Using Emojis on Pic Collage

By Erin Flanagan

My students love Emojis and Pic Collage makes it easy to add Emojis to projects we create in our classroom.  

Emojis are not just a trend, but are influencing how we communicate.  Educators need to pay attention to communication trends – especially digital ones – since we want to best support our students in the classroom AND in the world outside.  

Plus Emojis can be incorporated into many lessons in meaningful and engaging ways.  Students can use Emojis to summarize, self-evaluate, write poetry, add tone to text, graph, and even tell a story without words! We also use Emojis to vote when playing Digital Scoot on the iPad.

How to Add Emojis to a Pic Collage

Adding Emojis on Pic Collage is super easy since the Emoji Keyboard is integrated.  

To add Emojis on Pic Collage, touch the plus icon to open the menu and select Text.  Touch the “globe” icon to open the Emoji Keyboard.

From here, scroll by swiping right or left or use the category icons to find Emojis.

Touch an Emoji and touch the check to insert it onto the Pic Collage canvas.

Use the arrow or pinch to resize the Emoji. Emojis will have a default transparent background.

You can also add backgrounds to Emojis.  In the text menu, after selecting the Emoji, touch the A icon and then the background icon to open background options.  Touch the background you want and touch the check.

Also, you can add multiple Emojis at the same time in the text window.  You can pinch to stretch the Emojis so they align vertically, in a group, or horizontally.  Use the arrows to make the Emojis larger or smaller.

Keep in mind the Emoji Keyboard does feature Emojis that are not kid-friendly so be sure to set some ground rules as to what Emojis students can and can’t use.  Our shortlist is the middle finger, gun, bombs, alcohol, cigarettes, drugs, and Emojis referencing death. Students love to use Emojis so explaining that they need to make smart choices in order to use them is a good way to set the stage.

If for some reason students cannot find the “Globe icon” and the Emoji Keyboard, it may be because the iPad does not have the Emoji Keyboard activated.  To do this, go to Settings > General > Keyboards > Keyboards > Add New Keyboard then scroll down to find it.  However, most new devices will have it already installed.

Others Ideas for Using Emojis on Pic Collage

We use Emojis any time students are working on Pic Collage.  Sometimes I limit how many Emojis students can use or sometimes students can ONLY use Emojis to complete a project! The projects below can be found at www.shoperintegration.com.

Students can use the math symbol Emojis to write equations. The symbols category contains Emojis for addition, subtraction, multiplication, division and even a dollar sign.  The regular keyboard has the equal sign.  

Students can also use Emojis to show their work solving the same equation!

Emojis are also a silly way to block out student faces when sharing classroom pictures on social media.  I teach students this trick as part of a digital citizenship lesson.  Not only is it a “safe” way to share a picture, many elementary students prefer it and love selecting an Emoji to be their face!

Learn more ways to integrate Emojis in the classroom and more ideas for using Pic Collage at www.erintegration.com.

Erin Flanagan is technology enthusiast, the teacher behind Erintegration, and a PicCollage Ambassador.  It is her passion to help teachers by sharing resources, lesson plans, reviews, and tips for using iPads, Google Apps, and other devices to engage digital learners in all curriculum areas. Connect with her on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and Instagram to see how she’s integrating technology across the curriculum and be sure to tag her to share other ways you have used Pic Collage!