Group items tagged

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: 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: Group 2 (Hafermann, Getchius, Wenzel, McKane) Category: Electronic books/Writing tools Grade level use: Grades 9+ Topic/discipline: social sciences, reading/language arts, science, technology Tutorial Information: Tutorial video on home page Possible uses: group reading, summation of books, book discussion tool - teachers can post questions about the book and students can respond, upload personal written material and have other review it, Basic explanation: This tool allows you to read books online and chat with others who are reading the same book. Positives: comments about book can be left by paragraph or page, allows for teacher to student interaction as well as student to student interaction about books, provides book discussion prompts to get started, if the book you want is not offered you can request it or you could find an electronic copy online and upload it, some books are free! Negatives: not geared towards younger age groups, you have to pay for some books, limited number of books - may not have classroom books listed in database, must create account to log in.

Group Name: Group 2-Tera Hafermann, Ruth Getchius, April Wenzel, Trish McKane Tool Name: Capzles Category: online timeline creator Grade Level Use: 2nd grade+ (with guidance for the younger children) Topic/Discipline: social studies, reading, science, math, language arts, just about anything where timelines or how tos can benefit someone. Tutorial Information: The site allows you to view public capzles, or photo/video timelines. In order to create a capzle, you must join the site-this is free. Once in the site, choose to create a capzle and the site walks you through the process step by step. Possible Uses: create timelines of historical events in social studies, create personal timelines of events in language arts, create a timeline of a story or novel, create a how-to timeline in science or math. Basic Explanation: This tool allows the user to upload photos, music, and videos to the site to include in a timeline. It also allows you to upload voice recordings about the photos and to blog on the photo. The user can embed a capzle on their Facebook wall. It also has an app for your iPhone. Positives: Easy to use and explain to children. Engaging. This allows students who are fearful of writing long essays to show what they know in a format that encourages creativity. Negatives: Does require you to sign up for an account, but it is free. Younger students will need a lot of help with this at first.

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: 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.

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.

Group Members' Names (Group Number 4: Belcher, Kaufman, Knowles, Duffy) Category- Online Story Telling Grade level- PreK-8 Topic/discipline - Reading, Listening, ESL Tutorial information - At the bottom of the screen users may click on TumbleTour to learn more about the website. Possible uses- Students could listen to books independently during reading workshop, or free time. Teachers can also project the stories for children to watch. Basics - Students across all grades can use this as a way to read books online, listen to audio books or watch video of their favorite story books set to animation. Positives - The website is full of popular texts and extremely engaging. Negatives - The site is not free. However, most local libraries purchase the license and allow public access. To get to Tumblebooks you will have to go through your local libraries webpage.

Group 2: Tera Hafermann, Ruth Getchius, April Wenzel, Trish McKane Category: online poster maker Grade Level Use: all levels Topic/Discipline: reading, language arts, social studies, science, math Tutorial Information: On the homepage of the website you can choose to create a glog for free. This allows the user to play with the different features of making a glog without committing to signing up for an account. Possible Uses: Students can use this to create posters for any subject as the culminating project for a unit. Basic Explanation: Glogster is a site that allows teachers and students to create posters and lessons online. Posters contain photos, videos, links to other sites, and audio explanations. It is an interactive way to get students more involved and engaged in learning. Positives: Glogster is engaging. It is beneficial to students who struggle with reading and writing because it allows them to show what they have learned through a multimedia presentation with less writing required. Negatives: Does require an account, however a basic educator account is free.

Group 3: Sarah Vaughn & Sara Reich Category: interactive poster Grade level use: junior high, secondary Topic/discipline: any Tutorial Information: Very intuitive- a little bit of playing around and students can figure out most everything you can do with a glog Possible uses: posters for presentations, summative assignments Basic Explanation: Glogster takes the idea of the old posterboard assignment and allows students the opportunity to "paste" in pictures, add information, add video and music, include podcasts Positives: Easy to use, students enjoy presenting this "posters" Negatives: Some difficulty saving and finding glogs, students may need to convert files to add to glog

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 2 (Hafermann, Getchius, Wenzel, McKane) Category: Social network for book lovers Grade level use: All levels Topic/discipline: Language Arts, Literature and Composition Tutorial Information: "Help and Questions" link located at the bottom of the page once you log into your account. Help page has a drop down box that provides several different features for the user. In addition, you can ask the "shelfari community" questions. Possible uses: Journaling, book reviews, independent reading, reader's workshop, literature circles, social networking Basic explanation: Shelfari has the same concept of facebook, where as you are social networking with friends, however, you are able to keep track of books you have read, books you want to read and books you are currently reading. Another feature is that you are able to send e-mails, or look at your friends' bookshelf to see what they are currently reading or written reviews on. Positives: User friendly, provides a visual of all book covers, appeals to the younger crowd. Negatives: Users are able to post on other user's shelves, which could present a problem if the messages are inappropriate.

Group Members: (Group 4 Belcher, Kaufman, Knowles, Duffy) Category: Social networking site for book lovers Grade level: All levels Topic/discipline: Language Arts focus with cross-curricular potential Tutorial information: There are tabs on the homepage for Shelfari discussion groups which include FAQ's and a forum for asking questions. Possible uses: Teachers and students can create virtual bookshelves, join groups and invite friends. Book suggestions can be made, discussions, and networking. Basics: Users are able to create virtual bookshelves by searching for books or get ideas on what to read next through automatic suggestions or by joining a group. Positives: Ease of navigation, free, blog, media widget for both Facebook and MySpace Negatives: interaction with strangers, potential for misuse

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.

Authors: Group 1 (Bulfer, Sennett, Gourley, Carl) Category: Brainstorming Grade level use: All levels Topic/discipline: Any subject Tutorial information: Tutorial video, FAQ section, question forum Possible uses: option for any type of brainstorming, writing, problem solving Basic explanation: Create brainstorming maps alone or invite other people to collaborate with. Positives: Can insert extra notes or images into the map, easy to use Negatives: Free account gives access to three maps, more available for a fee; teacher would have to lead in lower grades

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.

Group 2: Wenzel, Gretchius, McKane, & Hafermann Tool Name: SuperKids URL: http://www.superkids.com/aweb/tools/ Category: Online educational tools Tags: Worksheets, iPhone apps., games Grade Level Use: K-12 Topic/discipline: Reading, vocabulary, music, math, language arts Tutorial Information: This site has all of the navigation information located on the left side. There is a link to about Superkids and contact us. Possible Uses: Use fun educational games in class. Use the PSAT and SAT flashcards for test reviews. This site can also be used from home for student practice. Basics: Superkids allows teachers and students to access practice assignments and educational games for almost every subject area. The site also reviews and rates educational software. There are articles on important educational issues listed on the site. The site also has PSAT and SAT review information. It has iPhone apps that can be downloaded for use on the go. Positives: Easy to use and easy to navigate through. The site uses games to create a more interesting learning environment for the student. Negatives: There are not that many games or tools to use so the site may only be able to be used for so long before a student has played all the games in a particular subject area. Also, there is no way for the teacher to grade the work the student does on the computer.

- 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: 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!