Edited by TJ Wolfe NC State University

Web 2.0 Tools for the Language Arts Classroom Contents: Jennifer Starkey- …………………PlotBot Kristen Combs- …………………..Blurb Karen Ingram- ……………………Notecentric David Tillman- …………………..Google Maps Sharron Scott- ……………………Lulu Paul Fullmore- …………………...Scrapblog Jessica White- ……………………Quizlet Meixun Zheng- …………………..Writeboard Sarah Nehmer- ……………………Question Form Julia Miller- ………………………Wordle Heather Haymer- …………………VoiceThread Aaron Johnson- …………………..Penzu Jennifer Knott- ……………………SketchCast Laura Benfield- …………………..Google Feedburner Ashley Edwards- …………………Google Sites TJ Wolfe- …………………………LetterPop Catherine Smith- …………………CoboCards Preference Evans- ………………..Geni Naomi Kraut- …………………….ToonDoo For more information visit: http://www.thecatchsystem.com

____________________________________________________________________________ Google Docs What is Google Docs? Google Docs lets people create web-based documents (word-processors), presentations, spreadsheet, forms (or surveys) and drawings, and it’s free! You can control with whom you share your docs, and there are three visibility options: (1) public—the entire world (2) anyone with the link (3) private—no one except you “(2) Anyone with the link” lets people who know the web address of a doc to view it. If you also select the 'Allow anyone to edit' option, anyone with the URL will also be able to view and edit your document. Sign-in is not required, so viewers/editors may show up as anonymous. (I believe the spreadsheet we used for project 4 was set to this setting.) There are limits on the numbers of synchronous collaboration on each Doc type. 50 people can edit a document and a spreadsheet at the same time. 10 people can edit a presentation at the same time. There is a limit of 200 viewers/collaborators for all three Doc types. If other people are editing a document simultaneously with you, you’ll see their edits in real time, and you can chat with other collaborator about the changes you are making within a document. Since documents and spreadsheets of Google Docs allow you to collaborate with up to 50 people, there is plenty of room for a whole class to collaborate. You can download your files on your own computer in various formats such as DOC, XLS, CSV, ODS, ODT, PDF, RTF and HTML and also upload existing files such as DOC, XLS, ODT, ODS, RTF, CSV, PPT, etc., to Google Docs. Other great features of Google Docs are probably online storage and auto-save features. Once you create a Google account, you can get 1GB of free space and $0.25/GB for additional storage. Auto-save feature enables you to save the current version automatically at a regular interval. You don’t have to worry about losing your data due to hard drive failures and/or forgetting saving, etc. Google Docs save “revision history” so you can see by whom and when those changes were made, and you can revert to the older version if you want. This feature might be very useful if a student messes up something on collaboration work, the teacher can easily track and fix it. In order to use Google Docs, students must be 13 or older in compliance with Google's Terms of Service. Also, students have to have either G-mail account or Google account. Creating a Google account is easy simple steps, and students can use his/her existing E-mail account. How can we use Google Docs to teach English/Language Arts? • Students can do peer editing by simply adding their peers as collaborators. Brainstorm, draft, revising,

editing and publishing can be all done on Google Docs. They can also add the teacher as a collaborator to assist their writing in the process.

• By publishing their writing, students can share their work with students at a worldwide level • Students can publish their writing to Google Sites as a classroom newsletter. • Google Docs can be used to facilitate collaborative writing since students can work on their writing

project either synchronously or asynchronously, at different locations, and all students in class or several students could participate in one homework assignment.

• Google Forms can be used for the teacher to get evaluation and/or feedback of the project from students

• Using Google Drawings, the teacher can easily create graphic organizers such as Venn Diagram, concept mapping, 5Ws and Fishbone, etc., which are versatile instructional tools for English/Language

Arts and serve as scaffolds.

For more information about Google Docs, please visit the following sites: • Google Docs Help Page: http://docs.google.com/support/?hl=en • Using Google Docs in the classroom: https://docs.google.com/View?docid=dcdn7mjg_72nh25vq • Tutorial on Google Docs:

http://services.google.com/apps/resources/overviews/welcome/topicDocs/index.html • Google Docs Community on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/GoogleDocsCommunity ____________________________________________________________________________________

Plotbot by Jennifer Starkey Scene 1: What is Plotbot?

Plotbot is an online tool for writing a screenplay. The formatting of screenplays is rather difficult and may pose some difficulties for students. This program is a prime example of allowing students to not be bogged down with a lot of technical details and give them a chance to really be creative. Now, here comes the most exciting part! Plotbot is collaborative!!! In the same venue as the wiki, more than one user can edit, add and comment on the work at the same time! I was trying it out with a friend of mine and we had a great time actually taking turns writing our characters dialogue and watching it appear on our screens. Fun stuff!!

Scene 2: How do I get this?

Signing up for Plotbot is free and as simple as having an email address and creating a username and password. I didn’t even have to confirm my email before I started, I was able to dive right in! www.plotbot.com

Scene 3: What happens next?

When you first enter you are taken to a sandbox, this is a private location where you can learn how to use the program. The sandbox is limited to 25 elements but you can convert what you have written into a full project or delete your practice text and start over at any time. This is a great idea to give the user a chance to play without feeling that they are diving right in to a full blown project. However, as I played with the sandbox it was a little confusing because it wasn’t listing what I was writing in the correct format. I got more out of the demo on the home page before I signed up than from using the sandbox. Could just be me. However, concept wise, I think it is a great idea to have a place to get used to the program before you start to use it.

Scene 4: Laying the Groundwork

When you are ready to start writing you click on create and title and summarize your project. You have the option of making your work public or private, however, you are limited to only one private work. Public work is unlimited as far as I can tell. You also have the option of making your project a “showdown”. This feature allows you to put in a prompt and the public each creates their own screenplay based on your prompt (great feature for teachers).

Once you have decided what your project will be about, you click create and are then taken to a licensing page where you can decide if you want to allow others to use your work or not—I feel a copyright lesson

coming on here!

After that you are taken to a page where you can invite others to help you write your screenplay. You can also decide if the people you invite are read only guests or if you are going to let them edit and write with you on the project. If you want to write by yourself, you can skip this section and move on to the work. There is also a more detailed settings menu where you can decide exactly what people can do with the project as far as their permissions for editing, commenting, reading, etc.

Scene 5: Creating a Screenplay

When you are ready you have several options. You can import a screenplay that you have already started, create an outline, create your scenes or just dive in and start writing the screenplay.

I think the outline tool is a great feature that makes this tool an awesome idea for language arts (or drama for that matter) as most students are taught to begin writing with some sort of outline.

Being able to create the individual scenes is another great option as instead of collaborating on one scene all together students can each work on their own scene and then go back and edit, add to and comment on each others work.

When you are ready to begin writing the screenplay they have a very nice help menu in the upper left hand corner that explains the three elements of a screenplay (sluglines, action and dialogue) and how to use them in your work. Then, you begin to write! Now, here is where I ran into a bit of a glitch (and again, this could just be me). After I added my first element the drop down menu was grayed out and I was not able to add any new elements. I searched and searched (probably should have read more in the forums but didn’t) and even emailed the creators to find out what the problem was. I had no idea that to add more elements you needed to click in the blank area below what you typed and the boxes would appear. Now you’d think that was a duh moment, but honestly, why would I just know that? I had a very frustrating 24 hours (and partly that is why this wasn’t posted on Wednesday). But, now that I know, I am well on my way!

And speaking of help, they do have a forum where you can post questions and get help, very easy contact information for the creators and also some help pages. Although I didn’t see the answer to my question, maybe they just felt that would be stating the obvious!

Scene 6: Saving Private Ryan….oops!, I mean, Your Work

Your work in plotbot is automatically saved online within the program. When you are ready to print you can download and do so and there are also a couple save options if you want to back up your work.

Scene 7: Use In The LA Classroom

Let me just say that when I was in high school (which was a fair time ago—LOL) we did a project in LA where we had to take a scene from Lord of the Flies and turn it into a screenplay. Can I just tell you that this was one of my FAVORITE projects ever (obviously since I remember doing it and I think even still have my paper) and I think being able to do something like that on the computer where I don’t have to worry about centering my dialogue on the page, etc. would be great!

In a non-LA way, I am already discussing a collaboration project between my drama classes and the business computer technology teacher about students writing and acting out scenes for a movie trailer on cyber crime! Really looking forward to this! ____________________________________________________________________________

Blurb By Kristen Combs Blurb is a company that allows users to visit their website and create their own book online. Each book is custom-made by the user and can include anything they desire. The most popular themes for creating books with Blurb are: photo books, portfolios, business books, wedding books, and blog books. The user can upload pictures, include text, add artwork, etc. This website allows the user’s creativity to shine and create something unique.

Blurb offers three different ways to create a book.

1. Bookify Online: This is an online tool used that allows users to begin creating a book and work on it using any computer. (This would be ideal for use in the classroom.) There are many pre-designed layouts the user can choose from and customize, if desired. You can drag and drop photos in place or use AutoCreate, which automatically flows the images into the book. Images can always be moved and/or deleted.

2. Blurb BookSmart: This is downloadable software that allows the user to work offline. This software allows for more flexibility and creativity. More pages can be created and more files are allowed when using this software. It works on both Mac and PC. The user can create unique templates or customize pre-designed templates, add borders and ornaments and collaborate with others to submit photos from anyone.

3. PDF to Book: This option is for advanced users who want to have complete control over design and layout. The book first must be created with Adobe InDesign with Blurb’s customized templates. Once the design is complete, the user exports it to the PDF/X-3 standard, uploads it to Blurb, and prints the book.

Registration for Blurb is easy and free. The user simply enters an e-mail address, chooses a username, and chooses a password. Then, one of the three options mentioned above must be selected before designing can begin.

Once a book is completed, the user can have the book printed as a “bookstore-quality” book. The user can choose from all different shapes and sizes of books. They can also decide whether they want the book to have a hardcover or softcover. The paper can also be upgraded to premium paper, which is 35% heavier than standard paper and offers superb opacity. Color books start at $12.95 (Square, 7 x 7 in. softcover) and increase in price depending on the size and cover. Black and white text books are also available which start at $2.95 (Pocket, 5 x 8 in. softcover) and increase in price depending on the size and cover. After the user has chosen exactly how the book should be printed and orders the book, Blurb will make and book and have it delivered within 7 to 10 business days. Also, Blurb offers a discount on books order in bulk, with a minimum of 10. If 10 – 199 books are ordered, a 10% discount is given. If 200 – 399 books are ordered, a 15% discount is given. If 400+ books are ordered, Blurb must be contacted and a discount will be negotiated. Shipping begins at $6.99.

There is also a really neat feature from Blurb. A book can be entered into the program called, Blurb for Good. This program allows books that have been created using Blurb be sold as a fundraiser. The creator

receives 100% of the profit for the cause. As an example, a group of people worked together to create the book entitled, Blog Aid: Recipes for Haiti to raise money for relief efforts in Haiti. This would be a great for a class to get involved with. Have the class decide on a charity or someone in need of help, create a book, join Blurb for Good, and allow Blurb to sell the book for the charity to receive all of the profit made. In addition, it would be a good idea for the class to advertise to friends, family, and the public about the book to spread the word. This is a great fundraising idea.

For use in a classroom, Blurb is a great option. Students can easily create a free account and begin designing a book. There are many different uses in a classroom for this tool. This would be a great assignment for an art class who would like to compile some of their best work. But for a language arts classroom, the possibilities are endless.

• For younger students, the letters of the alphabet could be the focus of a book. Each page could have the letter, a word that starts with that letter, and a picture of the word.

• The teacher could have each student create a story where they choose the characters, setting, plot, etc. This would be a process for students. After they have created a story that fits the teacher’s requirements, they could begin designing a book to tell their story. This can also be done as a whole class activity. If this is done each year, new classes can look at the stories previous classes have created. I think students would be really interested and motivated in this project because they will be able to produce something.

• Another idea is for students to write an excerpt about themselves and what they enjoyed most about that class. Each student could have a page where they include what they have written and a picture of themselves. This would be a nice gift for someone or a memory book for a teacher.

• Also, each student could create an autobiography and create a personal book based on that. As I mentioned, the possibilities are endless. Creating a book is a great idea for students and/or teachers to have keepsakes. Blurb is a great tool to make all of this possible!

For more information or ideas about Blurb, please visit the following sites:

Blurb website: www.blurb.com

Blurb support: http://blurb.custhelp.com/app/home

Step-by-step guide to creating a book with Blurb: http://www.blurb.com/help/video/booksmart

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Notecentric by Karen Ingram Note Centric - Description

I had a hard time choosing one as many of these tools looked enticing; however I did settle on Note Centric since note-taking skills was a focal point at my school this year. This is a tool designed to allow users to take and store class notes electronically. Registration to this site is free; however, your university needs to be registered in the site's database in order to set up a new account. (I tried to set one up but NC State is not in their database so I requested that it be added.) The site only recognized email addresses with an .edu extension. Once registration has been accomplished you may then set up your user profile and edit it at a later time if needed.

From the Home screen users may enter new notes, new events, or new courses. If you choose new notes, once the screen populates you must select the correct course and add a title to the notes. Then you simply begin keying your notes. After you've finished you can click on the create button in the bottom left hand corner and your notes will be generated. You have the option to view, edit, download, send, or delete your notes. When entering your notes the space is set up like a version of Microsoft Word and has many of the same features such as the highlight feature and the outline feature.

This tool may also be used as a planner by allowing the user to enter events in detail. The events entered are also linked to specific courses and may include the date, time, location, event name, and a brief description. You may then choose to make the event public, private, or protected from editing.

Users may enter courses, as this program is course-centered. Users can list the semester, year, subject, course number/section number, and a brief description. Then you have the option to click the button to Add the course or Join a course that already exists in th system.

The Home screen shows a listing of upcoming events, courses, and recent notes entered by date. You may also choose to view, edit, and drop courses or subscribe to a feed on this screen.

These same options are availabe as red buttons on the left side of the screen. The Search option allows you to search for your personal notes or all notes that are listed on the site as public. The next button is the Invite a Friend button and this is only accessible to registered users so I was unable to explore this feature of the program. Last, the Browse button allows users to browse a list of universities to see if your school is listed.

Application of Note Centric

This program would really be a valuable resource for English/Language Arts teachers because note-taking is an important component of this type of course. Specifically speaking, in my school the English teachers instruct students on how to correctly use the Cornell Note-Taking method to record class notes using columns. I believe students would be actively engaged and perhaps keep up with the pace of presentations if they could use a tool such as this. Some students may key faster than they can write. In addition, I like the fact that you can use the highlight, italics, bold, or underline tools to place emphasis on vocabulary, key phrases, and main ideas. Students may choose to record notes individually, in pairs, or as a group with one recorder that can later share out the notes. They can also view notes from others on the same subject matter to incorporate another perspective on a given topic.

My only concern is the fact that this site seemed to cater only to universities. I would love to contact them to find out if this site could be adapted to incorporate high schools into their current database.

I know we were suppose to look at English/Language Arts usage but I could see the value of such a tool as this in my classes. I do some direct instruction and currently provide graphic organizers for note-taking but I really like this tool as students would have the alternative of keying notes. I also like the fact that you can enter events and use this tool as an agenda of sorts. We currently issue agenda books to all students at the start of school. Needless to say, they somehow get lost after the first week. This online agenda would minimize that problem and students could record homework, events, courses, and notes in this program.

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Google Maps by David Tillman Using Google Maps to Teach Setting

GoogleMaps is an online application that provides web mapping. Google Maps can display street maps, satellite maps or a hybrid. New features allow for street level views, as well. Embedded in the features are route planners and the ability to save markers.

This web application offers the English Language Arts teacher a number of opportunities to deepen the students’ understanding of the significance of place and the interaction between setting and other features of a work of literature (including plot, character, and even mood).

Google Maps Could Aid Students in Tracking Their Progress Through Global Literature

As a portfolio in a world literature class, students could be required to track either the author’s country of origin or the setting of literary works as they read during the semester. The sites could be recorded by the students and notes could be made on each destination indicating how the site contributed to the work itself.

The teacher could put requirements that assist students in reading across the globe, by requiring that students document 3 works per continent (excluding Antarctica) during a grading period. Over time the teacher could pull students into group by continent to share with classmates the reflections made about works from each continent and then look for patterns that might be common (as comparisons and contrasts to other places around the world).

Google Maps Could Unlock an Author’s Point of Reference

To enhance an author study, Google Maps could be used by ELA teachers to assist students in understanding the relationship between an author and his or her home. For many authors, the sense of place the author experiences biographically seems to factor prominently in the fictional landscapes he or she creates.

Consider saving locations around the town of Oxford, Mississippi (and Lafayette County) to aid students in understanding the world that William Faulkner inhabited and, in many ways, fictionalized in his novels as Yoknapatawpha County. A similar learning task could be created by taking students through significant destinations in and around Asheville and considering the writings of Thomas Wolfe.

Google Maps Could Chart a Course Toward Understanding a Journey

Many important literary works use a journey as the central plot device. In studying these works, Google Maps could offer students the opportunity to literally chart the course of the literary adventure using the web mapping features. By recording and following along the journey using Google Maps, students would orient themselves toward the physical backdrop for the storyline that is being developed in the work. For example, suppose a class was using Jack Kerouac’s On The Road. As students read, they could track each years journey and put plot synopses and reflections as notes on each key destination.

To further extend this thinking, students could be presented with an alternate route and asked to contribute

the “lost chapter” of On The Road as a creative writing assignment. A sophisticated exercise in synthesis, this extension activity would require students to explore higher order relationships between the new settings and the ways in which Sal, Dean, & Co. would interact with the settings.

Google Maps Could Assist Students in Understanding Background Information about the History of Place

Teachers of ELA often need for students to be aware of cultural histories that shape both the actions of characters and the interactions of those characters with the environment around them. Suppose for example that one was to consider using Elie Viesel’s Night with a group of students. Central to understanding the novel is understanding the holocaust and World War II. Important background knowledge for this work might be gained by a Google Maps project in which students contribute documentation of the places in which the Nazis established concentration camps. To assist students in the timeline and the growth of the holocaust overtime, students could color-code the destinations by the years in which the concentration camp began to operate. Notes for each destination could describe what the students found in research about the specific camps. By plotting the growth of concentration camps in Europe, students might better understand the sense of dread and fear that is central to much of the book.

Conclusions

Setting is an aspect of literature that is too often oversimplified, because low-level questions about setting are so obviously easy to answer. However, combining text, coding, and route creation with the web mapping application of Google Maps offers ELA teachers an important tool for expanding a deeper sense of setting with their students. ____________________________________________________________________________

LULU by Sharron Scott What is LuLu (www.lulu.com)? LuLu is a company that specializes in publishing and printing. What makes LuLu unique is that practically anyone can publish materials—books, ebooks, and CD’s and DVD’s. The books and other materials can be published for personal use, or they can be published to sell worldwide through the Lulu market place. When customers purchase an ISBN, they will be able to distribute their materials to on online venues such as Amazon.com as well as libraries and retail stores. What are the costs? Lulu is print-on-demand, so there are no start-up costs. However, if customers wish to distribute in venues other than the Lulu market place, they will need to purchase an ISBN number. Lulu has pre-publishing packages starting at $369.00 which include ISBN numbers. How do I publish with LuLu? The process is fairly simple. It involves four steps: 1. Select Options (such as hard cover, paper cover, color, black and white, etc.) 2. Upload your files. The best format for uploading files is PDF. However, customers can upload files in the following formats: DOC, RTF, WPS, PS. 3. Build a Cover- LuLu has a “cover wizard” that really simplifies the process of creating the cover. 4. Set the price. Lulu has a pricing calculator that helps you set a book price in order to maximize your profits.

Note: There are three options when publishing: keep the material private (only accessible to the user), make material accessible on LuLu market place, make the material public and assign as ISBN (making it available for distribution on a variety of venues like Amazon.com.) How will this work in the classroom? Teachers could use this site to publish student work in any discipline from art to history. For example, an art teacher could publish a collection of student artwork and photographs. Also, a history teacher may publish a collection of historical research papers. Teachers have the following options for publishing for the classroom: 1. Teachers can keep the publication private, and just purchase a certain amount of books for the classroom. The price per book could be as low as (approximately) $6.00, it depends on whether the book is color, black and white, paperback, hard cover, etc. 2. Teachers may choose to sell the book on LuLu as a fundraiser. 3. Teachers may choose to purchase an ISBN and sell the book on venues such as Amazon.com as fundraiser. Please note: If you are going to publish and sell student work, please check with administration and media specialist regarding guidelines for selling and publishing student work. Lulu Education Solutions Lulu has a section of their site that specifically addresses the needs of educators. Lulu addresses the following educational needs: fundraising, yearbooks, and the publication of teacher materials. Note: This section mainly offers suggestions for using LuLu in the classroom; it does not really offer specialized support for educations. How will I use LuLu in an English/Language Arts Class Lulu works very well in an English/Language Arts Class. Students will actually be able to publish their work for the whole world to see and appreciate. This is one of the best ways to make writing meaningful to students. They are able to experience writing in a real world setting. This will really show students how important it is to edit properly. English/Language Arts teachers may choose to publish students’ work separately (mainly for high school students) or as a collection. Example of Publication Project: (I am currently working on this project in my own classroom.) SAT Vocabulary Story Collection 1. Students write 1-2 page stories in which they included at least 10 SAT vocabulary words. 2. Collect the stories and compile them into one book. 3. Select 2-5 student editors, who will edit the stories. 4. Select 1-2 students who will design a book cover. Purpose-To allow students to use their SAT vocabulary words in real word situation. Many times students don’t really see SAT words as real words that they can actually use. Also, when students read the other students stories, it will help them comprehend and understand the SAT vocabulary words. Conclusion

This seems like an effective and efficient way to publish student work. There are no start-up costs (unless you want an ISBN). Teachers have to be careful about following the guidelines for publishing and printing student work. If teachers are going to use the site as a fundraiser, they also need to make sure that they follow the guidelines for that as well. Create Space (www.createspace.com) is another site that offers print-on-demand services. I have used this site for publishing my own work, and I have been quite pleased with it. ____________________________________________________________________________

Scraplog by Paul Fullmore Scrapblog gives anyone with a computer (and internet connection) freedom to join a community that gives them easy-to-use tools for creating slideshows, calendars, post cards, books, etc. The word ‘Scrapblog’ is derived from ‘Scrapbooking’ and ‘Weblog.’ Credits are used to purchase most of the themes, stickers, and backgrounds from the Scrapblog Marketplace. Scrapblog.com allows free publishing to many of the social networking and photo/video sharing sites such as Facebook, Myspace, Photobucket, Twitter, etc. The videos are only imported from Photobucket and YouTube. Scrapblog is a great website and has many choices of creative templates, is easy to register, and easy to edit. This site offers great opportunities for students to express their creative talents and enhance their English Language Arts skills. Use pictures from many sites: Facebook, Flickr, Smugmug, Webshots, Myspace, and Picasa. Users can also upload pictures directly from their computer. Easy to register: Anyone can register for Scrapblog.com and it is 100% free! It is easy as entering an email address, creating a username and password. After all these fields are entered, you are ready to start Scrapblogging! Easy to edit and share: Scrapblog gives its users the ability to publish their creations online for free. If a user wants to order their creations, they will have to pay a print and shipping fee. Scrapblogs page builder makes it very easy to create and share pictures and videos. This page builder is easy to navigate and allows users to save their work and export as a JPEG (picture). Once you have completed your creation, ordering prints are just one click away. As a register user, you can create a profile and save all of your creations. Choices of creative templates for: Greeting cards, Post cards, Single-sided cards, Softcover books, Slideshows, and Calendars. Scrapblog uses a broad collection of themes, stickers, and other customizable elements. Some come from top designers in the world and are added to Scrapblog for users to purchase. *Scrapblog also offers an array of free content for users. Credits: Credits are used to purchase many of the themes and templates for your creations. It’s similar to a virtual currency that it used to purchase the content from the Scrapblog Marketplace. There are also free credits that can be obtained by completing surveys and subscribing to many different websites. The prices for credits are as follows: $5 for 250 credits, $10 for 500 credits, $25 for 1250 credits, and $50 for 2750 credits. To get an idea of how the credits work just imagine that your child is a fan of Shrek and that for a birthday gift you wanted to create a calendar with pictures of Shrek and your child. You would go to the Products & Pricing tab, click Calendars, click Start making Calendars, and search for the Shrek theme. Once you find the theme, all you have to do is pay for it (in this case, 750 credits). Ideas for using Scrapblog to teach English/Language Arts

· Students can share their published creations with students from other schools. · Students can collaborate by writing a story together and creating a book. · Teachers can create spelling cards . · Students can collaborate by having group discussions critiquing their classmates’ creations. · Teachers can create photo books and/or allow students to add stories to them. · Students can create post cards with a brief description and picture of a location they would like to visit or a place that they have already visited. · Teachers can create flash cards for vocabulary words. · Teachers can create alphabet books that use pictures from the students. For more information about Scrapblog, please visit: About US: http://www.scrapblog.com/about/about.aspx Blog: http://blog.scrapblog.com/ Scrapblog Quick Start Tour: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jb5wCDx_Ong ____________________________________________________________________________

Quizlet by Jessica White Created in 2005, Quizlet is an online memorization tool that utilizes flashcards to review key terms, vocabulary words, and other information. Quizlet was not officially released until 2007. Quizlet allows the user to create a set of words/terms that are modified specifically for them by which to study.

Several modes exist by which students can familiarize themselves with key terms and vocabulary words that may be on a test or quiz. Quizlet allows a user to see one side of the card at first to where the user can click to flip to the other side of the card, equivalent to a person using notecards as flashcards studying by himself. In the familiarize section, there is an option where the user can see the term as well as the definition on the same screen side by side. Users are also allowed to shuffle cards for distribution. Users are also able to learn using Quizlet. When learning, a user is given a word or definition and asked to define or name the other. If a choice is answered incorrectly, the card goes back in the stack until the user gets it correct. The test mode allows users to create tests composed of multiple-choice or matching questions. The scatter mode allows users to scatter the terms and definitions across the screen and then match them up in the shortest amount of time. Space race is a mode that allows the users to utilize their keyboarding skills while memorizing terms. In this mode, the user has to type the corresponding word or definition before the word or definition on the screen disappears.

Quizlet allows students to make their own flashcards or find flashcards pertaining to a particular topic that have already been created. Several subjects are already available on the site such as languages and vocabulary, standardized tests, history and geography, arts and literature, and professional and careers.

Quizlet has many uses for the English/language arts classroom. As stated before, Quizlet has several modes by which students can learn and memorize. When a teacher provides students with a list of vocabulary words on Monday, one of their class assignments (assuming they can reserve the library or have computers in the classroom) could be to create their own flashcards on Quizlet for a classwork/homework grade. The teacher could also create the flashcards for student use when they are studying at home or away from school. Quizlet is an awesome learning tool that could really help students who struggle with English/language arts. Most English classes are terms and definitions, so why not allow students to use a technology tool to enhance their learning. When students use Quizlet, they don’t have to have mom or dad with them to flash the flashcards and let them know which they got right or wrong. They also can learn in a variety of ways. Some students learn by memorizing how words are spelled, some learn by memorizing definitions. For students who need immediate feedback, Quizlet is the way to go. Cards are reshuffled back in the stack if answered incorrectly and continue to be reshuffled until answered correctly. Students also have the option of making a matching game out of their vocabulary words and definitions. Teachers could

also make use of the testing feature on Quizlet. Students and teachers alike could create multiple-choice or matching tests to check students’ understanding and also to study by. ____________________________________________________________________________

Writeboard by Meixun Zheng Writeboard is a completely FREE online tool for creating, sharing, collaborating, editing and commenting from people 37 Signals. Similar to other applications such as Google Documents, it allows multiple persons who are physically separated to work simultaneously on the same document.

Who can use Write board?

Anyone can use write board, e.g. a journalist, a poet, a column writer, and teachers and students. Companies can use write board so that employees can collaborate with each other on a same project. Teachers and students or students and students can also use write board to work on a same project as well.

What and how can you do with Write board?

There are basically 6 simple steps/features while using Write board. These are also the most important selling points and advantages of Write board over other similar web applications.

First, write something and create your write board document in a simple way. Basically, you can write whatever you would like to, just like what you usually do with a Microsoft Word. One of the selling points is that, you don’t need to register to create your own write board. All you need is to give your write board document a title name, your email address, and a code which will be used to lock and protect your document online. This is especially valuable when it is used in education for students to collaborate on writing because they don’t each have to sign up and register a new account.

Second, share it with whichever person you would like to. With Write board, you can easily invite your partners to collaborate on the document. You can invite as many people as you want, and you only need their email addresses and then an invitation letter will be sent out to them along with a code which they will then use to access the document. This code is the same with the code you enter when you first set up the write board document.

Third, revise your document in a super easy and simple way. Whenever you would like to, you can edit your document. Each time you edit the document, a new version will be created and linked on the sidebar of the webpage. This way you will not be afraid of losing your work because you can easily retrieve your previous versions. Besides, you can see who makes the revisions because it will be attributed to the editor.

Fourth, leave your comment. You can always leave your comment on the write board. What is interesting is that, each time someone makes a comment, it will also show which version of the document this person is commenting on.

Fifth, comparison of different versions of the document. It is easy to find out what changed between two different versions of a write board document. Just check off the two versions that you would like to compare and then hit the “compare” button. Everything that is deleted will be shown as grey and struck, and everything that is new will be highlighted. Moreover, there is a little bubble in front of each version of

the write board document. The bigger the change is between two different versions, the bigger the bubble will be.

Sixth, easily export the write board document. After you finish editing your write board, you can easily export it as a text document or an html file.

Disadvantages of Write board?

Although write board has several selling points like the ones mentioned above, it still has some disadvantages as well. One is that it only supports text format documents but not spreadsheet, multimedia forma ts and so on. Also, it only provides very limited formatting functions. So, for more complicated collaboration, there are some other better choices, e.g. Google Documents or Wiki spaces and so on.

Some ideas of the integration of write board in ELA

1. Teacher can correct students’ writing online on write board and leave comments. The teacher can also see the working process of students because he or she can see each every version of students’ writing along the way.

2. Students can collaboratively write mini stories or chapters of a story book together. For example, in an English language arts class, the teacher can assign students to different groups and each group is responsible for writing one chapter of a whole book, and then each group share with each other. Students can do peer review of other groups’ writing as well.

3. Write board can also be used to keep notes while groups of students are having a discussion of a certain topic in the language arts classroom, e.g. discussion about great poets or writers in a certain period in the history.

4. Students can share their language learning resources, e.g. a very good vocabulary or writing learning website or tool, using write board and send the link to others in the class. Other students can always edit the document by adding to the documents some other resources they would like to share. ____________________________________________________________________________

Question Form by Sarah Nehmer Questionform.com is a website where you can create, publish, and analyze surveys. You can edit/change your surveys at any time. Your surveys are protected from SPAM. Questionform.com gives a unique HTML code for each survey so that you can link the website on your webpage. The respondents to your survey can leave the survey and return to the same place later, and analyses of the survey responses can be received in real time. The data is never deleted; it can always be accessed as long as you keep your account. Your data can be exported to Excel, XML, or other spreadsheets. You can completely delete your surveys and account at any time.

COST:

The cost is free to have two surveys simultaneously (up to five questions each). For $9.95 you can have up to four surveys with 15 questions in each. If you want 8 surveys, the cost would be $19.95. Unlimited

surveys for $49.00. All plans include unlimited responses.

Further Details (about the different plans):

All the plans allow you to upload your contacts, email the survey, and track who has responded to the survey, except for the free plan. Free and 9.95 don’t allow you to do surveys that are multi-page and multi-language; the others do.

All the plans allow you to format the design and template of the survey, including the font and including your own logo—except for the free subscription. There is no file upload for the free account- each successive subscription plan increases (100 mb, 500 mb, unlimited). The only subscription that has “SSL” security lock is the $49.00 subscription

There is no technical support for the free plan. The other plans have an email tech support system, and the most expensive plan also has a phone technical support.

HOW TO USE QUESTIONFORM.COM:

Sign-up was quick and painless; it only took a few moments and required very little information. Creating a new survey is also simple and quick. You can choose between simple fields and matrix fields (with simple fields it’s a response to a particular question, while with matrix fields you can pose a more generic question then break it into more specific parts). You can also enter special fields such as having the respondent enter what country or location they are from to alter the questions that they are asked.

You can upload a file into your survey as well (not available with the free plan) or embed a YouTube video(also not available with the free plan.

To set up the questions is as simple as clicking and dragging your question type, entering your question, and typing in the responses that you would like offered. You can choose from different question styles: multiple choice, single choice, open response, or star-rating. If you want “Other” to be an answer choice, you can insert that through the properties box. You can also select if you want certain questions to be required.

Uses of QuestionForm in the Language Arts classroom:

Survey students for preferences, pre-reading or interest inventory, post-reading survey

This would also be a good opportunity for students to practice creating their own questions using question stems.

Students would strongly benefit from using this application to create a stronger connection to the text. They could answer questions such as “What would you do if this had happened to you?” Another question that you could pose would be an evaluative question where all the students respond and discuss the results. QuestionForm.com is a great discussion launcher and can be completed fairly quickly within a short time during a class period.

Sample QuestionForm survey (feel free to respond):

http://nehmer.questionform.com/public/Genres ____________________________________________________________________________

Wordle by Julia Miller Wordle was created by Jonathan Feinberg. What’s a word cloud? Wordle is a program used for creating “word clouds” out of any text you choose. A word cloud is an attractive arrangement of randomly positioned words, where the most important words are bigger than others. What are they for? Mostly word clouds are for fun. You can print them automatically onto any item. They are fantastic at summarizing documents (reports, speeches, poems, novels, etc.) and for teaching.

Using Wordle • Write some text, like an essay or an article. • Select all of the text and then copy it to the clipboard. • Go to http://wordle.net • Click on Create your own. • Paste the text. • To keep two words linked together in the wordle, use the tilde key between the words, example

word~cloud. • Either use a screen capture program to obtain the Wordle as a graphic or save the Wordle in the public

gallery. • When you save a Wordle, it viewable by the entire Internet and there is no way to delete it. Make sure

there is not any personal information on the Wordle.

There is no sign up fee or login. It is very easy to use and you can create word clouds in as little as a minute. Wordle can be easy as complex as you want it to be. Wordle is useful for: Remembering vocabulary Wordle is handy for self-reflection Sharing thoughts or notes on a certain topic Adding a visual element to a blog post Use Wordle to have students enter words that visually represent a novel that they have read—characters, setting, plot, title, etc. Brainstorming or reflecting Use Wordle to describe characters in a story. The more prominent the characteristics, the larger the word appears. Great tool to allow students to create something that looks different from a bullet list or generic document. Creating fun thank you notes or greeting cards for friends or loved ones.

Exploring color palettes or fonts. Studying for an exam or test. Wordle can be used by the teacher as a means of assessment. Ask a student to create a Wordle of his/her presentation, use that as the basis for a discussion. Most important ideas in a famous speech. Create Wordle art. Insert the text of a poem into wordle may help students to see which words are emphasized. Wordle could be used to discuss word choice or frequency in poetry. Instead of a traditional word wall use Wordle. • Have students brainstorm definitions, adjectives, and synonyms of words. After putting it into Wordle hang it on the wall so students can get a contextual reference of that class’s vocabulary.

Wordle can be used with math vocabulary; you could add a wordle each day and on Friday’s hang it on the wall for review. Create a Learning Poster—write five words that describe what you learned to do, or what you learned, use verbs, nouns, facts, or skill. Comparison skills—Give students two different documents/essay’s/event. Have them compare the Wordle generated by each. You could generate Wordle for two different readings—Have students see if they can match the Wordle to its corresponding reading. Students can create a Wordle about themselves, telling their classmates who they are. Wordle could be used to introduce a new objective or unit of material. Take a biography of a famous person and have the student make inferences about what kind of person this is and what important things did they do? Analyze current events. There are many concepts that can be incorporated by using Wordle. All subject material can be utilized by creating Wordle. My 8th grade students are searching careers of their choice, so I am having my students create a Wordle by copying text of the different characteristics of their chosen career. They seem to be enjoying the assignment. Yesterday I created a Wordle for Objective 4.02 in my careers classes. I posted the Wordle in the front of my room and I asked my students to tell me what we were getting ready to begin this week. The students did a great job of coming up with different aspects of getting a job and what steps are needed to be successful in a career. Careers objective 4.2 is understand how to apply, interview and make a career plan for employment. The students enjoyed seeing the objective in a different format. I have found one downfall. Wordle does not sensor their Wordle gallery, so you would need to ask your tech person at school to sensor the text.

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VoiceThread by Heather Haymer Voicethread is a web-based collaboration tool that can used to support dialogue amongst teachers, students, and/or peers. Voicethread allows the opportunity for participants to collaborate through the use of written text, audio, or video. Users can elect to upload a PowerPoint presentation, images or video to gain feedback from users. This flash-based web tool allows for free expression and extension outside of the classroom.

How does it work?

Voicethread integrates the use of multimedia and group collaboration similar to an online presentation. Images, video, PowerPoint presentations, etc. can be uploaded to create additional “slides” or “pages”. With the option to moderate, the moderator can elect which comments appear and the users that are able to participate. Voicethread has the ability to be integrated with Moodle or embedded on any website.

How can users collaborate?

• Audio: Speaking directly to the computer’s microphone. • Telephone: Calling the specified telephone number to record your message. • Text: Users can simply type text once they have selected to “Add a Comment” • Webcam: Users can record video responses directly to the Voicethread using the computer’s webcam. • Audio File/MP3: Users can upload audio files to share with other users participating within the

Voicethread. • Doodling: During the recording of any comments, the user has the option to “doodle”. Here a users can

point, circle, or draw on the page as it may relate to what they are discussing.

Account/Sign-Up

The VT Educator account provides the best option for any classroom teacher (and it’s FREE). With students able to create their own free account, there is no need to opt for a paid account if they are to respond to Voicethreads you create.

What’s included with a VT Educator account (Free)?

• 250MB of storage • 50 Voicethreads • Ability to upload audio files as comments If you have $60 to spare, then you can opt for the year-long Class Subscription. While there are many features available here, you should truly consider the amount of usage you intend for your students.

What’s included with a Class Subscription?

• Ability to create 100 student accounts ($1 for each additional student) • Creation of a secure environment • Admin tools to use in creating classes and managing students.

• Ability to view or edit student work • Customized web address. • Ability to create classes or groups. • Unlimited video commenting • 30 Movie exports a year. • 10GB of storage, with 1GB per student • Unlimited Voicethreads with 50 per student account.

How can students participate?

1. Create their own free account at Voicethread

2. Create a class account, where you create an “IDENTITY” for each student.

3. Use the educator account and create student accounts.

Voicethread has the ability to upload pictures to represent the various IDENTITIES of participants. This ability to personalize helps create a collaborative atmosphere and visually connect “the face to the name”.

How does this affect teaching?

With the use of Voicethread, teachers must become more project based and allow for collaboration amongst students. You must provide ample time for students to review how to properly use Voicethread and then gradually provide introductory assignments so students can understand how to properly use the tool.

Example of Integration in teaching English/Language Arts:

• Upload Bellringers that require students to brainstorm. Have each student comment or provide feedback. Ensure all students have participated before making the comments visible. Once all students have participated, “unhide” the comments and use as a introductory activity to the day’s lesson.

• Upload pictures or quotes, have students respond to how it relates to their life, personally or academically.

• Upload questions typically provided on a worksheet. Have students write out or respond verbally with their answers. Have students provide a reflective paper after the comments have been shared.

• Upload a PPT that asks questions from a book review. Have students verbally provide their answers. Use this opportunity to judge and determine the participation amongst students.

• Use Voicethread to direct instruction or provide lectures online. Below are examples of actual Voicethreads:

• 4th Grade English from Ms. Naugle • 7th grade radio advertisements from Terry Case • Kindergarten Storybook from Leanne Windsor

Other Resources:

• Getting Started in the Classroom • Digitally Speaking Wiki: Voicethread • Examples in Education

Voicethread4Education Wiki ____________________________________________________________________________

Penzu by Aaron Johnson What is Penzu?

Penzu is an on-line journal and/or diary which prides itself on two things; its commitment to user privacy and its commitment to providing a unique user experience. Penzu offers users the interesting dichotomy of modern technology interface transfused with the aesthetics of days long gone. Penzu is essentially a standard college-ruled sheet of notebook paper supplanted onto your computer screen or mobile device. It is an interesting alternative to traditional forms of word processing.

How it Works

Once you've logged onto Penzu (http://penzu.com/), you can either click on the "try it out" option and give it a test drive without any commitments, or select "free sign-up" to create your own Penzu account. Upon activation, the most notable initial feature is Penzu's user-friendly interface; it requires virtually no instruction, just click on the prompt, aptly titled "start typing here" and begin, it's that simple.

Special Features

No flash drive needed: Users will enjoy Penzu's automatic save feature. About every three minutes Penzu initiates an automatic download of your open document to your existing account, eliminating the need for flash drives or other storage devices. Returning users can easily access their work by clicking on the "all entries" icon, located on the right side of the page.

Nine featured icons: Sitting on top of the Penzu pad you'll notice nine black icons, which perform a variety of tasks. All nine can be utilized by "Pro" accounts; six are offered to "Beta" (a.k.a. free) accounts.

The first three icons (available to both Pro and Beta) offer pretty mundane features such as opening a new entry, saving, and printing a document.

The following three icons are slightly more sophisticated and are offered to both Beta and Pro accounts. The first being an add photo option, users can either upload a photo from an existing folder or opt for a direct link to flickr in search of a possible photo to add to your document. The second (or fifth in sequential order) is a share option, which provides users the opportunity to share their document with a friend or colleague by simply keying in that person's email address. Said person then receives an invite to either accept or deny the invitation to view mentioned document. The third icon is the lock entry option. This function provides the user with the opportunity to add a password before any potential viewer accesses their documents. By upgrading to Pro, users can further their protection by opting for an encrypted code in order for viewer's to gain access.

The last three icons are reserved specifically for Pro users. The first being a format entry option, which allows users to modify text from the standard Beta version. The second icon is the tag option, this allows users to better organize their documents by identifying tags or keywords associated with each document. The last icon represents the customize option, which very simply allows the user to alter the aesthetics of your Penzu document. Users are offered a variety of backgrounds that are more appealing to the eye.

Pro vs. Beta (Pay vs. Free)

To purchase pro it will set the user back twenty bucks (an annual fee), and after analyzing both options, I really don't see the cost benefit to support the upgrade. The advantages really are not that significant (mostly superficial), and Beta provides the user with all of the necessities needed to fully utilize its potential in the classroom.

Ways of Utilizing Penzu in the Language Arts Classroom

Many language arts teachers incorporate reading logs into their daily classroom routines, Penzu would be a great way for students to keep up with and record their daily logs

Creative writing assignments, for example, having students take on personas of literary characters and write either diary entries or personal correspondence letters from that character's perspective

• Note taking, great forum for students to take lecture notes

• Recording and keeping up with those vocabulary terms

• Keeping a personal diary

• Keeping a classroom journal

• Unique way of making an informal presentation

• Documenting homework assignments

• Keeping up with those works cited sources

• Email option makes it a great tool for doing any assignment and simply emailing it to the teacher

Penzu is simply a great alternative to the traditional forms of word processing utilized in most language arts classrooms today.

Thumbs Up or Down

With no hesitation, I would give Penzu a definite "Thumbs Up." ____________________________________________________________________________

Sketchcast by Jennifer Knott Sketchcast.com Sketchcast.com is an online portfolio of drawings that allows the user to sketch and record their drawings as animations. When the animation is played, the timing and order of the sketch lines are played back in

real time, as they were drawn. User accounts contain a list of the users own animations. Other people's creations can be searched and are available to copy and use freely by embedding code. The Web page layout is well organized and pleasantly arranged. Across the top is navigation that includes the following links: create, explore, my channel, my account, and log out. If you're not logged in the choices are register, explore, and log in. Above the navigation is a menu to choose your language for the site. Sketchcast.com is available in 9 different languages. Clicking Explore provides access to four categories of animations. Clicking on My Channel provide a list of user-created animations. There is also an RSS subscribe tool. All students with an email address can create an account. Registering with Sketchcast.com asks a limited number of things: user name, email, password, country, gender, and a logic question (to be sure you're a human, not a robot). Once this information is registered, the account is open for use. No checking email for verification link. No secret questions. Nothing gets in the way of creativity. A link titled "Create one now!" is centered in the Web page. A button to the right of the drawing window starts the recording. The color of lines, text, and typing can be changed while the recording is active. Every letter is recorded individually as it's typed. With a mic, audio and voice can also be recorded while drawing. The drawing can even be recorded as it's being erased. The animation cannot be edited or changed once it's complete. It cannot be viewed until it's published. Once the drawing is published, it is available for anyone to use. Clicking on My Channel reveals a list of the user's animations. In the Web page layout, each sketch is located in a frame to the left. To the right of that is a column of metadata. Included in the metadata is email a link, rate a sketch, a description, and embed code. The embed code allows anyone to copy and paste drawings onto other Web sites. Choices of how it will play are Automatic off or on. Play automatically means that the animation will start without clicking the play button. Anybody can copy and paste the embed code from anyone else's sketch. It's great for sharing, but, if you feel possessive about your artwork, Sketchcast.com isn't for you. The sharing functionality appears to be broken on this Web site. Here are links to the drawings I created: http://sketchcast.com/view/icn5mzn http://sketchcast.com/view/2IwJe15 How can this be used in teaching English or Language Arts? Animations created with Sketchcast.com can be used in literacy development and in digital storytelling. Teachers can use it to illustrate an otherwise hard to grasp concept in a given reading. Students could use this tool in cooperative learning. Here are some examples: - students show their understanding of a reading by portraying what a character or activity looks like to them. These can be compared with other student's work. - students create animations for illustrating a point on a class Web site or on their own blog. - students illustrate their interpretation of a poetry reading to share with other students. - Students create animations for a story-building project, where other students write the story of what they see in the animation. This can done in a student or class blog. Sketchcast.com also has some practical applications. Students can learn technical and thinking skills by signing up for their own accounts and searching other people's posts for what they might use on their own Web site. Overall, I encourage teachers to use this online tool to invigorate their English and Language Arts classes.

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Google Feedburner by Laura Benfield Google Feedburner is a web feed management provider that is free from Google. Feedburner allows the user to publish podcasts and blogs to the world and gain more followers from such sites as Twitter. This tool helps publishers draw more attention and readers to their material. Feedburner will also keep track of who reads or listens to your feed. All data is available in an easy to read format. In order to gain a better understanding of what Feedburner can do, click on the link below. Feed 101: http://www.google.com/support/feedburner/bin/answer.py?hl=en&answer=79408 After reading about Feedburner, I was still a little confused about how the tool could be useful in a Language Arts classroom. So, I decided to create my own account to see what it can do. First, I had to create a blog. I used Blogger to create my blog, and then logged into Google Feedburner. I entered my blog address and clicked next.I gave my feed a title. And, I’ve created my first feed. Now, I can sit back and watch Feedburner do its work. By clicking on the “Analyze” tab I can view my “Feed Stats Dashboard”. This is an easy to read statistics page detailing who has read, listened to, or noticed my feed. My “Feed Stats Dashboard” says that I’m so new that I’m “still playing with the bubble wrap”. J If I click on “Optimize”, I can use the available tools to “spruce up” my feed. Using “SmartCast” under the “Optimize” tab the publisher can put all their links into one feed. “SmartCast also allows the publisher to transfer one feed into another format. For example, you can turn your blog into a podcast. This could be a useful tool for ESL learners to be able to see the blog, and also hear it. Here is a link that tells you how to turn your blog into a podcast using “SmartCast”. http://www.google.com/support/feedburner/bin/answer.py?hl=en&answer=78990 You can promote your feed using the “Publicize” tab. The “Monetize” tab allows you to advertize and make money from your feed. The “Troubleshootize” tab is a help page to help troubleshoot any problems you may run into. How can we use Google Feedburner to teach English/Language Arts? When I first read about Google Feedburner, I could not fathom how this tool could be used to teach English. In fact, I could only see the cons of publicizing student work. As a social studies teacher, I had to change my way of thinking about how an online tool can be used for education. With a little more research, I discovered that this is an excellent tool for teaching ESL students. In fact, I found many feeds devoted to ESL, and I included several within this project. Google Feedburner is a tool that a teacher uses to reach their students, not the other way around. With this tool, a teacher is able to provide written word along with audio for students. Therefore the student can see and hear the words being read. Feedburner also allows pictures to be incorporated into the feed. This allows the student to also get a visual for what is being read or said. This tool is great for those students struggling to learn a new language or anyone who struggles with reading. I could also see this tool used to help students with learning disabilities. For more information about Google Feedburner and how to use it to teach English as a second language, please visit the following sites: Blogging Tutorials: http://onecoolsitebloggingtips.com/2009/12/25/rss-in-plain-english- and-feedburner-for-email-updates/ ESL Podcast: http://www.eslpod.com/eslpod_blog/what-is-esl-podcast/ ESL Podcast: http://feeds2.feedburner.com/EnglishAsASecondLanguagePodcast ESL Resources: http://academic.cuesta.edu/ahalderma/esl.htm Listen & Learn English: http://feeds2.feedburner.com/ListenToEnglish- LearnEnglish?format=html

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Google Sites by Ashley Edwards

Google is continuously creating new resources, tools, gadgets and helpful technology to make our lives easier. It started out as a search engine (now the number one search engine) and has transformed into an irreplaceable resource for some many other things…and an essential part of our lives. One of the most versatile tools they offer is a Google website. There are innumerable ways we can obtain a world wide web URL for our own, personal use, but few offer sites as user-friendly and adaptable as Google.

Who?

YOU! Since we are discussing technology integration in education, we will stick to who may use a Google site when referring to teachers and students. But, know that a google site can be created for clubs, recreational teams, church youth groups, personal information, small businesses, advertising, yard sales, portfolios, sports teams, events and so much more. For now, teachers and students will be the users and the creators.

What?

Google sites offer a place for others to go to find important information. If a teacher creates a google site, it may be something similar to blackboard like a common place for students to find assignments and resources, upload important documents, turn in homework and discuss pertinent concepts. A google site could also serve as a wiki where students collaborate together as a class to create a complete information site on a given topic.

Details

Google sites are free as can be! As long as you have a google account or a gmail account, you are awarded lots of google tools like google sites, maps, docs, photos, groups, buzz and calendar. The only frustrating thing is creating a gmail account with a username that has not already been taken. So, be ready to be creative!

This tool provides the following features:

-When setting up a google page, there are hundreds of templates that you can use. If you don’t want to use a template someone else has created, you can create your own color scheme and background.

-There are four kinds of pages that can be created for a google site.

1.) Web page: allows for easy writing, embedding, gadget use, pictures (works great for home pages).

2.) Announcements: allows for the text to be easily erased and edited because its function is to post temporary information and allows for easy document attachment to each announcement (works great for homework, test and project announcements).

3.) File cabinet: is used for posting important documents for long periods of time where you can add details about each document or instructions of what to do with the document (works excellent for an electronic portolio and for project or review sheet details).

4.) List: is used for creating a table with a list of things inside like websites.

-Embed capabilities to include class calendars, pictures, powerpoint presentations, wallwisher walls, maps, slideshows, spreadsheets and more that can be embedded with two clicks.

-Gadgets that allow the site to turn into a multipurpose place that include countdowns to a specific date, dictionaries, currency exchange rates, games, mp3 players, radios, weather, translators, calorie counters, clocks, stock updates and much more.

-You can make the site private (and only share the link with certain people) or public (so that anyone can see it).

-You can collaborate with up to 50 other people by simply sending them an invitation to their e-mail through google sites. This allows them access to edit the site with you but with limited capabilities (they cannot do what an owner can do). Numerous people can be working on the site at one time and others can see the updates of what their collaborators have completed almost instantaneously. You can also set a user to owner so that this person can have more capabilities like changing page titles, deleting the site and change the site themes and layout.

-Others can subscribe to specific pages of the site in order to receive notification that there have been recent changes to that page.

-You can hide particular pages to your site by not having a link to that page in your sidebar. The page still exists, but it does not show up to users.

Ideas for English/Language Arts

1.) A teacher can create a site with important class resources, documents, assignments, parent letters, etc.

2.) On a teacher site, they could have a page for blogging using the announcement page function. Students can subscribe to that page to know when someone has posted a new response. The teacher could do a topic a week to extend class discussion.

3.) Students can create a site with a certain amount of pages for a project on a book and collaborate with the teacher so the teacher can edit or simply have access to in order to grade. Or students could collaborate together on a site, each one with specific pieces of information they must include.

4.) A whole class could collaborate to create a wiki format on a topic.

5.) The teacher can share a google document that the class collaborated on through the google site.

6.) Students can post ideas for other students on helpful resources they found for a research project on the list page.

7.) Teachers can embed google surveys to get feedback from students about the class or project.

More Info

http://www.google.com/sites/help/intl/en/overview.html

http://www.google.com/sites/overview.html

http://www.google.com/support/pages/?hl=en

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LetterPop by TJ Wolfe Use LetterPop to create some great newsletters, presentations, invitations, collages and a whole lot more. There are many great looking templates that are easy to customize with a simple drag and drop. Add your own pictures and content and you’re ready to send your work. Easily edit text and then drop your pictures in place of the spot holders and you have a professional looking document. LetterPop incorporates an address book that will easily import contacts directly into your project. When you’re finished, either email your work through a hyperlink or publish as an original website and distribute it through social media channels like Facebook and Twitter. There are several LetterPop plans that should appeal to a variety of users. It starts with a free subscription for individuals and works up to a monthly professional plan. Features increase with the subscription. How It Works An easy three-step-process ensures your project looks great every time. 1. On the Create Page is Palette with great looking templates. Choose the one you like best. 2. Choose a content area by clicking “Click to Edit” when the option appears. Type your content and check the green check mark to save your work. 3. Upload your pictures or use Flickr to add them to a frame and your done. LetterPop will continue to save your work from there. At the end of your project, follow instructions to send your work via email or publish to a website. Advanced tools will allow you more editing options. Support LetterPop offers a rich support environment that includes an interactive Blog with product updates, troubleshooting techniques and creative ideas for better looking projects. They have an extensive archive that extends back several years. They also have a How-To site, Announcements and general questions tab to help make sure all your project needs are met. Application LetterPop can be used to enhance many lessons and projects in a Language Arts classroom. Students can create a Newsletter to send home to mom and dad updating them on the content from class, book reports are a snap with easy-edit and picture upload, pen pal writing could never be better looking and easier, Christmas poems to assisted living homes for the Holidays would be wonderful, follow your favorite author

with newsletter updates on new novels and appearances, create invitations for family to visit on poetry reading day, use LetterPop to invite famous authors to come to school to read parts of their new book, present your results of a poll of students’ favorite genre and display it in the hallway or create a large class newsletter for the school where each student creates a page. The applications are endless. And the best part is they look great and students create their own work. Summary LetterPop is an easy way to create professional looking Newsletters, presentations and invitations. The best part is that it’s free and somewhat difficult to mess up. Language Arts would be the best content area to use this tool, but there are certainly other areas and projects that could use a LetterPop tune up. Math teachers could use the Newsletter features to send home new and difficult content so parents could go over procedures at home, Science could have students create Lab report presentations in the place of traditional paper and pencil lab reports, and Social Studies teachers could allow students to communicate with pen pal students from another country and use invitations to ask their new friends to chat online during class times. These a just a few applications that span content areas. A simple Google search with LetterPop and your content area may pull up other interesting projects that teachers are completing using this great and free tool!! ____________________________________________________________________________

CoboCards by Catherine Smith What it is: Cobocards is an application found on the internet that you can use to create your own flashcards, study for tests, use the application on your iPhone or Android, or use ready-made flashcards to study. You can also collaborate with other individuals using Cobocards, organize, and print them.

Cost: Cobocards allows you to make three free sets of flashcards, but if you need to make more than three sets, it does cost. It costs $6.90 per month for one month. For three months, it’s $5.50 per month ($16.60 total). Lastly, for six months, it costs $4.20 per month ($24.90 total). Additionally, Cobocards provides group rates for various group sizes. The more in the group, the better discount your group receives. For example the standard price for one person is $24.90, while for ten people it is $12.50 per person or $124.70 total.

How to Start: To begin your free trial, all you have to do is go to the main website, www.cobocards.com, and type in your email address. After typing in your email address, they will send you an email with a username and password, and you can then use these to login to your account.

Set up: After logging in, you may then click on “create new flashcard set.” It will then ask questions about what you would like to name the set of flash cards. After typing in the name of your flashcard set, you can then fill in what you would like for your question to be, and then type in the answer. Within the answer space, you are then able to add images, colors, tables, formulas, and even other languages.

Different settings/features: You can also choose the setting for your flashcards. You can choose to be quizzed by them providing the question first then answer or, they can provide the answer and you have to provide the question. Also, you can choose options such as whether to have the flashcards sorted or shuffled. You can choose to be quizzed on the flashcards that are “not known, half-known, etc.” as well. In addition, you can choose to be quizzed on your flashcards using the “Leitner-Algorithm.” This method uses calculations to determine which flashcards you need to study more and then presents you with different flashcards each day to quiz you.

Pool: There is also a pool of flashcards previously created by other users that you are able to use and study

(you are also able to share your own flashcards). You just choose the topic that you have to study, and search for it. When you find a set of flashcards that you would like to use, you can then choose them, and you are able to edit these flashcards, add images, change the question, etc.

Collaboration: Cobocards also provides lots of ways for you to collaborate with other people. You are able to choose someone to quiz you on your flashcards. You can use Skype to see them, and even chat with them while they are quizzing you. You can also study in teams or small groups. However, everyone that you collaborate with must have a Cobocards account. You simply have to invite your friend to be on your team by typing in their email address where it says invite your friends on the website. Everyone on the team for a particular flashcard set is able to edit and comment on the flashcard set. Additionally, Cobocards allows you to see exactly what each person changed/added on a flashcard set, or commented on (good for teachers to see when using this tool in the classroom).

Organize & Print: Lastly, Cobocards allows you to organize and print your flashcards. You are able to organize them in any order you would like. If you prefer to be quizzed on the flashcards that are unknown first, then you can be. Also, you are able to move flashcards to different sets, etc. As far as printing goes, you just click on the print option, and it generates a pdf format for you to print. You can choose to have single-sided or double-sided flashcards. When they print all you have to do is cut them, and they are ready to go!

Use in the classroom: I think that this tool would work really well in the classroom. Students and teachers would be able to use Cobocards to help them study, practice, and learn new concepts. The registration process is very simple and they practically set up your account for you. Additionally, it provides several ways to integrate collaborative strategies in your lessons!

Uses in English/Language Arts:

• Students could study vocabulary words on this site. Students could even collaborate and quiz each other to help study for vocabulary quizzes or tests.

• Students could use Cobocards to create flashcards about different authors they are studying in English (adding pictures for each author). They could collaborate in small groups, and all add something to each flashcard about the different authors.

• Students could also create flashcards for different elements of a story such as: symbols, main characters, conflict, resolution, etc. They could then collaborate with their classmates and compare their flashcards, or work together to make one study set.

• Students could even use Cobocards to summarize main points of chapters in a novel. Each chapter could have a flashcard and students could collaborate to add important points from the chapter, and leave comments on what their peers added to each flashcard.

• Students could also compare the different types of literature such as poems, novels, short stories, etc. using flashcards.

• If students have to give a presentation about a book they read, or a paper they wrote, they could use Cobocards to make flashcards for their presentation. They could type the main point at the top of the flashcard, and then type in the topics they need to discuss underneath.

• Younger students could also create flashcards for each letter of the alphabet. They could collaboratively add words that start with each letter of the alphabet and create “alphabet flashcards.” They could also add images of the words that they add to each flashcard.

• Teachers could project flashcards onto a large screen in class with vocabulary, book summaries, characters, etc. and quiz students for a review before a test.

• More information:

Main website: www.cobocards.com

Tour of the site with videos: http://www.cobocards.com/tour/

Tutorials on using Cobocards: http://www.cobocards.com/wiki/pmwiki.php/en/Tutorials ______________________________________________________________________________________

Geni by Preference Evans SIGN-UP: To obtain a Geni account, you and your students need legitimate active e-mail addresses and a few minutes to put in personal information like name and gender. (Default log-in passwords are e-mailed to the address provided, but are prompted to be changed upon first log-in.) This would be easy to set up in a classroom of students with existing e-mail accounts and the sign-up process is similar to that of most other websites. For a monthly membership fee, one could upgrade to Pro that allows extras like advanced searches, instant profile matches, no ads, priority support, etc. However, this would not be necessary for K-12 students classroom use. Geni accounts work instantly after sign-up and students can begin adding members to their family trees right away. The people added can immediately be invited to the member’s page from the site through e-mail. UPLOADING: Students can upload documents to show information about birth, death, immigration or any other information about family members like newspaper articles or diplomas. Geni even has an electronic timeline that stores family events such as birth, death, marriages, etc. For more visual appeal, students can upload photos (PDF, JPG, and PNG) and videos (AVI, WMV, MOV and MP4 up to 100 MB per video and 10 minutes long each_selected from the computer or external drives) or relatives can upload as they are invited. Photos can be shared with relatives and urls to the family tree can be shared with non-relatives for a limited time. COMMUNICATION: Students can use the search function to find their family members and learn about them through the individual profile pages Geni provides. The site inbox allows private communication among family members and teachers could use this as a way to provide students with personalized feedback. The “Discussions” feature could be used for student blogging about their work and students can also use the collaboration feature to edit relatives’ profiles and a family tree. IN ENGLISH LANGUAGE ARTS The intensity of the assignments using Geni would depend on the age group. Based on my personal experience, I would plan independent and/or guided use with middle school grades and up. I would demonstrate more with elementary grades if/when I used Geni since family trees are “early years” projects. • Teachers could assign students imaginary relationships in small groups or as a class and they could act

as a family Students could use the information provided from the family tree to construct narratives like how

relationships developed, how family members migrated across the country or world (Geni has a map to plot family members’ locations!)

As “relatives,” students could use the blog function to plan small family events, discuss family histories, or informally update each other

Students could create their own documents using office programs to create examples of information sources (ex. birth cerificates) to upload

• Using their own family trees, students can gather information and develop procedures for planning a

real family reunion Create spreadsheets to document supply needs, family preferences, family

delegations/responsibilities, event purchases, etc. Design flyers to advertise Construct letters to distribute and collect information

• The site can be used after a family reunion to make updates as well. • Students’ use of Geni could generate the discussion problems with family histories that arise when

relatives disagree and there was no documentation, or odd and unique relationships that occurred. A connection could be made to U.S. and world history.

• Using Geni gives students experience with creating [electronic] graphic organizers. The two views the site provides for a visual family tree are the standard tree view, which is a collection of boxes that branch off in different directions and a five-generation horizontal view; both work like flowcharts.

• Teachers can also monitor student work through the “Activity” section of the site with their log-in or access to their screens.

Privacy

As we know, the Internet is truly not private. However, Geni explicitly states that privacy is important to them and they have implemented ways to ensure customer privacy. These features give a small sense of comfort to Internet posting and classroom usage.

• Geni offers the following types of privacy: TREE

• Only members of your family tree can see your profile and they must log in to do so PROFILE

• Only relatives can see your tree and they can be blocked; you can restrict what shows on the profile; you control who contacts you and who doesn’t

SEARCH • You can control what people find when they search; minors under 13 cannot be located from non-tree

members

E-MAIL • Geni states that it does not spam or share e-mail information

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ToonDoo by Naomi Kraut Intro to ToonDoo

ToonDoo.com purports to be “the worlds fastest way to create cartoons” and, indeed the site offers many options for clicking, dragging and dropping your way to an original cartoon. Toondoo is free to join with a valid email address, and once you sign up, the options of creating a cartoon are many. Essentially, the site can be broken down into options for creating, options for interacting with other toons or users, and options for buying.

Creating on ToonDoo

ToonDoo Maker

ToonDoo Maker allows you to create an original comic strip, and gives you seven options of formats (in terms of how many boxes or strips you want your comic to consist of). When creating a comic in the ToonDoo Maker, you have choices of:

· Characters

o Choice of characters includes: men, women, kids, animals, a category called Jambav (the ToonDoo mascot bear), sports, unusuals, famous, emoticons or stick figures.

§ Upon investigating this range of options of characters, I was shocked to find offensive images of African American men and women, evoking minstrel images with characters with large lips. There are other images of African American characters without these features, but I really couldn’t get past these initial images that popped up.

· Background

· Props

· Texts

· Brushmen

o Brushmen involves many options of characters in action doing things, as well as more specific symbols and objects.

· Special

o Special includes the categories of Christmas, magic and manga

· Clip art

· My galleries

To create a cartoon, you click, drag and drop the images into your cartoon boxes. When you are ready to save your toon, you add a title, description and tag. You have the option to let others redo your Toon and to allow others to purchase your Toon. In addition, you may publish your Toon “to the world” (publicly), “keep it private” (for your eyes only), or “share with friends.”

In addition to the ToonDoo Maker for creating cartoons, TooDoo has other creating capabilities:

Book Maker allows you to create a book of cartoons.

TraitR is a feature where you can upload a picture reference and try to replicate (or make a caricature of) this photo.

ImagineR is a function which allows you to add your own photos and images to your ToonDoos – and

then mess with them – expand, shrink and add features.

DoodleR allows you to enhance your cartoon with drawing tools.

Interacting with other Toons / Users

ToonDoo has its own little social network called Shoshiya, where you can interact with other users, or “Dooers,” as they’re called. In addition, the site is set up to foster collaboration among users. Dooers can edit or re-do each others’ toons (if allowed by the original user).

Dooers can also suggest labels for cartoons (using LabelR), can create a Widgetoon for their blog or Facebook profile, or can enter one of ToonDoo’s contests. In fact, there is a whole tab dedicated to contests, consisting of the following options:

· You can add the punchline for a toon.

· You can participate in a toonament, where you create a cartoon portrait of an image (using a photo and TraitR). Using ToonDoo’s tools, the goal is to try to get it as accurate as possible.

· You can view the Hall of Fame –- winning Dooers for past contests.

· You can select an idea for a contest.

Under the “Dooer” tab, you can see which other users are most active, most admired, and who/what the editors have picked as various favorites.

Buying

On the ToonDoo website, you can purchase high resolution images to put on t-shirts, mugs, bags, keychains, etc., so you could make stuff based on yours (or others’) toons. ToonDoo has an internal currency – Tooken, and users can get Tooken by either depositing money in their account or by earning it. Dooers earn Tookens when their toon or Toonbook gets picked by an editor or when another Dooer purchases their toon. Purchasing your own toon is cheaper than purchasing another Dooer’s toon.

Other Features of ToonDoo

In addition to creating, interacting with others and buying things, there’s also a help Wiki, a blog and a message console.

ToonDoo offers ToonDoo Spaces, which is a comics based social network for the classroom. You can try it with a free 15-day trial. After that, it’s priced “as low as 10 cents per user per month.” I didn’t sign up for this, but for a classroom (provided this is financially possible), this might be a good way to go, as the ToonDoo site has SO much going on, and ToonDoo Spaces is safe and secure for students.

Possible uses for ToonDoo

· Students can create a comic strip as a way to predict what’s going to happen next in a text. In this way,

there could be a certain number of boxes that are dedicated to what has happened (and students could use textual evidence as quotes) and then a certain number of boxes for students’ predictions. In addition to making predictions, the comic strip format gives students practice in picking the most relevant quotes and in practicing a writer’s style or characters’ dialects.

· Students could take existing characters from literature they are reading and imagine new settings, new scenarios for them. This would give students practice in analyzing characters and critically thinking about other scenarios based on the text.

· Students could condense a chapter of a book or a scene from a play. In this way, they need to pick out the most important things that happen. They could either have to use direct quotes or synthesize / put things in their own words. (This might work especially well for Shakespeare.)

· ToonDoo might offer a good starting point for creative writing. Students could create a cartoon based on an initial suggestion (character, setting, prop from a book), and then they could create a story based around or inspired by their cartoon.

· ToonDoo could be a great way for students to explore language and increase their awareness of how we use language. Under this topic, students could:

o Fill in another other classmates’ dialogue bubbles (and compare/contrast and reflect on why they made the choices that they did).

o Do an activity where they first create a cartoon and include dialogue bubbles, and then write the text/prose version of the cartoon (or vice versa). This would lead to analysis of the “rules” of language in different contexts / for different purposes.

· Students could use ToonDoo to practice engaging with characterization – imagining and creating what characters look like based on description and details.

· Students could talk about negative stereotypes found in ToonDoo images – and then recreate characters – re-do ToonDoo’s offensive images.

· Students could re-do other classmates’ toons. This could be worked into a collaborative activity where one student starts by creating a character, the next student adds dialogue to the toon, the next student adds a setting, etc.

· Students could work in groups to create a ToonBook. This could be a sequel to something the class has read and could be based on certain characteristics of that text.

Conclusion

ToonDoo offers A LOT of options (too many?!) for students to engage with. I think there are a lot of activities that would lend themselves to English Language Arts. However, the commercial aspect seems pretty heavily emphasized, which is not ideal for students, and the offensive images bothered me so much that it was hard to get past them.

Come to your own conclusions at www.toondoo.com!