BP14-2009121_Peer Review

Look out Microsoft Office. Zoho.com is here. Zoho.com has a suite of tools to create documents, presentations, and spreadsheet and more. The tools can also be shared with other for collaborative groups. My music teacher had her students work on presentations about famous musicians in groups. She used power point. the problem with that was the students could only use on computer and only one student could work at a time. This would be a wonderful way to work if it is not block at my school. I also like the the fact that embedding the images in the blog was easy. I did it here. You just publish your document and copy and paste the embed code in the blog. I found this suite of products a little more robust than the google suite and a little easier to use since it looks more like office. The documents also export to office products.
@ Louria, Zoho sounds like something I would also like to use. The graphics look really nice. And again, I hope that we don't run across network problems! LOL! Great choice!

BP13-2009121_Researching and Blogging about Web 2.0 Tools-Part 3

(Image retrieved from Slideshare.com)

The final Web 2.0 Tool I researched was one where you can host your presentations and then share them with other people.  It's called Slideshare.  I found this tool on "The Top 100 Tools for Learning".  I wanted to be diverse in my selection of tools this week and so I thought that this tool was a good choice as it provides a means for both myself and for my students to share information.  Slideshare is free to use and is highly rated.  I would first implement Slideshare in my classroom by creating a few presentations so that my students could see how the presentations look and they could become accustomed to the tool, then I would ask them how they like the look of the presentation.  I use powerpoint for my warm ups and some content already and my students are already familiar with the use of the technology.  I would then assign the tool as a team collaboration project with rubrics with a given topic as a presentation of their choice.  Last week, I chose a similar Web 2.0 tool which incorporated voice narration.  The only difference with this tool, is that this tool is actually compatible with Facebook and Twitter!  It is also compatible with Microsoft.  The only thing I will have to make sure of is that it is fully accessible on my district's network.  I did not run into any problems with Slidestory.  The only constraint at this time, is the same one: time and the push to teach science content.  Finally, what I like most about Slideshare is that you can create a multitude of presentations not just for education, but for business, finance, and humor.  Slideshare can be used by anybody wanting to present any type of content or material.

BP12-2009121_Researching and Blogging about Web 2.0 Tools-Part 2

(Image retrieved from Notely.com)

The second tool I discovered was an organizer called Notely.  At first I wondered if it would apply to my middle school aged students but after taking the demo tour, I found that they could actually benefit from the application a great deal.  Notely is basically an all-in-one student organizer for notes, calendar and grade keeper.  The reason I chose this application is because I believe that my 8th grade students who will be in High School next year will really benefit from learning how develop organizational skills.  Right now, they only use a hard copy of a student organizer, which is called an agenda.  I rarely see students use these on a daily basis.  They mainly use their agendas to write their friend's birthday's in it.  With this tool, students can take notes as they work on-line, keep track of their grades, manage important dates such as test dates, and it's even available on iPhone!  Although most of my students may not have iPhones, it does not hurt for them to be exposed to this type of technology.  In my school district half of my students will have the opportunity to attend a technology based high school where the use of Web 2.0 tools is regular practice.  I would like to think that the students that I send to New Tech will be better prepared because of the exposure of tools from tools such as Notely.  This will provide for a much smoother transition.  This will assist the teachers there in being able to cover more ground if students come in with a better foundation.

BP11-2009121_Researching and Blogging about Web 2.0 Tools-Part 1

(Image retrieved from Classtools.net)

The first tool I found which I absolutely love is one I found on classtools.net. It is a resource for creating Venn Diagrams. The service is free to use and quite simple to manage as well. The best part about the tool is that you can host the tool on your teacher website or blog. In science I use venn diagrams very frequently to compare and contrast as this is one of Bloom's higher order thinking skills. I was amazed at the simplicity of the use of this tool! You can make out questions for students and have them complete them and the rest of the diagram or they can create the entire assignment per your instructions. You have the option of selecting either a two or three circle template. As I stated before, I use venn diagrams to compare and contrast often and can see so many possibilities with this tool! We recently completed Weathering and Erosion and compared and contrasted the differences between physical and chemical weathering. We are now moving onto the types of cycles such as the water, carbon dioxide and nitrogen cycles. When we finish covering each of these, I could use this template to compare all three! I know that my students would be very happy to see a change in the paper form of doing the venn diagrams they are used to using in my classroom. I also have a large venn diagram that I use with index cards and I could also use it as a supplement to having my own version of a completed template of whatever I assign my students possibly on a projector for reference. I can't wait to begin using this tool this week.

BP10-2009121_Reflective Media Asset

BP9-2009121_Week 2-Discoverying Web 2.0 Tools Part 3-Response

"Dabbleboard is an interactive white board that students can use to create drawings and work collaboratively. I have found that most of the web 2.0 tools require students to sign up to get an account to use which would be hard to use with 4th and 5th graders who do not have access unless they already have one. Our county has restrictions on student account as of now. With dabbleboard you can use it without getting an account however they could not use it collaboratively. Our students are already using graphic organizers. This would make the process more engaging for them. They can also add pictures in the products. With an account they can also chat while they are working.  Students can share their work with their peers."

@Louria: I like that fact that students do not have to sign up for an account as well! And the real time collaboration around the world is a plus! Great information to know! Thank You Louria!

BP8-2009121_Week 2-Discoverying Web 2.0 Tools Part 2

The second tool I found of particular interest to me was one called Slidestory.  I truly love digital storytelling and although I teach science, I try to find as many opportunities for my students to create, write and share stories whenever possible.  Another thing I love to do is take and share pictures.  With this tool, students create an account and actually create their own power point presentations.  What is different here is that they can add audio narration to those presentations.  In middle school, students are learning to communicate and build self esteem.  These years are so challenging and critical.  I think that the more they get to build on their presentation skills, the better equipped they will be when they progress into high school and even into college.  I would use this tool by putting students into groups and having them work collaboratively to design a power point presentation on a topic.  They would receive a rubric and a time line for when to complete the project and then I would have them grade each other on their projects.  I would give them the option of either presenting publicly or even posting on a blog if they choose.  I could also use Slidestory to present content myself to my classes on a day when my students will have a substitute and I want to narrate the content.  I would also use a presentation on my teacher website for students to go back to review lessons they have missed or if they want to study for a test.  I could also create an extra credit assignment using Slidestory and post to my blog for students to view and post comments on my blog to verify that they have viewed the content.  This could promote some question and answer type of discussion for myself and my students or an exchange for both.  Lastly, I like the fact that you can upload pictures along with text in the presentations which helps to accentuate your content.