Daily Clips

Posted 9/14/17

I have always loved sharing my students’ work with their parents, families, and the community. My next-door-neighbor music teacher Karla even jokes with me about my excitement as I run in her room to show her what the kids created.

Over the years I have tried many ways to display and share student work. Of course, there is the traditional art show every spring at the library, and the classic bulletin boards in the school, and I have found these to be great spaces for sharing, though they come with their own challenges (we hae a small school with limited display space….and on top of that—who has the time to keep track of whose art is where and rotate it in and out all the time anyway!?)

A few years back as I discussed this challenge with my principal and our clothesline art galleries were born. By using Command Strip hooks (turned sideways), yarn, and clothespins, an afternoon turned our elevator area into an art gallery! The best part - it is close to my room and four lines are at kid height - meaning that they can help change things out!)

As a teacher who loves technology, my next goal was to share with those who are outside of our school through the use of social media. I started with taking simple pictures of student work and sharing them, but I wanted more. How could I truly show the process in a way that is timely when I only have 45 minutes every three days with each class?

Time-lapse was the answer! I invested in iPad stands (for use with stop motion) and when Apple added the Time-lapse feature to the Camera app, I was SOLD! I began using my iPad stands on student tables to record the process, and I shared the videos on social media. I had found my answer. Correction….I had found one of my answers. :) I loved time-lapsing and so did my kids (especially those who sometimes struggle to stay on task, as they knew if they didn’t work, their video would be empty!). Time lapse was perfect with only one major challenge….I only had four ipad stands in my room, and have classes between 15-28 kids. How could I be sure that ALL students (over 300 of them)  felt like their story was being shared?

Then I met Clips—my newest app obsession—at ADE Academy in the summer of 2017. What is Clips? Clips is an easy-to-use, simple-yet-perfect app for sharing student work. You can record quick videos, add pictures, stickers and amazing live-title captions. This fall, I have been using Clips when I walk around and check in with students. In just a few seconds, I can record a Clip of each student (mid project!) and at the end of the class, the kids are SO EXCITED to see their work on the big screen. Sure, there was some nervousness on their part in the beginning, but it quickly ended as they got the hear the excitement of their classmates viewing everyone’s work on screen. The videos are so easy to produce they can be made while working with kids, and my kids have even started creating their own separate Clips projects! My favorite part - this method of sharing leaves no one out. All students are included in the video, and all parents have something to look for on our class Facebook page. A lot less “how was school today” and a lot more “you did a great job on your art project today!” when they get home from school…..and that makes it all worth it.

Check out our Clips at https://www.facebook.com/hamsotai or on Twitter using #ClipsART or following @bethany_nugent