Tool #9

I'm excited to use Screencast in my classroom!  I think it would be great to use to teach the kids how to use Photostory or Wordle.  As a culminating project for our author's study, the kids are going to create a Wordle on one of Eve Bunting's books.  It would be great to use Screencast to show the kids how to use the program. 

I prefer to use Screencast over Jing because I don't have to download anything to use Screencast.  Also, I don't feel like Jing is as user friendly as Screencast. 

Skype is fantastic!!  I was hoping to Skype with Eve Bunting, but after our SIS emailed with her we realized she doesn't Skype :(  Therefore, I'm thinking we can maybe Skype with another school or group of kids that have studied Eve Bunting.  Also, I'm going to look into Skyping with the Holocaust Museum in Washington, D.C.  So fun!  I love Skyping!

Tool #8

Wow! I had no idea You Tube has such great videos for teachers!  I found a a video on Eve Bunting's book "In the Haunted House," which I was already planning on reading to my kids the week of Halloween for our author's study.  It will be wonderful to have a read aloud on video!  Below is the link.
http://www.blinkx.com/videos/eve+bunting

I also found a great video clip on King Christian X of Denmark.  We study him in social studies when we study WWII, and during our novel study of Number the Stars.  During our novel study we also read a picture book called The Yellow Star, which talks about King Christian's role in Denmark during the war.  After the read this story, I think it would be great to show this video clip to the kids.  This allows them to see a live video of the king!  How cool!!  Below is the link.
http://www.blinkx.com/watch-video/christian-x-of-denmark-christian-10-dansk-konge/Y33Ki9xuzpKBKQnrcnxQyg

Tool #7

Wow!  Photostory is great!  Luckily, I've had the pleasure of working with this program the past.  To wrap up our author's study on Eve Bunting last year, my students created a photostory focusing on one of her fabulous books.  As a group the kids were instructed to examine how the characters/events change over time, as well as include various statistics about the important issue discussed in the book. The kids loved the project, and they were proud to show of their hard work! 

Photostory could be in used in all subject areas, and it really is an easy program for the kids to use.  I encourage everyone to use this in your classroom this year!

*I've had some technical difficulties getting my photostory loaded, however I'll try again later :)

Tool #6

I think the most effective way to use a Wiki in my classroom would be to have the kids write an ongoing story using new vocabulary words.  This would be a great way for the kids to apply their knowledge of the vocabulary words, and I would be able to easily access wheather or not they understand the meaning of the word. 

I'm a little concerned about using a wiki when editing papers in class. Does anyone have any experience using the wiki for editing?  Did you have each kid create their own wiki?  I would love some suggestions on how to make this work effectively.  I'm open to any ideas!

Tool #5

Diigo is awesome!  I found two great websites to add to my online bookmark.  One is a Scholastic website that has numerous books that are leveled according to DRA level.  This is great way to find a variety of books for kids to read on their appropriate reading level.  This is also a great site to share with parents who are looking for books for their children to read at home.

Next, I found an awesome Vocabulary website.  Crossword puzzles, games, and word webs are only a few of the amazing activities this website has to offer!   Not only would this be great for ESL students to use when learning new vocabulary words, but it would also be great for kids to use when looking for definitions or synonyms of words when reading or writing.  Wow!!  This is wonderful!!  I've never seen a site like this before :)

Tool #4

Google Reader is wonderful!  I'm so excited about being able to see everyone's blog on one page.  This will make it super easy to monitor my students blogs. 

Also, Google Docs also makes it very easy to share documents will my teammates and my students.  I've created two groups from the subjects that I teach, Language Arts and Social Studies.  Therefore,  I can create activity sheets, notes, and homework assignments in my Google Docs and share them with my students. Yay!  I can't wait to get my students involved! 

Tool #3

Making my Wordle was so fun!  What a great, easy way to have the kids really focus in on a particular idea/topic in any subject.   I decided to use words associated with the class novel, Number the Stars, that we read in 5th grade.  It is one of my favorite books!

There are endless ways to use this in my classroom.  Spelling words/spelling patterns, book clubs, or when we are focusing on various time periods or wars in social studies class.  I can't wait!



Spell with Flickr, the second image generator I created, not only provided a quick, easy way to spell various words, but it was also a great way to "jazz" up the words.  This would be wonderful for kids in my classroom to use when creating a powerpoint or a photostory.  It would allow them to add color and creativity to their project in just a few, simple steps!