Resources to help provide multiple means of representation:
Whole Class, top-level content representation via Video:
Incorporating class content via video or screencasting is a great way to incorporate different types of representation and illustrate content through multiple mediums. There are lots of screencasting programs, but I enjoy Ezvid and Screencast-o-matic. For sources of educationally relevant videos, you can use the traditional You Tube and Vimeo, but there is also SchoolTube which is good if your district has particularly strict web filters.
One of the excellent series of videos that I use most in my classroom are the Crash Course videos done by John Green and Hank Green. These videos are fun, interesting, include cartoon and animations as well as trivia and interesting segments. I have used them entensively in my class to help build background knowledge around historical and literary time periods prior to reading novels. This investment has definitely paid off in terms of the motivation and interest of my students.
Another excellent resource to help provide multiple representations of content for students is the Wisecrack channel. This channel does excellent breakdowns of complex material, imagery and analysis in accessible ways for students. They use colloquial language and video game formats to translate the information to support student understanding of these topics. My favorite feature from this channel is ThugNotes. Thug Notes provides excellent analysis of key literary texts while using language, examples and descriptions that are both funny and relevant to my students.
Whole Class, top-level content representation via lesson presentation tools :
Another way to offer multiple means of representation to students in different ways is through the use of technology which pushes information to the students as they are navigating through the lesson. There are several different sites and ways to do this, but I wanted to highlight a couple which were new to me and which I started using.
Nearpod is a great technology which pushes content to students' devices, but it is paced by the instructor and must happen in real time. This can be great for making sure that all students are on task or forcing quick responses from students, but it does mean that students cannot self-pace. This can be a good way to send students an image, graph or map for them to view and/or analyze without worrying about whether or not students can adequately see or view them. It also allows them to draw or write on the image which allows students to interact with the material in a new way. (For more information on nearpod, view my entry on this technology on the engagement page.)
Classkick is very similar to nearpod, although I think it has some key improvements. As the instructor you type, draw, or speak to add content, you can embed a file, picture or video and you can upload a powerpoint and have it translate it to the class kick. Students can also respond to the question by recording audio, uploading images or files, typing or drawing. And, a key factor for me, students are self-paced through the assignment. You can view their responses in real-time, and they can virtually raise their hands (and you can virtually answer their questions), but they don't have to wait on other students to move on if they are ready. You can also comment via audio or text on a student's work in real time and communicate with them in regards to the assignment or their questions even if you are not at school. Another nice thing about this is that students can change or add to their answer and raise their hand for you to re-grade the slide so they can engage in growth around that skill or topic. (For more information on classkick, view my entry on this technology on the engagement page.)
Whole Class, top-level content representation via visual tools :
Another way to incorporate mutliple ways of representation of content for students is incorporate cartoons and memes.
Teacher Memes is a site that has memes for basic issues in the classroom, including the one to the right, which is one of my favorite ones. Memes are best for covering routines or for summarizing a character's actions/thoughts or illustrating a grammatical point. Students think they are funny and remember the meme better than the original content. Students and teachers can also create their own memes using a variety of free online generators, including the original meme generator.
Cartoons can be useful in a variety of ways. You can use them for levity, to introduce a topic or characters and students can also use them to convey their understanding of concepts, characters, storylines, events, etc. Some popular sites to generate comics online are Pixton, Strip Generator, Storyboardthat, and Make Beliefs Comix.
Infographics are hugely popular with both teachers and students and have an infinite number of applicable uses. My favorite infographic maker is Canva which can be a bit confusing to learn, but is infinitely customizable. The example to the left is an infographic created by one of my students for our current unit using Canva. Piktochart is another example of an infographic maker that is hugely popular.
Representation via interactive timelines : Timelines are fabulous for helping students connect content to specific time periods, to their own lives or to create a timeline of the content itself. There are lots of ways to create manually, but there are also lots of good interactive timeline tools that students and teachers can use to create timelines. Many of these sites also have user generated timelines that cover specific periods of time or concepts, although, as with all content, teachers should evaluate it prior to using it.
My Histro allows users to add information and images which are geo-located on maps.
ElearningExamples has a variety of well-done interactive timelines as well as other multi-media images and infographics.
Sutori allows you to combine images and text to tell a story in a variety of ways. Capzle allows to combine a variety of media (video, images, audio, etc.) to tell stories.
Timeglider is specifically geared toward educational purposes and is good for a variety of project types.
Read Write Think has a simple timeline generator that is easy for students of all ages to use.
Representation via audio: As an English teacher, I rely heavily on dramatizations of literary works to support student understanding of texts. Many of these can be found at the local library. One site that I really like for dramatizations, particularly for plays (which they dramatize as radio plays) is LA Theatre Works. Many of their dramatizations can be accessed for free via that link at PRX. You can also purchase them directly from LA Theatre Works. This year we listened to A Raisin In the Sunby this company and it was deeply engrossing for the students and really helped to illustrate some of the directions and vocabulary in the play.
One of the risks of working with technology is that it changes rapidly and sometimes without warning. I have made every effort to ensure that the resources linked here are accurate. I intend for this to be a living and evolving resource and hope that I will continue to use and check these links; however, please contact me if you find that the links are broken or the resources are no longer available.