ABCs of DCGMS Library: O is for Online Presentation Tools

Today's ABCs of DCGMS Library post is brought to you by the letter O: O is for online presentation tools.

Photo by J. Kelly Brito on Unsplash

Throughout the school year, students in Literacy Studies class created several book-related projects using a variety of online presentation tools. Of course, the Google Suite of apps was the most easily accessed and the most familiar for students, so many chose to use Slides or Draw when given the choice. Below is an example of a project in Draw:

And another example of a Slides project:

Students also created projects using tools that were maybe less familiar to them, including Thinglink and MySimpleShow. Because students could log into both sites using their Google accounts, initial work went smoothly. Below is a PDF of students' author study work using Thinglink:

MySimpleShow is a great site featuring templates that students can use to create videos showing their learning. You can read about students' work on this blog post. Literacy Studies students created book trailers using MySimpleShow; below is an example:

See the full trailer HERE

A lot of creating and a lot of variety in online presentation tools! Students also used old favorites like Flipgrid and tried new tools like Screencastify to share their learning and make book recommendations. Stay tuned--the coming school year promises more creating and sharing!

MySimpleShow Book Trailers

We're always looking for ways to promote reading and books, and a popular choice among students and teachers is book trailers. Late in the third quarter, both sixth and seventh graders created book trailers using a "new to us" platform--MySimpleShow.

We found several things very helpful about introducing students to MySimpleShow: 1) students could log in using their Google accounts; 2) students were directed on the site to write their "scripts" before concerning themselves with images; 3) a number of templates were available, including a template designed to talk about books; and 4) students could easily access a shareable link so their reading teachers could also view their trailers.

We began our work with viewing sample book trailers and thinking about how we might write about one of our favorite books. The template we used included slides featuring information about the characters, setting, and plot of a book, and students also had the option to include additional information should they like to do so.

Once students were finished, we made use of a digital gallery walk to share their work. (You can read about a  digital gallery walk from Matt Miller and Ditch That Textbook on this blog post.) Students' trailers were open and ready to play, and classmates viewed different examples, using sentence starters as response prompts, such as "I wanted to hear more about..." and "This book reminds me of..." and "I was interested in the plot when..." During class, students were able to look at 2-3 trailers and respond to the trailer creators.

Here are a couple examples of students' work:

Since You've Been Gone trailer

Cinder trailer