Group items tagged

Group Name: (Group 4) Belcher, Kaufman, Knowles, Duffy Category: Multiuser virtual environment Grade Level Use: Middle School and up Topic/Discipline: Across curriculum Tutorial Information: A video tutorial is available on the second life wiki. Possible Use: simiilations, collaboration, virtual science labs, educational gaming, professional development opportunities Basics: Students and teachers create avatars and then live in a virtual world where they can interact with different people and take part in activities. Positives: Gamelike feel for educational lessons, opportunities for collaboration all over the world Negatives: Can be difficult to focus attention due to interaction in virtual world; I'm finding it a bit overwhelming

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

Group Members' Names (Group Number 4: Belcher, Kaufman, Knowles, Duffy) Category- Manipulatives Grade level- K-12 Topic/discipline - Math, Science, Technology, Art Tutorial information - Users can click on each manipulative and find brief instructions on the right side of the screen. For more detailed directions users can click on Instructions at the top of the screen. Possible uses- This tool could be used in math. Instructors could use this with a projector/Smartboard instead of using an overhead. This could also be used in science to graph results from experiments. There are other manipulatives too such as tessellations that could be used in teaching art. Basics - Teachers and students of all ages can interactive with various math manipulatives from different disciplines. Positives - All manipulatives that teachers might purchase for their classroom are available free on this site. All students have access to their own set of manipulatives online. Basic operations are available for free use via the website. Negatives - To gain complete access to all the features of the manipulatives, one can download the free trial and then purchase the tools for $39.95.

Group 3: Sarah Vaughn & Sara Reich Category: Image editor, vector editor, screen capture, effects editor, music creator, audio editor, image markup, color editor Topic/discipline: Any Tutorial Information: http://aviary.com/help Possible uses: Image editor, vector editor, screen capture, effects editor, music creator, audio editor, image markup, color editor, making components to go into a presentation or a virtual poster/video/podcast Basic explanation: You can create, edit and do all kinds of modifications with these tools. Images and audio can be transformed into whatever the artist wants. Positives: Lots of high-quality editing and creative capability, free to use Negatives: Takes time and patience to learn how to use, may be too difficult for younger students.