Give Personalized, Target Language Feedback with Bitmoji Stickers
Take engagement to the next level!
A top find from my PLN this week is this fantastic idea from Suzanne Shooman in England:
If you’re not familiar with Bitmoji, it is a free app that allows you to create an animated emoji in your own image. So it’s not just a stock character waving or dancing or frowning…it’s you!
We know how important relationships are. And we know the value of timely and meaningful feedback. I see this strategy as a way to marry the two because it’s not just a sticker sharing descriptive encouragement, it’s a cartoon version of their teacher offering the feedback. AND it’s in the target language!
I wasn’t alone in my enthusiasm for Suzanne’s idea:
The How
There are plenty of ways to go about making this happen for you and your students. First step is to create the bitmoji graphics. If you need help, this might be a good starting place, or you could search youtube for “bitmoji help” and find lots of support. Next, you’ll need to move them into a document you can print. The final step is where things can get complicated.
I think the easiest solution will be to purchase sticker sheets on which you can print. Avery is the brand leader AND their website offers free downloadable templates. Each sheet you print costs enough that any printing hiccups will frustrate and upset you, so going with one of their templates is a good bet to cut down on waste.
Sidenotes on purchasing: the office supply stores usually offer “Buy 2, Get 1 Free” pricing on Avery products so factor that in when comparison shopping. And if you go with Amazon, please shop at “smile.amazon.com” (instead of amazon.com) as that will allow you to select a non-profit (like your school) to receive a small percentage of your purchase as a donation. Your cost doesn’t change; it’s Amazon’s money so please type the extra five letters and do some good:)
To find free sticker sheets, pay attention next time you’re at a district training with printed name tag stickers and reach out to the organizers to see if they have any leftovers and they might give them to you.
Another way to cut down on waste will be to run a practice print on regular copy paper to make sure things line up appropriately and that you know which direction to feed the sheets. If you make mistakes, the only thing you lose is a few seconds of your time and piece of paper.
Good luck! Please do share any awesome you create for your students with this idea as well as your own suggestions to help colleagues make magic happen!
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In addition to following Noah Geisel here on Medium, you can find him at SenorG on Twitter.
