I know that I told you about PowerPoint alternatives for middle school students in another post but this time I want to tell you about Powtoon. Powtoon is without a doubt the best PowerPoint alternative for middle school students.
So what makes Powtoon so great for middle school students?
- The service is free
- Students can signup with Google
- Just as easy as PowerPoint
- Videos can be embedded and shared online
The first day I introduced my students to Powtoon they were so excited. I introduced the problem statement for the assignment and showed an example of a completed Powtoon animation. Getting the students signed up was easy because all students have Google Accounts through the district. It was great that they did not need email addresses, because students don't have district email at the middle school level.
Powtoon provides a large selection of tutorials that you can view or have your students view to get started. During a unit on persuasion techniques students used Powtoon to create a commercial for a unique product or service using one of the 6 propaganda techniques.Here is a Powtoon animation created by a student.
Before the STAAR test students used Powtoon to demonstrate their knowledge of science topics and to help others review. Here is an example Powtoon about Atoms.
Here is one that was created for a communication strategies project.
If you don't believe me, that Powtoon is the best PowerPoint alternative for middle school students, just give it a try.