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The purpose of this site is to create many different kinds of rubrics. A workshop participant can use a rubric to determine how much they learned during the workshop and self-assess if they have met the workshop's objectives. This site is exemplary because it leads the user step-by-step through the creation of a rubric. The site contains templates for all subject areas. Users can also search for and use rubrics that have already been created.

This site is a must see for all educators who are creating problem based learning or projects. Teachers can create their own template or use the read- made templates. The file can be exported for use or saved for future editing.

* Brief description of Web site: A free tool to help users (i.e. educators) create quality rubrics. Registered users can save and edit rubrics online. They can also access these created rubrics from any location. * Brief explanation of why you found this site to be better than others you found: Besides the fact that this is a free resource, users have the option of using templates provided by the site or creating their rubric from scratch. The site also offers step by step tutorials.

Google Wave is an interactive communication and collaboration tool that makes real-time interactions happen. Communication and collaboration can be done using richly formatted text, photos, videos, and maps. You can keep a single copy of ideas, suggested itinerary, menu and RSVPs, rather than using many different tools. Widgets can also be used for weather, maps and more to add to the event. Users can participate or edit the wave at anytime and rewind to see who said what and when. Teachers will find this very useful for editing essays and students will find it very useful for group work. It has a lot of great potential!

Teachnology- Web Quest Maker http://www.teach-nology.com/web_tools/web_quest/ Teachnology is a website designed by educators for educators that has endless resources including a Web Quest Maker. This website is absolutely one of the simplest ways to create a web quest that I have found. To use the Web Quest Maker one just need to fill in the appropriate fields with the information they would like to use. Web quests are one way to introduce new topics and information in an exciting and engaging way for students at any grade level. I found Teachnology's Web Quest Maker easier to use and more thorough than any of the other web quest makers that I found. I also especially liked the fact that the creation took place all on one screen and that the host provided pictures and clip art for visitors to use.

* Teachnology- Web Quest Maker http://www.teach-nology.com/web_tools/web_quest/ Teachnology is a website designed by educators for educators that has endless resources including a Web Quest Maker. This website is absolutely one of the simplest ways to create a web quest that I have found. To use the Web Quest Maker one just need to fill in the appropriate fields with the information they would like to use. Web quests are one way to introduce new topics and information in an exciting and engaging way for students at any grade level. I found Teachnology's Web Quest Maker easier to use and more thorough than any of the other web quest makers that I found. I also especially liked the fact that the creation took place all on one screen and that the host provided pictures and clip art for visitors to use.

Virtual Dub http://www.virtualdub.org/ Virtual Dub is a free downloadable online movie editing software for PC users that allows the manipulation and revision of avi files, jpeg and bmp files, and mp3 files. It is a website that allows you to quickly and easily design short videos to present to students or to create personal slideshows set to music. Either way Virtual Dub provides an opportunity to educators to take presentations past PowerPoint and to the next level of engaging video presentations. For the students of today we know and understand the importance of presenting our learners with the fast paced and visually stimulating graphics that they have been raised with. I chose to incorporate Virtual Dub because it is a free resource that is very effective that produces high quality presentations with an easy to use format. Another feature of Virtual Dub that I really appreciate and use frequently is the batch operation feature. This feature allows me to upload many photos or files all at once. Virtual Dub also allows users to edit their photos with advanced filters such as blur reduction, sharpen, emboss and many other features giving the final presentation a more clean cut and professional look.

Xtimeline www.xtimeline.com The second website that I have chosen to share for authentic assessment activities is Xtimeline. Xtimeline is an online timeline creator that allows users to plot dates, events, plot details and other linear occurrences. Xtimeline is a great tool for authentic assessments because the students create the timeline from scratch and build on their timeline as they continue to work on it. Xtimeline also provides access to previously created timelines for research and background purposes. Xtimeline is capable of creating advanced, organized and visually advanced timelines for free. I especially appreciate the fact that Xtimeline lets members (membership is free) upload pictures to add to the timeline making them much more appealing and interesting to look at. I like Xtimeline because it helps me to observe the linear thinking process of my students. I have used Xtimeline for plot diagramming lessons as well as biography mapping. Xtimeline is a resource that I believe social studies teachers would find extremely useful and purposeful in their classrooms. I also like the physical set up of Xtimeline the tabs, categories and search engine make using this site easy for any user no matter their experience.

Glogster EDU www.glogster.com The first authentic assessment activity website that I chose is called Glogster EDU. Glogster EDU is a website like no other resource I have ever seen. Glogster EDU is a creative, dynamic and innovative digital outlet for online creations that keeps learners in engaged in course content, and makes teaching and learning more fun (Glogster EDU, 2009). Glogster EDU is a vibrant, multi-sensory learning experience which integrates learner's knowledge and skills into traditionally text-oriented subjects and motivates learner's desire to explore topics in which they may previously have been less interested (Glogster EDU, 2009). The reason I chose Glogster EDU as one of my authentic assessment activities is because I have used it in my classroom and it works great. Glogster EDU is a powerful resource to use with students of the middle and high school levels because its possibilities are controlled by the students knowledge and creativity. Educators can set up assessments easily and quickly using the resources provided by the site host. Glogster EDU can be used for any type of assessment where students need to illustrate their understanding of course content. Glogster EDU also provides its own video site called Schooltube where students can research, watch, and add video to their personal glog adding the much needed audiovisual aspect to projects that normally would have been text based. I also really like the fact that Glogster EDU is a private site monitored by teachers; it gives me a sense of assurance that my students won't be accessing information that could get them or me in trouble.

Glogster allows users to create digital posters that incorporate video, text, pictures, and sound.

Glogster (www.glogster.com) allows teachers and students to create interactive projects. Teachers can design interactive glogs for their students to complete or assign the students to create their own glog for a class project. Either way this allows for the teacher to really control the learning. Mayer (2009) would consider Glogster knowledge construction because students will have to view the videos, read the articles, and examine the pictures that the teacher embeds in their glog to form an opinion or to create their own glog. When a student creates their own glog no two will be exactly the same.

This website offers sophisticated content and multimedia resources for students, especially at the upper grades. It includes more than resources, offering students opportunities to get their work published. It fosters active learning by calling on students to participate in polls, surveys, respond to questionnaires and submit original work. Using the standards and resources of PBS's NewsHour with Jim Lehrer, NewsHour Extra provides students and teachers with quality educational resources based on current issues and events. NewsHour Extra's mission is to help high school students understand world events and national issues and answer the question 'why should I care?' about the news.

Audacity is free sound editing software. It is open source and there are versions for all operating systems and platforms. Constant improvements and an enormous and very active community of devote followers that offer support makes this tool a favorite of many.

Audacity allows for sounds, songs, and audio files to be recorded and edited. This tool will be useful for workshop participants to add their own voice to pictures and images in a presentation. Its features seemed easier to use than other similar audio editing applications.

* Brief Description: Audacity allows for high quality recording with different editing functions.  Allows for simple recording and for more complex mixing and editing.       * Brief Explanation: I like how easy it is to edit and record with Audacity and then be able to add the recordings to the screen captures created through Camtasia.      

Use this video with adolescent learners and they will watch it twice then use what they have learned. Adults take a few more views...

Education Oasis is geared towards instructional design; therefore it's essentially a one stop shop for creating instruction. The site has 58 different graphic organizers to choose from. Not only does the site contain information on creating graphic organizers, this site also can assist with per training and assessment activities. Instead of having to surf the Web for different sites to create one presentation, Education Oasis has more than enough information to help organize any type of educational presentation.

Site examines basic principles/terminology of digital storytelling, current practices, research, innovations within the field, and a user discussion forum.

Interactive site that provides a diverse range of examples of various forms of media used in digital storytelling and an examination of the practice in terms of current research into its effectiveness.

This is an additional site on digital story making. While it contains great information it can be more difficult to navigate and keep track of important information. Users should be conscious of where they find valuable information. 

This multimedia artifact is a video that demonstrates how to effectively use clickers in the classroom. The video takes educators through a series of steps on using the clickers to promote a higher level of engagement with students. The steps include: how to create a good question, how to foster peer discussions, wrapping up the lesson, and moving forward. I believe this video is a more learner-centered approach to multi-media design as the focus is helping educators reach a deeper level of understanding on how to create a lesson for students that just happens to use clickers as a tool for delivery. A learner-centered approach should expand our cognitive capabilities and the technology is the tool. Mayer (2009)

From the creator's perspective, this sit handles the creative aspect of a presentation so one can focus more on the content. Animoto brings lessons to life with videos, images, and audio. An educator can create a presentation about historical significant people integrating well-known quotes or as an introduction tool to a new unit with a picture collage and text.

This multimedia artifact is a blogging site that provides a multitude of technology tools, tips, tricks, presentations, and "how-to's" of implementing technology in the classroom. The author of the blog demonstrates many different aspects of technology integration through the use of videos, presentations, words, and pictures. This site is definitely a more learner-centered approach to multimedia design as it contains many different visuals and auditory captions to cognitively challenge the learner. The site does focus on a certain technologies, but it is not about the technology, but how the technology is adapted to the learners. (Mayer, 2010)

Glogster creates interactive posters and allows for collaboration. The basic site is free but to access more features you have to pay.Videos can be embedded into the interactive posters as well as links. Once a Glog is created the Glog can be embedded into wikis,blogs, twitter, Facebook, and presentations. Glogs can also be emailed.Glogs can be used to integrate and organize information to be presented and allows the creator to creatively present and organize their information.

This website provides a resource that describes various aspects of authentic assessment. In addition to sharing examples of authentic assessments for different content areas, the author provides flowcharts and step-by-step guidance for develop authentic assessments. Authentic assessments allow learners to demonstrate what they have learned by using concepts in applicable, relevant situations. Authentic assessments provide evidence of essential and generative learning. This website provides a combination of both general steps for developing authentic assessments as well as more detailed descriptions of the "how" and "why" behind this type of assessment strategy. The information at the website is easy to access and follow.

Brief description of what it allows you to do and how it can be used for essential or generative learning: Google sites is great because it is also a free tool that supports collaboration. I actually have to create a portfolio and it is easy to house on a site like this. It is easily accessible. It provides many user friendly functions and can adequately host or be any authentic assessment. Brief explanation of why you found this site to be better than others you found (e.g., more effective, creates better products, easier to use, and so on): Highly used and recognized by many people so familiar to audience members. Functions are straightforward and can easily share site for collaboration.

This is a page from a broader wiki on the subject of digital storytelling that specifically addresses VoiceThread. It is at the essential level of cognitive processing, providing a large overview of the process of creating a VoiceThread, its purposes, assessment, and more. Although it is a bit out-dated in format (lots of scrolling), the number of examples and resources (including sample rubrics, student handouts, etc.) make it one of the better sites for using VoiceThread in education I've found.

Brief description ...: This program allows the teacher to create a visual word cloud from a list of words or passages which helps to familiarize the learner with information that will be covered during the lesson or training session. As a generative process, the learners working memory is stimulated as it opens the senses for what is to come, during the presentation. Brief explanation ...: I like this site because it can be used to summarize documents like reports, speeches, and etc. into easily read word clouds. In addition, it makes important words bigger than other words.

* Brief description of Web site: A free tool that allows users to create online word clouds from sentences, whole documents, web addresses, or tables. After completing, these word clouds can be printed out. * Brief explanation of why you found this site to be better than others you found: Besides the fact that this is a free resource, it is very user friendly because it allows users to design their own word clouds as they would like (i.e. choose their layout, choose their own colors, fonts, sizes, etc.).

Description: Allows users to create graphics style art with words. Words are randomly positioned where the more important words are made bigger. Explanation: This is a great tool for tool for users to create a cluster of words about a topic and use them the same way they might use a graphic. This was preferred to other programs because there is no registration required.