webtools

As part of integrating technology into everyday curriculum, this year we will be using the following Web 2.0 tools.


 * [|Google Earth]
 * This presentation explains some of the many features of Google Earth 5.0
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 * [|Artsonia]
 * Artsonia is a virtual art gallery for K-12 student work. Students can upload and display their work, receive comments from peers, and have their work permanently displayed online while keeping their identity secure.
 * Parents can even order assorted accouterment adorned with their student's artwork, and 15% of proceeds benefit your school.
 * All student artwork is screened before its posted to the site.
 * Students are given a first name/number combination to keep submissions private to outsiders.
 * Still waiting on my gallery submissions to be approved! I was hoping to show you guys some photos from Egypt!
 * Artsonia contains almost 6 million pieces of student art.
 * Local news media can even be alerted of your projects through the website.
 * This is a great way to have students share work with an outside audience. They can also view and be inspired by the art of other students.


 * [|Animoto]
 * Animoto melds text, pictures and music together to make professional quality presentational video.
 * Free teacher memberships are available but need to be approved before they can be used.
 * Student accounts for younger students (without email addresses) can be set up by the teacher as dummy accounts.
 * Students can choose from a variety of photos and music already on the site or upload their own.
 * Free videos are limited to 30 seconds, which makes for fairly quick projects... mine only took about 10 minutes to make with upload time included.
 * Educational membership gives access to full length videos.
 * Animoto could be used for:
 * visual biographies
 * travel "brochures"
 * defining terms or vocabulary
 * visual representation of subject matter
 * to complement an oral presentation
 * to share/present photos on a specific subject.
 * Here's a video featuring [|San Francisco]
 * This is a quick one I made about my trip to Egypt
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 * [|Xtranormal]
 * Xtranormal allows students an entirely free, web-based platform for creating animated movies.
 * Multiple characters, settings, camera angles and effects are provided.
 * Students type in dialog for 1 or 2 characters and add camera angles, actions and other effects.
 * The voices can be fairly choppy, and the gallery of videos is a bit difficult to search.
 * Videos made by members are rated for content, but many are of questionable value, and characters can be made to use questionable actions.
 * Videos can be shared on YouTube and come with embed codes to post just about anywhere else.
 * I had difficulty finding an example movie I would be able to show my students, there is a lot of toilet humor on the site.
 * This one is just silly:
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 * Here is an example of an Xtranormal video I created:
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 * [|Kerpoof]
 * Kerpoof is a drawing and animation tool.
 * Using its intuitive features, students can easily create their own drawings, digital stories and videos with music, dialog and effects.
 * Students earn "koins" (why can't we spell things correctly!?) which can be used to "buy" new accessories to use in the program, such as backgrounds, patterned paint and interesting pens.
 * It allows teachers to create an educator account and keep track of up to 30 student accounts.
 * Student content posted to the site is checked for appropriateness prior being put up on the site.
 * The website also includes student and teacher tutorials on using the tools which are fairly comprehensive.
 * ISTE standards and multiple lesson plans arranged by grade level and subject are also included.
 * Kerpoof could be used to:
 * create genre based stories
 * illustrate vocabulary words
 * work on beginning, middle and end
 * show cause and effect
 * demonstrate and explain math and science concepts.
 * Here is a quick picture I made with the VanGogh scene [|Kerpoof pic] ... they also have a Dali background!
 * This Kerpoof video was very clever: [|Fairy Tale Movie]
 * Here is a cool pic someone made... reminds me of the trip up north [|Kids kerpoof pic]


 * [|Wikispaces]
 * Wikispaces is a classroom wiki, or editable, online document that can be used for an unlimited number of purposes.
 * It is multimedia embeddable, allowing for both auditory and visual learners to capitalize on this web tool.
 * Wikispaces provides free wikis that are also free of advertising for teachers (but I have a regular one... poor me), but this way my 3rd graders don't have to log in to use it!
 * This site can be used for:
 * editing
 * group synchronous or asynchronous collaborative writing
 * sharing research information
 * posting pictures to go along with stories
 * group activities that required multiple users being able to edit a document
 * Wikispaces also includes a section for discussion connected to each page.
 * Pages are lockable, and can also be used in much the same way as a webpage.
 * This is my wiki! There's not much on it, but feel free to explore!
 * Here is a wiki about math 2.0... one of the areas I have difficulty with: Math 2.0