Pretraining Site Name: abcya.com Word Clouds for Kids URL: http://www.abcya.com/word_clouds.htm Description: This site is a word cloud site specifically for students in grades 2-5. It is very easy and straight forward to use. Explanation: As we use more technology in the lower grades it is important to have sites and software specifically for the lower grade levels. These sites need to be straightforward without a lot of extra stuff so it is less confusing for kids.
Site Name: Wordle URL: http://www.wordle.net/ Description: Wordle is a website that creates word clouds from text that is copied. This site provides examples for students and is applicable to an older student.
Graphic Organizer Site Name: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Education Place URL: http://www.eduplace.com/graphicorganizer/ Description: This site provides many different kinds of graphic organizers for the teacher to print off. Explanation: This site provides printable PDF's that could be used with students. I do not like the organizers must be used on paper.
Site Name: Holt Interactive Graphic Organizers URL: http://my.hrw.com/nsmedia/intgos/html/igo.htm Description: This site provides interactive PDF's that can be filled out by the individual and then saved or printed. Students could individually come to this site and create a graphic organizer and save it for future use. Explanation: Some of the other sites had interactive PDF's but could not save the file.
Presentation Site Name: Prezi, The Zooming Presentation Software URL: http://prezi.com/ Description: Prezi provides a free space online to create presentations. Those presentations can be saved in the cloud or downloaded to a specific computer. Explanation: This software provides a different way to create presentations. It can be tricky to use, the zooming can cause motion sickness in the audience if not used effectively, but the reward is a great presentation that is not PowerPoint.
Site Name: SlideRocket URL: http://sliderocket.com Description: This is an online presentation creation software, their goal is to be different than the old presentations. Explanation: I have not used this site yet but I liked what I saw and signed up to learn more about it.
Authentic assessment activity Site Name: VideoPad Video Editor URL: http://www.nchsoftware.com/videopad/index.html Description: For noncommercial use this software is a free download. It will take any video clip and allow the use to edit it. Explanation: Teachers and students should be using editing software to take their video clips to the next level. This software is free is relatively easy. Its interface is similar to other available video editing software.
Site Name: Google Docs URL: http://docs.google.com Description: Google Docs provides the opportunity for teachers and students to work together on the same documents easily. This type of tool provides the opportunity for teachers to share documents in many formats with students.
www.udlcenter.org This website provides several videos about UDL. The one I viewed was UDL at a Glance, its purpose it to introduce individuals to the concept of UDL. This particular video helps the viewer establish connections with others that person may know. It discusses how people learn and invites the view to transfer the new knowledge to their own specific situation (Mayer, 2009).
http://accessproject.colostate.edu/udl This website provides a number of tutorials discussing the practical issues of making multimedia UDL compatible. While these tutorials activate behavioral activity initially they are able to activate cognitive activity if the user progresses to that point.
www.cast.org/udl The CAST website provides a variety of resources for teachers, parents, and students. These resources are designed to generate cognitive activity among the readers. There are links to research and development of tools, learning tools and professional development activities. The user of this site can be as involved as that individual chooses to be.
Mayer, R.E. (2009). Multi-media learning (2nd ed). New York, NY: Cambridge University Press.
Site Name: abcya.com Word Clouds for Kids
URL: http://www.abcya.com/word_clouds.htm
Description: This site is a word cloud site specifically for students in grades 2-5. It is very easy and straight forward to use.
Explanation: As we use more technology in the lower grades it is important to have sites and software specifically for the lower grade levels. These sites need to be straightforward without a lot of extra stuff so it is less confusing for kids.
Site Name: Wordle
URL: http://www.wordle.net/
Description: Wordle is a website that creates word clouds from text that is copied. This site provides examples for students and is applicable to an older student.
Graphic Organizer
Site Name: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Education Place
URL: http://www.eduplace.com/graphicorganizer/
Description: This site provides many different kinds of graphic organizers for the teacher to print off.
Explanation: This site provides printable PDF's that could be used with students. I do not like the organizers must be used on paper.
Site Name: Holt Interactive Graphic Organizers
URL: http://my.hrw.com/nsmedia/intgos/html/igo.htm
Description: This site provides interactive PDF's that can be filled out by the individual and then saved or printed. Students could individually come to this site and create a graphic organizer and save it for future use.
Explanation: Some of the other sites had interactive PDF's but could not save the file.
Presentation
Site Name: Prezi, The Zooming Presentation Software
URL: http://prezi.com/
Description: Prezi provides a free space online to create presentations. Those presentations can be saved in the cloud or downloaded to a specific computer.
Explanation: This software provides a different way to create presentations. It can be tricky to use, the zooming can cause motion sickness in the audience if not used effectively, but the reward is a great presentation that is not PowerPoint.
Site Name: SlideRocket
URL: http://sliderocket.com
Description: This is an online presentation creation software, their goal is to be different than the old presentations.
Explanation: I have not used this site yet but I liked what I saw and signed up to learn more about it.
Authentic assessment activity
Site Name: VideoPad Video Editor
URL: http://www.nchsoftware.com/videopad/index.html
Description: For noncommercial use this software is a free download. It will take any video clip and allow the use to edit it.
Explanation: Teachers and students should be using editing software to take their video clips to the next level. This software is free is relatively easy. Its interface is similar to other available video editing software.
Site Name: Google Docs
URL: http://docs.google.com
Description: Google Docs provides the opportunity for teachers and students to work together on the same documents easily. This type of tool provides the opportunity for teachers to share documents in many formats with students.