Richard D. Solomon's Blog on Mentoring Jewish Students and Teachers: How Portrait Illustrator Maker, a web tool that enables the user to make computer avatars, can be utilized to promote instruction in the blended learning classroom

Monday, March 30, 2015

How Portrait Illustrator Maker, a web tool that enables the user to make computer avatars, can be utilized to promote instruction in the blended learning classroom

When mentoring our pre-service and in-service teachers we need to describe and model both research-based and clinically tested best practices, and demonstrate how these best practices can be applied in the real (i.e. physical) and virtual (i.e. online) classroom for both teaching and teacher training. The combination of face to face instruction in a physical setting and online learning is called blended learning. In this section of the blog we will describe how the internet can serve as a supplemental resource for instruction and the mentoring of pre-service and in-service Jewish educators. In this post we will discuss how Portrait IllustratorMaker, a web tool that enables its users to create computer avatars (see the definition in the next paragraph), can be used to promote instruction in the blended learning classroom.

What is a computer avatar?

A computer avatar is a graphic image or file that represents the person using the computer. Click here to connect to a blogpost that elaborates on the definition of a computer avatar. Click here for a discussion on how computer avatars can be used to enhance instruction.

Assumption: The teacher or mentor teacher has an interactive white board (i.e. SMART Board, Promethean, etc.), a Tablet PC (also called a Slate or Blade), a computer presenter or computer with internet access attached to an LCD projector in the classroom. It would be ideal if students or mentees had access to their own laptop computers or iPads. Given parental and school approval, and the development of specific guidelines, smartphones can be used to enhance instruction as well.

Note: Although Portrait Illustrator Maker can be applied in the Judaic Studies blended learning classroom, it can be also be used for training pre-service and in-service Jewish educators for professional or staff development. It is our hope that Jewish educators around the globe will form an online community of practice, a CoP, a group of people who share an interest, a craft, and/or a profession, to enhance the delivery of instruction and training of Jewish educators. For example, here is a CoP you might want to join.

Note: can be used in a face to face and virtual classroom.

What is Portrait Illustrator Maker ?

Portrait Illustrator Maker is a web tool that enables the use to create computer avatar. See the definition and explanation of a computer avatar above.

Where is Portrait Illustrator Maker located on the web?

http://illustmaker.abi-station.com/index_en.shtml

How Portrait Illustrator Maker, a web tool that enables the user to make computer avatars, can be utilized to promote instruction in the blended learning classroom

Click on the links below and find resources that explain how Portrait Illustrator Maker an be used to promote instruction in the face to face and virtual classroom:

On the next blogpost we will discuss how Portrait Illustrator Maker, a web tool that enables the user to make computer avatars, can be utilized to promote Judaic instruction and to mentor/train Jewish educators.