I used Storybird to create a hedgehog story - I have one as a pet, and the illustrations were too cute to pass up!
I have Zooburst and Storybird accounts, but I think that Storybird is a more impressive tool. The artwork provided is better and the site is more intuitive to use. Someone said that you can upload your own photos or use a webcam to take pictures for Zooburst, so I might have to play around with that a little more.
I'd like to use Storybird with students, or at least choose an image for a writing prompt. I think having elementary kids create their own Storybird might take more time than I'm willing to spend on the project, but several grade levels have asked me to find ways for students to publish their work. This would be a great way to do so, and I like that you can publish a story but still have it set to private. Kids could view it and they could share it with me or their classroom teachers, but it wouldn't be searchable or viewable by the general public.
Friday, June 21, 2013
Tuesday, June 18, 2013
Activity 2: Prezi
I don't know about you guys, but I think that Prezi is overrated! That might be because of all the glitches I had when trying to create my presentation though. Anyway, my project idea was to modify a 3rd grade country project. Right now the students create their own PowerPoint slideshow about a country, put it in the drop box, and I combine them all into one enormous PowerPoint. What if instead, we created a Prezi as a class that moved around the world? Students wouldn't have quite so much information, but I like the collaborative aspect of it. Or at least I did, until I tried creating the sample below:
Prezi allows teachers to create accounts for their students, and you can share presentations with other people. I don't think creating a Prezi as a class is a worthwhile project though. I spent way too much time creating a few slides, and I don't think students could easily work on the same presentation at a time. You can share the presentation and give users editing rights, but I'm not quite sure how to do that with elementary kids who don't have email addresses. I think older students would like it though, or at least appreciate having the option to create something a little fancier than PowerPoint. As for me and my elementary tech classes, I think we'll stick with PowerPoint again next year. :)
Prezi allows teachers to create accounts for their students, and you can share presentations with other people. I don't think creating a Prezi as a class is a worthwhile project though. I spent way too much time creating a few slides, and I don't think students could easily work on the same presentation at a time. You can share the presentation and give users editing rights, but I'm not quite sure how to do that with elementary kids who don't have email addresses. I think older students would like it though, or at least appreciate having the option to create something a little fancier than PowerPoint. As for me and my elementary tech classes, I think we'll stick with PowerPoint again next year. :)
Tuesday, June 11, 2013
Activity 1: Blog Bling
Warning - don't click on this link unless you want a Black Eyed Peas song stuck in your head for the rest of the day! My husband rolled his eyes at it but I think it's a catchy and nerdy song, so it's perfect! :)
I think a video like this would pump kids up about reading. It would be a fun way to start the year in the library, or we could make a video of our own for I Love to Read Month.
As for blogging, I can definitely see replacing a class website with a blog. The layout makes more sense and it's easier to update or add cool features that would be useful for parents and students, like the sidebar tools. I don't know if I'd blog with elementary students. I'd like to try KidBlog with some of the fourth or fifth graders, then possibly work our way down. That would be a project to collaborate on with classroom teachers though, so that we're using it more than just once every 5 days. I can see using blogs to share writing or as a journal, and with the privacy settings of KidBlog, that seems like the best tool to use for elementary kids.
I think a video like this would pump kids up about reading. It would be a fun way to start the year in the library, or we could make a video of our own for I Love to Read Month.
As for blogging, I can definitely see replacing a class website with a blog. The layout makes more sense and it's easier to update or add cool features that would be useful for parents and students, like the sidebar tools. I don't know if I'd blog with elementary students. I'd like to try KidBlog with some of the fourth or fifth graders, then possibly work our way down. That would be a project to collaborate on with classroom teachers though, so that we're using it more than just once every 5 days. I can see using blogs to share writing or as a journal, and with the privacy settings of KidBlog, that seems like the best tool to use for elementary kids.
Monday, June 3, 2013
Introductory Post
Hello summer campers! I'm so glad that you signed up for our Summer Camp 2.0. Emily and I offered our first version of this class last year, and I'm glad we were able to expand it out to elementary and high school teachers. I think you'll find a lot of great uses for these Web 2.0 tools in your classrooms. I hope that we will learn from each other and share our ideas across grade levels and schools.
What motivated you to become one of our summer campers?
Emily motivated me to become a camp counselor last year - she had this great idea for a Web 2.0 class and asked for help getting it off the ground. It was so much fun to see the projects that the middle school teachers came up with, but we thought our program would work well K-12. :)
What you hope to learn about in Summer Camp 2.0?
I participated in last year's Summer Camp to make sure I could help my campers, and this year I'll participate again so I can learn new tools to use with my elementary info tech classes next school year.
How would you describe your current comfort level with technology?
I think I'm relatively tech savvy from being the media specialist and resident technology fixer at my buildings, and my husband works for the district tech dept. Our house has more computers or Apple devices than people who live there.
What tools do you use already in your classroom (if any)?
I've used some of these Web 2.0 tools in the classroom, like Google Drive, Tagxedo, Prezi, Google Forms, Shelfari, etc. I try to find ways to integrate technology resources with the topics classroom teachers are studying with their students in any way that I can.
What motivated you to become one of our summer campers?
Emily motivated me to become a camp counselor last year - she had this great idea for a Web 2.0 class and asked for help getting it off the ground. It was so much fun to see the projects that the middle school teachers came up with, but we thought our program would work well K-12. :)
What you hope to learn about in Summer Camp 2.0?
I participated in last year's Summer Camp to make sure I could help my campers, and this year I'll participate again so I can learn new tools to use with my elementary info tech classes next school year.
How would you describe your current comfort level with technology?
I think I'm relatively tech savvy from being the media specialist and resident technology fixer at my buildings, and my husband works for the district tech dept. Our house has more computers or Apple devices than people who live there.
What tools do you use already in your classroom (if any)?
I've used some of these Web 2.0 tools in the classroom, like Google Drive, Tagxedo, Prezi, Google Forms, Shelfari, etc. I try to find ways to integrate technology resources with the topics classroom teachers are studying with their students in any way that I can.
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