In the previous blog post, I talked about the use of PowerPoint to create an activity for children to take part in during a virtual circle time. Another activity that was a lot of fun for the children was Pictionary. The children were all unmuted and guessing what was being drawn on the screen.
This tutorial will be for Mac, but I will include a link for instructions for Windows also. There are three programs I used to create this activity.
- The built in recorder for Mac
- Seesaw (https://web.seesaw.me/)
- PowerPoint
Seesaw (https://web.seesaw.me/) is a website used by our local elementary schools to delivery content remotely. There are many features that can be used. I found the drawing app to work well for Pictionary. It is very basic and easy to manipulate. Follow the link to create a free teacher account. I am using a student account to create the drawings. Once you create a teacher account, you can add a child to have access to the drawing app. Any drawing program would work for this activity. You just need to have it open before accessing the recorder.
To access the built in recorder for Mac, use the shortcut. Press shift+command+5. The recorder will now be visible at the bottom of the screen.
Click the option labeled with the number one. This will record the selected portion. The dotted box indicated the area of the screen that will be recorded. You may move this or adjust the size to fit your desired recording. Once you have the area selected, press the record button labeled with the number 2. This will begin the recording. Be sure you are ready to record. Below is a sample of what your final recording will look like when played back.
Once you are done with your drawing, click the icon on the menu bar to stop the recording. The recording will be automatically saved to your desktop.
To prepare these recordings for easy access during zoom, I put them into a PowerPoint presentation. The first slide would be the recording. The next slide would be a clipart image of the drawing with the word under it.
I shared my screen on Zoom (https://zoom.us/) with the PowerPoint up and ready to go. I had the children guess four different bug drawings. The children and parents could be heard guessing, laughing, and offering support if wrong. Zoom Pictionary was a very successful activity!
To record your screen on Windows: https://www.digitaltrends.com/computing/how-to-record-your-computer-screen/