Are you looking for ways to incorporate technology into your classroom? Chatterbox and ChatterPix are a great way to start. Both are free apps and really easy to use.
Chatterbox is very basic and only has three steps for the students to complete.
1. Choose your picture. They can either take a picture or choose one from the camera roll. You are going to want a picture with a face on it.
2. Adjust the eyes and mouth to line up with your picture
3. Record what you want it to say.
ChatterPix has four steps and a few more options to allow for more student creativity.
1. Choose your picture. They can either take a picture or choose one from the camera roll. You do not have to have a face on it for this app.
2. Draw a line for the mouth.
3. Record what you want it to say.
4. Embellish. This is where they get to get creative. They can add filters, stickers, frames and text.
Sounds pretty easy right? It is!
So now you're wondering which one you should use? It really depends on how much time you have and what you want your students to get out of it.
On Friday I had limited time, so I needed limited choices. We have been learning about landforms and I wanted my students to demonstrate that they had learned three facts about a landform, so I chose to have them use Chatterbox.
On Friday I had limited time, so I needed limited choices. We have been learning about landforms and I wanted my students to demonstrate that they had learned three facts about a landform, so I chose to have them use Chatterbox.
Here is what I did...
I divided my students into groups of three, assigned each group a landform, had them read a book about their landform, write down three facts and draw a picture of their landform with a face on it.
I divided my students into groups of three, assigned each group a landform, had them read a book about their landform, write down three facts and draw a picture of their landform with a face on it.
Now comes the fun part. Once they had completed their facts and picture, they were ready for Chatterbox.
They open the app and took a picture of their drawing.
Then they move each piece of the face to the correct location. When they touch the piece to drag it, a magnified bubble pops up so they can see where they are moving it.
After they set the face, they are ready to record. All they have to do is tap the microphone and start talking. I had each of my students read one of the facts that they had written down.
(The microphone pics up all the background noise so I let my students go outside to record. They thought that was pretty exciting.)
After they finish recording, they can adjust the pitch. My kiddos had a lot of fun listening to the different sounds of their voice, but for sharing it with the class I had them set it in the middle so we would be able to understand it.
When their video is complete, they tap on the share icon and it will save the Chatterbox as a video on their iPad.
I had my students present their projects to the class and I also had them add it to their Seesaw portfolio.
This is one of the finished projects. Click the picture or here to watch.
Now I'll share an example of a ChatterPix that I made to show you the differences.
Just like in Chatterbox, you open the app and either take a picture or choose from your camera roll.
In ChatterPix you do not need to have a face on your picture because you can add it in the app. You simply draw a line for the mouth and record. You can not change the pitch of your voice in this app. I'll let you decide if that is a good thing or a bad thing.
Here is where the choice and more time comes in...
You can choose filters, stamps, frames and text. This is great for allowing your students more creativity, but it definitely requires more time for them to explore their options.
For my example I added the sunglasses stamp and text to label my picture.
Once you have completed your video, you just tap on the share icon and save to your camera roll. This app also allows you to share to facebook and youtube. There is another version called ChatterPix Kids that doesn't have the sharing to social media options if you prefer not to have those options available.
This is my completed ChatterPix video. Click the picture or here to watch.
As you can see, both apps are a great way to integrate technology. They are highly motivating and engaging and allow a lot of options for students to demonstrate their learning.
