Tool 6

July 6, 2010 - Wikis

When I viewed the training video for the use of a Wiki in the classroom, it seemed very similar to Google.docs (Tool 4) as far as creating a page that can be collaborated on and edited by others. It would be useful for team planning of activities. I like the idea of creating a story or poem and have students add to or edit it for fun. I might also use it for a type of 'scavenger hunt' where students would have to research different items related to a topic and write about their findings on a wiki page to share with others.

Personal note - All of these tools seem very interesting and could be utilized in the classroom, but at this point in my Tool training they are starting to 'overlap' a bit.

Nevertheless - on to Tool 7!

Tool 5

Tagging & Social Bookmarking

These tools will be useful when searching for lesson activities. Being able to 'tag' certain sites to view at a later date or share them with team members will possibly save time in lesson planning.

I used the following tags to search for information in Delicious and Diigo: reading; science; lesson plans

The two sites I viewed both have interactive games/activities. The read/write/think site also has poems and graphic organizers.

Delicious - read/write/think
Diigo - gamequarium

Tool 4

Google Docs & Google Reader

Google Docs: I created a sample document and shared it with my family. It was actually easier than I thought it would be - :). This tool could be used for team input to update and collaborate on various activities/planning. It is also helpful by not having to remember to attach a document to an email!

Google Reader: I subscribed to 6 sites to follow (Technology & the Classroom; Mrs. Green's Blog Spot; Technology is my Challenge; Mary's Art Spot; Serenity Now; Kirina's Closet) - also easier to do than I thought. This tool could be helpful for saving time by having all the sites you follow in a central location.

Question: Do I need to 'hot link' any of these sites? and how? Thanks!

Tool 3 Complete

I have completed Tool #3, but I have to say that I still don't understand this. In order to get these images on my Blog, I had to go through different steps for each. I would love to use these Tools in my classroom, but I fear that without a lot more practice, I would have trouble 'getting them to work.' These are on my Blog with the help of my family.:) I used the boxer and cube example to create "A Boxer on a Box" just for fun.

In the classroom, the Cube picture and Word Cloud could be used in a math lesson in which the student could first 'create' a Cube and then write a sentence using math vocabulary to describe it on a Word Cloud.

Credits: Flickr.com; Dumpr.net/Rubik's Cube;Worditout.com/wordcloud

Tool 3 Again

This is my second attempt using Tool #3 Image generator/mashup.

Both of my images are just for practice, as this is VERY new to me. It is still confusing - it seems that for every image you want to create, there is a 'different' set of 'rules' in order to actually have appear on your blog. Maybe it will be easier tomorrow........

Avatar voice

What happened to my avatar voice? It was working fine until I was working on Tool #3.

Tool 3

Two hours for one sample....but I'm learning!

However, I don't like or understand why I have to sign up/register/log-in/etc. on so many sites.(I couldn't get BigHugeLab to work even though I thought I 'uploaded pictures' to it and had to register for an account:( Does anyone know why?