Showcase - Tools for Creating Specialized Projects

Tools for Creating Brochures 

In my day presentations were done with posters comprised of drawings and magazine pictures or maybe it was just a verbal presentation..  The opportunities for today's students are endless.  Currently there are wonderful resources and tools available to allow our students to create and express themselves, while applying their knowledge and demonstrating understanding.  This week I am sharing some of those tools.  We want to move our students to create presentations through the use of vibrant, visual, digital media as well as multi-media projects.

There are lots of tools to assist you in creating a variety of specialized projects.  Below are some that I am aware of and all appear easy to use.  Some allow for collaboration on projects while others will not.

If you are using any of these or other tools, contact me to arrange for a showcase of your student's work. I would love to see these tools in use and I am sure other educators would benefit from a showcase as well.

LucidPress

Lucidpress is Google Add-on.  It has lots of creative document possibilities for students also.  Currently all staff have had Lucidpress added to their Google.  In addition, the students at the high school are able to access it.  In the Google marketplace we could get the free version, but upon further investigation, I found that Lucidpress will give free accounts to educators and students. Currently all staff and high school students have access to Lucidpress.  I contacted the company about free access for educators and students and I have been given a URL to share for additional educators or students who would like to have access.  However, parents would need to be notified for students under 13 for whom you would want access.

Canva

Canva looks like an easy tool to use.  There are an incredible  number of possibilities as far as projects and resources to complete them.  Brochures are often interesting ways to present information, but what about an album cover or a kindle cover or a tweet.  I really liked what I saw in previewing this site. Click here to check it out.  Here is a link right to the brochure templates.

Microsoft Word 

Microsoft Word also has the capabilities within it for students to create special types of documents.  Here is a link to a Youtube video tutorial on how to create a brochure using Word.  The down side is that it is an individual project with no online collaboration.  MS Word Brochure Tutorial

Google - Also a great tool for creating specialized documents

Google also allows for the creation of specialized documents.  Google has numerous templates available for users.  Here is the link to the templates.  You will see that brochures are just one of the many templates available.  Click here to see the brochure templates.  All I did to get to the templates was do a google search on Google for templates https://drive.google.com/templates is what I used.  Once there you can search through the templates for documents, spreadsheets, presentations, forms and drawings and within each type of Google document type, you can search within a number of categories for specialized project ideas. The benefit of Google is that it will allow for collaboration within a project.

MacBook Tips

Here is a easy to do tip from Brennen's Tech Tips for transferring files between your Apple devices.  How to transfer files between Mac and iPhone wirelessly & without internet!

Schoology Tip

Here is a tip about the apps that can be installed in Schoology.  The advantage of installing the apps is that you can import content from them right into your Schoology course. Click here to see brief screencast.