My PLN

I look pretty happy in this picture, huh?   Well that's because I'm showcasing the fun and interactive ipad app "Toontastic".  Toontastic is a great, user friendly ipad app which allows users to create their own animated movies, by pulling from a number of premade/readily available background settings and characters, adding their own narration and plotting their creations under various 'scenes' in your film (that span the story structure/elements of a story).
I wanted to share this particular app with my fellow teacher candidates because it is something that has been made available to us on the ipads which we were able to sign out for our block placement, meaning it is a technological tool that is readily available at our fingertips! (at the moment anyways).

 I think that this program holds a lot of potential for some great useage in the classroom.  Today, my colleagues discussed a number of great ideas - one being the possibility of using Toontastic as a tool for encouraging students to continue the work that they've done around a particular story that has been read in the classroom.  Encouraging students to 'extend the story' through an alternative format, such as a Toontastic creation encourages them to get creative and experience the process and organization that goes into creating a story.  Students have to think about how to thread the various elements of their story through the scenes, and consider the emotional intent of each scene.
As both an organizational and creative tool, Toontastic shines as a great resource for getting kids thinking metacognitively about the process of structuring a story... And having a lot of fun in the process!