Group items tagged

Group Members: (Group 4) Belcher, Kaufman, Knowles, Duffy Category: free online private diary and personal journal Grade level: All levels Topic/discipline: Language arts, social studies, writing Tutorial information: Users clink on the help link to receive assistance. Possible uses: Journaling, reflections, summaries Basics: Students are able to compose their own personal writing entries. Entries can be kept private or students can allow others to view their entries online. Positives: Easy use, privacy, can insert images into writing entries, autosave Negatives: Information at help link is limited, many other means of journaling available

Authors: Kaufman, Belcher, Knowles, Duffy (Group 4) Tool Name: Online Books Page Tool URL: http://onlinebooks.library.upenn.edu Category: Online Library Tags: Online Books Page, Online Library, All Levels, English, Science, Math, Social Science, Technology, Journalism, Writing, Music, All topics Grade level use: All Levels Topic/discipline: English, Science, Math, Social Science, Technology, Journalism, Writing, Music, All topics Tutorial Information: No actual help link or tutorial, but there is an FAQ link at the bottom that has a little bit of useful information Possible uses: Research Basic explanation: Online library of books available online in various formats from various sources. Positives: Free content available for researching, large catalog Negatives: Not that easy to use all the time, broken links in some of the results, not as polished as some of the other tools available today

Authors: Kaufman, Belcher, Knowles, Duffy (Group 4) Tool Name: Blogger Tool URL: http://www.blogger.com Category: Blogging Tags: Blogging, Blogger, All Levels, English, Science, Math, Social Science, Technology, Journalism, Writing, Music, All topics Grade level use: All Levels Topic/discipline: English, Science, Math, Social Science, Technology, Journalism, Writing, Music, All topics Tutorial Information: Help Links located at bottom of page for all users Possible uses: Blogging Basic explanation: Users can create and customize a blog to detail information they wish to add to it, can also read and comment on others blogs. Positives: Easy use, customizable, large community, can connect it to other sites (login using google user name instead) Negatives: May be blocked by some districts, have to set up blog how you want it (can be time consuming)

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: (Group 1)Sennett , Bulfer, Carl, Gourley Category: blog Grade level use: all levels Topic/discipline: all classes Tutorial information: Help teachers and parents stay connected and promote their childs education. Possible uses: networking, journals, blogs Basic explanation: Give some ideas and discussion topics to help the teacher and parent work together to better the students education. Discuss how the teacher should instruct each level of student. Positives: It has some good ideas for the teacher to better handle and improve parent involvement in the classroom. Negatives: None. It is a good site for discussion about the classroom atmosphere itself instead of what lessons are taught.

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 3: Sarah Vaughn & Sara Reich Category: Audio editing/recording Topic/discipline: Any Tutorial Information: http://audacity.sourceforge.net/help/ Possible uses: Journaling, critiques, summations, mini-presentations, editing music or other audio clips Basic explanation: Record live audio, convert tapes and records into digital recordings or CDs, edit Ogg Vorbis, MP3, WAV or AIFF sound files, cut, copy, splice or mix sounds together, change the speed or pitch of a recording. Positives: Very functional, works with many different operating systems, free Negatives: Difficult for younger students to use, need some practice with the editing part

Group 3: Sarah Vaughn & Sara Reich Category: Audio/Video making Topic/discipline: Any Tutorial Information: The site walks you through the process Possible uses: Mini-presentations, listening activities, journaling Basic explanation: Once you choose a picture and outline its mouth, the picture will be made to look like it's talking. Students can record their own voice or use an audio clip Positives: Easy use, silly, fun Negatives: You need a microphone or cell phone to make the recording