Saturday, February 23, 2013

And the best free web tool award goes too....

I just watched an wonderful session form ISTE 2011 on the the best free web tools in the different categories. Having spent the past six months learning about different web tools, I was amazed by how much I still have to learn! The presenter showed examples of what he feels are the best in each category. For example, the best search tool for kids went to Searchy Pants, the best social web tool went to Schoology. This session was informative and entertaining as well. He even had an "in memoriam" segment for web tools that no longer exist. I was excited to try Jaycut, a video editing site that he recommended, but it no longer exists. I'm excited about Capzles, a timeline site, that I'm going to try with my students when we are studying biographies. Goanimate also looks amazing for creating animations. He also gave us a link to his website which also looks great. It is a free site to explore and offers a ton of great resources for teachers (www.edutecher.net). I have a list of new things to explore! It was well worth the hour I spent watching this session!
http://www.isteconference.org/ISTE/2011/program/search_results_details.php?sessionid=60632303&selection_id=82537289&rownumber=4&max=54&gopage=

Tuesday, February 19, 2013

Why Wiki?

One of my goal's out of my Ed Tech course, was to try to get a better understanding of the differences between, wikis, websites, blogs etc. They all seemed to do the same thing! While I still notice that many of their purposes overlap, the shared editing aspect of the wiki is fascinating to me! I tried using a Wiki for the first time with my third graders and it was a huge success! I wish I could have taken a picture of their faces when I taught them how to use the wiki. They were so excited! Later on when I had them write a reflection about the assignment, that was their favorite part. They loved that they could access it at home, show it to their parents, see the other ideas of the children in their group, and build on those ideas. It was very motivating for them and really pushed them to put their best ideas forward.
Looking through lists of Educational wikis available, I feel like I can get lost forever into researching them! I am amazed by the amount of materials out there and by the generosity of teachers and coordinators who share their ideas with the world! I'm looking forward to the exploration!

Sunday, February 3, 2013

Visual Tools

Visual tools were always something that intimidated me. I always loved the idea of creating digital stories or videos with my classes but it seemed like too much to take on considering the young ages of my students. I just imagined that I would end up doing all the work. This week, while trying to look through all the resources in my text book on Visual Tools, I came across Animoto. Since you can make a 30 second video for free, I decided to try it. It was so easy and so much fun! I made a short video of pictures of my first graders on Teddy Bear day.
Since then, my mind has been racing with ideas on how to use the technology with my students for more than just displaying pictures of them (although I'm sure the parents will love it when I link it to my class blog). Next week I am starting a new Unit on Biographies with my third graders. I think they would LOVE to make short videos with captions of someone that they read about! I'm looking forward to trying it with them. Again, I have to acknowledge the wonderful teachers and coordinators who are part of my Ed Tech class for their inspiring work and ideas. I am learning so much from all of them.
http://animoto.com/play/GoDowz01Z8LBsvj2TD7krA