VoiceThread, As Promised

Kind of boring just listening to me talk, but works well enough for a sample...

My Favorite Web 2.0 Tools

I am trying to choose my three favorite Web 2.0 tools to share...it's been tough, but here's what I'm going with (this week):

1. VoiceThread -- it is SO EASY, it's almost scary. All you have to do is upload a few images, hit record to talk while each image plays, and you have your very own digital story.
   It's simple enough that even kindergarteners can create. Just imagine the possibilities for demonstrating knowledge and creativity with those little ones!
   
2. Animoto -- it's just too much fun. Upload pictures from your computer, Flickr, Facebook, or wherever. Set them to (creative commons licensed) music, and wait. You will receive a professional-looking video of your photos, set to music, with all kinds of awesome effects. Honestly, this is more of a toy than a tool, but everyone needs it.
   
3. I was going to put Jing or Scratch for number 3, but technically neither is completely Web 2.0, as they require downloads. Does that really matter? I'll go with Jing anyway, because it has made my life so much easier. With just a few clicks, you can create, manipulate, and share screen captures AND videos! Sick of showing your students exactly how to get to the OPAC? Create a Jing video for them to watch any time they forget!

In subsequent posts, I will try to post a few of my projects from each of these sources...stay tuned!

Up Too Late

I couldn't sleep the other night because my mind was going a mile a minute. I really appreciate my sleep, so that was a bummer. But I came up for a new project idea and I think I'll try it with second graders. The plan is to read the Diary of a... books by Doreen Cronin, develop some information literacy skills by researching flies, spiders, worms, lalala, and then create our own Diary of a something. Simple enough. (Sort of.)

Then, once we've finished the text and illustrations for the book, OF COURSE we will upload to VoiceThread and narrate the text!