Monday, July 25, 2011

Spark Creativity with Kerpoof!

After attending Simple K12's webinar, Spark Creativity and Innovation from @timeoutdad, I became a big fan of Kerpoof. Kerpoof is a free webtool that is kid friendly and allows students to create original works of art in a safe environment. Students can create pictures, animated movies, stories and more! Teachers can showcase student work by downloading their art as a JPEG file and embedding it into their website. Teacher accounts are free and anyone who is interested can sign up here. Teachers who register can arrange their students into classes and create class discussion boards (moderated by the teacher). There is a chat feature available that can be activated/deactivated by the teacher. Also, students can collaborate on a project in real-time from different computers.

Why do teachers love Kerpoof?
  • It inspires creativity
  • Students are in control of their own learning
  • Various activities and creative tools enables students to produce a quality work product

What can students create?

Spell a Picture (K-3): Students can spell out objects to make them appear in their picture. If they wish to animate their objects/characters, spell out verbs like "jump" and students can watch as their objects come to life!

Make a Picture (K-3): Students choose a background, select images/characters or create their own with the drawing tool.

Make a Drawing (K-8): Students start with a blank slate and use the drawing tools to create their own masterpiece from scratch.

Make a Movie (K-8): Students can select a scene and drag objects/characters into their movie. Characters and objects can be animated or carry on a dialogue with a mouse click.

Not sure where to start? Kerpoof offers teachers a list of ideas for using Kerpoof in the classroom and a variety of downloadable lesson plans .For more information on using Kerpoof in the classroom, check out Kerpoof Scholastics.

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