5 Skill-Building Time Fillers for Computer

When you are in the computer lab as much as I am, telling students who are done with the assignment to go play an educational game becomes problematic. Students may rush to finish the assignment and not do their best. Students who work slower never get to play the game. Once you open up the computer to Cool Math Games "but only play the ones where you actually practice math! And no games that look like shooting!" as the teacher, you are now trying to monitor game selection, distracting you from helping students with the assignment. I find that classroom management issues can often be mitigated with sound lesson planning, and the filler minutes are no exception.

When looking at students creating a digital work, I think of add-ons: extra things students can do that will enhance their product, develop additional skills, and keep students engaged and on task even when "done." Here are some of my favs:

Blabberize -
What it does: gives an image a mouth that you can then make "talk"
What it is good for: any product. Students can download the video for multimedia products or can do the hyperlink option for interactive products where video where hyperlinking would be a better option such as word processors, Thinglink, or easel.ly. Print products would need a QR code added.

Voki 
What it does: similar to Blabberize, Voki provides avatars instead.
What it is good for: Because it can't be downloaded, Voki is better for an interactive product where the viewer can click on a  hyperlink  (example in my hyperlink!) Print products could us a QR code to connect

QR Stuff:
What it does: creates QR codes to link to text, webpages, etc.
What it is good for: if the finished product will be printed - posters, brochures, images - students can add a QR code that links to all sort of things: as text they could write and artist statement, create link to a webpage that includes more information. If the product can be posted to web, students can spend 5 minutes creating a flyer in a word processor with a QR code for their work and then print out the flyer and attach to their locker or give to their parents.

Thinglink:
What it does: makes images interactive with buttons that can lead to text, webpages, images, etc.
What it is good for: for products that are images - anything that can be saved as a jpeg - like collages, students can import into a Thinglink (there is a way to create a dummy student account. I would suggest creating one that can be used by all students instead of each student) and add links to sources or additional annotations.

Vocaroo:
What it does: records audio on the internet and provides link to the audio (audio is private and can only be accessed by a link)
What it is good for: interactive products or print. Student can embed, link, or hyperlink. If doing a print product, use QR Stuff to add in link.