Educational Technology Review: Animation-ish

icon-aiAnother ed tech review is up on the Yellin Center Blog.  This time it is for an incredible animation software program that has the power to assist educators in differentiating their instruction and cultivating a maker culture in the classroom. I was over the top excited to learn that one of my personal all-time favorite children’s authors has launched an award-winning software program titled Animation-ishPeter H. Reynolds is the bestselling author and illustrator behind the incredible titles IshThe Dot and The North Star. Each of the aforementioned held a very prominent and special place in my curriculum when I was a classroom teacher.  Now, Mr. Reynold has moved beyond books and into the digital space with the launch of Animation-ish, which is described as “an easy-to-use animation software program that inspires creativity and enables children to show what they know.”

For more on how to use the app, its undeniable merits for the classroom and more unabashed praise singing of this amazing tool head over to my review at the Yellin Center.

Teaching Moments: Fundraiser Dance

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If you remember I was making (inexpensive and easy) costumes for three dances I choreographed for my students to preform at fundraiser for their Autism education program and other center related programs for new immigrant families in Chinatown.  Well yesterday was performance day.  Even with gales of blustering wind, and a mass outpouring of snow, the event was a success.  The patrons who managed to brave the treacherous winter conditions were a incredibly enthusiastic audience as they watched my students dance, listened to piano performances and purchased student art from the art show.    Continue reading “Teaching Moments: Fundraiser Dance”