Thursday, December 3, 2009
BP8 20091102 Researching and Blogging about Web 2.0 Tool (COMMENT and ALL three web2.0 tools)
#1 Web2.0 Tool
Raylit.com is an amazing kids educational site. This site is designed for preschool, kindergarten, and first grade students. This site uses both the behaviorist and constructivist approaches in its learning.
These quotes are directly from the FAQ’s of the site, great info!!
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The pricing is as follows: “Raylit sessions are priced at just 50¢ a session. They are available in packs of 10, 50 and 100 sessions starting at just $5. To get started, Raylit offers few free sessions with every new account.”
In my time on raylit I found it to be extremely engaging, and a perfect site for K-3 educators to use in the classroom or parents to use at home. Check it out!!
#2 Web2.0 Tool
Gameclassroom.com is another great site for K-6 educators. This site is another that provides young students with fun and relevant lessons and games in an easy to use setup.
I could not find the exact pricing, the subscription pricing was very vague.
The following are directly from gameclassroom.com. These statements are found in their What is GameClassroom? link and the About Us link.
“Game Classroom is a one-stop web destination for accessing high-quality educational games, and homework help for K-6 students:
• We scoured the web for the best and most trustworthy games, and conveniently sorted them according to skill, topic and grade level.
• We spent thousands of hours creating an abundance of interactive content for parents to better understand the building blocks behind their child’s development.
• We created a comprehensive, free homework help section for parents/teachers to provide to children including learning tips, online resources and sample problems.
All of Game Classroom's educational content has been created by professional educators with over 200 years of teaching experience, and has been outlined using state educational standards. We hope you (and your kids) enjoy Game Classroom and find it a fun place to learn and play games!”
“Game Classroom was developed to address needs we witnessed firsthand as parents and educators. Game Classroom is the newest web property from Earlier Media, where we are dedicated to providing trustworthy online destinations for children of all ages to learn, watch videos and play games online.
We've thoroughly searched the web for engaging and educational games for kids, and we've collaborated with top educators to ensure that all of our games are age-appropriate, relevant and compliant with academic standards. Our team of educators has also created a vast library of "Homework Help" as an additional resource for students, teachers and parents.
As online games become increasingly pervasive in the home, we strive to offer a site that adults can trust and children will enjoy. We promote education, imagination and literacy…while always making sure kids have fun on Game Classroom!”
Overall I found this site to be another great site for K-6 teachers to utilize int eh classroom or computer lab. I think it would be great to use with a LCD projector to involve all of the students in the engaging content.
#3 Web2.0 Tool
Wiziq.com is another great web2.0 tool designed to allow teachers and students to have a free online virtual classroom. This site is similar to our “Wimba Sessions” where teachers and students can interact online with each other synchronously.
This is the marketing copy directly from the about us link.
“Anyone can teach & learn live, online
WiZiQ is a web-based platform for anyone and everyone who wants to teach and learn live, online. Teachers and students use WiZiQ for its state-of-the-art virtual classroom, to create and share online educational content and tests, and to connect with persons having similar subject interests.
Anyone can join WiZiQ
WiZiQ is FREE for everyone and takes just few seconds. Whether you are a teacher or a learner, signing up for a WiZiQ account is free and simple. Enter your log in essentials (email address, password) and name to get started with an account on WiZiQ.
Live, online classes
In the virtual classroom with all the digital benefits at your fingertips, you can interact online using
• Images, PowerPoint presentations and documents
• Full way audio and video sharing
• Live chat enhances the interaction amongst the participants
• Control Privileges with you having full control over the class like in real-world classroom
All classes on WiZiQ are automatically recorded so that you can revisit and even search for a certain topic anytime at your convenience
Build your educational network
On WiZiQ, you can enter your subject interests and discover who else on WiZiQ shares similar interests with you. Initiate contact with members around you to exchange knowledge, content and to help each other work towards common goals such as preparing for an exam or assignment.
Share content
WiZiQ lets you produce your content online and convert it in a sharable format, with minimal effort. You can make your content semi-permanent, easy to put on blogs, and embeddable as objects and links.”
This site shows us that online education is running rampant and only promises to grow larger and larger as technology makes further strides and students from the digital age develop and grow. In my time on the site I find it to be very interactive and easy to navigate.
COMMENT
Posted on Tara Roe’s blog.
Week 3 – Researching and Blogging about Web 2.0 Tools
Woopid
A common theme when I am conducting software training is the varying skill levels of the attendees. During any given class I may have some students who have just mastered the art of email, and others who are skilled Flash developers. As the instructor, it can be quite challenging to try and keep a good pace while both keeping students engaged and not left behind.
Over the past two years I have gotten in the habit of giving my students outside resources to use in conjunction with our software program. Essentially, our product allows users to create interactive and engaging elearning content. Throughout the training course, I provide students with websites for developing storyboards, organizational charts, flash development, etc. The more comfortable the students feel on the computer, the better content they will be able to develop.
When I stumbled upon Woopid, a free online video tutorial site, I immediately thought it would be a great resource to share with my students. When students access the site, they are able to search among a series of tutorials aimed at teaching software and computer applications. The tutorials are divided into five main subject categories. These categories are: hardware, Inter
net, Mac, Ubuntu, and Windows.
The Internet, for example, is in a constant state of change. For some of our older students, who may not necessarily have a choice in transitioning to elearning, these video tutorials can be a tremendous resource for them. From learning how to navigate Facebook for corporate networking, to creating a Google document, these tutorials can quickly bring students up to speed with some basic computer functionality.
My Comment
Tara, I really enjoyed your find of woopid. I checked out the tutorials, awesome stuff!! The Mac tutorials are great for a novice of the operating system. I totally agree that some older people have a very difficult time navigating around even the internet. Some of my coworkers can hardly open outlook, even though it is located directly on the desktop. Great find!
BP7 20091103 Researching and Blogging about Web 2.0 Tools (COMMENTS and Web2.0 tool))
Notely.com is a fantastic site designed with the 21st century learner in mind. It is a site dedicated to helping the student organize all notes, homework, schedule, calendar, and planner.
The marketing copy directly from notely .com.
“Notely is a collection of online tools designed to help all you crazy busy students out there to organize your hectic lives. Whether you're in University, College or High School Notely has the tools to help you get organized and achieve better grades.”
“Notely is designed from a student's perspective to help you get organized. I designed Notely with all the features a student would need, note taking, calendar, to-do list, task list and an upload area. So Notely makes it easy for students to get organized.”
This site is completely free, the founder and builder of the site only asks for donations of five dollars or more. The donations only allow you to view the site with no ads. I for one am certainly fine with ads on a website, so I did not donate.
The note-taking feature is basically an online word processing tool. The notes feature allows you to add images, text, and even equations.
There are many different features to notely.com. On the dashboard you will find a calendar, courses tab, notes tab, tasks tab, to dos, journal tab, links tab, contacts, whiteboard tab, and even a tab for friends! Then there is another fantastic feature, the ability to input grades and quizzes. The student can also make their own mindmaps and ask questions of other users.
The dashboard is setup perfectly with your nearest events, to do’s, tasks, and recent activity. This allows you to see exactly what needs to be done and when. Great!
Overall this site was even better than expected. I had only thought the site would contain a word processor for notes, but boy was I wrong! Please take the time and check it out!! You will not be disappointed.
COMMENT #1
From Janice Ratka's Blog
I found another new web 2.0 tool today called eyePlorer. It is a web search engine with some really cool features. It is much more like a mind-map than a traditional search engine. It also has a place to store notes as you go along, if you choose to log in. It is a free tool (as you’ve already noticed, that is one of my favorite words), and can be used anonymously, if you don’t want to log in. I noticed that when I was an anonymous user, there was way more advertising, and some of it would have been inappropriate for younger kids, so that would be something to watch out for if you are working in that type of environment.
Now, I know some people will have a problem with this, so I have to be sure I am up-front about this; eyePlorer is powered by Wikipedia. There it is, right out in the open. I know that there is sometimes a question about the reliability of Wikipedia, but before you dismiss eyePolorer, please take a look. One of the features of this tool is a nice little toolbox that automatically provides a search on the topic you have chosen either as a web search, image search, or even a Twitter search! So, even if you are Wikepedia-phobic, this tool is a great way to get started on your search. It really helps you visualize what topics are related to your initial search, helps you narrow down your topic, while giving you great little tidbits of information as you go. Once you’ve decided where you really want to go, you can always revert to your favorite trusted sources to confirm or build with.
I can see this as a very useful tool for anyone doing research on almost anything, students and teachers alike. You might think when you first look at the tool that you are limited to the topics it suggests on the initial graphic, or the A-Z topic list that is populated according to the topic heading you chose. That is not the case, though. I tried two search topics that were not on the list, and got back great results both times.
MY COMMENT
Such an awesome tool!! The look of the site is really interesting! I like the mindmap look, as I find myself mindmapping all of the time!! I will certainly be taking advantage of this search site!! Great stuff as always!!
COMMENT #2
From Erin Roe's Blog
Web 2.0 tool: Kerpoof
Kerpoof is a website owned and operated by the Walt Disney Company. One of the reasons I was interested in this site was because it has so many different ideas to offer not only children, but parents and teachers too. Kerpoof is a site where kids can chat, make artwork, make an animated movie, tell a story, and much more.
Who is Kerpoof for? (www.kerpoof.com)
Ages 3-5
At this age, Kerpoof is typically visited with an adult or older sibling and with their help, can usually navigate most of Kerpoof's activities. Kerpoof is a great way to build motor (and mouse) skills and to foster creative thinking. You can also turn any picture you make on Kerpoof into a coloring page for off-line coloring. More than 400 pre-made Kerpoof coloring pages can be found at www.coloring.bz.
Ages 6-8
With a few reading skills under their belts, children can start to take full advantage of the Kerpoof creativity suite on their own. These kids will appreciate the ease with which they can make all sorts of fun creations on Kerpoof
Ages 9-13
As kids develop more analytical reasoning skills and social interests during these years, several of Kerpoof's activities will become richer experiences for them. The Make a Movie activity has been designed to teach some of the basic ideas behind computer programming and is a great way for kids to learn what a powerful tool a computer can be (www.kerpoof.com).
While I was playing with the site, I found it very easy to navigate around. Drawing pictures were very easy, and I am not an artistic person! It was almost like KIDPIX, but a little easier to use. As I continued to play around, I found a site dedicated to teachers. There were lesson plans for specific lessons and grade levels. There were even ideas geared to younger grades!!! I decided to sign up for a teacher account and they have a very serious terms and conditions policy. They are very serious about having a site for kids, and keeping it safe for all children. They monitor everything that is posted to the site and urge adult supervision at all times while on the site. I am very excited to use this site in my classroom. I believe that my students will be able to use this site very easily. I am thinking of using this site in my action research project!
Walt Disney Company. (2008). Kerpoof studio. Retrieved on November 12, 2009, from www.kerpoof.com.
MY COMMENT
I loved this site!! So visually stimulating!! That is so cool that you could use the site for your class and action research!! I also think that just about anything that disney does is going to be fantastic, and this does not disappoint. I like the security aspect of it, especially if kids are going to be chatting with each other!! Awesome find!!
COMMENT #3
From Henry HD's Blog
When preparing students for life in the corporate world, there are so many small details that simply get overlooked. One of these details is the importance of networking and making strong and valid business connections. With only two years under my belt in the corporate world, I have learned that one of the greatest (and oldest) ways to make contacts is through the use of business cards.
It is always a good idea to keep a few tastefully designed business cards on you at all times. You never know who you maymeet, and how they may be beneficial to your professional life.
While having business cards readily available is the old fashioned way of networking, there is a new web 2.0 tool called BusinessCard 2 which allows you to create and share virtual business cards.
This tool would be great to utilize at the high school or undergraduate levels to teach students how to market themselves in the best way possible. Each student in the class would be responsible for creating a business card, and sharing it with the rest of their classmates. Once the virtual business cards had been shared, student would then critique one another on style, design, layout, etc.
This lesson provides the opportunity to teach students that in business, reputation is everything. You have to know how to market yourself, in order to become successful.
MY COMMENT
Great find!! I really like the idea of virtual business cards. Not only do they help save the planet by not using any other resources, but they certainly align with the 21st century digital native learners!! I worked one out for myself, and it turned out really cool!! Great tool!!
Sunday, November 8, 2009
BP 5 20091102 - Flickr
I went searching for lesson plans involving science and Flickr. I was sort of shocked to see that there really wasn't any. I did find that teachers are using Flickr to supplement dissections and use images found on Flickr to put into quizzes. I found many lesson plans geared toward language arts and Flickr. I am really excited to surf through Flickr and find images that can be related to the science classroom.
Monday, November 2, 2009
BP4 20091101 - Researching and Blogging about Web 2.0 Tools
