2012 Web 2.0 Advent Calendar

I was asked by a colleague in late November if I was going to do an advent calendar again of my favorite web 2.0 tools. I had actually forgot about this and hadn't realized the time for putting that together had snuck up on me so fast. For those who don't know this, last year I put together a web site in the form of an advent calendar. Each day was a link to one of my favorite web 2.0 tools that could be used in the classroom. So, I have put together a new advent calendar for all to enjoy. Feel free to open one each day. If it is something you might want to use, bookmark it.  As an added bonus, I have placed on the new calendar a link to last year's advent calendar. I hope you enjoy opening a new tool each day. 
 Here is the link: http://ryanpalmer.wix.com/adventcal12

Happy Holidays!

infogr.am

Infographics are really becoming a popular way of presenting information to visual learners. Being able to not only read them but create them as well is becoming an important part of literacy. Infogr.am is an online tool where teachers and students can create their own infographics. There are several different chart types that you can create on Infogr.am. You can enter in data directly on the spreadsheet for your chart, or you can upload a spreadsheet from your computer in order to make the chart display your data. The information in that spreadsheet will be displayed in your customized chart. When you place your cursor over your completed chart the spreadsheet information will appear in small pop-up window. You also have the options of embedding a video or using a map for your infographic. When you have finished creating it, your Infogr.am charts can then be embedded into your blog, website, or wiki. Below is and example I made using data from a math activity I taught to some sixth grade students.

Incompetech: Royalty-Free Music

Incompetech provides users with royalty-free music that they can use in just about any way they wish as long as provide attribution to the site.  One of most dynamic aspects of the search page is the ability to search for music based on Feel.  This allows you to search for music that fits the mood of your project. I have had students use this site to find music pieces to be their soundtracks to presentations about novels they have read.  They are able to find music appropriate to the mood of the novel.

Grammar Bytes

When I was teaching in the elementary grades, my students would spend some time each morning editing sentences and then we would discuss the corrections together (Daily Oral Language).  I think that if I were teaching Language Arts today, I would replace that activity with having students use Grammar Bytes.  It offers teachers and students a glossary of language terms, worksheets, presentations, and (my favorite thing) interactive exercises.  Each interactive activity comes with a handout where students can record their scores and measure their progress.  I could have students view the presentations at home on their own and then have them do the activities in class where I can support them (flipped classroom.)

fotobabble

Fotobabble allows you to upload an image, record your voice explaining the image, and then they provide you with a link to your fotobabble image or the embed code for inserting it on to your website, blog, or wiki.  This is a great tool for students to use to show what they know about a topic or image. Below is an example.

Crash Course

Crash Course is a Youtube channel that I stumbled upon quite accidentally, but boy, was I happy that I did. Crash Course provides instructional videos about World History, Biology, English Literature, and Ecology. Each Crash Course is broken up into smaller video topics. For example: World History has 42 videos that average about 12 minutes each. This could be a great resource if you were looking at flipping your classroom. Even if you are not, it would be a great resource to use in the classroom. Above is a video about Ancient Egypt from the World History course.

gooru

The more time I spend on it, the more I am loving this site.  gooru calls itself, "A Free Search Engine for Learning," but oh it is so much more.  Sure, you can search for resources based on a key-word search like other search engines, but the heart and soul of this site is its "collections." There are several collections created that are free for anyone to use.  In these collections you will find videos, documents, diagrams, and interactive activities for such subject areas as math, science, and social studies.  As if that wasn't enough, if you create your own account, you can make your own collections that have the resources that you may have already made or collected over the years.  This could be an awesome resource for you if you are thinking about flipping your classroom.

Symbaloo as iGoogle Replacement

As many of you probably know, Google will soon be getting rid of iGoogle.  This announcement leaves those who use and love having an iGoogle Home Page wondering what will come along that will take its place. On the blog Free Technology for Teachers, I found a post about using Symbaloo as that replacement. I created a free account for myself and started developing (what Symbaloo calls) a Webmix, which essentially is a collection of tiles that act as links to sites.  Not only was there a huge collection of these ready-made tiles, but you could also create your own tiles. You could even upload your own images to have as a visual reminder about what that site is or is used for.  Users can create webmixes for each subject they teach or for any subject they wished.  I would recommend that you go to symbaloo and create your own account.  Next, come back to this page on my site and click the View on Symbaloo:LRMS Teacher Webmix button located on the image below.  Then click the orange Add This Webmix button on the new window. This will allow you to use this ready-made webmix that includes some of the links you might use frequently.  You can then edit it to suit your own needs by adding and removing tiles. 

Socrative

Effective teachers develop and utilize online formative and summative assessments to check for understanding inside and outside of the classroom. Socrative is a smart, engaging, and FREE online student response system.  What makes Socrative different from other polling sites is its ability to be utilized on any device with an internet connection.  That means students can access it on laptops, tablets, or smart phones.  Teachers can ask oral questions and students reply using their devices.  Teachers can create online quizzes or tests, and when students complete them, graded results can be downloaded and viewed on a spreadsheet.  See how Socrative can help you get immediate feedback about what your students know and understand which will help you know where to go next with your instruction.

Tagxedo: Customized Word Clouds

You have probably seen examples of word clouds created in Wordle where a piece of text is entered and then a word cloud is created where word size is proportional to its frequency in the text.  Tagxedo has a similar function but provides more customization.  For example, one could choose from several different built-in shapes or even upload their own image to have there word cloud in that shape.  Look below and see my first try at Tagxedo where I used an image of myself (although one would never know it was me.)  You can also customized the color scheme and simply use text from a website by entering the url of the page, or one could even type directly in a text box and the word cloud would be created using that text.  A possible use of Tagxedo at the beginning of the year would be to have students take a picture of their profile and then either write paragraphs about themselves or enter words that describe them and the things that they like and the word clouds could be in the shape of their profile, printed, and hung in the hall or on a bulletin board as a "getting to know you" artifact.

WeGiveBooks.org

So as I was diligently working, searching for resources to put on a Moodle course on Ancient Egypt via Nettrekker, I came across a site that had a great book (History Dudes: Ancient Egyptians) that could be read online. WeGiveBooks.org provides access to children's books that can be accessed and read online for free. There is also the hope on their part that you will make a donation, or get involved with an organization that supports the spread of literacy. Here is a description from their site: We Give Books is a new digital initiative that enables anyone with access to the Internet to put books in the hands of children who don't have them, simply by reading online.  We Give Books combines the joy of reading with the power of helping others, providing a platform for caregivers and educators to inspire children to become lifelong readers and lifelong givers.  We Give Books also helps some of the world's best, most inspiring, literacy organizations by spreading the word about their great work and by providing books to the young people these organizations support.

BitStrips

The Spanish teacher at my school asked me to look into BitStrips as a possible tool for students to use while she taught the vocabulary for parts of the body and articles of clothing to her students.  I did a little exploring and was really impressed.    Once users create a free account for themselves they can start right away creating comic strips using and avatar and or characters they create themselves, or utilizing the many characters, settings, and objects available at the BitStrips site.  Of course, users can add dialogue bubbles, but they can also add text boxes, whispering and shouting bubbles. What sets this online comic creating tool apart from others is that users can not only create their own characters, but they can also change their positions. Notice in the sample to the left that I created, that my avatar is pointing to the board.  I think one of the downfalls of ComicLife is that it only utilizes the pictures one has taken or downloaded and does not have tools for creating characters or scenes. I would recommend that students add the images or scenes you create on BitStrips to their iPhoto library and put them into a Comic Life strip.  Below is a strip set I created to show how BitStrips could be used for showing examples of figurative language.

Web2.0 Advent Calendar

A few weeks ago I was skimming through my Google Reader app and stumbled upon a Web 2.0 Advent Calendar created by iLearn Technology.   Advent calendars are a fun way to reveal information and “surprises” that users can look forward to each day in December leading up to Christmas. I decided to create my own using the same web site creation tool that iLearn Technology used, wix.com.  So feel free to view and bookmark whatever you find valuable.  Happy Holidays!

Quizbreak

QuizBreak is one of the many apps that can be found and used on the Rich Internet Applications for Language Learning site.  QuizBreak allows you to create an online Jeopardy-style game that can be used to  review material prior to an assessment. Not only can you put in your own questions and answers, but you can also add audio and images to your questions/answers. Once you set up an account and verify it through an email link, you can start to create your own QuizBreak games. Although intended for language learning, one could use this tool to review material for just about any subject. My only criticism of this site is that it would be nice if this site would allow you to search for games already created by others, like Quizlet lets you do.  The link below will take you to a game I created for basic Spanish.
http://clear.msu.edu/quizbreak/play.php?board=45145-1322492788

Word Dynamo

Created by the good people at Dictionary.com, Word Dynamo is a great site for expanding one's vocabulary.  Users can answer ten questions and Word Dynamo will estimate the number of words they know. This customizes the level at which the user starts a 20-level vocabulary learning game.  Users can also search through Word Dynamo for specific types of words they need to learn or for a grade span level of words.  Students can also create their own sets of words and definitions.  There are also a variety of ways to learn these vocabulary words ranging from matching to crossword puzzles.  This would be a great site for students to go to when they are finished with their work early.   http://dynamo.dictionary.com/