Tuesday, June 26, 2012

Web 2.0

I am excited about the potential of many of these new web2.0 tools that I have learned about through this blog and by reading my fellow classmate’s blogs. There is an abundance of tools that are readily available for educators and it’s our job to share this information with our school staff so that we can create 21st century educators. We already know our students are 21st century learners so it’s time we jump on board!

Lino to Review Food Chains

I have created a Lino account so that I could become more familiar with the site because I like its capabilities much more than Wallwisher’s even though I feel Wallwisher is a much simpler tool to use. I like the ability to add media to my wall which Lino provides. Both sites are interactive wikis at heart and I will likely use both of them in them in my future teaching endeavors. The educational purpose for the page I created in Lino is to review the content matter of life cycles and energy transfer which students learn about in third grade Science. I have posted two videos and an image that relates to this topic as well as an open ended question that students will answer b adding a sticky note to my wall in Lino. This will likely be used as a homework assignment so the image and the videos are simply there for their reviewing purposes. The nice thing about this tool is that all of the supplemental material can be located in one place so the students don’t need to go searching the web to find answers. I think this could be a great tool to use for homework assignments and I’m sure it can easily be used for other educational purposes as well.


Lino

Lino is a web2.0 tool that is similar to Wallwisher that I posted about a few days ago. What is uniquely different is the formatting ability of the sticky notes themselves. You can change the color, size, font color and you can even send your sticky notes via email to your class or friends. You can easily add anything from files to videos from YouTube, Vimeo or Ustream, photographs and more onto your wall. Once you sign up, you can use this tool and edit it like a wiki from anywhere using your mobile device, both Apple and Android have apps, and of course from your PC or laptop. You can send the link to your students and use the wall to share ideas on topics that are relevant to class discussions or you can use it as I am planning on using it with my students which I will explain more in my next posting!

Ipopetz.tv Educational Uses

When reflecting on uses of iPopetz.tv I couldn't help but think of using it as an ice breaker activity for the beginning of the school year. Students could quickly create a 15 second (because that's all you get) introduction of themselves and then save it. Because you don't need an account, students could take turns going to the single computer and saying their introductions throughout the morning and then share in the afternoon. More educational uses might include vocabulary lessons where the word is introduced using a 3D character from iPopetz.tv and then students could use the words they have learned in sentences by recording their own animations.

Sunday, June 24, 2012

Another Poll Tool

This site is called Vorbeo and it's definitely the simplest tool to use if you want to add a quick poll to your website or blog. You type in your question, and then add up to 20 answer choices. All you need to do next is copy the HTML code and embed it onto your website or blog.  Easy as pie.

Would you ever use Vorbeo on your blog?
Yes
No
Seriale Online Subtitrate

Wallwisher

I love this website! I just stumbled upon it and it is a free web2.0 tool which allows you to build an online wall and then lets others add sticky notes and other multimedia content to the wall. Once you create your wall, you are given a URL which you can share with others or you can embed the html into your website or blog like I did below. You can include links, text (160 characters), images and videos from YouTube and other sites, PDF files, PowerPoint presentations, etc. anywhere you'd like on the wall. So yes, it’s basically just another form of a wiki but in my opinion I prefer this over a traditional wiki because it feels more interactive in placement of content.  I can picture using this website in my classroom all of the time. You basically just create a page and then let the students add content. I put a few educational uses on the wall below.  Feel free to add some of your own ideas to my wall! (Edit HERE for full screen)