All of the above are tools students can use to create products for assignments. Choose one of each pair plus Bookr to explore. Reflect on the questions asked as you post your blog Thing #2.
Wordle is a tool to create beautiful "word clouds". You copy some text and paste it into the Wordle page after clicking on the "create" button. Be sure to explore the edit tabs at the top to change the layout, color etc. Below is the district's libraries in Wordle. In addition to printing, you can always print the screen and then copy into a draw program like PowerPoint for editing and saving. The fact that the words most repeated appear larger would help a student to find the main concepts of an article or essay. How could a student use this tool?
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WordSift, like Wordle, takes text from any document or webpage and creates a word cloud. In addition, it gives you links to websites that might turn up if you did a search on those terms. So, the words become hot links. Again, how might students use this tool in their learning and creating?
Glogster/edu "poster yourself" or a poster online! Glogster is a tool that allows picture manipulation and mashups and adding hot links to parts of the pictures. Scroll down and play some of the tutorials. If you want to create a personal Glogster account before trying a classroom account go to Glogster homepage. Would there be any different thinking a student would have to do to turn in a poster online as opposed to a cardboard poster? If there is different thinking, is it better or worse, more or less, or how is it different?
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VoiceThread--digital storytelling made simpler with 5 ways for the authentic audience to comment. Click on the K-12 at middle right. Then click on Learn More in middle. Watch Overviews. Then click on "Visit our K-12 pricing page". Then apply for the third or free column. What situations might this be the most appropriate tool for students?
Animoto - surely you have seen an Animoto! If you have not made one, now is the time. Be sure to explore how music with different tempos effect the changing of the pictures. Be sure to notice how the size of your picture effects the quality of the finished product. Be sure to re-arrange the sequence of the pictures to create a different effect. Be sure you can save, send, and post an Animoto. How can students and/or educators use this?
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Voki - a talking avatar. Click get started. Be sure to click on all the possible buttons to see the various editing features you have. The students love to use the voice spoken typed text. Avatars could be used for other things than just to pretty up your blog. What would happen if a Voki was sent in an e-mail. Might the recipient get a stronger message than just text?
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Bookr - a tool to create your own photobook. Visit the archives first and get an idea what the possibilities are. Using the cursor, you turn the pages from the top right corner or the bottom right corner. Explore but watch your cursor so you know when things are possible. Students could use Bookr instead of what other tools to create products for what assignments?
