bp18_reflective_20091115

After viewing so many Web 2.0 tools that my head is spinning there are some that stand out from the crowd, I found Aviary to be one of those tools. It offers something that speaks to the creative and collaborative that students find interesting and engaging. It sparks the intrinsic motivations that need to be present for students to embrace life long learning.

Take a look at the short video I have prepared and see if there is something in Aviary for you.

bp16_post_20091115_Aviary

Welcome to Aviary.

I use the Adobe Master Collection in my classroom, often the students are so taken with what they can achieve they want to have the same software to use at home. WOW, do they get sticker shock when they realize how much the software costs.

Aviary offers a great deal of tools for students to use that comes with a zero pricetag. A wonderful Web 2.0 tool that allows students to do some of what they would do in Photoshop, some of what they would do in Soundbooth, Illustrator, well you get the idea. According to the marketing hype or help, Aviary provides a suite of powerful applications that are used from the web browser. There is a short YouTube @ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zBCtC5dUOUM

Visit Aviary.com

This is an excellent solution for students that are learning the tools and want to practice using some of the tools without paying for the full suite. It is also a real creative suite that allows students to manipulate the media and develop their own expressions prior to publication.

Aviary also offers a screen capture that is quite capable. Visit the site and try the tools, please share your thoughts. I have my students use this site, especially when they want to work at home on projects.

bp15_post_20091115_Moodle

http://www.moodle.com/

Welcome to the world of moodle, take a look:

also available at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WvCIv5KCbeE

Moodle is an open source Course Management System. It is a rather dynamic tool that will allow you to develop instruction or teach online. The moodle site offers a demonstration site where you can log in as an administrator, teacher or student and see what the system can do. It is important to play with this, the more you do, the more there is to do.

I first heard of Moodle from some of the people in the technology initiative in our district. The comments were all extremely positive and I decided to take a closer look, I am still playing with Moodle and have not figured out all of the ins and outs but I have recognized that it has a place in my classroom.

Now for the downside, this is not truly a Web 2.0 tool, it falls under that category but in reality it is open source software, it does require a web host or computer to support it. Unlike the Course Management System mentioned in an earlier blog.

bp14_review3_20091115_YacaPaca and Course Management Tools

There are quite a few Web 2.0 tools that deal with course management. Yaca Paca does a really good job and has an easy to use interface. As I was reading some of my classmates blogs, this is the post that brought me to the Yaca Paca site.

originally posted on:

Monday, November 2, 2009

BP4 20091102 - Researching and Blogging about Web 2.0 Tools

Researching and Blogging about Web 2.0 Tools

So I decided to research the Web 2.0 tool "Yaca Paca!" This is basically a course management system. It is entirely free, and allows you to form your own lessons and quizzes.

Here is the marketing copy from their website.

"Create quizzes, surveys, tests, eportfolios and more

Discover modify and share assessments

Set work for the whole class with a few mouseclicks

Mark automatically

Analyse with tools that improve your teaching"

http://yacapaca.com/

I was very impressed at the ease of use for this site. I was able to create a quiz in mere moments as well as build a lesson for my class. I am very excited to see what my students think of the site and the lessons/quizzes.

2 comments:

Coleen said...

Ben,

This looks like a very inclusive course management system and the price fits my "college student" budget. The user-friendly interface allows an instructor with minimal experience in media and technology to quickly feel more at ease. I am surprised that there are not more educators taking advantage of the tool. Great tool!

November 11, 2009 9:42 PM

ks reyes said...

I was extremely interested in the courses and content from other countries, I was really excited when I actually found some things for Computer Science. A great site that needs some more play time before I commit. But it looks good, another course management tool that you might want to check out is Moodle.

November 15, 2009 9:26 AM

bp13_review2_20091115_GradeBookTools

I found this on my journey to seek out the best of the web 2.0 tools that I would use in my classroom, please read about Engrade and see if it might be something you too can use.

Originally posted:

Sunday, November 8, 2009

Web 2.0 Tool Engrade

Web 2.0 Tools
Engrade

For lack of a better description, Engrade is an all in one teacher’s record keeping Web 2.0 tool. Engrade shows great promise because parents and students can track academic progress from any computer that is on the Internet. Parents and students can access the program allowing them to keep abreast of assignments, attendance and grades. The student/parent access element is especially appealing to me for a number of reasons but the main one is that students need accountability and there is no greater accountability partner than a parent or parents. Without exception when parent-teacher conferences are held I always see the parents of the students who are doing well in my classes and rarely, if ever, see the parents of the students who are doing poorly. Parent involvement is of the utmost importance and, if used correctly, Engrade can encourage more parents to keep up with student progress and play a vital role in mentoring and encouraging their child’s academic world.
Some other great features that come with Engrade are the classroom schedule element and the attendance record keeping, all of which are also accessible to parents and students on personal computers. The class schedule feature is especially well thought out with a printable calendar of all the assignments, tests and important school dates of the current school calendar. Imagine the possibilities of this feature if you will, how many times have you asked a child if they have any homework tonight? With the classroom schedule accessible to parents any homework assignments that need to be completed on a given night can always be confirmed. Still another great asset in the scheduling part of Engrade is that parents can help students study for upcoming tests. Finally, if a child becomes ill all a parent has to do is look at the calendar for upcoming assignments so the student can keep pace with the class and assignments and the parent does not have to spend time trying to contact each teacher for work that can be done at home. The attendance feature is also valuable in that the parent can always be kept informed about absenteeism and the effect that it is having on a student’s academic progress.
Engrade is a free program and is compatible with both Windows and Apple based operating systems. Engrade is powerful, easy to use and secure.



References

Engrade, (2008) Retrieved November 8, 2009, from website: http://www.engrade.com


(2008). [Engrade logo] Retrieved November 8, 2009, from quark base website:

http://www.quarkbase.com/engrade.com

1 comments:

ks reyes said...

I am so glad that you posted this, Engrade was one of the tools I was looking at, it was great to see what you had to say about it. This actually seems like a tool that I would use since our district doesn't have a way for students to view their grades online and no plans for that. It is important for students and parents to know where a student stands during the marking period, not just when the report cards come out.

November 15, 2009 9:10 AM

bp12_Review1_20091115_Plotbot Screenwriting Tool

Below is a blog that I came across that deserves your attention:

Saturday, November 14, 2009

Plotbot Collaborative Screenwriting

Web 2.0 Tools
Plotbot

Plotbot is a powerful full-featured Web 2.0 tool for script writing. The reviews on Plotbot were extremely positive, emphasizing Plotbot as a very good script-writing tool for both beginners and experienced writers.
First of all, Plotbot is a stand-alone script-writing tool that formats scripts into industry standards. Plotbot can also take scripts written in word processing programs like Microsoft Word to convert and format scripts into industry standard scripts.
Plotbot is also a collaboration site where screenwriters can invite other screenwriters to edit, write or even add ideas to an existing script, which to my knowledge is the only scriptwriting software that offers this feature. Changes made in the script are tracked with a color-coding system that assigns a color to each of the invited screenwriter’s changes. Changes in the script can always be undone using the revert tab changing the script back to it’s original state.
There are a couple of really brief overviews or tutorials on Youtube but Plot is a very straightforward program that is as simple as using a word processor. Signing up for Plotbot is easy, all you need is a screen name, an email account and a password. When you get your Plotbot account you have the choice of diving into your project or use the option of taking a basic step-by-step tutorial.
Plotbot is all based on the Internet and there is no downloading to your computer. The site is free to use and with the ability to collaborate with others this could be a powerful tool for students working together to develop a script. Plotbot is a Web 2.0 tool for student screenwriters and filmmakers that want to share and work collaboratively.


Reference:

Plotbot, (2009) Retrieved November 14, 2009, from website: http://www.plotbot.com/

Phillips, C (2006) Plotbot collaborative screenwriting, Retrieved November 14, 2009, from

website: http://underdog.typepad.com/wandering_outloud_/2006/06/plotbot_collabo.html

(2009) [Plotbot logo] Retrieved November 14, 2009, from Plotbot website:

http://www.plotbot.com/

1 comments:

ks reyes said...

Thanks for the insight into Plotbot, I am working on developing a spring screening for my students, they will need to develop their own scripts and have them reviewed before beginning their filming. This might be a great tool for that, thanks for putting it out there. With so many to choose from having one that has in-depth insights helps shorten the list.

November 15, 2009 8:43 AM

bp11_podcast_200911_This Weeks Blog Pod features Diigo

Well, I wrote the blog about Delicious as the social bookmarking tool but

Diigo offers some great advantages.