3 Lots of links are included in this book. I’ll do my best to make sure all the links stay live and updated. However, after a book is published, sometimes all of that becomes impossible. If a link isn’t working, sometimes a simple Google search will do. You’re also free to contact us via the Ditch That Textbook website (DitchThatTextbook.com).
4 This book is all about swashbuckling, adventurous, tech-infused teaching and learning! What it’s not, though, is an invitation to the other kind of piracy: stealing. That goes for music, media, software, and any other materials. Let’s focus on using information and media ethically. But do feel free to pillage all of the tools, hooks, and exercises you find in this book and make them your own!
There’s adventure awaiting us on the high seas. Are you ready to tech like a PIRATE?
2 Experiences, Not Apps
In February 2014, the Vine craze started to creep and twist its way into my high school Spanish classroom.
It was the latest social media platform to catch fire with my students. I remember when Myspace accounts started to pop up. (I was friends with Myspace Tom! Well, so was everyone.) Then Facebook. Then Twitter. Then I heard students chatter about Vines, giggling as they watched on their smartphones between classes.
Vine was a looping-video app—now defunct—that let users record and watch six-second videos on repeat, over and over and over again. Video content was as random as the creators (called Viners). Awkward dance routines. Funny one-liners. People dressed as unicorns. Backflips. The videos were glimpses into real life, into what makes us smile and laugh and snort. My students were hooked.
When some teachers hear about their students’ new favorite app, their first reaction is to try to clamp down. When there’s a new app craze, I see it as an opportunity. Why are my students obsessed? What’s the hook that keeps them coming back? Most importantly, can I use the app’s concept as a springboard for creating a new experience in my classroom?
It knew it was time to claim Vine’s appeal for educational gain. (Of course, I know what kids say: adults ruin the great social platforms. When too many of us show up, it’s time to find something else!)
One day I asked my students if they knew about Vines. Some looked offended that I’d even ask.
“So,” I asked, “what if we created Vines as part of class?”
Instantly I had their rapt attention. Making Vines in class? Their minds raced for a moment. This doesn’t make sense, they surely thought. Teachers hate social media. They’re always telling us to put our phones away. Is Mr. Miller really going to let us use them?
Well, yes and no.
Yes, we were going to make six-second videos.
Yes, we would use mobile devices to shoot them.
Yes, the videos would resemble Vines. (Kind of.)
No, we weren’t going to use the Vine app.
At first, I did want to use the Vine app. But I realized there were good reasons not to do this. The app was rated 17+ on Apple’s App Store, putting it out of reach for most of my students. Some Vine videos had explicit content. Plus, the thought of all of the usernames and passwords and accounts to keep up with gave me a headache.
Then it dawned on me. It wasn’t the app I was after. It was the experience. I wanted students to have the experience of using Vine, but without using the Vine app itself.
So we started shooting “Vines” featuring vocabulary words. Students planned how they would spend their precious six seconds. They wanted to squeeze in as much comedy, as much fun, as much wow as possible to impress their friends. And, of course, they had to include the chosen vocabulary word in the video.
The lesson created a lot of buzz! Students loved creating the vocab videos. It was the proof of concept that I’d hoped for. The problem was that our six classroom iPads just weren’t up to the task yet. Creating, sharing, and viewing the videos was not as easy as I’d hoped. Plus, I hadn’t yet found the perfect tool for creating looping videos. The idea was a bit ahead of its time.
In the end, the lesson was a bit of a bust. But a new seed was planted deep inside my teacher’s soul.
You Don’t Need the App to Create the Experience
Think about what hooks students on their favorite apps:
Social media apps let them share their lives with an audience of their peers and keep tabs on what everyone else is doing, saying, wearing, and eating.
Game apps challenge students and occupy their free time. Students get bragging rights when they reach higher scores than their friends.
News apps keep them up to speed with pop culture, sports, fashion, and so on.
Interested in recreating the experience of an app like I did with Vine? It takes just a few steps:
1 Learn about the app’s features. You don’t have to be an expert. You need only a basic understanding and some key details.
2 Figure out what’s captivating your students. Is it the social element? A creative outlet? A competition? Something hilarious? A way to develop and showcase a talent?
3 Identify some of its signature elements. Start with the logo: the colors, the shapes, the typography. Look at its interface: the buttons, the positioning of items on the screen, the lingo. Observe how students interact with the app: by tapping, swiping, shaking?
4 Start tinkering. Maybe you start with a digital tool that’s familiar to you and your students, and begin adding pieces of the app to it. Maybe you seek out a new tool or site that creates a similar experience, and start tweaking it to resemble the students’ favorite app.
I followed this process to effectively recreate parts of two popular apps—Instagram and Snapchat. You can use them as examples for creating your own app-inspired learning experiences.
In the Spotlight: Instagram Stories without Instagram
Instagram is a social media behemoth. Its users love shooting photos and videos, applying filters to make them look just right, and sharing them with the world. It’s just one of the social media and other apps that many students are familiar with.
Instagram Stories is a popular feature, and it’s a great storytelling tool. Users capture brief moments of their lives in photo or video and string the images together for others to watch one by one. That’s the hook for Instagram Stories: an easy-to-use tool for sharing special moments and showing some creativity at the same time.
The potential classroom uses for a feature like Instagram Stories are countless. For example, how cool would it be to show the Instagram Story Juliet would post after Romeo’s demise in Romeo and Juliet? How cool would it be to capture a science lab with an Instagram Story?
How can we mimic the Instagram Stories experience without the app? Can we find an option that lets us avoid problems like age restrictions, firewalls, and lack of access to mobile devices? Absolutely! Let’s recreate the experience with a digital