I just found the cutest video created by Kelly Tenkely with assistance from first graders at her school. It’s based on the book If You Give a Mouse a Cookie by Laura Joffe Numeroff. As you watch the video, think about how you could create a similar project with a favorite book in your own classroom. You could use PhotoStory or VoiceThread, and of course, I’ll be happy to help!
You will soon see a new technology word wall in the computer labs at both of my schools. Each word is either the name of a web site, a program, or a technology term that you and/or your students might find interesting. Each word also includes a link to a site with further information about that particular topic. The VoiceThread below contains each of the words along with links for you to explore as you have the time and interest.
Back in the summer, some discussion arose in Twitter and Plurk about the idea of a technology ABC poster (I’m sorry, I can’t remember exactly who started the discussion to give credit. If it was you, leave me a comment please). Through those discussions, Tina Coffey and I came up with the idea of a Technology Word Wall and started adding items to the list that our teachers might use. If you think of other terms that should be added to our word wall, please leave a comment. If you’re interested, you can also view or print the slides from here.
Many of you have recorded podcasts, and a few of you have mentioned that it would be nice to be able to add pictures. Well, now there is an easy and *free* online tool that lets you do just that. You can also skip around, so you can go straight to the student/picture that you are interested in. The web site is Voicethread.com.
Here’s a example of a voicethread we did with Melanie Smith’s first grades at West Salem after they created their own robots and wrote stories about them:
To set up your own account, go to voicethread.com and register for a new account. Then click on the Go Pro button, then click the K-12 Educators click here link. Complete the form and be sure to use your school email address so you can get a *free* Pro account.
After you have activated your account, let me know and I’ll help you get started with your first voicethread. I like to set the “Share” settings as public with comments, comment moderation ON, and Listed on Browse NO. This way, I can embed the voicethread on a blog or website, I can send the link to someone, but it will not be visible to someone just browsing through the site.
How can you use this great tool? How about book reviews, field trip pictures, digital stories, or even SOL reviews? Here are a few links to help give your more ideas:
Second Grade Book Reviews (great project for any grade!)
