iPad Art

Our Yr7s have been experimenting with an application called ArtRage to create artwork on their iPads. They started by doing a pencil sketch on paper and them imported this image into ArtRage. They then added colour & texture within the app, with the aid of a stylus. Their Art teacher, Mr Daniel, said "Considering that digital painting is new to the students and they have never used the ArtRage app before, they did exceptionally well!" I have to agree.

iPads in MFL

I realise this is not necessarily innovative, but here's an example of how technology supports learning in a relatively ordinary & invisible way. I was in an MFL class today, Bahasa Melayu in fact, and noticed how the students would use their iPads to quickly translate odd words that they were unsure of. In the past they might have used a dictionary, which would have involved fetching it from the shelf, flicking through alphabetically and reading the (often) tiny text. Using the iPad just seemed so much quicker and more instinctive for theses kids. They always have them to hand and a were using a number of tools like Google Translate, websites, online dictionaries and a variety of apps. It's a natural and seamless way of finding out some information. It's the simple things sometimes that can make a difference.

Another Animation

This is the next animated advert to come in from my Yr9s. A cute, simple advert for Stabilo Sharpeners. Turn the volume up to appreciate the cool sound effects.

Year 9 Animations

After studying the art of animation and the many styles and techniques that can be used, we opted to go for real-life 2D or 3D stop-motion animation. The brief was to make a short advert, promoting a product or service. The Yr9 students used their iPads to shoot their frames, mostly using the free app iMotionHD. Above is an example, made by Amelia, Jacqui and Vy Wien, which was shot and edited completely on the iPad. Pretty good, eh?

Teachers Geeking-Out

- a dozen great teachers
- heaps of creativity
- a stack of Apple technology
- an endless supply of food & coffee
- piles of energy and enthusiasm
- loads and loads of quality learning

That's how I spent the last 3 days.