I love my Bitmojis! I use the chrome extension to add them to my emails, I Snapchat, and text with them. I’ve had entire conversations with friends and co-workers using nothing but Bitmoji but I’ve never thought of using them in school. Which, now that I think about it, is crazy! We were faithful users of Bitstrips for Education before it disappeared and the kids always loved it. How hadn’t I thought about using Bitmojis in school before this?!?!?
Besides all the cool ideas I learned about (more about them in a bit), one of the major things I learned is that you can use Google Draw to edit your Bitmojis! And not just adding text next to them-you can change your Bitmojis t-shirt logo, change the text of things they are holding etc. Fresh off my Google Draw exploration, I found this particularly exciting and couldn’t wait to try out my new Draw skills.
Here is one I tried editing in Google Draw:
Not too bad of a final result and it didn’t take that long either. I can see this becoming a regular habit.
- Virtual Stickers-I love the idea of turning your Bitmojis into virtual stickers for providing feedback in GAFE! I can’t wait to surprise my 5th graders this week with some extra personalized feedback when they start working on their Planet Slides!
- Real Stickers-Since I work in an elementary school, I also love the idea of turning the Bitmojis into actual stickers! I’ve already ordered some label sheets from Amazon and they’re supposed to be delivered on Monday. I think I might actually be excited for break to end and to go back to work Monday! I used Google Draw to make up this little sticker I can use as a book reminder. I left the space at the bottom to jot the book(s) name(s) and I’m eager to see if it helps more than printing the name of the book out for them (I have a feeling those pieces of paper get lost long before they have a chance to get home).
- Booksnaps-We’re having a bit of a social media policy makeover at my school right not so I’m not sure I’ll be able to get away with a library Snapchat account but, I do think I might get my library’s Instagram account approved for continued use. So, maybe I could use Instastories to share booksnaps! I also like the idea of extending that “snap and react” setup to other platforms we already use in school like Seesaw or even uploading the images into Google Slides or Keep for a digital reaction journal (with or without Bitmojis it could be a fun idea).
- Updated Book Review Board-Another idea I can’t wait to kick into gear when we get back to school: revamping our emoji book review wall! (Side note: another example of “Why did it take me so long to realize you can use Bitmojis at school?!?!?!”). Last year I found these emoji book review sheets and I put them on the tables for kids to complete and hand in during open book exchange time. Then, I made a bulletin board that says “Books make us feel so…” and under those words are giant emoji faces with the name of the emotion under them (happy, sad, surprised etc). Completed book reviews get hung on the board under the appropriate emoji face. As part of that, I have a wall with a flip chart where I keep track of how many books I’ve read during the school year and when I finish a book, a put a copy of its cover on the wall with an emoji face to represent how I felt about the book. Now, I’m thinking I could add my Bitmojis to the book reviews and the bulletin board to help personalize it even more! Here are some pictures I have of it from the first month we started the book reviews:
- Bookmarks-I’d also like to try making my own Bitmoji bookmarks promoting reading. Maybe have the kids make their own as an end of the year, get ready for summer reading project?
I know some people might question the validity of using Bitmojis in school, calling it silly or a time waster. However, I think if you’re looking to connect with students and get them to pay attention to the things you want them to pay attention to, you have to make an effort to meet them where they are and share their interests with them. And once you use something like this to get their attention and start the conversations, who knows where it can go from there?
Librarian On The Loose 
Wow, so many fun Bitmoji ideas! Nice editing with Google Drawings, I wasn’t sure which one was the original. Fun sticker ideas. I wondered about bitmojis in school being a silly waste of time too, but the more I looked at all the great ideas, the more I loved them. Good attention getters and fun. Nice post!