Group items tagged

Authors: Group 2 (Hafermann, Wenzel, McKane, Getchius) Category: Online library Grade level use: All levels Topic/discipline: Social sciences, language arts, math, science, technology, history, primary sources (as tags) Tutorial Information: "Ask a Librarian" link is located at the top of the main page of the website. Once clicked, the next page is separated into 5 sections: 1) General Collections, 2)International Collections, 3) Digital Collections, 4)Special Formats and Genres, 5)Other Programs and Services Possible uses: Research projects, daily historical trivia, use of primary sources for lessons in Language Arts, Literature and Composition, and Social Studies. Basic explanation: The Library of Congress provides a vast amount of primary sources for teachers to use in the classroom. The site has five main features which can be found at the top of the main website. For example, the American Memory link provides free access to maps, audio, video, and pictures. Positives: Unlimited amount of resources to be used in the classroom. Free! Negatives: Too much information, students may not know where to begin.

Group 2-Tera Hafermann, Ruth Getchius, April Wenzel, Trish McKane Category: online flashcard maker Grade Level Use: grades 5 and up (though could be used for whole class on IWB for younger grades) Topic/Discipline: any discipline where vocabulary is involved Tutorial Information: A tutorial video is available on YouTube. The URL is http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Diqf0P5dbNQ. Possible Uses: This is a flashcard generator and is used to create or download vocabulary flashcards for studying purposes. Basic Explanation: This site allows students and teachers to create or search for vocabulary flashcards and share them with a study group or class. Flashcards can be downloaded and printed, they can be exported, and they can be shared on Facebook as well as with specific individuals. The site also included games as a way to study vocabulary. Positives: This site allows otherwise disorganized students to organize their vocabulary lists neatly. It allows them to share with a study group and to seek out already created lists and export them to their account. It is free. It is also user friendly. The site was created by a high school student to help him/her study vocabulary. Negatives: The site is not really kid-friendly in the sense that students younger than 5th grade cannot use it easily. The teacher must do most of the work with students in the lower grades.

-Authors: Regilio, Saal, Costello, Stroh - Group #5 -Tool Name: Congoo -Tool URL: www.congoo.com -Category: Information Portal -Tags: -Authors: Regilio, Saal, Costello, Stroh - Group #5 -Tool Name: Congoo -Tool URL: www.congoo.com -Category: Information Portal -Tags: Comprehensive, Real-Time News And Information, Including Access To Top Subscription Sites, Congoo News -Grade level use: All levels -Topic/Discipline: US, World, Business, Finance, Industry, Technology, Science, Media & Advertising, Politics/Law, Entertainment, Internet, Health, Sports, Culture -Tutorial Information: Need Help? Button is located at the bottom of the home page. There was not a formal tutorial to teach someone how to use the website. -Possible Use: Keeping up on latest news, build your own new portal, able to comment on stories, social networking -Basic Explanation: Website is broken down into categories listed above and there are related news stories in each category to read and comment on. There are news clips in each category to watch as well. -Positives: Website is easy to navigate, wide range of information on website that can appeal to a wide range of ages -Negatives: Advertising is sold on this website, encourages you to download netpass which gives you access to other websites -Grade level use: All levels -Topic/Discipline: US, World, Business, Finance, Industry, Technology, Science, Media & Advertising, Politics/Law, Entertainment, Internet, Health, Sports, Culture -Tutorial Information: Need Help? Button is located at the bottom of the home page. There was not a formal tutorial to teach someone how to use the website. -Possible Use: Keeping up on latest news, build your own new portal, able to comment on stories, social networking -Basic Explanation: Website is broken down into categories listed above and there are related news stories in each category to read and comment on. There are news clips in each category to watch as well. -Positives: Website is easy to navi

Authors: Group 1 (Bulfer, Sennett, Gourley, Carl) Category: Word clouds Grade level use: All levels Topic/discipline: Any subject Tutorial information: FAQ section Possible uses: Presentations, to analyze, projects Basic explanation: Wordle develops word clouds based on the frequency of use of each word; words that are used more often are bigger. Users can copy and paste data from different sources to create a word cloud. Positives: Do not have to register to use, not copyrighted, can use your wordles however you want. Negatives: Wordle is not moderated or filtered, students might find obscene language.

Costello, Regilio, Saal, Stroh; Group 5 Tool name: Wordle http://www.wordle.net/ Category: "word cloud" generator Tags: word cloud, vocabulary Grade level use: All grade levels Topic/discipline: Most areas involving vocabulary Tutorial information: There is not tutorial on how to use Wordle though it is pretty simple. There is a significant section of FAQ. Possible uses for students, teachers, and/or administrators: Can be used to create word banks as well as show students which vocabulary words may be more significant about a certain topic. Basics: Enter a group of words you want to appear in your Wordle. Click "go" and the site generates your "word cloud." Then you can change the format, language, font and colors. You can also print your Wordle or save it in a public gallery. Positives: It's very simple and takes very little time at all. You can also put in a URL and Wordle.net will create your word cloud using the words on the site. Negatives: The only thing you can do on this wed site is create word clouds.

Authors: Group 1 (Bulfer, Sennett, Gourley, Carl) Category: Digital storytelling Grade level use: 1-5 Topic/discipline: Language arts Tutorial information: Tour or FAQ Possible uses: creative stories, theme stories Basic explanation: By using the websites artwork, you can create your own story or work collaboratively to create one with a friend. Positives: quicker way to create original stories using technology, can connect with students in other places Negatives: must take turns if collaborating, must use sites artwork

Costello, Regilio, Saal, Stroh; Group 5 Tool name: Prezi http://www.prezi.com / Category: online presentations Tags: prezi, zoom, zooming, editor, presentation, zui, tool, user, interface, ui, deepzoom Grade level use: all grade levels Topic/discipline: any topic or discipline Tutorial information: Prezi has multiple videos to view depending on how advanced the user is with creating Prezi presentations. Possible uses for students, teachers, and/or administrators: Students, teachers and Administrators can use Prezi to create presentations that are more interesting to view. Basics: All the information in your presentation is presented on one screen. When you want to focus on a particular portion of the presentation you zoom into that area. When you're finished with that portion you can zoom out or onto the next portion. Positives: It's quick and easy to create a presentation. Presentations are more engaging for the audience than using slides. Presentations can be saved as public and accessed from any computer with Internet. You can also download your presentation and present it without Internet. Negatives: May be difficult for younger students to create on their own.

Group 2: Wenzel, Getchius, McKane, & Hafermann Tool Name: MeeGenius URL: http://www.go2web20.net/site/?a=MeeGenius Category: Online Library for kids Tags: Reading Grade Level Use: K-5 Topic/discipline: Reading Tutorial Information: There is a section to contact the authors of the website. There is also an About Us link to find out more about the website. Possible Uses: Using the web to interest students in reading. Also, allows personalization of the stories so students can become part of the book. Basics: The site allows children to access books online and they can either read them on their own or have a narrator. The site also allows you to personalize the book. Positives: Being able to personalize the book allows the reader to really become part of the story. Negatives: The selection of books is very small and limited to younger grade levels.

- Authors: Reglio, Saal, Costello, Stroh - Group #5 - Tool Name: Starfall - Tool URL: http://starfall.com - Category: educational reading site -Tags: education, reading, phonics - Grade level use: pre-school - 3rd grade - Topics/Discipline: pre-literacy through early literacy practice, supplement - Tutorial information: none found, user learns through practice - Possible uses: small group, individual phonics practice - Basics: The user accesses a range of phonics skills on the homepage. After selecting a skill, the user selects an activity to practice the skill. -Positives: This site is visually appealing, easy for young children to navigate, provides auditory cues for sounds/symbols, is not too busy to the eye. -Negatives: The songs/rhymes do not change often enough. For a frequent user, this may become monotonous and steer them away from the phonics lessons or activities.

- Authors: Reglio, Saal, Costello, Stroh - Group #5 - Tool Name: CoolMath4kids - Tool URL: http://coolmath4kids.com - Category: Math games/puzzles -Tags: education, math, puzzles - Grade level use: elementary - Topics/Discipline: Math practice, remediation or acceleration - Tutorial information: At the top of the page is a tab to practice before selecting a category - Possible uses: To introduce Math concepts, small group or individual practice - Basics: The user selects a Math skill set ranging from puzzles, flash cards, to geometry. A few of the skills are timed while others allow for opened responses. -Positives: All skill areas can be accessed via the homepage, it is visually reinforcing to the user, has an adequate amount of problems to practice before a saturation effect takes place. -Negatives: The site is very busy, has lots of movement, and is distracting to the eye.

- Authors: Reglio, Saal, Costello, Stroh - Group #5 - Tool Name: I Know That - Tool URL: http://iknowthat.com - Category: On-line multi-media -Tags: education, science, math, history - Grade level use: pre-school-5th grade - Topics/Discipline: research, skill practice, educational games - Tutorial information: There is not a tutorial, user learns as they attempt - Possible uses: Research across curriculum, remediation, acceleration - Basics: If the user is not a member, he can choose areas available. If he is a member, via the teacher/school, he can login in and go directly to his grade/class login content. -Positives: This site would be a nice tool to have as a favorite for a child who is a researcher, or needs either acceleration or remediation. With the student login, it is easy to navigate through the site. -Negatives: Difficult to access which resources are available to non-members vs. members.

- Authors: Reglio, Saal, Costello, Stroh - Group #5 - Tool Name: Watchknow - Tool URL: http://watchknow.org - Category: Educational media site -Tags: media, science, social studies, math, language arts - Grade level use: Pre-k - high school - Topics/Discipline: free on-line educational videos - Tutorial information: Found on the homepage is a button that provides a video demonstration on usage - Possible uses: cross-curricular, small group, individual, whole class, at home - Basics: The user can either type in a topic into the search box or choose from a variety of subject areas. After narrowing the subject, the user chooses a skill, from there the user selects a video to play. -Positives: It contains over 15,000 video clips which are cross-curricular and multi-aged. The site is easy, for an adult to navigate. -Negatives: An adult is needed to edit for content and age appropriate video selections.

- Authors: Reglio, Saal, Costello, Stroh - Group #5 - Tool Name: Smarttutor - Tool URL: http://smarttutor.com - Category: Educational site - Tags: Education, reading, math - Grade level use: k- 5th grade - Topic/Discipline: Can be used to supplement a phonics based reading program - Tutorial information: Provides tabs for appropriate reading grade level. Also provide both visual and auditory cues for where to place the cursor. - Possible uses: to supplement a reading program, provide remediation, home-school use - Basics: The first step is to click on an appropriate grade level, choose a skill set, follow both the verbal/visual cues to proceed through reading tasks. - Positives: This tool is both visually and auditorally engaging. It provides immediate feedback for both correct response and error correction. Its use is child friendly. -Negatives: To the side of the homepage are options for information on purchasing a reading software program.

-Authors: Regilio, Saal, Costello, Stroh - Group #5 -Tool Name: Yedda - Tool URL: http://yedda.com -Category: Ask questions, search and ask questions -Tags: actively finding the best answers from the most relevant people. Just for you -Grade level use: Middle school and older -Topic / discipline: Arts, Humanities, Science, Math, Auto, Health, Social Science, Society and Culture, Money, Finance, Sports, Computers, Internet, Education, Reference, News and Events, Music, Technology, Environment, Politics, Government, Religion -Tutorial Information: There is no formal tuitoral. There is a link at the bottom of the home webpage for "FAQ's" and "About" which answers some questions on how to use the site -Possible uses: Have students submit questions about topics that they are currently learning about and compare the answer to the information they already know. When a teacher wants to make a student find their own answer, the student can use this site as a resource or starting point. -Basics: Anyone can create an account. Type your question into the main question bar and wait for a response back. -Positives: Yedda is going to be releasing a new version of the site soon. Site is easy to use and navigate. Shows affiliation with AOL. -Negatives: Don't know how reliable the resources or people answering the questions are.

-Authors: Regilio, Saal, Costello, Stroh - Group #5 -Tool Name: Ning - Tool URL: http://education.ning.com/ -Category: Educational Social Networking -Tags: Education, Ning -Grade level use: Students 13 years and older -Topic / Discipline: Can be used for any school topic -Tutorial Information: There is a ning help tab on the main page of the website. Click on that link and it answers commonly asked questions, how to get started on the website, popular articles, and more -Possible uses: Create a social networking opportunity for the classroom to interact with each other or with other classrooms and schools across the world. -Basics: Individuals or groups are able to create accounts. Once logged in, people can blog with other members, classrooms can blog or chat with each other, teachers can create groups with their students and have them complete work or discussions within the site. -Positives: Very comprehensive and detailed site. People have joined this site from all over the world which creates great social networking opportunities -Negatives: Site is kind of confusing to me. In July, only paying members will be able to join. Students 13 and older can only join due to legal issues.

Tool URL: Authors: Regilio, Saal, Costello, Stroh - Group #5 -Tool Name: Go Animate -Tool URL: http://goanimate.com/ -Category: Creative Art -Tags: Animation, eCard, flash free, web 2.0, cartoon, comics, create animations -Grade level use: (Jr/Sr High School) -Topic / discipline: Can be used for any school topic -Tutorial Information: There is a help tab on the main page of the website. Click on that link and it answers commonly asked questions, video tutorials, and a blog. -Possible uses: Animate stories that are written by students. -Positives: Very interesting, and it allows students the opportunity to be creative and bring their stories to life. Do not have to download software. The best part is it is free.Very comprehensive and detailed site. People have joined this site from all over the world which creates great social networking opportunities -Negatives: Site is fun, but some of the characters are probably not appropriate. Blogs can be seen and may not have appropriate material.

Costello, Regilio, Saal, Stroh; Group 5 Tool name: Illuminations http://illuminations.nctm.org/ Category: interactive Tags: math, lesson plans, activities, NCTM Resources Grade level use: All Grade Levels Topic/discipline: Math Tutorial information: There is no tutorial or help section however; this website is very easy to navigate. In each individual game there is a link for instructions. Possible uses for students, teachers, and/or administrators: Teachers find math lesson plans and activities for students at every grade level using every math skill you can think of. It also provides teachers with tools to create materials such as game spinners, times tables and graphs. There are also games and activities for students to so on the computer. Positives: This site is very easy to navigate. The search options for teachers are simple. The topics available for study are many. Negatives: There is no help or tutorial for this site. Some of the activities listed for multiple ages actually seemed to be a bit advanced for young children.

-Authors: Regilio, Saal, Costello, Stroch - Group #5 -Tool Name: Delicious -Tool URL: www.delicious.com -Category: bookmarks, social bookmarking -Tags: Favorites, -Grade Level Use: K-12 educators, 7-12 students -Topic/discipline: Would be useful for all subjects. -Tutorial information: There is a blog tab. There is also a support tab at the bottom with a tutorial/FAQs -Possible Uses: For classes to build a favorites that they can have access to from the web. -Positives: Keep, share, and discover the best of the web for sharing with the entire class. -Negatives: I really couldn't come up with a negative for this one because you can use it anywhere there is web access.

Costello, Regilio, Saal, Stroh; Group 5 Tool name: ReadWriteThink Note takers http://www.readwritethink.org/classroom-resources/student-interactives/readwritethink-notetaker-30055.html Category: organizing, summarizing Tags: Outline, Notes, Summary, Graphic Organizer, Research Grade level use: 3-12 Topic/discipline: Literacy, writing Tutorial information: One the main page students click "Get Started" to begin a new outline. Before beginning the outline there is an option for a tutorial on how to use the outline. Possible uses for students, teachers, and/or administrators: Students can use to take organized notes while reading. It can also be used to help students develop ideas as a prewriting activity. Teacher could use to quickly create notes for students. There is also an option to have an HTML assigned to your outline for Internet access so teacher can make it available to students anywhere. Basics: You begin by entering your name and the topic of you outline. The first time using it watch the tutorial. There are only a few buttons to use while creating your outline so it is very simple. Positives: It would be helpful to a student who gets bogged down by handwriting and outline format when trying to take notes. It is easier to use than formatting bullets on Word. Can be accessed on any computer with Internet connection. Negatives: The help section within the actual outline is not very helpful. It only explained what the tutorial demonstrated.

-Authors: Regilio, Saal, Costello, Stroch - Group #5 -Tool Name: Glogster -Tool URL: http://www.glogster.com -Category: Interactive Poster -Tags: images, picture, pics, pix, photos, text, music, video, clips, poster, -Grade Level Use: High School and College -Topic/discipline: history, art, english -Tutorial Information: There is just a tab at the bottom for FAQs -Possible Uses: Class presentations, Posters for Clubs -Positives: Posters can be made quickly and easily for presentations. Free -Negatives: This site has no "crowd patrol". It might be too "open" for the education field.

Group Name: (Group 4 (Belcher, Kaufman, Knowles Duffy) Catgegory: free interactive posters Grade Level: All Topic/discipline: social networking and expressing ideas in all content areas Tutorial Information:edu.glogster.com offers great resources for teachers including several links for specific tutorials from the homepage. Possible Uses:Links, images, text, videos, music come together together to represent personal diaries, research project information, digital scrapbooks, lab reports Basics: Students and teachers can create interactive posters which can be embedded in wikis or websites. Very easy to creat! Positives: free, can create student accounts, easy to click and drag, resize etc.. Negatives: I really haven't found any weaknesses other than sometimes my perfectionist students get a little carried away with the details!

Costello, Regilio, Saal, Stroh; Group 5 Tool name: Book Builder http://bookbuilder.cast.org/ Category: digital books Tags: diverse learners, individual needs, Universal Design for Learning UDL, digital books Grade level use: All Grade Levels Topic/discipline: Literacy, special education Tutorial information: On the home page there is a button labeled "Learn About Universal Design for Learning." After clicking on this link you have the choice to watch videos or read about the site. Possible uses for students, teachers, and/or administrators: Teachers can use this tool to create books for their students to read and listen to online. They also have a large library of "model" books for students to view and read. Basics: This website provides tools for teachers to create books their students can listen to and read. Teachers are able to attach images, text and sound to create their book. Teacher can also search the model books for topics that are relevant to the class. Positives: Struggling reads can use the listening option to help them with unfamiliar words when the teacher is unavailable. Because the teacher can create books they can be on any topic and at whatever level students need. You can also access books created by other who are willing to share them. Negatives: Some of the books already on the site where being read word by word. It was very choppy reading and could have a negative effect for a student who struggles with fluency.