Make Things Move Magically with Reverse Video

Students love video effects on the iPad, and this one is a great effect to make it look like you can magically move things with your thoughts. It is super simple and uses the free app "Reverse Vid" following is a very short video which explains to students how to do this on their iPad.

If you make one it would be great if you could link a copy to it in the comments below.

Bringing the fun back to school

With an increasing focus on data, and pure academic achievement, fun is often pushed aside to get through more material. I’m personally concerned that many people overlook the amazing levels of engagement that come along with fun, and the opportunities to teach students almost without them knowing they’re learning. And more than this, when learning is fun, it becomes intrinsic.

Following is a recording of a speech I gave recently in Manila outlining my thoughts on the importance of fun at school.

Publishing Books Using Google Slides

There are many ways to publish digitally, and recently I have been looking for a method that uses common tools students are familiar with, is easy to embed in a blog, and looks great. The solution that I settled on…

Google Slides

There’s nothing too revolutionary about using slides to publish books, however it is good to remember some of the great advantages it has, and think about some new options you may not have considered.

Great advantages:

Easy layout - No problems with wrapping

Hyperlinking the contents page is easy

You can edit on the iPad (embedding from the iPad is a problem)

Adding captions, or creating labelled diagrams is quite easy.

Other Options - Create Portrait Books

To make a portrait book in slides, it’s as simple as finding “Page Setup” section in the file menu. Using the custom size option, you can put in the measurements for an A4 page for instance (21cm x 30cm).

Use animated Gif images

There are lots of bad examples of Gifs online, equally balanced with amazing examples as well. In fact it is possible to use a free iOS app like “PicPlayPost” to make your own animated Gifs from videos on your camera roll. These can then be put in student books and will play automatically when embedded in their blog.

Below are examples of books that I have published using this method, as well as links that will create copies of these presentations if you want to use them for your own purposes.

Click here to make a copy of the Landscape book.

Click here to make a copy of the Portrait book