There And Back Again

Introduction

Welcome to There And Back Again, With An iPad - a digital book that explores some of the different creative apps that can be used to present a character study.

As I'm a huge Lord of The Rings fan, I decided to focus on the inimitable character of Bilbo Baggins.

Bilbo is the subject matter but in truth the theme is choice. Student-led learning digital literacy can benefit immensely from allowing learners choice in how they approach a task. As such, we set ourselves the challenge of presenting a short character piece on Bilbo in a variety of different manners using a range of apps. Everything presented here can easily be transposed to fit another subject matter.

I hope you enjoy it.

Steve Bambury
Founder of iPad Educators
@iPadEducatorsAE

Introduction

Welcome to There And Back Again, With An iPad - a digital book that explores some of the different creative apps that can be used to present a character study.

As I'm a huge Lord of The Rings fan, I decided to focus on the inimitable character of Bilbo Baggins.

Bilbo is the subject matter but in truth the theme is choice. Student-led learning digital literacy can benefit immensely from allowing learners choice in how they approach a task. As such, we set ourselves the challenge of presenting a short character piece on Bilbo in a variety of different manners using a range of apps. Everything presented here can easily be transposed to fit another subject matter.

I hope you enjoy it.

Steve Bambury
Founder of iPad Educators
@iPadEducatorsAE

TRADING
CARD

Trading Card from ReadWriteThink is a great app for character profiles. The categories are set for you and prompt questions appear as you complete each section. Word limits ensure students are concise with their responses.

TELLAGAMI
EDU

Tellagami Edu allows you to set an avatar against a backdrop of your choice and then record narration for the character. As such, you could place them in Hobbiton and present an oral report from Bilbo's house. Multiple clips could be sewn together in iMovie.

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MORFO

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Creating an avatar of Bilbo in the well known Morfo app allows students to role play and explain the facets of his character in first person voice.The example shows one single clip but iMovie could be used to sew several together if needed.

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Shadow Puppet Edu allows students to create simple yet effective narrated slideshows. Since it allows for image searches directly within the app, the process is streamlined and slick. This example tracks Bilbo's character development throughout the story.

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SHADOW PUPPET EDU

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Shadow Puppet Edu allows students to create simple yet effective narrated slideshows. Since it allows for image searches directly within the app, the process is streamlined and slick. This example tracks Bilbo's character development throughout the story.

WORDFOTO

WordFoto allows you to overlay a selection of words onto an image to create a striking typographical effect very quickly. It's simplicity makes it an ideal choice for less able students or those with additional needs as they can use it to record just the key words relating to the character.

RWT VENN DIAGRAM

Another great free app from RWT, Venn Diagram does exactly what you'd expect and allows you to display sets of information in the famous format. Here it's used to compare Bilbo's character from the start of The Hobbit to how he is at its conclusion.

PUPPET PALS 2

Puppet Pals is another app that gives the student the opportunity for a little digital roleplay. Since adding the ability to import your own backgrounds, Puppet Pals 2 has become far more versatile and the sample here shows Bilbo recounting how he has changed upon returning from his adventure.

Vidra is very similar to Adobe Voice but as it does not include open access to the web, it is rated as suitable for 4+ rather than 12+. It still contains a wealth of icons, transition effects and backing tracks to help you design a really clean presentation. It even has a pen tool. Here I've deliberately not used any photos, using icons instead to represent the different points.

VIDRA

Vidra is very similar to Adobe Voice but as it does not include open access to the web, it is rated as suitable for 4+ rather than 12+. It still contains a wealth of icons, transition effects and backing tracks to help you design a really clean presentation. It even has a pen tool. Here I've deliberately not used any photos, using icons instead to represent the different points.

WORD CLOUDS

My new favourite word cloud app, this is a great choice for collaborative brainstorming about the character as repeated words are shown larger in the image making the common and more important ideas clear.

Mindmapping apps don't come any more user-friendly than Popplet. Using the colours is an easy way to highlight different aspects of the character and present the project effectively.