Tool 12-Your Choice

For our final tool you have a choice and will post your discoveries here under comments. Describe the tool and discuss what it does, how you use it, what educational/personal applications it has, and anything else we'd might like to know.

You are free to try any tool you have heard of that we have not done yet, or try one of these two: Pinterest or Evernote.

Pinterest is the latest craze. I have not had time to mess with it too much but wow what a bunch of great ideas! It involves making virtual pinboards to collect clips. Here is one I started about library design http://pinterest.com/bmalapan/library-design/ You can create as many pinboards as you want and you can follow people for ideas. Here is one my friend Lisa made for holiday ideas http://pinterest.com/ohara2020/holiday-ideas/ You will need an invite to Pinterest so you can request one here http://pinterest.com/landing/

Evernote is a way for you to capture anything. Save your ideas, things you like, things you hear, and things you see. I have not used this one at all but I have heard great things about it. It already installed on my new laptop.

You can also experiment with any other tool you have heard about. If you want to try SKYPE at home or may Google PLUS or anything else, now is the time to try something new. Image Chef has some cool stuff on it you can try.

Here are more ideas to try the ones we didn't do:
Some things I would suggest that don’t require a download:
From the book, Digital Tools for Teaching. Put a sticky if you want a copy of a section for ideas:
Tools for Newbies
Animoto http://animoto.com/education
Blogs http://edublogs.org/ http://wordpress.com/ Blogger via Google
Digital Storytelling MovieMaker see if Photostory 3 on computers
Glogster http://edu.glogster.com/
Image Editing and Enhancement http://www.picnik.com/ http://www.aviary.com/ http://click7.org/image-mosaic-generator/?create
Music Creators http://www.aviary.com/ http://www.noteflight.com/login http://www.jamstudio.com/Studio/index.htm
Social Networking http://www.edmodo.com/ https://www.schoology.com/home.php
Timeline Creators http://www.timetoast.com/ http://timerime.com/
Wikis http://www.wikispaces.com/content/private-label/k-12 http://pbworks.com/
Word Clouds http://www.wordle.net/ http://tagul.com/ http://www.tagxedo.com/
Developing Users
Google Docs-Spreadsheet and Presentations Google Forms
Mind Mapping http://www.mywebspiration.com/ http://www.gliffy.com/ https://bubbl.us/
Podcasting http://www.podbean.com/ http://www.aviary.com/
Slideshows http://photopeach.com/ http://www.slideshare.net/
Voice Thread http://voicethread.com/
Website Creators
Advanced Users Prezi http://prezi.com/ Others:
Stories http://www.littlebirdtales.com Storybird http://storybird.com/ Story Jumper http://www.storyjumper.com/ http://www.mixbook.com/edu http://www.lulu.com/ Drawing http://www.imaginationcubed.com/ http://sketchcast.com/ Comics http://www.pixton.com/schools/overview http://goanimate.com/ Xtranormal http://www.xtranormal.com/
Voki http://www.voki.com/ talking avatar

Tool 11-QR Code Generator

You have seen these codes everywhere. They are called QR (Quick Response) Codes. When you create these, anyone with a Smartphone with a QR Reader app can scan them in and it will take them directly to a website, some text, etc. Read the article from ISTE about using QR Codes in the classroom. Here is the generator I used: http://qrcode.kaywa.com/ You will decide which website (URL) to send peole to, or you can type in some text, or make one for your phone number. Pretty cool!!!!

Your assignment for Tool 11 is:
1. Read the ISTE article
2. Create a QR Code
3. Post the code to YOUR blog usingthe HTML code
4. Post a link in Comments below to the blog post where you posted this code
5. Reflection: There are lots of great ways you could use this with students. In the library we could have QR codes connected to book trailers that the students could watch before they checked out a book. What are some ideas you can think of for using this technology with your students?

Tool 10-Prezi

Prezi is an online presentation tool that you just have to see to understand
http://prezi.com/explore/ I like the one on Great Jazz Bassists


A Prezi in unlike a PowerPoint in that it is not linear. It can go all kinds of directions. Students and teachers love it for presentations because of the flexibility and ability to zoom in and out.

You can learn how to create and navigate here http://prezi.com/learn/

When you are ready, jump right in! Create an account

Have Fun!

For this activity you will post the URL to your Prezi in the comments section below. Reflect on the following:
1. How easy was this tool to teach yourself?
2. How do you think students will like this tool?
3. Would you use this tool for your own classroom presentations?

Tool 9- Weebly Website Creator

This week you will be building a website. You can sign up for an educator account here http://education.weebly.com/ You can bulid one for your classroom and you can get accounts for your students to create them as well for all sorts of class projects. Watch both tutorials then you can dive right it.

Part 1


Part 2

Please post your website URL under the comments section below and reflect on the following :

Was this tool easy or difficult to use?

What would be some benefits of having students create their own websites?

What skills would students need to have in order to use this tool?

How could you see using this for student projects?

Tool 8-Animoto

Animoto http://animoto.com/ is an awesome tool for making movies with still images or video. I have not had any teachers use it yet, so I am curious as to why not. As a teacher, you can get free accounts for 50 students and they have the exact same rights as a PLUS user which is $30 a year. Here is what they get:

• Unlimited feature-length videos
• Dynamic, themed video styles for all occasions
• 600+ music tracks across dozens of genres
  (or upload your own)
• HD upgrades available
• Download to your computer and DVD

With the LITE account they can sign-up on their own but then they only get 30 seconds.

I think this has great implications. It is easy, really fast, the music is copyright free and pretty cool (no elevator music) and you can add text but it is limited so that students are focusing on the visual medium. There is no freezing like with MovieMaker and it is online so kids can work on it at home.

To complete this tool go to http://animoto.com and SIGN-UP. Make sure to copy and paste this PROMO CODE a4emalab469b9 so that you can have the PLUS user benefits. Once you have a video, go to SHARE and either embed the video on your BLOG like you did with You Tube on your first assignment and let me know, or paste a link to your video in COMMENTS here. You will need to reflect on the following:

1. What is you initial reaction to this tool?
2. What kinds of assignments could you have students complete using this tool?

Here is an example I did super quick using some pics I took a while back at Mount Lemmon. The music totally doesn't go with it. LOL You can use your pics from Facebook which made it easy.

Tool 7-Screencast-o-matic

Have you ever tried to explain how to use a computer program, web tool, or software application to someone? It can be pretty frustrating, especially if you are not actually teaching them in person. Have you ever used an online tutorial when you were learning a new application or taking an online class? Screencasting is the perfect tool for these scenarios. Screencasting is a way to create short videos where you can record what's happening on your screen while you're narrating via microphone or webcam. I have used screencasting in many ways. Here is an example from the library website using a program called JING http://www.screencast.com/users/bmalapan/folders/Jing/media/eefd46f9-5735-4789-bc73-1c94ba4b12e4 and here are the math tutorial I did using this software Screencast-o-Matic http://www.amphi.com/schools/cdo-high/cdo-library/math-question-of-the-week.aspx

http://www.screencast-o-matic.com/ is free and requires no download. You will need a microphone. Go ahead an set up a free account.

Watch the following tutorial.


Now you can record anything you want. Once you record it, post the link to your Screencast here. You can also embed the video on your blog.

Reflect on the following:
How could you use this in your classroom? What types of things could you post? How could students use this tool?

Tool 6- Podcasting with Audioboo

Podcasting is an awesome tool. Audio is very powerful to use with students so I want you to see how incredibly easy it is. Watch the video first.

You will need a microphone (you can check one out in the library) unless you want to try this on the phone or have a laptop with a built in microphone. Go to http://audioboo.fm/ All you do is click MAKE A RECORDING then START RECORDING. It uses JAVA, so if you have problems, please send Sheri a work order and she will get you all fixed up with the updated JAVA. Also, if your microphone isn't working, I or Sheri can help.

After you record and you are happy with it, give your BOO a title and then PUBLISH it. It takes a minute or two then click the link that says HERE and there is your BOO, or podcast. You can post the link under comments here for us to listen. You can also EMBED it on your blog if you want to try and get fancy.

What should you record? That is totally up to you. Here is mine http://audioboo.fm/boos/698222-hi

So for this tool here is what you do:

1. Watch the video

2. Go to http://audioboo.fm/ and record yourself

3. Post the link here under Comments

4. Reflect: What types of activities/lessons could you imagine using this for in your classroom?