Quicktime Screencast!?

I know I'm probably behind the game in this, but I just learned approximately the coolest thing I've learned in awhile:

QUICKTIME MAKES SCREENCASTS!


Just open up quicktime, and under the File menu, you'll see New Screen Recording.  How great is that!? I haven't tried it yet, but I'm assuming it's good. Just make sure that you turn on the microphone--click the little arrow by the record button and turn on your microphone.

Here's a little video that explains it:

Flubaroo Tutorial

Check out www.flubaroo.com for more information.

Google Image Search Reusable Photos

Google has made it easy to search through photos based on their license for reuse.  This is especially useful for students who are creating movies and presentations using online images.


Watch this 1 minute video to see how easy it is!

Little Bird Tales

Last week I discovered a website called Little Bird Tales.  It is a great digital storytelling tool. Students can upload pictures and add text to create pages of the book.  There is also a simple drawing tool where students could draw their own photos.  Students can add text to the pages or narrate them by using the computer's microphone.  It is a very simple, yet effective digital storytelling option.

Here's a quick video about Little Bird Tales:

Sort Google Results by Reading Level

Before you send your students out into the WWW to do a search for their next research project--show them how to sort their results by reading level!

Here's a quick video I created to show you how easy it is!




This is an easy way to make sure your students aren't reading something to hard (or too easy!). If you require students to look at certain websites, you might want to evaluate their readability--if students can't read it, they aren't likely to gain much from it!

Free Alternatives to Comic Life

While I think that Comic Life is one of the best comic creators out there, I want to mention some free alternatives you can use if your school doesn't have Comic Life.

Comiqs is a very close alternative to Comic Life. There are a few different templates you can choose from and you can add multiple pages to your comic. There is a photo album available to insert pictures, or you can upload from an online Flickr album or from your computer. You can put a black and white, negative or cartoon effect on your photos, as well. You can then share them to the Comiqs gallery or to your other social networking sites. You can also embed them into websites/blogs.

Marvel Comics also has a free comic creator which you create using the Marvel characters. Obviously you lose a little bit of customization because of the character limitations, but overall it is still a very good comic creator. One of the things I like about the Marvel site is that they have the option to insert "sound effects". Granted, they are not SOUNDS, but they are onomatopoeia words that are designed like they were in the Marvel comics (ex: BOOM, SMASH, BADOOM, etc). That effect really gives it the comic feel.  This is a great comic creator if you're willing to use Marvel characters.

Another free comic creator is available from ReadWriteThink. This is a great resource for younger students because of its easy drag-n-drop interface.  This is a very simple comic creator which doesn't have the fancy features of the other programs, however it works nicely for younger students, like I mentioned.  There isn't an option for sharing/embeding these comics either, but you can always click the print feature and then save it as a pdf or jpg.

Why use comics?
The use of comics might engage some of your learners who aren't the best writers.  Comics also make students think critically not only about the text, but also about the pictures and how the two interact. It would be best to show students examples of some good comics before students make their own.  I used comics in my classroom as a spelling option--students could create comic strips using their spelling words.  There is also a website called Comics in the Classroom that offers many lesson plans for using comics.

Xtranormal & Voki

Xtranormal and Voki are tools designed to do similar things.  The idea of the site is that you have an avatar and a background, and then you instruct the avatar what to say and the website makes it into a little movie.   However, there are some differences between the two.


First of all, Voki is coming out with an education version, where there won't be ads and more of the options will be available for free. Xtranormal has very limited free options.  There are only a handful of characters and backgrounds to choose from if you don't pay.

Xtranormal has a few more directing preferences which Voki doesn't have, and in Xtranormal you can insert two characters into one movie.  In Xtrannormal you can have your person make gestures with their arms or face.  You can also change camera angles.  There is more customization in Xtranormal, as you can also insert music or ambiance into the background.  In Voki, however, you can insert your own background, which could be useful.  Another useful feature in Voki is that you can insert audio in several different ways: via your computer microphone, telephone, text to speech, or importing an audio file from your computer.  This would allow you to create your audio in GarageBand, which lets you put in background music or ambiance.

Both Xtranormal and Voki give you the change to publish your video and share it via web link.  Voki gives you the option to embed it in a website or send it to a mobile phone or e-mail.  On Xtranormal you can upload your video to YouTube.

Xtranormal also has a downloadable program called State which gives you more options.  It is only available for Windows.

Uses in education:
Voki and Xtranormal provides a fun way to give class directions or explain a new assignment.  I would like to see students creating their own to explain a concept.  In Xtranormal you can put in two characters and have them have a conversation.  It would be cool to see students using it to have a debate about an issue.

Here's an example of an Xtranormal about Thanksgiving:



And here's a Voki used in a Spanish class. (scroll to the bottom)


A Voki tutorial:


And an Xtranormal tutorial:

Technology Symbaloo

http://www.symbaloo.com/shared/AAAABlvXQV0AA42ACnZjvQ==


Here's the link to all of the technology tools that we have talked about at CC as a staff.  Let me know if there are other things you'd like to see!

Toodledo--Easy To-Do Lists!

Toodledo is a website that allows you to create to do lists.  The nice features of the website are:

• prioritizing your list 
• assign certain tasks to other people 
• lists can be shared
• use due dates  
• get text message reminders sent to your cell phone or e-mail reminders to your inbox
• apps avaliable on Andriod and iPhone
• sync with iCal 
• put on your iGoogle homepage
• print into small booklet 

This would be a great tool for students who need help prioritizing homework or other daily tasks.  If needed, students could print off their lists and carry them around, or it could be synced to their cell phone or iPod.  Teachers can create an account and help students set it up.  There isn't a way to create a teacher account, because it isn't designed for schools, but if the teacher manages the account they would know the password (if you need extra accountability).

Setting up a Toodledo account is easy & free--check it out!

Scholastic StudyJams

Scholastic StudyJams is a website that has animated videos, slideshows, and karaoke jams regarding math & science subjects. You can search for a video, watch it, and then take a test about it.

In the math category, there are concepts from numbers up to geometry & problem solving. In science, the topics range from plants and animals up to scientific inquiry.

Creating a Customized Google Search Engine

If you want students to do research, but only want them to search through certain (safe, age-appropriate) websites, then creating a customized Google search will help you do that!

Here's a quick video I created to show you how...

Blabberize

Blabberize is a web 2.0 tool where you upload a picture, and then "blabberize" it. You record audio that is then embedded in the photo. This could be used in any classroom with any subject.

Here are some examples of how to use it in your classroom:

Art: upload a photo of a piece of art and then have students tell about the piece or the artist
Music: use a photo of a musician and describe him/her; write song lyrics to go with a picture
Science: a photo of a scientist and talk about what important thing they did; upload a picture of an experiment that students did and then describe it
Math: work out a problem on computer, take a screen shot of it, then tell about how they solved the problem (could also work the problem on a white board, then take a picture of it)
Social Studies: use any important person in history and tell about them; use a picture of an important event & describe why it was important
Reading: have students draw a picture about the book, upload it and tell about the book as a comprehension check
Writing: easily integrated with any subject--have students write out what they're going to say; also could design a picture about one of the 6 traits and then tell what that trait is about; students could write a poem, illustrate it, then blabberize it

You could also use pictures of classroom events and blabberize those as a way to share what you're doing in class.  Then, you can share them on Twitter and have people around the world leave comments on your blabberized pictures.

Wallwisher

Wallwisher is an online wall where people can post comments about a certain topic. I used Wallwisher in my classroom as a way for students to answer a "morning question."  I would post a question every morning, and then students would have to get to the wall and post a response.  Sometimes I would post brain teasers, other times I would post personal questions (such as what is a place you'd like to visit on vacation?).

There were several positive things about using Wallwisher to answer the morning question:

• routine--students knew what to do every morning
• management--this got students' computers turned on, logged in and ready to go
• I learned things about my students I wouldn't have otherwise--and they learned about each other, too!
• Wallwisher also allows you to post pictures with your post--students learned how to find images online and link them to Wallwisher
• you can also link websites to Wallwisher--one time I asked students to find a useful Web2.0 tool and link to it--again, they learned from each other
• students helped each other troubleshoot 
• it could be formal assessment if I wanted it to be--I could post a question asking what is one thing they learned at school yesterday

I loved using Wallwisher as part of my morning routine, but there are lots of other ways to use it, as well.  Here is a quick video tutorial on getting a wall set up:

Student PLN

There is a lot of focus on educators having an online PLN (personal learning network) but I haven't heard as much about students having an online PLN.  The idea of a PLN isn't just to have fun using social media (though it is that, too!), but it is to Learn something through the online connections you make.  Educators may do this through Twitter, Facebook, iGoogle, RSS readers, social bookmarking tools, educational websites, Symbaloo, or plenty of other places. 

But what about our kids? Where is their PLN?  Sure, they are probably on Facebook, and maybe have an iGoogle (which is probably only used to have a gaming widget that doesn't get blocked by your school's internet filter, or see their favorite professional sports team statistics), but how are they learning with these tools?  Chances are, they are just using these tools to have fun.  Fun is fun, but shouldn't we teach them to take the next step and learn something while they're out there!?

Much like educators, I think that students need to have a place where they are learning online--not by having to search for information, but having information come to them.  A good start may be an RSS feed about a topic of their interest.  If they like a certain model of car, let them follow a blog about cars and put it in an RSS.  If they like computer programming, let them find a Ning or Wikispace about the topic and subscribe to the sites changes. If students are having information that they care about fed to them, they will see the true power of social media.  Perhaps, someday as they're doing research for a school project, they'll subscribe to content relevant to that subject because they'll have already seen how easy it is to do.

A tool that allows organization of online content is Symbaloo: it's easy and kids can have all of their content organized on one page--personal and school. I've written a blog post about that here. 

KidBlog--My New Favorite Blogging Site for Kids

I can't believe I haven't written a post yet about KidBlog.  KidBlog was new to me a couple of weeks ago, and when I found it, I realized it was exactly what I had been looking for.

KidBlog hosts student blogs, but is easier to use than other blogging services I've seen.

Top reasons to use KidBlog:

• students don't have to have e-mail addresses to have a blog (this is the only blogging website I've found that doesn't require student e-mail addresses!)
• you can import users via a .csv file without having to pay extra for bulk import
• EASY, EASY, EASY interface--perfect for young students
• safe, private blogs (a must with young students!)

All in all, I love KidBlog!  If you want to get your students blogging, this a good place to start.

All things Google

If you're interested in using more Google in your classroom, check out this site, created by AEA, which has loads of info on using Google apps.

https://sites.google.com/site/iowagapps/home

I'll have more to post on Wednesday after ITEC!

Symbaloo

Symbaloo is a visual navigation tool where you can store links and then share them.  You can create a Symbaloo page, then add bookmarks to it.  If there aren't any pictures for the link you want to add, you can create your own from preloaded clipart or from your own pictures.

Here's a video I created to show how to navigate in Symbaloo:

And here's a video made by a student that shows how her science class uses Symbaloo:

Alternatives to EtherPad

EtherPad was a useful online collaboration tool, but it has been shut down.  There are several other very similar tools that will do the same thing.

Typewith.me is one service that you can use for online, real-time collaboration. Up to 16 people can edit at one time.

primarypad is another site you can use to do the same thing. The cool thing about Primary Pad is that you can also draw pictures to insert into the notepad. The drawings can be worked on collaboratively, also. This is a great tool for vocabulary, reading comprehension, art, or practicing visualization.


sync.in works much the same way as the other two resources I've listed.  

You Can Book Me!

Youcanbook.me has set up a service that allows people to see your Google calendar and sign up for a time slot.  This is a great tool for scheduling meetings with staff or if you need to set up conferences with students or parents.  You can embed it into a website or blog, or you can just share the URL.  You might notice that I've embedded it in the sidebar of this blog. The site e-mails you when someone signs up for a time, and adds it into your Google calendar. Check it out!

Blogging for Kids

Kidblog.org is a website designed for teachers to set up individual student blogs WITHOUT providing a student e-mail address.  I've used Edublogs in the past, but it requires a student e-mail, which means more work for the teacher!  I didn't use Blogger for my students, because they were under 13, and in Google's terms of service, users must be over 13 years of age.

Kidblog is very easy to set up, add students, and get blogging.  From what I can see, it looks far easier than what Edublogs is. The interface is designed for young kids.

Happy blogging!