VoiceThread

VoiceThread seems pretty straightforward, but once you browse around a little, you can see how creative people are with it! Of course, some attempts fall flat.

One that doesn't, however, is this social justice poetry slam.

This science project is also worth sharing.  As a writing tutor, I'm in love with this tool because, essentially, it's a visual paper.  Instead of having each subtopic written in paragraph form, the students research their topic and organize by pictures.  Duh!  They're much more likely to stick to relevant facts this way.  It's so easy to get caught up in writing and include tons of extraneous information that isn't pertinent to the point of the paragraph.

What are some VoiceThreads that you thought were unique?

Ciao!

Free Web Resources for Your Classroom

The two resources I am most likely to use in my classroom demonstrate my belief that use of technology should be authentic and should not be for the sake of using technology.

Atlantis Remixed is the carrot cake of education.  Children are eating carrots (addressing standards) while enjoying a scrumptious dessert (having fun playing an interactive game).  There are so many layers of advantages!  Children learn important concepts; teachers address academic standards.  They are enhancing traditional literacy by reading virtual information or by reading “real-world” texts.  They are enhancing new literacies by completing quests and tasks using computer and internet skills.  They use 21^st century thinking!  Students are engaged in authentic inquiry.  But they are also engaged in valuable lessons about global, social, and digital citizenship.

Journey North is another authentic application of academic standards.  Students become active participants in and makers of science.  As a student of education, I strive to eliminate worksheets and it is websites like this that allow me to do just that.  Instead of handing out sheets of paper that depict the sun’s rotation, then ask “application” questions, students can track the sun’s rotation using their own experiences with daylight.  And they can view the experiences of their peers worldwide!  How could they NOT be motivated?  And, of course, they are simultaneously gaining technological literacies!

Are there any drawbacks that you can think of to these two resources?

Ciao!