Edcanvas Example

Here is my Edcanvas example: http://www.edcanvas.com/lessons/T45f_m6W_QuqzQ/edit#play

My students are currently finishing up the geometry unit in math.  At the end of each unit, we spend a day reviewing before the test.  Usually we use a packet to review concepts before the test.  Some students don't need the review and are bored if we have to spend a lot of time on a concept that they already understand.  One way around this has been using the IXL website to practice their concepts.  My school has a subscription to the site.  I would provide the students with a list of links to the concepts they should practice.  This worked better than the paper review because students were engaged and practicing at their own pace.

I love the features of IXL, so I incorporated it into my Edcanvas example.  After each topic is reviewed, the students will practice that concept on IXL before reviewing another concept.  I put a sign-in slide in the beginning of the canvas to make sure my students are logged in and get credit for their work.  I can sign in to my IXL account and see the responses from each student.

I am excited to try this with my students this week.  I only have 15 students in my math class but they all work at a different pace.  This activity provides enough practice to keep all the students engaged.  If students finish all the review sites before time is up, they can go back to any of the IXL practice sites to continue reviewing the concepts.

I will have to test out the YouTube videos at school to make sure those work before sharing this activity with my students.  I have a feeling that the filters will still block the videos, but I will test it out as soon as I can tomorrow.

Edcanvas

When searching for a Web2.0 tool to use for my class summary, I came across edcanvas.com.  I found it to be very easy to use.  You can add pictures, videos, and files to a canvas.  Files can be attached from your hard drive, Dropbox, or Google Drive.  Since exploring last week, 2 new features have been added.  You can now attach websites that are saved in your bookmarks or websites you have visited that are saved in your browsing history.  While creating the canvas for the class summary, I found that you can also create text only slides.  Edcanvas also has an audio feature but I haven't explored that yet.  When the canvas is complete and ready to be viewed, users click through it as a slide show.  It is very similar to Facebook photo albums where you can add comments and likes.  Files can be downloaded from the canvas.  Edcanvas can be shared with others, but only the creator of the canvas can edit it.  When Matt and I were creating the class summary, it would have been helpful if both of us could edit at the same time, but that was not the case.

I am still in the process of creating my own canvas to use with students, but I explored some of the featured canvases.  One of the featured canvases that I found interesting is about reviewing the parts of speech.  This person attached Schoolhouse Rock videos from YouTube.  After viewing all the videos, students complete a worksheet showing what they learned from the video.  I like the idea of this canvas, but will not use it with my students.  Some of the videos have been blocked by YouTube.  I also can't view YouTube videos easily at school.  My students would not be able to view these videos because they don't have a way to block the filters.

I will post my example when I finish it.  Very excited about a new tool!