Magic Studio
Magic Studio is a Network of Interactive Learning that has been on my “need to explore closer” list since this summer. I started to explore it this week and have really found some of the features to be versatile for the SMARTBoards, classroom use (laptops) and on wikis (embed). One of the advantages is that if you create an activity to use on the SMARTBoard you can then embed that into your class wiki for students to use as a review– now that is AWESOME!!! I should note that you do need Macromedia Flash Player 8 or above to use Magic Studio. If you navigate to the Browse feature you will find “great images, video, audio, reference text and interactive resources to customise or to use straight away just as they are.” For example, here is a great pre-made drag and drop review to practice addition (2-10). To use with the SMARTBoard I would view it in full screen. There is a zoom feature so you can make the screen even larger. You could also embed this drag and drop into your wiki or blog as a student review. Here is a link to the Magic Studio Tour which give you an overview of the features. In addition to the drag and drop feature Magic Studio will also allow you to create an interactive image explorer, a timeline, presentation, quiz or a featurette ( text and media). Basically you are adding “hotspots” to create the interactive- very coool!! You can upload your own images, etc. or you can use content from their content channels. Everything you create remains private unless you decide to share it. You can sign up for a free individual account to save and create activities. They also offer an enhanced, paid for service to schools ”wishing to take advantage of cross-platform collaboration, sharing and community building amongst teachers, learners and parents”. ENJOY!
