On their first day in the AT&T Classroom the Lakeview fifth graders had gone on a campus walk and captured photos of Kent State landmarks, buildings, and sculptures. As a follow-up to their campus walk, this afternoon the students did a collaborative writing project using Padlet,
Padlet is a web-based tool that functions as a virtual wall or bulletin board where people can easily exchange thoughts on a common topic. Users are able to post several forms of content including text, images,and videos. The tool can be used in many different ways including a place to post announcements, assignments or messages as well as an online space for brainstorming, creating a KWL, or a space for posting links to specific websites. Today Mrs. Beres posted the following writing prompt to the students on the Padlet wall: What was the most memorable moment of your walk around Kent State yesterday? After each student drafted a reply to the prompt, they come back together as a class to view and share their posts. The collaborative nature of the wall provides a rich opportunity for writing instruction. Because students know their work will be shared, they tend to be more motivated as they approach their writing and they also become more aware of being accountable for the content and the quality of their work. The tool also helps to strengthen the class as a learning community as students learn more about each other’s interests, ideas, etc., as they read one another’s posts.
This afternoon the fifth graders also presented their Pic Collage projects that they had created from their Kent State photos. Today the students put the finishing touches on their collages and then shared them with their classmates by projecting them on the presentation screen. As students worked within the various app features they gained experience with specific elements of visual and spatial design while creating a very personal and unique project. The Pic Collage app can be downloaded for free from Google Play and itunes.
