#cse627

#cse627 Well, here is my final project presentation. I focused on finding great web tools for my third graders to use in a unit on honeybees.

It is one of those situations where I am so close to finishing my final project and even though we are entering into the wee hours of the morning I feel compelled to keep plugging away. At the present I am considering the rationale for each of the Web 2.0 tools I used in my unit. On this blog post I am going to jot each tool I used down and consider the reason why I chose each one. Let’s start:

- Lesson 1-  I utilized Tagxedo to make a question marks out of words pertaining to this unit. This is a form of poetry that I absolutely intend on using with my students during a poetry lesson later on in the year and since I will be revisiting this Reading unit throughout the year I thought I would add a little Web 2.0 tool that compliments poetry so that I can connect this unit, in a small way, to that unit. I also will introduce the Quizlet application during this lesson that will show up in Lessons 4 and 5 again. During this lesson, however, I will be accessing the application and we will be going over each flashcard as a class. This is a great way to expose them to the essential vocabulary that they will be encountering throughout this unit.

- Lesson 2- During lesson 2 I untilized Storyboard to create a comic strip, ThinkLink that has videos attached and a meme to wrap up the lesson. The meme and comic strip were created to draw my students in and engage them and I made the choice to add the ThingLink because it is a quick way to access 2 YouTube videos that explain the IPICK or 5 Finger Rule. At the time that I made this ThingLink I was unaware that I could actually embed a YouTube video into my presentation. I figured this out while creating Lesson 3 but decided to keep ThinkLink in Lesson 2 due to the fact that it still accomplished my purpose. ThingLink provides other features that Google Slides does not so later on it could prove to be beneficial to use in lieu of just embedding a video.

Lesson 3- Lesson 3 contains a Popplet graphic organizer that details what each letter of CAFE stands for. Using a web chart is a common practice in 5th grade and I intend on having my students use this application frequently throughout the year, therefore, it was a Web 2.0 tool that I definitely wanted to incorporate into this unit. I also used the Lino application during this lesson and it fit in very well for my purpose! Students will be expected to fill out a post-it note at the end of each IIR period. Lino allowed me to create digital post-its that I could write an example what each post-it should look like. Students will be using Ipads to record their voice when working on fluency and so I though that it would be very helpful to create a Screencast of how they access the voice recorder application that is downloaded on each Ipad. Finally, I thought that because there was quite a lot of information provided during this lesson I should close it with a review and to do this I created a PowToon cartoon.

Lesson 4- Students will be working in the computer lab during this lesson. They will be accessing the Quizlet application and playing the games available that review the key terms and their definitions.

Lesson 5- Reviewing terms and their meanings is crucial and so I created another video, this time using Wideo, to review each lesson. After watching the video (maybe a few times) students will be accessing the Quizlet application again but this time will complete the test and then print it out to turn in.

LOVE this site!  Newsela is a personalized reading service designed to help students in grades 3 to 12 master non-fiction literacy by providing daily news articles at five reading levels.

The week opened by sharing the pocket tool, something that I would have benefited from weeks ago. Better late than never, though. A neat little tool that allows you save articles, videos, and other media for viewing later. It has a nice interface that allows you to play the media in its wrapper, which makes it useful. It also gives the tool a nice aesthetic, and that set the theme for the week as I took a look at a range of presentation tools.

I started out with diagramming tools, the two main ones being Lucidchart and Draw.io. Although both tools offer similar functionality, I preferred Lucidchart. Its interface was a little more intuitive and accessible. Although I didn’t use it extensively, its collaboration functionality beat Draw.io’s. I mocked up an organizational chart to show how the tool could also be used at work (flowcharts, too), but students can also put it to use to create diagrams and mind maps.

Then, on to other forms of graphics. I had read quite a few posts in the course about 3D printing. For most, it seems something that remains out of reach, despite how interesting it sounds. I came up with a web-based modelling tool, 3DTin. It is very easy to use, creating models by layering cubes, geometrical shapes, text, or even creating your own geometries. Layering the cubes was very much like playing Minecraft and, with its short learning curve, this would be a great introductory tool for younger students with schools with 3D printers, yielding fast results. The tool can export models to printer-compatible formats. Here’s an example that took less than a minute.

Finally, to more traditional forms of graphic editing. I narrowed the tools down to Sumo Paint and Sketchpad. Sketchpad has a clean interface and is easy to jump straight into, once more making it simple for students to get immediate results. Sumo Paint is a more sophisticated tool, with a greater range of functionality. Although it doesn’t quite stand up to the open source solution GIMP, it is very impressive for a web-based tool.

There were, of course, other presentation forms explored over the week. I stumbled around the periphery of podcasting, looking at creation and hosting services such as Podomatic, Huffduffer, and Soundcloud.  One of the more immediately-beneficial tools, though, was the audio mixer Voicemeeter… which makes recording with Audacity a great deal better.

Despite an unscheduled hiatus, it was a busy and productive week on all fronts. A strong finish. Everything has come together, providing crossovers with personal, education, and business life. I have a sound portfolio of web tools for a number of scenarios; I am already using some of the tools daily. It’s good to know that there’s something tangible at the finish line. Despite some apprehension, it was surprisingly difficult to narrow down the selection of tools to just five for a final presentation.

I’m still left with unanswered questions, but also with the framework to explore--and networks to call on, participate in, and contribute to. Onwards.

Oh. Okay. Fine. A meme.

I’ve been looking at web versions of image creation and editing software. The two that I have liked the most are Sketch.io and Sumo Paint. Sketchpad, at Sketch.io, has a clean interface and is easy to jump straight into--immediate results for students. Sumo Paint is a more sophisticated tool, with a greater range of functionality. It didn’t quite stand up to the open source solution GIMP, but for a web-based tool it is very impressive. sketch.io/sketchpad