BP16_2009113_Media Asset 2

BP15_2009113_Peer Response to Sheryl Floyd

Sheryl Said: Journalism is my content and I know quite a bit about it--except for design. Those of you who have read my discussions and posts know that my intelligences are weak in the area of creativity and art. (I dread the music class we have to take!) Thus, I am always borrowing ideas and searching for inspiration for my students to use in our publications--whether those designs are to be used in newspaper, yearbook or online.

Here is a cool site for anything that could be an inspiration for design. Just looking at the pretty boxes is good enough eye-candy for me. But each square is a link to the website that has good design--many are designers, some are just fun links that have good design like fatburgr.com which gives you fat content of many of your favorite restaurants. Yes, it’s easy to get sidetracked on one of these links!

Each link is also rated with number of views on that site through the inspiremix link. I like also how the site divides designs into typography, Wordpress site, flash, website and logos. The website says it is for daily inspiration. The simplicity of the website is nice but the only interaction one would have with this site is to receive a daily e-mail, rate the designs and to suggest a design site. A design blog or justification or advice about the designs would be nice. There also isn’t any info about the developer.

Finally, I am sure several of the sites would not be appropriate or viewable at school. But it sure is pretty and it sure gets your visual juices going!

Carrie Kleber said...
Sheryl,
This site looks like it would inspire creative juices. I am not great at art or creativity, but I want to encourage my students to be creative on certain assignments. I have always found it helpful to look at examples of creativity or well designed material before I get started, so why should it be any different for my students. I think this site will be a great example for me to show my students to get them thinking.

BP14_2009113_Peer Response to Larry Harris

Larry said: Classtools.net

This Web 2.0 allows users to create, customize, and share video games as study tools for academic content. The tutorial you find upon entering the site is very clear and thorough. There are many template options, and once the content data is entered, students can choose from a variety of games to review the material. It also has other study tools that can easily be created to fit any content. Among those are Venn Diagrams, flash card creators, and a source evaluator. These are just three of the nineteen template possibilities. The source evaluator really strikes me as timely. As I have mentioned in previous blog entries, the skill of source evaluation is critical for learners in the information age.

The site also provides users with an embed code to embed in websites, blogs, and social networks. All the items created at this site are flash files, so they can be used in Smartboard notebook software.

The educational uses are obvious and some go beyond rote rehearsal to include evaluative and analytical cognitive domains. Students could also be tasked with creating games to support any content area and operate in the domain of synthesis. This has been a GREAT find that I will start using immediately by embedding vocabulary practice games in my classroom webpage (embedded above for you to try). I will be sharing this site with my colleagues at work as well. Many of us use Smartboards. Classtools.net’s compatibility with Smartboard software makes this a Web 2.0 tool that can be implemented in the classroom as independent work, small group work, and even whole group instruction.

Carrie Kleber said...
I just finished playing one of the games you set up on Classtools and I had a blast (literally). I am constantly looking for a way to incorporate games into vocabulary practice. I know my students would have a great time with this site, and based on your comments Larry, it sounds like it isn't to difficult to set up. I'm also thinking this would be a great enrichment activity. When student have complete all of their other work for class they could get on Classtools and practice.

BP13_2009113_Peer Response to Joanne Yates

Joanne said: Create a Graph

For the past three years my school has been in the process of learning to implement Response to Intervention (RtI), a systematic approach of matching classroom instruction with the instructional needs of the child. The goal is to meet the instructional needs of most children in the general education classroom. Teachers match a student’s instructional needs to a research intervention based program and collect weekly progress monitoring data. While the teachers, for the most part, have been great providing the interventions and collecting the data, they are terrible at transferring the data collected into the required graph format. This year bound and determine to not sit at my desk for hours on end transferring their data for them I set out in search of a great Web 2.0 that would be easy enough to use and satisfy even the most rigid of school psychologist. My discovery Create a Graph,http://nces.ed.gov/nceskids/ The website is actually intended to teach students about graphing, but it works well for adults lacking in the skill as well. Users simply go in and follow the tabs presented to set up a their criteria, once they have set up the basic information and saved it all they have to do is enter the date they progress monitored and the score a student earns each week. Another click of the mouse onto the preview tab and like magic there is their graph. Last they simply press the save and print tab and their job is done. For those more challenged, there is even a tutorial that walks them through step by step how to set up and enter their data. My teachers will be using the Create a Graph tool to create a line graph, but the tool is even more powerful than that because it offers the user the opportunity to create line, bar, pie, XY, and area graphs.

Carrie Kleber said...

My school is also in the process of implementing RTI, and graphs often prove to be a sticky point for teachers to complete. I think this site will be a good place to get our teachers started on graphs. I also think this will be a great site to share with my math department.

Thanks for sharing.

BP12_2009113_Web 2.0 JayCut

JayCut

The focus of my Action Research Project is Digital Storytelling, and so as I browsed through the various Web 2.0 tools and applications, I was on the lookout for tools I could use for my Action Research. Although there were several different sites I visited, none of them fit what I was looking for until I came across JayCut.

JayCut is a video-editing program similar to iMovie or Moviemaker, and it is free. However, there are several features this site offers that I found to be beneficial for educational purposes. First of all, you can work on videos collaboratively through JayCut. If you began the video, and you want others to work on it with you, all you have to do is sent those people an invitation (email) to collaborate on the video with you. The other aspect of this site that I found advantageous is that all of the videos you upload are saved on the site, once there you do not have to continue saving them on your hard drive. I know having the hard drive space for videos is a problem at my school, so JayCut could be a decent solution for the problem.

I know there a numerous uses for video editing tools, but I am going to focus on a few ideas I would have for my classroom, which is 7^th grade Language Arts. There are several projects I complete with my students that could profit from video storytelling. One of those projects is a Science Fiction movie that the kids write, edit, record and produce. In the past, only one or two students could be involved in the editing process because of the number of students who could access the video at one time. Also, the videos had to be very short because of the hard drive space. JayCut should allow for longer movies and more student involvement in the editing process. The second project is a historical fiction research project. The project itself is extensive, but currently culminates in presentation of different historical eras. I think it would be great to add a video reflective piece to the end of this project. I could film the students during their presentation, then upload the video to JayCut and make it available to the students, who could then create a video reflection of what they learned.

BP11_2009112_Reflective Media Asset

BP10_2009112_Peer Review of Tim Bemiller's Web 2.0 Tool

Woopid is a web 2.0 tool that allows you to watch free technology training videos. Students can get help and answers for their computer and gadget questions with thousands of video tutorials for PCs, Macs, and tons of different applications. This service sort of reminds me of Lynda.com, but with one big difference. It’s free.

There are multiple uses for the classroom in this web 2.0 tool. I think that students need a site like this one to help them when a teacher is not around. If a student can go online and in minutes find a free tutorial to help them finish a project, I say that is invaluable. With “bundles” the site groups up related videos for the user to easily access. If I wanted to learn about a program all I need to do is find the bundle associated with that file and presto, I have 10 or so videos thoroughly explaining aspects of the program.

Another very interesting feature is custom tutorials. You can have tutorials created for you by Woopid. When you click on the "Request Tutorial" button, you can describe what you're looking to have explained to you. The tutorials are in the same video format as every other tutorial on the Woopid site. Once requested, a Woopid representative will communicate with the user to iron out all of the details.

I have been looking for a site like this one for a while now and I am glad to have found this one. I recommend this site for anyone looking for a free alternative to high priced tutorial sites.

POSTED BY TIM BEMILLER AT 5:22 PM
1 COMMENTS:

Carrie Kleber said...
Tim,
Woopid sounds like an excellent site for getting technology training tutorials. Sometimes as an educator I feel like I have to know how to do everything and then on top of understanding, I have to be able to explain how to do those tasks. I end up feeling overwhelmed, especial when it comes to technology.

It is great to have access to a site that gives free technology tutorials. I love that I can show my students where to find the answers, and then let them discover the answers for themselves. Allowing them to find the answers themselves is an excellent critical thinking skill that goes along perfectly with 21st century skills.

I found it amazing that the site offers to create tutorials for a member if that specific tutorial is not available. It makes the site seem almost to good to be true.

I am definitely going to sign up for Woopid, and I will be sharing this site with the teachers in my district.

NOVEMBER 8, 2009 1:22 AM