissors and glue to make their piece.

I gave them this presentation to explain the basic features and functions of GIMP, since it is a free program that it fully loaded. Feel free to borrow/modify it if you want to try something different.

This project is due Monday May 7th. I will update and share their reflections and possibly some of their artwork!

I made my class use Prezi

In my English 10H class, we are reading Crime and Punishment. In order to give students context to this expansive book, I had groups of students explore people, concepts, and historical events related to, but outside of the story. They had to make a 10 minute presentation. And I asked them to try Prezi.

None of them had tried this tool yet, but they really got a kick out of my demonstration and all attempted it. I explained the value of having a tool where multiple people could work on it and not have to worry about only having it saved in one place. For those who were having difficulty or frustration, I implored them to try Google Docs presentations, so they could get a similar experience of having something they could work on simultaneously and saved in a "cloud."

Most of the presentations have gone, and they have been really great to watch. I asked them to reflect on the Prezi process, and most said it was somewhat frustrating, especially with the schools laptops having low quality trackpads making it difficult to use. Despite this, most said they would try it again and saw the value of having a more involved presentation tool.

So find some way to squeeze it into your class. I highly recommend it.

Just use Prezi

Today, I had the need to teach using some direct instruction before letting the students work in groups on projects. I borrowed some material from my CT, and I made a Prezi. Seeing the results and interest from the students I cannot recommend this enough.

While PowerPoint and other presentation software used to be and exciting change from overhead projectors, they lack the excitement and inherent engagement they had in the past. They zooming effects of Prezi, set to a picture of the Crab Nebula, got students "oohing" and "ahhing" a somewhat dull topic. They even laughed when the big picture was revealed, and I made the pun- now you can write thesis statements that are out of this world. You may view it here. English teachers, feel free to steal/adapt.

So use it. Go to the website and play around with the blank template. (The remanufactured templates don't leave much room for customization.) This is no so much instructions, though I could make those, rather this is a technology recommendation, a tech-ommendation, if you will.

Exponential Laziness?

One of the things I debate as an English teacher is the use of SparkNotes, or simliar book summary products. While they are not a substitute for reading the novel, I can see the value as a review tool and a way to revisit something already read.


Videos and film also have mixed, though mostly negative, impressions as an educational tool. It is a shame, but not my argument in this post.

I bring this up because I just found this.

Video.
SparkNotes.
Video SparkNotes! My brain is struggling to cope with this.

In less than 10-minutes a viewer can passively absorb a text. At the moment there are nearly two dozen of these summaries. I am still reviewing these cultural phenomenon, so I will not pass swapping judgement of their usefulness.

As it is, SparkNotes are typically a tool for students who do not want to read. Now Video SparkNotes can enable kids who are too lazy to read the SparkNotes!

I will be the first person to defend appropriate use of video of films in class and the validity of the artfulness of the medium. But this has some unsettling implications. Can you reduce Romeo and Juliet to a 9 minute and 18 second clip and still appreciate the value of the story? Probably not. Viewers may get the gist of the plot, but they miss the heart of the story: the themes, the linguistic intricacies, and the build-up that make this a classic piece of literature.

They may be a good tool for review, but there is no way to regulate that. To allow students to savor the creations of these great authors requires, I need to employ thoughtful instruction on how to approach a piece and look for more than plot. This is a call for attention as to how to get student to appreciate a novel in a world where tl;dr* is becoming a ubiquitous term. (*too long, didn't read)