Saturday, December 18, 2010

Web 2.0 Tools -- Top Tools Recommended by CSLA Members

Placentia (CA) Teacher Librarian Joy Millam asked California school library colleagues for their top web 2.0 tools.  Below is the "hit" list from Joy.  Now to look and play with any of the new tools.

Heres is the compilation of current Web 2.0 Favorites:  (I will post the document on my wiki later http://booktalksandmore.pbworks.com)  By far the most popular of those mentioned were Glogster, Animoto, wikis, Voicethread, and xtranormal. 
Thanks everyone for sending me your 5 Fave Web 2.0 tools/toys!  J
Wordle- word cloud generator   http://www.wordle.net/  or tagxedo.com
The following sites show how word clouds are used in teaching/learning. 
Bookmarking- tracking it all:
·       diigo.com (keep and organize bookmarks online for access from any connected computer)
·       Delicious (social bookmarking)
·       evernote  (save webpages)
Digital flashcards
Discussion board sites:
ProBoards or other discussion board sites (class discussions)
File Storage and Sharing:
Dropbox – use anywhere in the world to access your files.
4Shared: for hosting videos that I’ve captured using Firefox Downloader
Images:
Flickr, Flickr Creative Commons and Flickr Toys like Pim Pam Pum:     http://www.pimpampum.net/bubblr/?id=25880
Picture Trail: image tool that brings interest and engagement
Examples of schools/teachers using Web 2.0 tools to learn
This article shows kindergartner’s using web 2.0 tools
Lesson Plan storage and sharing:
LiveBinder

Suggestions for using various tools:
Use Voki to record students describing something they’ve learned, using just 60 seconds of recording time. These can be presented to class fulfilling technology standards and presentations.
Use a blog or wiki to post a student avatar or picture creation and have students post comments about the avatar or picture. (Voki)
Some of the teachers at my school used voicethread with K classes. Really cute although the teacher could be heard prompting them. I think younger kids could use it for info on famous people. In small groups they could find the important info and then record it one at a time on voicethread: one tells where and where born, another tells about education, another tells about family and another tells about what they did and why we remember them.
Go to readability.com- to remove all visual distractions/ads from websites
Teachers at my school really like ReadThinkWrite.org. We’ve used their comic creator and acrostic poem maker
xtranormal.com (students create cartoons to tell a story, teach a skill, discuss a topic, and more!)
Big Huge Labs- great for a variety of uses.  Motivational posters, trading cards, magazine covers, etc.
This has a great list of applications-
Recommended for staff--  Jog the Web, Jing, and Youblisher
Making Video or audio projects/digital storytelling:
·       Glogster.com-  multi-dimensional learning!  So fun and and easy tool to use. (interactive posters)
·       Animoto- Good for all ages. 
o       Here’s one example for younger children- take pictures of kids in the library and create an animoto video for them to see. Can they find their picture?
o       I have used Animoto with first and second graders and they loved it. I have also used Bookr.            
·       Voicethread, GarageBand,  or Audacity – use for story re-tellings, podcasts, book reports,
·       Blabberize.com – so cool! Example using Blabberize.com to show learning
·       Xtranormal
·       Zooburst is my new fave for digital storytelling:  http://www.zooburst.com/book/zb0_4ce4230ec59e4
Using Wikis or Blogs:
Wikispaces- The students use wikis mainly to publish their work and peer review.
wordpress.com-for blogging (good for monitored peer review)
Blogger.com- good blog site. 
Ning.com – good for building community within a classroom.
Gaggle.net – safe (filtered), online learning tools.
Examples of blogs and wikis in practice-
http://ktoponce.wikispaces.com/ - this one is a great example of a class wiki/blog.
http://fuhsag.wikispaces.com/ - another great example of a wiki in use.
Great examples: My main blogsite address is- http://newresearchprocess.blogspot.com
                And the main site for my middle schoolers is: http://centralmslibrary.blogspot.com 
                From these sites, the right menu has the blogs I create for each collaborative unit.
Example of using a wiki to communicate and engage students 
Powerpoint Alternatives:
·       prezi.com (alternative to "just another PowerPoint")
·       Google Docs
Social networks for teachers using 2.0 tools
Another article:
Web 2.0 and Related Bloom’s Taxonomy sites:

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