Sunday, March 4, 2012

StoryJumper

StoryJumper is a great Web 2.0 tool! It could fit into many of the Maryland Writing Standards but below is the content standard in which I feel it fits best.

Maryland Common Core State Curriculum Framework English Language Arts. Standards for Writing (W). W3 CCR Anchor Standard. Write narratives to develop real or imagined experiences or events using effective technique, well-chosen details, and well-structured event sequences





StoryJumper

The book linked below was created on StoryJumper.com.  It was created from the story starter section.  This Web 2.0 tool enables users to start from scratch or begin with a premade idea.  I would use this site to publish my students writing.  We teach a picture book unit at the end of the year.  I plan on trying this with my class!

http://www.storyjumper.com/book/index/4630382/The-Great-Walmart-Adventure

It seems that many other teachers are interested in using or are already using StoryJumper.com in their classroom.  Check out the blogs below to gather some resources on this Web 2.0 tool.

http://techtasticteaching.blogspot.com/2011/11/jump-in-water-is-warm-storyjumper.html


http://blogs.jefftwp.org/wordpress/walker/2010/11/08/publish-your-own-childrens-book-with-story-jumper/



Blabberize

Blabberize seems to be a popular tool.  The links below are to other teachers' blogs that describe some ideas for using Blabberize in the classroom. 

http://teachweb2.wikispaces.com/Blabberize



Edmodo


Edmodo can be used to meet a variety of content and technology standards but below I have listed a few that could be met using this technology.

National Education Technology Standards 2. Communication and Collaboration. A. Interact, collaborate, and publish with peers, experts, or others employing a variety of digital environments and media. B. Communicate information and ideas effectively to multiple audiences using a variety of media and formats.

Maryland Common Core State Curriculum Framework English Language Arts. RL1 CCR Anchor Standard. Read closely to determine what the text says explicitly and to make logical inferences from it; cite specific textual evidence when writing or speaking to support conclusions drawn from the text.



Edmodo

            The links below are to some great ways to use Edmodo in the classroom. One of my favorite things about using Edmodo is that it gives students who are more timid an outlet to participate. I was surprised by the quality of some of my students' posts. Unfortunately, I was also surprised by the lack of proper grammar and spelling. I tried to impress upon my students the importance of posting your best work, but for some students it just didn't sink in. Overall, I’m very pleased with my students’ participation in the blog. I hope that the newness doesn't wear off anytime soon!  Check out the screen shots of my Double Fudge blog below.



http://blog.edmodo.com/2010/11/17/7-brilliant-ways-to-use-edmodo-that-will-blow-your-mind/



http://blog.edmodo.com/2010/11/23/we-asked-you-answered-15-more-brilliant-ways-to-use-edmodo/

Sunday, February 26, 2012


Edmodo

            Edmodo is a type of blog posting site, but can be used for much more. The site is often used by K-12 educators.  After doing a bit of exploring on the Edmodo site, I found other ideas of how to use this Web 2.0 technology in the classroom. Edmodo could be used as a jigsaw learning tool in which groups in your classroom could research different aspects of one culture for example, and then share their part of the research with the class on the Edmodo blog.  Students in 4th grade often still have trouble with punctuation and grammar. It may be meaningful to teach grammar lessons about posts students make on Edmodo.  One of my favorite things about Edmodo is that it’s a great place to teach students about Netiquette, since teachers are able to moderate comments. Edmodo can be a place to teach students how to safely use other social networking sites like Facebook.

            I have already used Edmodo to explore technology related issues with the faculty at my school.  I plan to start a blog to use with my students to discuss the literature circle book we’re reading, Double Fudge.  I’m very excited!

Tuesday, February 21, 2012

StoryJumper.com
StoryJumper is a Web 2.0 tool that allows kids and parents to write and illustrate children’s stories easily.  From the home section of the website, the user needs to click “create” and there is a template that guides the user in creating the entire book.  The user can save their children’s book on the site by creating a free account.  Users can also view other books that have been written and saved.
StoryJumper also has story starters that students and adults can finish to create their own stories.  The site seems like an easy Web 2.0 tool.  I’m going to try it out and I will make a post in a few days to report how it goes.  Below is a tutorial from YouTube on StoryJumper.

Monday, February 20, 2012


Blabberize

            Blabberize is a Web 2.0 tool that I have explored briefly in the past.  As I began to read about and explore Web 2.0 tools for our class I wanted to dig a bit deeper into this technology.  Blabberize is a tool that allows you to add your voice to a picture of your choosing.  The online program allows you to select an area around the mouth on the picture.  The selected area then moves as you speak during the voice recording. The recording can be saved on the Blabberize website to be viewed later.  The recording can be created with a microphone, audio file or by calling in on your cell phone.

            This tool could be used as a fun way to explore the characters in a novel you are reading with your class.  I plan to have students pick a character from the literature circle book we are reading, find a picture of that character, and then have them speak as the character about their experiences in the story.  Students could pick a trait that best suits the character and support the trait using examples from the story.  Students could also use this tool to summarize the story from beginning to end.  Also, it may be useful as a way for students to conduct an interview of a story character.

            This site really doesn’t allow you to do anything revolutionary in education, but it’s a fun way to teach students important reading comprehension skills; however, there are a few problems that I anticipate.  Each student would need their own microphone and computer to record the Blabberize video.  In my school procuring 27 microphones will require some careful planning, but it is possible.  Also, the audio recording is very sensitive.  The room where recording will take place will have to be quiet or the mouth on the picture moves when the recorder isn’t speaking.  I would suggest having students write out their script in class, teaching students how to use Blabberize, and then having a parent volunteer help the student actually record the video one at a time. 



Click here to see a very quick example: http://blabberize.com/view/id/326226

Monday, January 23, 2012

Welcome to my blog for ET630!  I plan to discuss various Web 2.0 technologies.  I hope you enjoy!