Tools for student communication
Technology, in many ways, evolved from the need to communicate. Instructional technology should be no different! Check out some of the tools below to see how you can increase and improve students' communication strategies and skills with Web 2.0 tools.
Audacity is a free audio-editing program you can use to record and edit sounds. Use this tool to develop podcasts and other sound-based products you can use to show what you've learned! All you need is the software on your computer, a microphone, and speakers -- you're all set!
Podcasting can be used for literally hundreds of projects from short to long. Instructionally, some teachers use Audacity to have students read text so struggling readers can have audio while they read.
Thanks to Mr. Maynard for providing much of this information.
See below: student entry for Wisconsin Youth Media Festival -- Burn It Where You Buy It
Podcasting can be used for literally hundreds of projects from short to long. Instructionally, some teachers use Audacity to have students read text so struggling readers can have audio while they read.
Thanks to Mr. Maynard for providing much of this information.
See below: student entry for Wisconsin Youth Media Festival -- Burn It Where You Buy It
Weebly: Weebly is a simple to use website creation tool. Create websites very easily with multiple pages, photos, and other tidbits. Accounts are FREE. Also, Weebly allows you to create simple student accounts so they can create websites. By referring other teachers, you can increase the number of student accounts to which you have access.
Instruction-wise, you can use Weebly to create step-by-step directions for different tasks or assignments. Since it's on the Internet, students can access nearly anywhere. Further, you can use Weebly to embed documents that your students might need from home.
Assessment-wise, website creation is a definite synthesis level activity since students are piecing together multiple chunks of information into one comprehensive product. Some kids might even enjoy adding podcasts and other media to their site, making it higher level and interdisciplinary.
Check out some sample student websites:
Instruction-wise, you can use Weebly to create step-by-step directions for different tasks or assignments. Since it's on the Internet, students can access nearly anywhere. Further, you can use Weebly to embed documents that your students might need from home.
Assessment-wise, website creation is a definite synthesis level activity since students are piecing together multiple chunks of information into one comprehensive product. Some kids might even enjoy adding podcasts and other media to their site, making it higher level and interdisciplinary.
Check out some sample student websites:
- Third grade group website on Nigeria's Yam Festival
- Third grade group website on Vietnam's Tet Trung Thu
- Fifth grade website on Sir Francis Drake
Prezi: A simply amazing presentation tool, Prezi is PowerPoint on steroids. Add pictures and short text blurbs to make a highly professional-looking presentation that runs at the speed of today's kids.
Prezi is a free application for educators, but does not have a function for student accounts at this time. Prezi could be a powerful tool to spice up a lesson or, if you have trustworthy students, a way to go beyond the standard presentation.
Prezi is a free application for educators, but does not have a function for student accounts at this time. Prezi could be a powerful tool to spice up a lesson or, if you have trustworthy students, a way to go beyond the standard presentation.
- Here's one example of a student-created Prezi.
Diigo: One of the most challenging to organize in the world of technology is the links and connections we make over the World Wide Web. Diigo is a fantastic tool that allows users to save bookmarks in the "cloud." More than that, you can save images and files over the web, highlight and take notes on a website, and even put digital sticky notes on a website so you can come back later and review your research.
Diigo has an education version as well which allows teachers to set up private accounts for students. Diigo is great for sharing bookmarks and research in groups and for quickly and safely compiling research students collect on the web.
Check out my own Diigo list and see some of the Web 2.0 tools, blogs, and news articles I've bookmarked.
Diigo has an education version as well which allows teachers to set up private accounts for students. Diigo is great for sharing bookmarks and research in groups and for quickly and safely compiling research students collect on the web.
Check out my own Diigo list and see some of the Web 2.0 tools, blogs, and news articles I've bookmarked.
LiveBinders: LiveBinders offers a great way of organizing a student's (or teacher's) web-based work. Also, LiveBinders can be a handy way to organize a variety of websites you collect as resources or for research. Best of all, it's free!
Wallwisher: Looking for a quick way to get student input or measure student assessment? Wallwisher might be just the tool you're looking for! Wallwisher is essentially an online bulletin board where students and teachers can post quick notes, announcements, and more. You can even attach video, photos, and music in addition to good ol' text.
TodaysMeet: There are LOTS of free tools to use for backchannel chatting (basically, conducting an online conversation while another face-to-face conversation or meeting is going on), but TodaysMeet is my favorite because it's simple to use, free, and the conversation itself can be quickly downloaded and saved. Further, you can determine how quickly the chat itself disappears from the web. Since no registration is required and YOU determine the name of the room, there's an element of security built in too!
Jog the Web: Have a lot of websites you want to share? Use the Jog the Web to create a "slideshow" of different websites that you can even click through during the presentation. It's a great way to show off sites for research or have students compile their own "portfolio" of different sites to show what they've learned.