Technology Tuesday: Haiku Deck

I remember when I first started using technology in the classroom, Power Point was all the rage.  Students sat in computer labs and created presentations using the old standby - ABC books about their state, Biography presentations about presidents or other historical figures, slideshows of their favorite places.  But, recently, Power Point has gone the way of dinosaurs.  Presentations were conducted and students stood before classrooms and read EVERY word that was written on each slide.  With the onset of bring your own device initiatives and iPads in the classroom, there are presentation tools that are much more effective at building presentation skills.

Last year my students had great success with Haiku Deck.  Haiku Deck is a great app that can be utilized on iPhones, iPads, iPad minis, and now, can also be utilized in a web-based application. The app is a free app, but does have the option of add-ons such as additional sharing options, templates, and such.

Here is an example of a deck that were created by me and my students. I was unable to use others because last names were present.  Students created ABC books about the American Revolution, similar to the way it was done in Power Point, but we focused on the verbal presentation of the decks as an assessment.  Some students created decks to tell the story of the entire war, while others focused on a single event.



Abc Book By.Brandon - Created with Haiku Deck, presentation software that inspires

My favorite things about Haiku Deck:

1.  It limits the amount of text on the screen!  No longer do you have to sit through a presentation that is read from the slides.  Students can only put a few words on each screen.  Presentations now have to be planned and performed with personality.  Students must know their content.

2.  Focus on images!  We live in a visually stimulating culture.  Haiku Deck puts the emphasis of the presentation on the images.

3.  Creative Commons - You can search for images within the app itself and they are pulled from Creative Commons images.  You also have the option to add images from your camera roll. **As with all image searches, err with caution.  A work around that I used was to save a folder of images in my Evernote notebook and share it with my students.  Students could then save the images to their iPad and use them in their deck**

4.  Sharing Capability - You can share decks by embedding html code, on Facebook, twitter, etc. The walls of your classroom will come down for your students.

5. Export as a Power Point - If you are still attached to Power Point, you can export the slides and view in Power Point.

How would you use Haiku Deck in your classroom this year?