Group items tagged

1) How does using the confined space of Twitter help your writing?2) What kinds of things do you think about when you use Twitter?3) Are there any other things that you would like to use Twitter for?4) Has using Twitter made you a better writer in other areas when using a pencil and paper? Computer?

The January issue of the ICTmagic Show online magazine is out, full of my favourite recent finds and how you can use them in your class.

Men are anxious to improve their circumstances, but are unwilling to improve themselves; they therefore remain bound." James Allen

Making a comic is a wonderful way to involve children in some creativity and storytelling. Although writing is limited in the actual online comic maker, kids can still use it as a spark for a story of their own. They could handwrite or type a story, and use printed cartoons from Pharaoh's Quest as their illustrations. Younger kids will relish the opportunity to make stories that revolve around their toys. Play with literacy even more, and work out children's names according to the Egyptian Hieroglyphic Alphabet.

While there are some UK-specific terms thrown in here and there, a simple preview of the activity yourself will determine if it's significant enough to be a concern. (I'm willing to bet it won't be.) I can see these activities used in a whole-class setting for formative assessment, to introduce topics or reinforce skills, especially where Interactive White Boards (IWBs) are available. Bring students up to the board and let them explain how they are solving the problem! The site could also be used effectively in centers, especially given the ease of navigation. Finally, since each activity has its own unique URL, it's easy to add Favorites or Bookmarks to local browsers, making immediate access a snap.

A popplet is a big pinboard that you can put boxes or "popples" onto. A popple is container that holds text, photos, and other interesting things such as Google Map or YouTube video. The whole thing was very simple to use, it was very easy to get started. You can also upload media from your desktop to your board. Popplet offers a browser bookmarklet that you can use to add content from other webpages to your Popplet pages. An iPad app is also available.

It gives you a virtual space where you can post short text notes in the same way that you could put post-it notes onto a notice board in your classroom. But this noticeboard can be shared between people all over the world. As well as text notes you can add images, video and links to other websites.

Do you need to quickly snap a picture of your screen or record a video of an onscreen action? Jing is the solution; it's free software that adds visuals to your online conversations. Include it in an email, Website, or IM.

Weblist is a great way to gather and organize content based on a theme with the added feature of one URL. Your weblist can then be shared through social media networks or posted on a blog or Website. No time to make your own list, then search their playlist for subjects from music to science and everything in between.