Gynzy is a great tool for creating interactive whiteboards. It is extremely important to get students to have fun while learning and interact with other students. Gynzy can help students become more involved in both their own and their classmates learning process. First, when opening Gynzy, you can create a project from scratch or choose from an abundance of different templates. There are also different options for elements that you can add into your whiteboard. For example, there are clocks, name pickers, or bar graphs that you add in for students to use as a guide during activities. When creating your whiteboard, you can add in text or drawings as well as different images. Then, you can choose to lock down an image or leave it unlocked. This is helpful if there are certain objects that you want students to manipulate while there are others that should stay in place. For example, you might lock down a background or a chart while unlocking different words so that students have to place the words in the correct space in the chart.
When creating your Gynzy, it is important to consider the needs of your class and the objectives of you lesson. I can understand how Gynzy might feel overwhelming because there are so many different options and elements to play around with. However, I am still excited to use this tool in my own classroom. It is extremely helpful for online learning as students are still able to interact with the lesson content. It allows them to show what they have learned but in a different way. It is also helpful to use alongside in-person learning. It can add in an additional interactive element so that students who are more hands on or visual get the extra practice. In my class, I can use Gynzy while doing a money unit and challenge students to set out the correct amount of money in a chart. I could also use the random name picker to help choose the order of presentations, who will be the line leader that week, or who gets to choose first when it comes to freetime!
Gynzy ties in with the Danielson framework for teaching, particularly domain 3C: Engaging students in learning. Interactive whiteboards challenge students to use critical thinking and apply what they have learned to an activity yet still have fun while doing it. The manipulatives help activities feel more like a game than a worksheet or formative assessment. It also challenges students to interact with each other. Students might collaborate on an assignment or take turns solving different problems on the whiteboard during class. This can help student learn from each other and see things from a different perspective. It also ties in with domain 2C: Managing classroom procedures. Gynzy has an option to add elements such as a voice level tracker or a timer. This gives students an important visual while they are working on a specific activity. For example, the voice level tracker can help remind students of whether they should be whispering or speaking loudly and clearly as they discuss topics with each other. This visual can help activities or transitions run more smoothly.
Check out some pictures of the Gynzy I created for my Co-op below (or click the button to take you to a copy of my Gynzy!)