Giving Students Options

Often times teachers assign presentations to students so that students can: participate in research activities, show what they know, demonstrate technology skills,  practice public speaking skills, teach what they know, etc. The objectives are many and as a result of various Web 2.0 programs and tools, so too are the options for creating and displaying student presentations. Below you will find a Google Presentation I used this year to introduce 8th graders to some of the options that are available to them once they finished their research and were preparing to create a presentation:

 

Diigo - Social Bookmarking for Educators

What is Social Bookmarking? Social Bookmarking is an online tool (Web 2.0 tool) that allows you to not only bookmark websites but also to annotate, edit, tag and share them with others. Social Bookmarking can be a collaborative adventure when students or teachers share in a group using common tags. Recent features have been added to Diigo which all users to do things like annotate and take screen shots of a bookmarked website. Educators can apply for a free upgrade via the link below.

 

Free Diigo Upgrade for Educators

Collaborating is not just for students!

Last night, I participated in a webinar with three people whom I respect and admire in the educational community, Beth Holland, Samantha Morra and Suzy Brooks. During the summer months, I have the privilege of working with these brilliant educators at EdTech Teacher. The focus of this webinar was "Whether your students have access to iPads, Chromebooks, laptops, or a computer lab, technology can empower even the youngest learners. In this webinar, we will explore a few tools and apps that nurture essential K-5 developmental and learning skills that you can use this spring." I have to admit that I was in awe of the these colleagues as they presented some of the most useful and accessible tools for the classroom that I have ever seen!

Google Apps to Support Bloom's

Kathy Schrock created this "Google Apps to Support Bloom's Revised Taxonomy. I think this is a brilliant take on the traditional Bloom's:) Google Apps are everywhere!
http://www.schrockguide.net/bloomin-apps.html

Welcome and Voki!

Welcome. This is my new Blog for the Day Middle School Instructional Technology Department. Here is where you will find the lastest and greatest ideas and tools to be used in you classrooms. My plan is to update this blog weekly, but we'll see how it goes! For today, I would like to introduce you to Voki. 

What is Voki?

Voki is an educational tool that allows users to create their very own talking character. Voki characters can be customized to look like historical figures, cartoons, animals, and even yourself! Give your Voki a voice by recording with a microphone, using our dial-in number, or uploading an audio file. Voki characters can be emailed, shared on social media, and embedded on websites!