This morning in the AT&T Classroom the Walls
second graders explored three design and animation tools.
Scratch
Jr. is a free app
developed for young children ages 5+ by the Lifelong Kindergarten Group at the
MIT Media Lab. The app engages children in using an introductory programming
language to create animations, interactive stories and games.
Children combine graphical programming blocks to animate
characters to move, jump, dance, and sing. Children are also able to customize
the characters in the paint editor, add their own voices and sounds, and insert
photos of themselves. In addition to introductory programming and coding
skills, Scratch Jr. also supports the
development of skills related to sequencing and numeracy while also fostering
children's’ creative and critical thinking. The app is available for free
download from the itunes store and Google Play.
Toontastic is a free iOS app that allows children to draw, animate and share cartoons. The app
offers several adventure themes that include backgrounds and characters for
children to use to create their animated story.Children are also able to add
audio to their story by recording their own voices.
On Wednesday the students were introduced to Sock Puppets and
continued to explore the app today. Sock Puppets is a free iOS app that allows
students to explore creative storytelling by creating lip-synced puppet shows that can be shared on the ipad or
via Facebook or YouTube. Children are able to select from a variety of hand
puppet characters as well as themed backgrounds to create their own unique
show.
Using design and animation tools to create
digital stories and media provides opportunities for children to further
develop their literacy skills (e.g., reading, writing, speaking &
listening) and also builds important twenty-first century skills for
critical thinking, creativity, collaboration, and communication.
