APP FOCUS

APP FOCUS – PIKTOCHART - BROUGHT TO YOU BY THE ICT LEARNING AREA AND 7G

As part of a module called Digital Kids, Year 7 ICT students have recently been learning about safety in the online environment. Using topics such as privacy, identity theft, screen addiction etc., students have used the Chrome App ‘Piktochart’ to create some informative and visually appealing infographics.

Piktochart is a free app (with a GoPro option at a fee), which enables the user to create well designed, high quality graphics. There are seven free infographic templates which can be customized by changing the colours, fonts, icons, and charts on each template. If a user is feeling particularly creative, there is also a ‘design your own from scratch’ option. The designer can add or delete blocks on the template for more or less space as needed.

Once completed, Piktochart Infographics can be shared selectively online, published to the public or alternatively can be downloaded as a jpeg or png graphic image.

Diana Hatch

ICT Learning Area Manager

SOME STUDENT IMPRESSIONS OF PIKTOCHART

I found Piktochart a very easy and useful thing to use and I had a great time using it whilst doing this project. (Denver)

I thought Piktochart was rather limited when compared to LucidPress but it was much easier to use. (Hannah)

I thought Piktochart was easy to use and it reminded me of another collage maker.  Although it was a little slow when it loaded and I had a few problems with the pictures, overall it was a great way to do tasks. (Elizabeth)

I think that Piktochart was good but there were not enough pre-made themes, so it would've been better if we had the pro version. (Mark)

I thought Piktochart was really fun to use. You could do almost anything!!  I really want to use it again!!!  (Tia)

APP FOCUS – TWISTEDWAVE

As part of the ICT curriculum our Year 7s have been working through Digital Kids, a unit developed to help guide students to become responsible digital citizens.  Part of this involved students developing and creating a radio advert using TwistedWave, an easy to use audio editor available through the Chrome App Store.

In this task, students were asked to research and develop a radio advert to let fellow students know about a particular cyber safety risk and persuading them to take precautions when communicating online.  These issues included cyberbullying, online grooming and digital reputation, to name only a few.

We chose to use TwistedWave because it allowed students to easily record and edit their adverts online using their Chromebooks.  They could add effects and share their adverts online seamlessly through their Google Drive.

The students thoroughly enjoyed this task as it enabled them to create fun and engaging ads to educate their peers about particular cyber safety risks.  In turn, this has allowed them to build a range of skills, knowledge and behaviours that will help to keep them safe online.

Cherie Marks

Professional Development Coordinator