Tag: 20-A7

By Braelyn Higdon

I am from waterfalls and hikes, to beautiful landscapes and views, 

from sunny days on the river, to sunsets at the beach. 

The Pacific Northwest has it all. 

I am from Washougal, WA., and I grew up on a small farm.

I am from a loving family, full of care and support.

Surrounded by three older siblings, and a nephew on the way. 

I am from dance every day, to competitions and performances on the weekend. 

And now from University of Portland, with a new community of wonderful people and friends. 

I think that using Adobe Spark Page was a quick and easy way to generate a very professional looking website. I think this would be a great tool to create an interactive lesson for elementary students as educators can include text, pictures, videos, and resources for students to use. Adobe Spark Page would also be a great way for students to create a presentation using a different format than Powerpoint presentations.

I really enjoyed using this website. I can see me and my class using this a lot in the future for different ways for them to tell stories and express themselves!

My version of the I am From Poem:

I am from a multitude of places
I am from the hot dry summer
From the high desert in Bend, OR
And the cities that reach to the sky
I grew up in the rolling forests of Pennsylvania
And traveled to Yellowstone, Wyoming
I am from all these places but I ended up in portland, oregon
I am from a pet loving family
And i have two adorable pets today

https://spark.adobe.com/page-embed.js

I liked using Adobe Sparks! I liked how much creativity a user could bring and how mayn image options there are to users. I wish that there was more customizability in the caption placement on the pictures however, because I wish I could have moved where the caption was located. Overall, I think that this could be a really cool tool to use in the classroom and I think that students could really enjoy using it.

I am from California

I am from blue skies and beautiful views

From beach days

That turn into bonfire nights

I am from barbecues in the summer

With laughter and water fights

I am from the rolling golden hills

And the tall redwood trees

I am from a place of sunshine

That will forever be my home

I enjoyed using Adobe Spark to create my “I Am From” poem. I like how easy the website is to use, having a lot of different options for the way you can set up your page. I also really like how the site has an area where you can search for free images and gives credit to the owner of the images. I think this application would be a fun and easy tool to use in a classroom setting where you could have students making their own stories or “I Am From” poems.

Featured image by Christoph Partsch on Pixabay

Where I’m From

My Home

My Heart

My Soul

They each belong somewhere their own.

My Home is Dallas,

Home of the Dragons.

The place of Dutch Bros

And Friday Night Lights

My Heart is with my family,

The people who raised me.

Mom, always looking at me lovingly.

Dad, always cheering me on.

My People, My Heart.

My Soul belongs to London, 

Where my wanderlust began.

Big Ben rings throughout,

Rayner’s Lane Station gives me chills.

My Soul belongs to London, even still.

I thoroughly enjoyed using Adobe Spark Page to create this story! I think it is a more engaging way to tell a story than just using a Google Slide or a PowerPoint. This is something very customizable that can be smooth and flow quite nicely. Although I believe there are many advantages to telling stories in this way, I believe that it would be hard to do something interactive like you can do in Google Slides. I am a beginner when it comes to all of this, but I believe it would be difficult to make a “choose your own adventure” or a quiz in this kind of format, however it would be a great resource for some sort of presentation or an online resume maybe!

I am from blue skies and blue water

From Lychee and Crowned Flower trees 

Im from pets

Brownie and Lady

I’m from spam musubis 

And steamed fish and shaved ice

I’m from late night soccer practices

And early morning soccer games 

From the wins to the loses

Family and Friends come together

I really enjoyed making an AdobeSpark page. The interface is very easy to use, and gives the user more leeway with creating different picture layouts as compared to GoogleSites. AdobeSpark puts more stock into pictures, rather than words. This could be helpful to use with students who aren’t strong readers and to make presentations more engaging in general because the focus is on the pictures. AdobeSpark could be useful to use in younger grades, when students are just beginning to learn how to use computers, for they can let the pictures do most of the talking and supplement with words.

I really enjoyed this website. I could definitely see my students and I using this website to easily create and share visual stories.

I’m from Oregon 

I’m from summer days outside full of yard work and fun

I’m from winter days with a book by the fire 

I’m from nights full of games

I’m from family beach days

I’m from enjoying every sunset

I’m from loving the outdoors

I’m from faith and hope

Adobe Spark Page is fun and user friendly! I think it could be a fun way for older students to share where they come from. And I think the teacher could compile one for the whole class based on what students shared about where they come from. I think however you use it, I’d recommend thinking through what content you want to put on the page and in what order. I found this to make my first time using it quick and trouble free. I definitely would like to brainstorm ways to implement it into my lesson plans and student projects.

Featured Image by Elena Kuchko on Unsplash

I am from a city known for tourists, 

Known best for our friend, Karl the fog, 

the busy streets, and the deep sunsets, 

The city engulfed by water and two bridges that hold the city together

I am from San Francisco, the Golden City

I am adored by two parents, creating a non traditional family dynamic, 

I am from small family gatherings with big traditions, 

and a big appetite for adventure

My impressions:

I think that this is a really useful tool to help create a story. It is easy to use and has different features that makes it easy to customize and make personable. I am not sure about the accessibility for students in elementary school but would be useful to show a lesson on. I chose to do a mix of glide show and photo grids to display my image and my poem I wrote. It made it look put together but not boring.

I’m from an island, 

A place filled with hiking wonders 

From beach days and sunshine. 

I am from grass on my bare feet, 

and pick up trucks on the street—Toyota Tacomas

I’m from lots of food

I’m from lots of love from my parents and family 

I have family near and far 

I think using Adobe Spark page is a very creative way to tell stories! It does take some time to get used to the format and the way that the different pictures can be set up with text. In a younger grade classroom I think it could be a fun way to maybe create one that contains an image and fun fact about each of your students that they could share with the class and have it be all in once place. Just another way you could work to foster community in the beginning of the school year!

I’m from summers in treehouses under the chlorinated sun

And weekends watching Little League games 

I’m from mom and dad and a twin brother

Our pictures on walls in wooden frames

I’m from pets of all kinds in all shapes and sizes

All leaving lasting impressions on my heart 

I’m from rolling grass hills decorated with flowers

And friends who never strayed far apart

I absolutely loved making this Adobe Spark Page! It was easy but still customizable. There are endlessly possibilities to use this in a classroom. If students are old enough, you could have them create an original short story or poem and create media to go with it. Or students could attach photos for a personal narrative. They would need a few computer skills in order to understand how to create the page, but it is fairly simply so even the little ones could use it with some guidance.

Featured Image by semafore from Pixabay

I'm from Federal Way, Washington.
From Sunday night church and family dinners at Chipotle 
after
From fall bike rides in the valley and summer bike 
rides at sunset
From reality tv every night before bed
From a 45-minute commute to high school filled 
with Frank Sinatra sing-alongs. 

I'm from Portland, Oregon. 
From Sunday morning Mass with a freshman year friend 
From stolen bikes and sunny afternoons in the quad 
From late night conversations and Christmas card photos 
with friends who feel like family 
From Mt. Rainier to Mt. Hood...still a nice view, 
but definitely not the same.  

[embedit snippet=”im-from-here-and-there”]

I really enjoyed using Adobe Spark as a way to illustrate my I’m From poem. I think it was user-friendly while still being equipped with tools that can make your product look like it took forever to create – with the intricate windows feature, and the “glideshow” capability. I also really appreciate that you can search within the application for free images, and that the creator will automatically give credit to the owner of the images if need be. I think this is a great and easy to use tool that could serve unique purposes in the classroom!

Featured Image by skeeze from Pixabay