Resources

Listed below you will find my own curated list of various technologies and apps that I think can help teachers to introduce more creativity into their classroom. The arts are often a difficult subject for teachers to instruct but are also one of the easiest subjects to incorporate multiple learning styles for the diversity of students. The list varies from audio to visual, incorporating hands-on, interactive components, that will hopefully promote a positive learning environment for students!

1. Canva
     ~ A graphic-design tool website that uses a simple drag-and-drop function to allow students to easily create beautiful designs and documents. Students are able to choose from a variety of layouts, images, photo filters, icons/shapes, and fonts to create unique graphics. The easy to use functionality of the site, plus the numerous resources encourage students to truly embrace their creativity!

2. Adobe {Photoshop, Illustrator, & Spark}
     ~ Although there is a cost associated with this software, the Adobe Creative Cloud apps offer students numerous outlets to be creative. The three I mention here are my personal favorites for use with students. Photoshop allows students to edit various images, by making adjustments, cropping, removing objects, retouching, and/or repairing, as well as play with effects and colour. Illustrator allows students to create their own images through virtual painting and drawing, plus the addition of effects and styles to best convey their message. Spark combines text and graphic to allow students to create eye-catching designs and stories. These three applications require a bit more of an advanced skill set, so they're more geared towards older grades, but they are easily navigated with a bit of practice and tinkering.

3. ArtWeaver
     ~ A collaborative art tool that allows students to create paintings digitally, with multiple colour and brush options. The site allows students to create in a more sophisticated environment, creating artworks worthy of a frame. Once again, this site is geared towards an older audience due to the complexity of options available to create with; however, with a little experimentation, great work can be achieved!

4. Glogster
     ~ A great tool for projects of all kinds because it allows students to express their ideas through a combination of images, graphics, audio, video, and text, all on one virtual canvas! Students can create their own "glog" or use pre-existing ones on the site to add to their project. These multi-media "glogs" give students a way to channel their creativity into something easily adaptable to a variety of subjects. It does come with a cost, but the ease of use makes it one that is worthwhile for use in classrooms of many grade levels.

5. Wordle
     ~ This one is a tool for all ages! A great way to turn traditional words into art, Wordle allows students the opportunity to insert text and choose shapes, colours, and fonts, as the site does all the work of forming the actual art piece. The easy to use format makes this site one of my go tos for creative technologies.

6. Audacity
     ~ This audio editing and recording system is a great resource to use with older grades as it provides students the opportunity to work with audio files that can be added to and manipulated to suit the needs of their project. Students can record sounds, their own voice, or pre-existing audio clips to create a final audio file to be shared with others!

7. JamStudio
     ~ Explicitly designed for music, this site allows students the opportunity to tinker with virtual instruments, creating beats and rhythms. A great interactive website that really provides students with a creative outlet to express themselves through music! Students can align music with specific projects or just tinker with the site for fun, creating a final piece that can be shared with others.

Although most of these sites and apps seem to fit more with an older grade, their ability to make art interactive, and hopefully fun, for students give them a spot on my resource list nonetheless! Some of these sites have their own community that students can directly contribute to, but mainly they allow for student works to be saved and contributed to their classes for feedback. Due to the freedom of these resources, students can feel motivated to create things, at the same time as they are thinking critically about their stylistic and thematic choices. I hope you're as inspired to use these creative resources in your classrooms as I am! They definitely have my stamp of approval!

                                                                                 ~ Megan
                                                                                                               
 







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