Group items tagged

Group Members' Names (Group Number 4: Belcher, Kaufman, Knowles, Duffy) Category- Instructional Videos, Presentation Grade level- All Topic/discipline - All Tutorial information - Video and text tutorials are available on the teacher section of the website. Possible uses- Students can share information and research topics on this site. Teachers can find resources such as lesson plans on School Tube. Basics - School Tube is similar to YouTube, but safer. This website only allows appropriate materials to be posted so teachers can feel safe about letting their kids view and post videos on School Tube. Positives - The site is a safe place for children and educators to visit. Negatives - There are many videos on the site. Finding an appropriate video might be a challenge for students.

Group Members: (Group 4) Belcher, Kaufman, Knowles, Duffy Category: Sharing and rating content on the web. Grade level: Upper elementary, middle school, high school Topic/discipline: All Tutorial information: A "take a tour" link is provided on the homepage that walks you through the five main aspects of digg and then asks you to join. An FAQ link is also provided at the homepage. Possible uses: Teachers and studetents can find web-based information and have an online discussion about the information/content. Students may also communicate with other students from other schools. Basics: Individuals post information or links to information on the web. Other users are able to comment on the information and rate the value of the information through comments. Positives: Very visual, easy to post information, ability to communicate with other students and teacher, exposure to vast amount of information. Negatives: Some information shared at digg.com will be blocked by schools' filters. Students may be distracted by other less relevant posted information.

Authors: Kaufman, Belcher, Knowles, Duffy (Group 4) Tool Name: Del.icio.us Tool URL: http://del.icio.us Category: Social Bookmarking Tags: del.icio.us, Social Bookmarking, Technology, Science, Business, High School, Politics, Government, Health, News, Research Grade level use: High School, Middle School Topic/discipline: Technology, Business, Government, Health, Science Tutorial Information: Support Links located at bottom of page for all users Possible uses: Social bookmarking, research, news Basic explanation: Searchable index of user submitted bookmarks that change as they are submitted by users Positives: Easy use, content is current and always changing, content searchable by tags or keywords Negatives: May be blocked by some districts, very plain site but can be difficult to navigate at first

Authors: Kaufman, Belcher, Knowles, Duffy (Group 4) Tool Name: Newsvine Tool URL: http://www.newsvine.com Category: Social Bookmarking Tags: Newsvine, Social Bookmarking, Technology, Science, Business, High School, Politics, Government, Health, News, Research Grade level use: High School Topic/discipline: Technology, Business, Government, Health, Science Tutorial Information: Help Links located at top of page for all users Possible uses: Social bookmarking, research, news Basic explanation: Searchable index of user submitted news stories that are categorized by topics Positives: Easy use, content separated by categories Negatives: May be blocked by some districts, may have to search through a lot of information to find what you really want, a little bit hard to read some fonts and find certain features of the website (help for the website is a small button on the top right side that is very easily missed)

Authors: Kaufman, Belcher, Knowles, Duffy (Group 4) Tool Name: Technorati Tool URL: http://technorati.com Category: Social Bookmarking Tags: Technorati, Social Bookmarking, Technology, Science, Business, High School, News, Research Grade level use: High School Topic/discipline: Technology, Business Tutorial Information: Help Links located at top of page for all users Possible uses: Social bookmarking, research, news Basic explanation: Searchable index of user generated and/or submitted content including blogs, focus on technology, business, entertainment and lifestyles Positives: Easy use, content separated by categories Negatives: May be blocked by some districts, may have to search through a lot of information to find what you really want

Group Members: (Group 4) Belcher, Kaufman, Knowles, Duffy Category: Evaluation of student writing samples Grade level: Middle school, high school Topic/discipline: Language arts, social studies, science Tutorial information: A "project overview" link is provided on the homepage that outlines the three main phases of the evaluation process along with important details. Possible uses: Online objective-based evaluation of student writing samples provided by other educators. Basics: Teachers submit student writing samples. Other teachers, students, and professionals read and evaluate the work. EdSteps then will publish continuums ("emerging" to "accomplished" work samples) in different skill areas.The continuums are available online for teachers, students and families to view. Positives: Provides objective-based evaluation and feedback of students' writing. Evaluations provided by a variety of individuals of various ages, specializations, and affiliations. Results are made available online to students and families. Negatives: Time - the evaluation process takes time to provide feedback.

Authors: Group 1 (Bulfer, Sennett, Gourley, Carl) Category: Online Tutoring Platform Grade level use: 11-12 Topic/discipline: Could be used in for all disciplines. Tutorial Information: Click on "How it Works" pre-written Q&A. Possible uses: Study with fellow students are tutors. Basic explanation: Students sign up and find teachers for specific subject areas. They then set up a time to meet via Skype or chat and go over what the student needs help with. The website is the middle man for payments. The teachers are given a rating by each student as well. A teacher could set up an account and only work with his or her students and offer times outside of school to help the student through this website. Positives: Students have a chance to get help outside of school in a convenient way. Negatives: The students are not guaranteed to get a quality tutor. There needs to be much parental involvement. I think that safety needs to be addressed.

Group 1 (Bulfer, Sennett, Gourley, Carl) Category: Organization Tool Grade level use: 10-12 Topic/discipline: Could be used in all disciplines. Tutorial Information: Tour, About Section, YouTube Videos Possible uses: Take notes in class, calendar, to do list, homework organizer, manage courses, write and save notes, Organize links and contacts, keep a notebook. Basic explanation: Notely gives a student, one place to keep track of all of his or her classes and take notes for each class. It also allows students to interact and post with other students. Positives: Free membership. Helps students get organized efficiently. Negatives: Geared more towards upper level high school and college level students. This program is beneficial for students who are given lap tops, but that is not all schools.

- 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: 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.

Group 3: Sarah Vaughn & Sara Reich Category: Video recording and publishing, video database Topic/discipline: Any Tutorial Information: http://www.viddler.com/learn-more/ Possible uses: Journaling, critiques, summations, presentations Basic explanation: Record video, share and store online, watch episodes that interest you, Positives: Upload as many videos as you want-you get nearly unlimited space with Viddler, record videos directly to the site using your webcam, post comments and tags at specific points in the video, share your videos with RSS and iTunes, 100% free, may be more appropriate for school than YouTube, user friendly Negatives: May be blocked by some schools, may have some inappropriate content.

Group 3: Sarah Vaughn & Sara Reich Category: Podacsting, podcast sharing community, database of podcasts from many genres Topic/discipline: Any Tutorial Information: http://www.podomatic.com/faq Possible uses: Journaling, critiques, summations, presentations, podcast community Basic explanation: Record live audio w/ picture backdrops, share and store online, watch/listen to episodes that interest you Positives: Ability to search by genre/type, more appropriate for school than YouTube, user friendly, ability to create/view profiles, ability to shares ideas Negatives: May be blocked by some schools, may have some inappropriate content.

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: Ruth Getchius, April Wenzel, Particia McKane, Tera Hafermann (Group 2) Category: practice, games Discipline: most school subjects are represented, grade 7-12 Tutorial information: tutorial center, frequently asked questions, and help options all available at bottom of the page. When clicking on the tutorial, there are many categories available, with quality answers and help. Possible Uses: lesson review, practice games, student competitions Basics: database of educational games organized by subject and then content of game Positives: Engaging to students, many choices, games are involved, have to spell correctly, a lot of free content that does not involve log in Negatives: Some things you must log in and create and account to do

Authors: Ruth Getchius, April Wenzel, Patricia McKane, Tera Hafermann (Group 2) Category: test preparation Discipline: English, Writing, grades 10-12 Tutorial information: Help option in upper right corner offers explanations on how to complete any functions and activities of the program. Each section has a view option, to watch the action done for you. Possible Uses: Students can use this to see exactly how their ACT essay was graded. They can then work on improving for a re-take. Teachers and administrators can search score ranges and use the information to see where most students are achieving and also where the overall weaknesses are. Then, they can adapt their curriculum to strengthen that weaker area. Basics: This site is a collection of all the ACT writing exams. To log on, you must have your school's ACT code. Once inside, you can search for any combination of results to see how the students did on the ACT writing exam. The site shows the exact written exam the student wrote. They are scanned into the webpage. It also shows the comments of the graders to the essay and the English score and the overall ACT composite score. There is some personal information available too, like students names, addresses, and social security numbers. This is why you have to have the school code to access it. Positives: You see the exact essay the student wrote. It is online pretty quickly after the students take the exam. It provides good feedback for students wanting to re-take the ACT. You also have access to the writing prompts, and can then use them for practice prompts in the classroom. Negatives: The comments are fairly vague and similar. More specific feedback would be more helpful to students and teachers alike. Must have access code to enter.

Group 2: Wenzel, Getchius, McKane, & Hafermann Tool Name: Discovery Education URL: http://streaming.discoveryeducation.com/ Category: classroom resources, assessments, lesson plans Tags: English, science, math, reading, writing, social studies Grade Level Use: K-12 Topic/discipline: English, math, science, reading, writing, social studies, and technology Tutorial Information: There is a help section in the upper right hand corner of the page as well as a contact us link at the bottom of the page Possible Uses: Teachers can use to create or edit lessons. Teachers can learn how to use media in the classroom as well as use some of the site's media information in creating lessons. Basics: Discovery Education allows teachers to utilize lessons and ideas to create new and improved lessons in the classroom. The site also has games available for classroom use. Positives: The site is easy to navigate and has a lot of useful information. The site also has a parent corner for parents to stay informed. Negatives: The school or teacher using the website must have an access log-in

Authors: (Group 1)Tim Sennett, Bulfer, Carl, Gourley Category: publish games and lesson plans Grade level use: all levels, but mostly jr. high and high school Topic/discipline: math and some science Tutorial information: links to many websites in math, and many games using math lessons. Possible uses: To introduce or review a topic or lesson in math through the use of games and activities. Basic explanation: A student, parent, or teacher can use this site to find lessons in math for better understanding. This can be done with games, puzzles, or activities. The student or teacher can also create their own game or activity and post on this site. Positives: Some games are good for reviewing lessons. Negative: Many games are difficult to use and don't have much mathematical concepts. Hard to relate to specific math topics.

- 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: 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.