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Comment link 2 January 17, 2010 10:53 PM

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Here is my comment link 1.
http://amandawright1994.blogspot.com/2010/01/bp32010012web-21filebox.html?showComment=1263796829034#c8298699745443865453

BP5_2010011_Web 2.0 T2-xtranormal

When I saw xtranormal listed in the 100 Web 2.0 list for teachers, a big grin came across my face. Dr. Deason made a video using this tool in our last class and I thought it was the neatest thing. This was my first time using it however. I created a video based on a project from my last course. My character is telling two stories about honest people. At the end of each story the character asks you to guess who?

This free web based tool requires signup using with an active email address. There is a PC download version that will allow you to actually save the cartoon to your hard drive.You have the option of a gray cartoon or color cartoon; I chose the latter. You can also have one or two characters but I chose one since my character is a storyteller.  There is a choice of backgrounds, character types, voices, camera angles, movements, gestures, body positions and facial expressions. You can type the script line by line which makes it easier to understand the dialogue/monologue, since it still sounds a little like a computer talking. Although this sounds complicated it was easy to create my cartoon.

The kids will really like using this. I had fun using xtranormal playing with all the options and nuances. The student will be placed in total control with this, a real little director!

BP4_2010011_RSSFeeds

I chose several RSS feeds for my iGoogle page. One is Edutopia- this is directly related to my research in that it is a site designed for educators to collaborate and share their uses of technology.

Another is Education Weekly Magazine- This site discusses issues and trends in Education.

Suite 101- Here is another place that discusses instructional strategies and teacher learning

Educational Technology- Site informs you about available classroom technology their uses as well as informative technology related articles

Free Technology for Teachers- This site gives technology integration ideas for teachers to use in the classroom

BP3_2010011_WEB 2.0 T1-BusinessCard2.com

Image courtesy of creative commons

Web 2. wonderful is what comes to mind with the tool I have chosen. Business cards say a lot about a person, company or organization. BusinessCard2 is the tool that I had fun with designing a lesson for my students. This website allows you to create a virtual business card. History class is full of notable people. The virtual business card can take the place of the run of the mill book report.

This activity is designed to be completed in groups. Each group can choose from a list of historical figures to create a virtual business card for. Students must enter basic information such as name, location(where born). The next thing they do is make the sales pitch. This is where students would discuss their figure's background and early years. The next thing they must do is find a website dedicated to their figure and list the title, brief description and site address. Experience is the next part of the card. This is where they talk about their figures accomplishments and other important information. The option that the students have is to add additional media such as a podcast or slideshow. They must choose one or the other to create and add to the card.

The challenge as a teacher with this assignment is the roadblock called email. Some students may not have access to email but it is needed to sign up. This activity would be more meaningful if each student did it on their own. A lesson in proper citation and plagiarism should be given first since middle school students tend to be excellent copiers.

Personally I enjoyed doing the card, it was more fun than work. Students will enjoy completing this assignment as well.

References

Workface Inc. (2010). Promote you. Retrieved from http://businesscard2.com/

BP2_2010011_Educational Uses for Blogs

Image used courtesy of Photoxpress

Blogs have great potential for use in my classroom. I began my research into blogs by searching the internet to see examples of their current uses. I came across a slideshow on slideshare that gave some great ideas for blog uses in the classroom.

One such use is to post a non-supported fact to the blog and have students find and add the supporting information. I could use that but of course with a little modification for teaching history. Next semester my students will be studying World War II. I could post Axis Powers and Allied Powers as topics, and the students would then add the details to each post. I would expect them to post the name of those countries, their leaders, when they entered the war and any other relevant information. The more I explored, the more my brain worked to think of ways to use blogs.

The next idea allows the student to be creative yet still show a mastery of the vocabulary. Students could write a story that uses the vocabulary in context. Another topic that my students will be learning is about Westward Movement at the turn of the Century. The vocabulary of that section consists of words that describe the technologies that made life bearable and made settlement of the Great Plains easier. So ideally students would be writing a story about a family or maybe an individual that settled in the region during that time.

Writing seems a little less daunting for the students when it is done on the computer. "It really isn't work", I overheard one of my students say.

References

Dell, D. (n.d.). Educational uses of blogs and tags. Retrieved from

http://www.slideshare.net/sqoolmaster/educational-uses-of-blogs-and-tags-234136

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