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 4^th 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!

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.

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