Kerpoof

Kerpoof is a fun 2.0 website, that would definitely be more entertaining, with a splash of educational.  I would use this website as a reward for students after finishing classwork.  I could allow them to play certain games, like "Spell a Picture," in which you type in words, and clip art versions of that word pop up, you choose one, and drag it onto a chosen background.  See my example of a farm, below.

I could use this game as a way for students to use their spelling words in a fun way.  It will give them practice spelling, in addition to adding a visual element to helping them remember how to spell the words.  

The best part about this website was that I didn't have to create a log-in before playing any of the games.  So it would be super easy for my students to just click on the link and go for it!  

Or, students could play on Make a Drawing, which was a very kid-friendly drawing page.  As you can see on the left of the image, there are plenty of ways to share their art, whether they email it to themselves, their parents, or friends, print it out at school, or save it to see later - their work will not go unnoticed!  On the right, there are several colors, which change the shade by clicking on the color.  You can change the thickness of the pen, and the straightness of your lines.  Super fun.

Or for those who aren't as confident with the pen, can create a picture on Make a Picture, in which you choose a background, and they give several options for clip art you can add to the background.  You can also add text!  I think this would be a great way for students to make their own cartoons, which can definitely have educational creative value.  

Overall, I think this is a fun website for kids to explore when they earn the free time.  There are also several options for some educational value as well.  Super user friendly and kid centered.  I like it...you can tell by the examples I included, which were made by myself! :)

AUDIENCE: Elementary aged students who are good with computers.

PURPOSE:  Work on digital creations, like pictures, drawings, videos, and cards.  

USABILITY:  Great for kids, they'll love the colorful images and fun clip art.

Glogster

Glogster describes itself as a "platform for the creative expression of knowledge and skills in the classroom and beyond.  We empower educators and students with the technology to create GLOGS - online multimedia posters - with text, photos, videos, graphics, sounds, drawings, data attachments and more."  To me, that sounds awesome.  A digital poster?  So 21st century.  The coolest part is that there are so many great ways to use them.

On their blog, an "Ambassador" user describes 40 Ways to Innovative Teaching Using Glogster EDU. This is a phenomenal list of creative ways to use the digital posters in the classroom.  As a newsletter, a getting-to-know-you tool, flipped classroom, graphic organizers, assessments... the list goes on and on! The website says that it is the #1 Online Learning Tool in the US.  Woah, that's a big deal.  I get how this tool has so much potential.

I think the best part is how user-friendly this tool is.  (I think that this is starting to be a common theme in my Web 2.0 reviews.  Not user friendly?  No review.)  Anyway, the whole process of creating a glog is super easy.  It has a drag and drop interface, and you can choose from several images/text boxes/backgrounds in their gallery.  Once you have your account set up, you can use one of the templates, or you can create one from scratch. It's pretty fun to click around on the page and find creative ways to display information and pictures.

PURPOSE:  To create a digital poster is the most basic purpose of this tool.  You can use use Glogster to create a plethora of resources for your classroom.
AUDIENCE: Students AND teachers!  Students for projects, homework, etc.  Teachers for presentations, graphic organizers, timelines, etc.
USABILITY:  Takes some practice to figure out what everything does.  But they have video tutorials, and plenty of examples to learn about the possibilities.  

Zunal for WebQuests

After creating my first WebQuest, I appreciate the website Zunal, which is a great 2.0 tool that can help teachers create online WebQuests for their classes.  With its ready-to-create page layout, a teacher can jump right into the process of WebQuest creation.  Because I was new to this, I really appreciated that each step of the quest was explained before I wrote in the text box.  For example, when writing the Introduction, it explained that I needed to write in kid-friendly second person terms so that the website speaks to the students.  It also outlined the purpose of each section, so you didn't put the wrong information in the wrong section.  I think that was very helpful.

The layout is pretty straightforward.  All steps of a WebQuest have a pre-made section (Introduction, Task, Process, Evaluation, Conclusion, Teacher Page).  With these sections, you simply update the text box with what you want to say, upload a picture, and "ta-da!" you're done.  Easy peasy.  And it's in these sections were they describe what is expected.  There is also the possibility of adding to your site with games, quizzes and tests, photo gallery, FAQ, and additional pages.  In the Teacher Page, you have the option to add recommendations, differentiations, additional links, credits, and standards.  I used this page only for standards, and liked that it had that option.

Another great feature is that it is simple to include links, documents, and videos.  This is important for WebQuests, as students will be browsing additional resources, so this is a convenient way to add those in.

Overall, I'm so happy that I chose this website to create my WebQuest.  I know that there are many different options for website creation, but I am a basic tech girl who needs a little guidance.  With the type-and-go features, I created a successful WebQuest that I believe would be appropriate for first graders with adult assistance.

AUDIENCE: Teachers who want to create a WebQuest and need tech support.
PURPOSE:  Create an online exploratory opportunity for students.
USABILITY:  Great for those who need help with website creation.

Butterfly Web Quest

Click here to view my Butterfly Exploration First Grade WebQuest.

Little Bird Tales

Little Bird Tales is a tool that children can use (with an adult, most likely) to create online books with pictures, illustrations, text, and voice.  I think that this would be an EXCELLENT tool for my upcoming 1st grade class.  First graders are at the stage where fluency is progressing and imagination is flourishing.  With this website, they can create their own stories, draw illustrations, and read their stories out loud for others (and themselves) to listen!  How neat is that?

With my experience in 4th grade last semester, I can see how they would love to do this also.  They come up with the wildest stories, and when they have a creative short story assignment, turning in a plain piece of paper can be boring.  How cool would it be to assign them to transform their stories into neat visual representations that they and their friends can view over and over?  I'm a huge fan of this idea.

Not only does it challenge students as writers to think out of the box and write creative stories worth sharing, it also expands on the fluency piece of literacy in which students are constantly improving their reading abilities.  To practice reading out loud, knowing that it will be recorded online, is a great incentive to "do your best work."

Watch the video above, which was posted by the creators of the website, to get a better understanding of how this website works.

AUDIENCE: Elementary age students who are writing stories, drawing pictures, and want to record themselves reading their work out loud.
PURPOSE:  See above!  Writing, drawing, and reading your own stories!  So cool.
USABILITY: So simple!  Very user friendly and easy to follow directions.

Slide Share

Here is a presentation made by Slide Share explaining it's purpose... Click through to see how it works!

I stumbled upon Slide Share when browsing the list of Web 2.0 Resources provided by Don.  At first, I didn't really see it's purpose for a classroom, as students or teachers who create PowerPoints have so many avenues to share them so they're accessible to present.  I was thinking solely on ways to store the PowerPoint so that they're easily able to pull them up on the computer to present - email, flashdrive, CD, etc.  However, I didn't think about the power of sharing the information for others to explore.  This could have great benefit in the classroom.

The main benefit would be to learn from the presentations made by others - not to publish your own or to view those by your classmates.  Although, of course, that would be doable on this site.  I found though, that I could learn so much by reading the presentations made by others - and my students could do the same.  I began reading the presentation on the homepage - the one seen above about the plane crash at SFO.  It was so fascinating - information that I've never heard about!  It was about the power of social media in moments of crises.  It explored the timelines of posts made on the internet - from the first pictures posted by a lady in the airport who saw it happen to the SFO airport's tweets and the lack of information from Asiana Airlines.  This information was so interesting, and would be difficult to explain in a basic online article.  The presentation, with its charts, and screen shots of online posts really added to the validity of the information, and created a visual that helped the reader grasp the message.  Of course, this is the power of visual presentations like PowerPoint.  But when shared online, for the public to view, it becomes a sufficient tool for information gathering.  And that is how it can be used by students!

Like online encyclopedias, news sources, or youtube videos, my students could use this website as a way to gather research and understand a concept more fully.  It may not have the same validity as the news - like we find with Wikipedia - but it would be a great way for students to see information presented in a more visual fashion.  Say my 5th grade class is learning about presidential elections.  In this day and age, social media plays a huge role in the success of a campaign.  I search "Obama" and several PowerPoint presentations provide me with the resources about how Obama's online campaign changed the way we experience presidential elections.  My students could browse these presentations and gain a new perspective not found in many textbooks.

AUDIENCE: Students for research and internet information seeking.  Teachers for creative ways to present information (made by someone else).  Students and teachers to share their own PowerPoint creations.

PURPOSE:  Share PowerPoint presentations.  Browse PowerPoints created by other people.

USABILITY:  Easy as a click of a button.  Watch the presentations like you would your own.  Search for topics like you would on any search engine.  Pretty sweet.