In my last post, I claimed that I don’t throw in new technology tools without careful deliberation…which is usually true. But of course 24 hours later I have contradicted that by trying a new tool with my juniors that I just discovered last night. How many of you have tried a technology tool on the fly?

Checkthis.com is a digital poster creation site which makes content creation and sharing almost as easy as a Facebook status. You don’t have to create an account to begin, and the interface is intuitive. I did create my own poster last night before asking my students to dive in today. Aside from one network snafu and one site crash, the assignment went off without a hitch! Here are the benefits of this presentation method:

• Uses open log-in so if students already have Twitter, Google, or Facebook accounts, it’s a breeze to save, publish, and log-in!
• Allows for multi-media integration without too many options for re-sizing font or photos that make the interface complicated.
• Easy sharing options and interaction with comments and reactions in the side window.
• Web tool for any platform. I had students on Kindles, iPads, and PC laptops all working at the same time.

Today’s assignment was for students to reflect on the events that had the biggest impact on their 2012 year, and find a way to represent these in a visual way on this poster. I created a sample and posted the link to our Edmodo wall (along with this helpful how-to sent via @checkthis on Twitter last night) to get them started. We will finish tomorrow and have a nice reflection piece along with a new presentation tool ready to be used in future projects.