Group items tagged

Avatar Creator

Create your own star wars character

Research shows that the best learning environments are those in which the students are engaged, active, and moving. In 2012, Loudoun County Public Schools implemented a number of Xbox Kinect consoles for students with disabilities. Participants in this session will learn about the positives and pitfalls of the implementation process as well as the progress made by students using the technology. The session will include a discussion of technical and environmental considerations, account creation, avatar generation and customization, games selection, online collaboration and communication (using Avatar Kinect), and case studies describing specific IEP goal progressions and comparisons. Let's play!

presentations

Make a Mini (A Lego-like avatar)

Screenshots of how to access Avatar Kinect on an Xbox

Presentation on gesture-based learning using Avatar Kinect by Christopher Bugaj, Tara Jeffs, Karen Dietrich, and Mark Nichols as presented at Closing the Gap 2013

Monica Kissel and Adina Popa from Loudoun County Public Schools, both Innovative Educators of the Year, will discuss kinesthetic learning. Sponsored by the Innovations Committee. How do we engage our 21st Century students? How do we help them understand that the material covered in class is relevant to their lives? In his book "Motivating Students to Learn," Jere Brophy suggests that students learn best when they are actively engaged with the content. Through kinesthetic learning, they develop lasting skills that many times translate into higher levels of student achievement. But how does kinesthetic learning look in a 21st Century classroom? The answer is simple: gesture-based learning. Does this initiative belong to the future? Not according to the 2011 Horizon Report which highlights Gesture-Based Computing as one of the six emerging technologies that will likely enter mainstream use within the next four to five years. The purpose of this session is to identify current technologies that employ gesture recognition, and then present innovative and replicable ways through which these technologies have been used at Steuart Weller Elementary. From turning shy students into persuasive public speakers through Avatar Kinect, to opening a world of possibilities to students with special needs though Kinect Adventures, to saving animal species with partner classrooms across the globe using multiple technologies, to exergaming, children have been immersed in a world of learning that they love. Attendees learn not only what relevant technologies are available, but also how to use these technologies in any curriculum area

Invite students to create their own hero. Then use that hero to inspire appropriate behavior, as a writing prompt, or more!

HeroMachine lets you unlock your inner artist, enabling you to create professional-looking illustrations even if you can't draw a straight line. Just choose a pose, then pick a set and genre of items and click to add them.

Create your own Peanuts character on this fun and interactive website. Great for practicing mouse skills and choice-making. After you create your character, you can download it and insert it into a Word document or PowerPoint to provide a visual for creating a story about the character.

Motivate students to participate Improve message comprehension Introduce technology in a fun way Utilize Voki as an effective language tool

Invite students or educators to create their own superhero as a writing prompt or as a behavior strategy (What Would Your Hero Do?)