Tech Tip Thursday

Emojis have become a big part of society and our student's lives. Especially when a movie was created about emojis.

As teachers, we try hard to stay current with what students like and what gets their attention to include in our lessons. Especially for those students who have a hard time learning or those who are not interested. I know for a fact that my son's teacher has used his love of Super Mario and goats to get him interested and involved in his learning. He got very excited when he saw his homework had a word problem with his name and him counting goats.

With emojis being everywhere how can we include them in our papers, notes, worksheets, and anything else we create? That is what this tip is about. Instead of having to search Google for an emoji image, finding the right one, maybe having to crop it. There is a simpler way, especially on a Mac! Emojis are part of Mac's keyboard. Simply press Control, Command, and the Spacebar at the same time and a box with emojis should pop up.

Don't forget that you can also use a chrome extension for Bitmojis, the other current trend. You can use Bitmojis for assignments just like the regular emojis. I like using Bitmojis in Google Classroom. When students complete an electronic assignment, I like going through their work making comments and leaving a little of my personality there. Students love this and get excited to see their work personalized for them.

I would not recommend letting students create and use their own Bitmoji, especially for classroom use. There are nonschool appropriate Bitmojis available and there is no way to sensor nor parental control settings (hopefully they will create a school version of Bitmoji soon). But for now, you can use this Disney Emoji maker. It doesn't work the same way as Bitmoji but it allows the students to create their own character and save the image.

Bitmoji Chrome Extension link: Here
Bitmoji website: Here