360 Visit London virtual tour

I have previously written about the amazing website AirPano and the potential uses of it in the classroom here.   I have also written about 360 video and virtual tours here as I believe they are one of the most engaging ways to inspire writing.

The 360 Visit London virtual tour is a great website which, as you might expect, allows you to take in the sights of some of the capital's most iconic landmarks. 

http://360.visitlondon.com/#

Simply move around the image to see it from all angles before clicking on your desired landmark. 

Your perspective changes depending on the landmark you choose; from the view from the London Eye, to greet level and even inside buildings.

On the right you'll notice an 'information' tab which gives you a brief introduction to the landmark as well as a link to more information.  

On the left you'll see a map of the city to give you a better idea of where you are in relation to the rest of the capital. 

Obviously the website is aimed at tourists but I think it's a perfect way for your children to explore London from your classroom.  They could take screen shots of interesting views and places, follow directions on a trail to see various landmarks, or simply use the site to inspire writing or further research - there is so much potential.  

Have a look and please let me know if you decide to use this site with your children. 

Thanks!

Tom 

@teach_fresh

T-Rex at school without a green screen!

I have previously blogged about inspiring writing by having dinosaurs at school here using the very simple and straightforward app Jurassic Paint.  Part of the reason I liked the app was that you don't need a green screen to have children and dinosaurs in the shot at the same time.  However, Jurassic Paint only allows you to place images of dinosaurs on photos.  Which is why I am writing about Efexio.

With Efexio you can add a moving T-Rex to a photo OR a video.  This means your children can film themselves running around the playground or the field and then add in the dinosaur to create a really professional looking scene, without using a green screen or any additional apps. This makes the process much more straight forward and a lot quicker, which gives you more time to concentrate on writing.  

The app has lots of extra content which you can purchase as the free options are fairly limited.  For me, the T-Rex is easily the best free effect you can use (there are also skeletons, fire and smoke)  The T-Rex alone makes the app worth downloading.  

What makes this app work so well is the editor, which allows you to change the position and orientation of the T-Rex as well as its shadow.  These options are easy to play with and really add to the authenticity of the scene, as you can finetune it so that it appears much more realistic. 

You can also preview your video as you edit it which means the children can instantly see what the finished product will look like. 

You can just add a photo as a backdrop but for me, a video is far more interactive in that your children can pretend they are running away from the dinosaur, which is much more fun!  

Please let me know if you decide to use this app to inspire writing with your class; it would be great to see any videos you make too! 

Thanks, 

Tom

@teach_fresh

Using Tim Peake in the classroom

With the release of Star Wars as well as Tim Peake's mission to the International Space Station, the children in my class (and probably yours) are totally obsessed with space.  After watching the launch and signing up to TES's Live Link on the 2nd February (if you haven't done so already make sure you do by clicking here) plus the interest surrounding his space walk today, Tim Peake has already inspired so many children to learn more about space.  We need to tap into that enthusiasm.

The following links all allow you to see what Tim Peake has and will continue to see, as you can virtually explore the ISS, the stratosphere, views of the Earth and much more.  By allowing your children to explore and imagine what life as an astronaut is like, it should inspire them to produce some amazing writing.  Whether it's a diary entry as Tim, a story about a space mission or a description of the views in space, there are so many possibilities and I am sure your children will be enthused and excited.  The following links are also all iPad friendly, so children could even take screen shots to make storyboards, import them into Book Creator or make a slideshow/movie with voice over.  You could even use some of the videos and tours as a green screen backdrop.  There is so much potential. 

Virtual tour of the ISS http://esamultimedia.esa.int/multimedia/virtual-tour-iss/

Live stream from the ISS http://eol.jsc.nasa.gov/HDEV/

Follow the ISS in real time and see Tim Peake's view live. 

Virtual tour of the Discovery space shuttle http://360vr.com/2012/02/16/discovery-flight-deck_2193/

Whilst this doesn't have as much to do with Tim Peake, it's still a great tour that really gives you an insight into what life as an astronaut is like. 

Stratosphere AirPano http://www.airpano.ru/files/Stratosphere/m-2

Obviously not as high above the Earth as the ISS but this panorama still gives you some brilliant views.

Soyuz rocket launch AirPano http://www.airpano.ru/files/Rocket/m-2

Again, not specifically Tim Peake but still an interesting and engaging panorama. 

NASA interactive content, videos and pictures http://www.nasa.gov/multimedia/mmgallery/index.html#.VplATHrfWK2

Lots of brilliant content here, from interactive tours to stunning photographs and videos of recent missions and operations. 

Please let me know if you use any of the ideas here or if you have any that I haven't mentioned!

Thanks, 

Tom

@teach_fresh

 

Around the world with AirPano

I've been playing around with AirPano.com latley and recently introduced it to the children.  We started by using the gyroscope feature on the iPad to explore each panorama. 

This feature allows you to move the iPad around as though you were there and taking a picture, as the scenery moves with you. 

There are so many amazing places you can visit and the quality of the images is extremely high. The children really got a taste of what it's like to be an explorer. 

To add to the experience of being an explorer, I asked the children to take pictures (screen shots) of the places they had seen.  We then cropped these images (see below) before adding them to a new book on Book Creator. 

The children were then able to write about what they had seen in each location.  They also did some research to add more information to their books. 

The whole process was really engaging and exciting for the children and I think the gyroscope feature really enhances the experience.  There are so many locations on the website you could easily incorporate it into a topic about a specific continent or country.  

You could also use AirPano to inspire creative writing too, especially describing a setting (like many schools have done with the Epic Citadel app) which is what I plan to do at some point!  Adding the screen shots to a storyboard or a comic strip could also work really well.  Even creating a slideshow of images using iMovie or Replay.  There are so many possibilities. 

Thanks, 

Tom 

@teach_fresh

Jurassic Paint - Dinosaurs at school!

The cinematic release of Jurassic World captured the imagination of children up and down the country and it was great to see it being incorporated into the classroom. @ICT_MrP wrote about some brilliant ideas for using Jurassic World (such as http://mrparkinsonict.blogspot.co.uk/2015/06/exploring-jurassic-world.html?m=1 

http://mrparkinsonict.blogspot.co.uk/2015/06/jurassic-school.html?m=1 

 http://mrparkinsonict.blogspot.co.uk/2015/06/exploring-our-own-jurassic-world.html?m=1etc) 

With the DVD release of the film I thought it would be good to again use dinosaurs to engage children.  The app Jurassic Paint (see what they did there?!) allows you to take/use photos and add pictures of dinosaurs. It sounds very simple and it is. 

Simply add your image and then scroll through the various dinosaurs before adding them to your image where you can adjust the size, orientation etc. 

Children will be able to create their images very quickly which will then give them more time to focus on their writing, using their picture as inspiration. 

One of the (very slightly) more advanced features I like is the eraser and drawing tools.  Once you've added your dinosaur you can erase parts of it so that it appears to hide behind a tree or be submerged in water. It's easy to do but also very effective.  See below. 

And in water.

You can also use the drawing tool to add ripple effects, reflections or shadows.  Obviously this is a bit trickier to do but the colour copy and opacity tool makes it easier than you might think. 

For me this app is obviously not as spectacular as using a green screen app and filming dinosaurs on the playground etc, but it's a quick, free alternative that won't take up too much time. In 5 minutes the children could already have their image, or a storyboard of images and be ready to write their story.  It's a simple app that does exactly what it says on the tin, which is why I like it.

Thanks

Tom

@teach_fresh 

Seedling Comic Studio

I have seen and used quite a few apps and websites that allow children to create their own comics, but I really like 'Seedling Comic Studio'.  Considering 'Comic Life', 'Strip Designer' and 'Comics Head' all come at a cost and the brilliant 'Musomic' has an age rating of 12+, I think this is a brilliant FREE alternative, especially for primary school children.

                                   

The app is bright, colourful and very simple to use.  There are a range of backgrounds that are available for free but there are also themed packs you can purchase too.  In my opinion there are more than enough free options to choose from, for example:

                                   

                               

You can add photos to the backgrounds and the app has a really easy to use 'cut out' feature which enables you to isolate and cut characters from their background.  I've used Homer as an example.

                                 

You can simply colour in parts of the image you want to keep in blue.  There is also a rubber and the ability to preview your image so you can refine it. 

                                

                                

Once you have added your characters you can add speech bubbles which can then be edited very easily (see the orange circles below which can be dragged and stretched accordingly)

                                

There are also stickers and other symbols/pictures which can be added to your strip, with comic classics such as 'Kapow!' and 'Zaaap!'.

                                

As a free alternative to apps such as 'Comic Life' I think it does the job really well.  There are so many possibilities for using comics in the classroom and this app allows you to explore them in a simple, engaging and FREE way. 

                                

                                

    

Do you use any other apps for creating comics?  Let me know!

Thanks for reading.

Tom 

@teach_fresh