Kristen DePesa

Check out how I’ve been using Thinglink as a teaching tool. Thinglink is both a web-based platform and app which allows users to import an image and then add “hot spots,” or “touches” on an image that link to other webpages, videos, and you can type in your own text. I’ve embedded this post on my teacher blog for my students to refer back to, and on Google Classroom.

Here, I’ve made a Thinglink to teach Romeo and Juliet, and to take a closer look at Juliet’s soliloquy. I’ve chosen to add:

A video showing interpretations of this scene

Definitions of words

Questions to think about at home, and ones which we’ll discuss in class

Related points of interest such as info on mandrakes and Juliet’s tomb in Verona

images to provide a visual of Juliet’s inner thoughts

Fun GIFs I found from Giphy

How I may use this:

To flip my classroom and have students pre-read at home

An alternative way to annotate a text

To serve as a jumping point off for discussion:

have students select one aspect of the Thinglink and share their observations/inferences 

have students share what “touches” they would add

Students can “remix” on Thinglink if they have their own account, and I might give them a base image to use, and have them remix with their own annotations

Use this as a model, and have students select their own excerpt of text and make their own.

In my digital classroom, we have a 5:1 model. Plugging in the cords properly and putting the iPad in the right slot at the end of each class became too time consuming! 

Here’s the solution I devised: Color-coding with washi tape! Washi tape is like masking tape, but thinner and easily removed - not to mention fun and cute!

Tackk is a web-based application that holds a variety of applications for the classroom, and is one of my favorite digital discoveries this year. Tackk exists as an app or a web-based product, which is great for teachers do do not have 1:1 devices. Teachers also have the option to set it to private and accessible with a password or public if you want to keep the information within your classroom. Check out my tackk boards to explore possible applications in your classroom, and comment on my “Why Tackk” board to share your experiences!

I use Tackk to:

organize digital documents for an entire curriculum unit

introduce a new skill or task

have students share work with me and each other

embed on my classroom blog to supplement posts

gather information from around the web to share with students

share information and collaborate with colleagues 

encourage discussion and solicit on a topic or idea

establish a flipped classroom

On Tackk, some of the applications you can seamlessly embed are:

Thinglinks

Prezis

Youtube videos

Haiku Decks

Quizlets

Photos and slideshows

Black Out Poetry

Try this poetry lesson I’ve developed with the input of other colleagues and inspired by artist/writer Austin Kleon.

This activity is inspired by censoring or redacting texts to make beautiful works of art that unearth new meanings and understanding.This is a strategy to discover new ideas within an existing text by choosing specific words and isolating them, while masking others.

The story or text’s original meaning can change entirely, and new meaning and understandings are unearthed.Think of the source text like a block of marble, and you’re the sculptor. You’ll chip away, your black marker as a chisel, at the words to reveal a beautiful poem inside!The remaining words create a final, poetic work of art that is unique.

What is your experience with Black Out Poetry? If you’re a teacher, how have you modified this activity and what recommendations do you have? If you’re a student, comment on your experience of writing; what helps you? What advice do you have for other students? Most importantly: is this poetry?