Tonight I checked out (and really liked!) two new Web 2.0 tools. The first one was GlogsterEDU, a site where you can make your own posters and more online. My account was free and I signed up for glogsterEDU because I can upload classes and create accounts for them this year. Then they could create posters for class and they can check out each other's posters at glogster too. This site seems like it has much promise. The posters can include images, text, music, and more!
Another site I looked at was Storybird. Storybird allows students to choose illustrations and then create text in order to write a story. You can also read stories on this website. This seems like it has tons of possibilities for all levels. An elementary teaching pal and I have been talking for years about a way we can collaborate with our classes. I would love to see my students write chemistry stories with storybird and then take them to her classroom and read them (or, if we couldn't physically go to her room, they could still see them online). Maybe her students could do the same for us and we could all comment on all the stories? Like glogster, the account was free. The tutorials are great and it was simple to create a story.
Of all the tools I have learned about, I still love the 1-2 punch of jing.com and screencast.com best of all. They win out with so simple operation, awesome privacy controls, free accounts, and much potential. How many times have I heard my students say, "It made perfect sense when I saw you do it in class, but when I got home, I couldn't understand my homework?" I can use jing to create little tutorials and in 5 minutes or so, maybe they will be back on track. Of course, this is what I hope their notes will provide, but today's student is so visual in their thinking and learning, that the written word alone isn't cutting it. Plus, students who are absent will appreciate even five minutes worth of what they missed. I think my students are going to be grateful that I learned to use them!
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