Sunday 26 February 2012

Storybird - Web 2.0 Story Creation

This is a great website that I heard about when I was at my "Critical Thinking and Technology" workshop at the board.  Storybird is a flash-based web page that has fantastic art from artists around the world. You are invited to choose the artwork of an artist that interests you, and then you use it to author a story. A teacher can set up a class account and add their students to their account (somewhat similar to Bitstrips). There is a decent variety of art to choose from, and it is free. There is an option to purchase a hard copy of the book you create.

Here is the cover of the first Storybird Book I created:


Here is the link to go to if you would like to read the book:
http://storybird.com/books/mother-cat-has-had-enough/


Here is another story:
http://storybird.com/books/super-squirt-a-tale-of-monsters-heros-and-scary-st/


Here is the website:
www.storybird.com






Saturday 25 February 2012

Evernote - Word Processing, and so much more!



I am writing this blog post in Evernote.  As they describe it on their website: "Evernote is a great tool for teachers and students to capture notes, save research, collaborate on projects, snap photos of whiteboards, record audio and more. Everything you add to your account is automatically synced and made available on all the computers, phones and tablets you use."




I had heard about this App being used with iPads, but it can be used with any smartphone platform, and both Mac and Windows computers.  It saves student work (or yours) to the "cloud" and is available on any device you have installed Evenote on. It is a free program, and there is a variety of different ways it can be used by students:
  • record verbal data (voice record feature)
  • write reports, make tables, write fiction
  • make lists
  • attach files, clip and save web pages, save files, or pictures, along with a written account of them, and why they are important
  • Tablesareeasy
    tocreateas well

     I have tested to see if it will save locally, which would allow it to be used in areas without wifi access (portables, and Rm. 3 and 4). I closed and reopened Evernote outside of a wifi zone, and the data is intact. Students could do there work on the iPads in the portable and then the work could be synched to the cloud when the device is returned inside to the wifi area of the school.  The only negative I noticed was there is no spell checker on this App.  

    Evernote is available here:  http://www.evernote.com/      

    Skitch is available at www.evernote.com as well, and it is a simple drawing tool. It works with any touch-enabled device (android tablet, phone, or iOS devices: iPod, iPad, and iPhone).  Students could draw a diagram, a graphic organizer, or a picture, and it would be saved and synched.

    As these are highly capable and  free, we will definitely want these Apps on the iPads along with Dropbox.  This might be another quick 10 minute how-to in a staff meeting.







Friday 24 February 2012

Wordle - A web 2.0 Tool

Wordle is an awesome website that allows you to create a "word cloud" of different vocabulary that could be from any task, lesson, or subject.  There are many applications, and the best way to do it is to just try it.  Here is the Link: www.wordle.net

Here is an example:











Critical Thinking Questions

Tips for Designing Critical Thinking Questions (Again this is from the workshop I attended):
Designing Critical Thinking Questions

More Resources:
Print and Electronic Resources



Bloom's Taxonomy - Revised

This was very interesting. Bloom's Taxonomy has been updated and put into a new schematic.




You can check it out here:


Critical Thinking Redeux

Last year we worked on some Critical Thinking strategies and ideas as a part of our school success plan.
I have some new things I picked up this year at a great inservice at the Board Office.
I will post links to some of the Google Docs pages here.







Dropbox - Easy, and Essential

How are we going to move, save, copy and access files on iPads? There is a great, free solution! Dropbox is a free program that works on all platforms. So you can use it on your computer at home, an unlocked computer at school, and on any iPad, iPod Touch, Playbook, or Android device.  I think a quick 5 minute staff meeting inservice on this would benefit everyone.
Let me know if you are interested in this one.  Here is a guide to Dropbox:

http://www.scribd.com/doc/42471404/Using-The-Magic-Pocket-A-Dropbox-Manual

It's like a magic! Everything you drop in there is instantly available on all your devices (as long as you have installed Dropbox on it.  Up to 2 gb of data is free!

Link to Workshop Handout:
http://goo.gl/MB7b6



Edmodo - Social Environment for Class

I took a really interesting workshop at the board office on Edmodo.  You can access it here: http://www.edmodo.com/.  It is a social networking environment for a group of students and a teacher.  The interface is very similar to Facebook, but it is an environment controlled by the teacher.  It can be a starting point for a class in the computer lab, where the teacher has given an assignment that all the students instantly access, work on and send back to the teacher within the Edmodo environment.  It could work as a mobile environment if enough students were linked with iPads, iPod Touches, and/or computers.  Everyone could be accessing, and working collaboratively on their own device.  Here is a screen shot and brief overview from Edmodo's Website:

Engage your students

Collaborate, exchange ideas and share content in a secure, closed environment

Engage your students
  • Provide a safe environment for differentiating instruction with one-to-one or whole group communication.
  • Create an anytime, anywhere mobile learning environment with smartphone apps and mobile site.
  • Provide easy access to projects, classwork and school events through assignments, quiz builder, calendar and gradebook features.






Here we go!

Okay, here we go! I am going to try to blog, and share the Techie stuff I am learning through Professional Development Workshops, and just from playing, exploring and learning on my own.  I started out on a computer in Grade 10, and sat facing a blinking white cursor on a black screen.  I thought it was the coolest thing ever. Of course, I was comparing that to my Grade 9 typing class that used type writers from the cold war era, a room full of the click clacking of metal keys striking the ribbon. I hated typing, and never attended the class.  I never missed a single computer class though.