tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15285870138877419672024-02-19T06:04:30.762-05:00Chris' 21st Century Learning BlogExciting ways to engage your students!Chris Clancyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05089332936059951929noreply@blogger.comBlogger21125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1528587013887741967.post-72385877755448320862011-02-07T10:11:00.007-05:002011-02-08T08:48:33.774-05:00Start your Next Lesson with a Qwiki!<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZ4YXmuU1LZqxk1ZT0GM1FJJHmpWkOGv0ubiWHJE63oBKMro20G9M5cxFxSvq-SmuX0NFyDBt0-o-Q5kjqglX-EBRcxqxOnYf00XeDKG8KdgTIAue-1XjTFqQWZPn_mmpj85nYOGVP9a1C/s1600/qwiki.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 262px; height: 80px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZ4YXmuU1LZqxk1ZT0GM1FJJHmpWkOGv0ubiWHJE63oBKMro20G9M5cxFxSvq-SmuX0NFyDBt0-o-Q5kjqglX-EBRcxqxOnYf00XeDKG8KdgTIAue-1XjTFqQWZPn_mmpj85nYOGVP9a1C/s320/qwiki.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5570979478279339810" /></a><br /><div>The first few minutes of a lesson can really define how the rest lesson is going to go. It's your "sales pitch" moment; a time to "hook" your students and show them that what you're teaching them is important and interesting. <a href="http://www.qwiki.com/">Qwiki</a> might help you do that...</div><div><br /></div><span class="Apple-style-span" ><b>What is it?</b></span> <div><br /></div><div><a href="http://www.qwiki.com/">Qwiki</a> is an "information experience" that pulls images, maps, movies, and animations together to create a short, narrated movie. It's a quick and engaging way to build background knowledge when you introduce a new topic. <a href="http://www.qwiki.com/q/#!/Great_Barrier_Reef">Check this one out</a> about the Great Barrier Reef. </div><div><br /></div><div><br /><iframe class="qwiki-player" type="text/html" width="720" height="405" src="http://www.qwiki.com/embed/Great_Barrier_Reef" frameborder="0" scrolling="no"></iframe><br /></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span"><b>How does it work?</b></span></div><div><br /></div><div><ul><li><a href="http://www.qwiki.com/">Qwiki</a> aggregates its information and images from a number of different sources--Flickr, WikiMedia Commons, YouTube, and Wikipedia to name a few. In only a few seconds, it combines key elements from these sites and turns it into a short, narrated presentation. </li><li>When you're at the <a href="http://www.qwiki.com/">Qwiki website</a>, search for a topic (they have over 3 million at this point), and press enter. Qwiki does the rest. </li><li>When the Qwiki has finished playing, you can click on the "Content" tab at the top of the screen to see an outline of the media and information that was used. This would be useful if you were interested in revisiting some of the pictures or movies. </li><li>Clicking on any of the elements in the Qwiki will show you more detail about it (where it came from, names, etc.). </li></ul><div><br /></div><b><span class="Apple-style-span">Anything else I should know?</span></b> </div><div><ul><li>Qwiki is currently in "Alpha" release, basically meaning that it's brand-new to the web. Features are still being developed and Qwiki is sure to improve as time goes on. </li><li>It's easy to contribute to any of the Qwikis (in fact--they encourage it!). If you're watching one and realize that you have a relevant picture or video to add, click on "Improve this Qwiki" at the top of the page. </li></ul>Want to know more? Visit the <a href="http://www.qwiki.com/faq">Qwiki FAQ page</a> for detailed descriptions of what Qwiki can do!</div><div><br /></div><div>Good Luck!</div><div>Chris </div>Chris Clancyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05089332936059951929noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1528587013887741967.post-29294061127570605522010-03-10T13:14:00.004-05:002010-03-10T20:39:01.593-05:00Get Your Students Blogging with Kidblog!<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLGKvk_qok0HW-9gAMBAQNWIHZuyKo7iajSVBoHaz0wj20cOgO2MeRl8MYFutY4eyUYPqi5g8LEkeZoXwXb0Mc-rKF72mQehUX5_E0xSCHSIyu-CR-0Xxn893XsW0usCsePPYrKjcY2un4/s1600-h/kidblog.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 70px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLGKvk_qok0HW-9gAMBAQNWIHZuyKo7iajSVBoHaz0wj20cOgO2MeRl8MYFutY4eyUYPqi5g8LEkeZoXwXb0Mc-rKF72mQehUX5_E0xSCHSIyu-CR-0Xxn893XsW0usCsePPYrKjcY2un4/s320/kidblog.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5447101892246875682" /></a>I first learned about what blogs were about 7 years ago at a district professional development class and I immediately started thinking about all of the ways I could start using a it with my 5th graders. <i>We could have conversations about literature...I could post essential questions...they could reflect on things that went on in our classroom that day. </i>The ideas seemed endless. <div><br /></div><div>We did eventually do a lot of those things (and more) on our classroom blog, but as time went on I began to realize that there was a pretty big piece missing from our blogging experience. Most of the conversations on our blog were initiated by me; I would ask a question and my students would respond. There was really no way for them to post anything on their own. It was really "<b><i>MY</i></b> blog that <i><b>they </b></i>commented on" and I wanted it to be "<b><i>OUR </i></b>blog that we <i><b>all </b></i>can post to and comment on." I began to think about how great it would be if each of my students could have his own blog to post <i>his thoughts </i>or <i>his writing </i>or <i>his projects</i> and to have the rest of the class comment. I scoured the web for any blogging websites that could do what I wanted...but found nothing. </div><div><br /></div><div>Fast forward 7 years...<a href="http://kidblog.org/">Kidblog.org</a> is <b><i>THE </i></b>answer!</div><div><br /></div><div><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:large;">What is it? </span></b></div><div><a href="http://kidblog.org/">Kidblog </a>is a website that is designed for teachers who want to provide each of their students with his or her own unique blog...for <b><i>free</i></b>! It is VERY simple, user-friendly, safe, fast, and secure! In short, this website does EXACTLY what I wanted to do with my 5th graders! </div><div><br /></div><div><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:large;">How does it work</span></b>? </div><div><ol><li>The teacher creates a "class" by selecting a username, password, and a name for the class. </li><li>Once your account is created, you (the teacher) will be taken to the control panel where you can add blogs for each of your students. </li><li>You can (and probably should) change the privacy settings to determine who can see the posts and comments. There are also moderation settings that can be set so that the teacher has to approve of any new posts and comments before they appear on the blog (<i>a good idea</i>). </li><li>Finally, show your students how to write a post and that's it! You're all blogging! </li></ol><div><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:large;">Anything else I should know? </span></b></div><div><ul><li>When students login, they'll be taken to a dashboard where they will see all of the other blogs as well as the most recent posts from your classroom. </li><li>Students can add text, pictures, movies, files, web links, and HTML code to their blog posts. What a great way for them to share ideas, information, and projects with each other!</li><li><a href="http://kidblog.org/">Kidblog </a>is a WYSIWYG website. You can't change the colors, theme, or layout. </li></ul><div>Give <a href="http://kidblog.org/">Kidblog </a>a try! You'll be glad that you did! </div><div><br /></div><div>Good Luck!</div><div>Chris </div> </div></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div>Chris Clancyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05089332936059951929noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1528587013887741967.post-86140188862813195792010-03-08T13:48:00.010-05:002010-03-09T13:43:57.659-05:00Shelfari: Like Facebook...for Literature<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbSwmX3kxaBjab6RmPNOXofCVfVpb-MxKojuQF0YLOBmf5ZxZfTPqd3bXeWC5oKdc8HzJDuEZQmXmUOd0w-CDS-kTFAleh_0KXbOytpfrZhJv2ORFgNgwRlLV5QYOGyJdPKmM9iMWCzTfF/s1600-h/shelfari.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 173px; height: 51px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbSwmX3kxaBjab6RmPNOXofCVfVpb-MxKojuQF0YLOBmf5ZxZfTPqd3bXeWC5oKdc8HzJDuEZQmXmUOd0w-CDS-kTFAleh_0KXbOytpfrZhJv2ORFgNgwRlLV5QYOGyJdPKmM9iMWCzTfF/s400/shelfari.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5446705096520269762" /></a><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:Calibri, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">What do you do with your students once they have finished reading a book? </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">How do help them get excited about picking their next great thriller, romance, or mystery novel?</span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Are there any tools that will help students recommend books to each other? </span><span> <span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">These are probably all questions you've asked yourself at one time. <a href="http://www.shelfari.com">Shelfari </a>is a very useful and user friendly site that attempts to answer them!</span></span></span></span></div><div><span style="font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-fareast-Times New Roman";mso-bidi-Times New Roman"; mso-ansi-language:EN-US;mso-fareast-language:EN-US;mso-bidi-language:AR-SAfont-family:";"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-fareast-Times New Roman";mso-bidi-Times New Roman"; mso-ansi-language:EN-US;mso-fareast-language:EN-US;mso-bidi-language:AR-SAfont-family:";"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:large;"><b>What is it? </b></span></span></div><div><span style="font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-fareast-Times New Roman";mso-bidi-Times New Roman"; mso-ansi-language:EN-US;mso-fareast-language:EN-US;mso-bidi-language:AR-SAfont-family:";"><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><a href="http://www.shelfari.com">Shelfari </a>is a website that is set up as a social network…just for books.</span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Similar to Facebook, <a href="http://www.shelfari.com">Shelfari </a>users create a profile and add books that they have read to a virtual bookshelf.</span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Other members can view their shelf, read their reviews, and ask them for recommendations.</span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">It’s an interesting way to keep students reading.</span></span></div><div><span style="font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-fareast-Times New Roman";mso-bidi-Times New Roman"; mso-ansi-language:EN-US;mso-fareast-language:EN-US;mso-bidi-language:AR-SAfont-family:";"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-fareast-Times New Roman";mso-bidi-Times New Roman"; mso-ansi-language:EN-US;mso-fareast-language:EN-US;mso-bidi-language:AR-SAfont-family:";"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Recently, I introduced Mrs. Maria Custer's 10th and 11th grade English classes to Shelfari. They quickly caught on to the idea and built their bookshelves with books they have read in and out of school. Mrs. Custer created discussion groups and showed her students how to friend each other so that they could network. I'm excited to see what they do with the site for the remainder of the school year. </span></span></div><div><span style="font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-fareast-Times New Roman";mso-bidi-Times New Roman"; mso-ansi-language:EN-US;mso-fareast-language:EN-US;mso-bidi-language:AR-SAfont-family:";"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-fareast-Times New Roman";mso-bidi-Times New Roman"; mso-ansi-language:EN-US;mso-fareast-language:EN-US;mso-bidi-language:AR-SAfont-family:";"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:large;">Anything else I should know? </span></b></span></div><div><ul><li><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:Calibri, sans-serif;font-size:medium;">An email address is required to create a Shelfari account. At this point, Amazon (who owns the site) does not offer any type of educational or classroom account for teachers and students. </span></li><li><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:Calibri, sans-serif;font-size:medium;">Shelfari bookshelves are embeddable. Students and teachers can embed their Shelfari shelf on their classroom webpages quickly and easily. It will look something like this: <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDnZH9EU3meOp3_HrOVqySYrnzyWAjsFoHpmTGwAou14IOKRiMSwINz1uKYEuy09upaa-NwJ_BtCFgNdWxZI3FDSp9CYIo815k8vSpmtC2RjqSpC-xP1buMXtOzvH0ySRJDiLJaHesz2ol/s1600-h/shelf.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 235px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDnZH9EU3meOp3_HrOVqySYrnzyWAjsFoHpmTGwAou14IOKRiMSwINz1uKYEuy09upaa-NwJ_BtCFgNdWxZI3FDSp9CYIo815k8vSpmtC2RjqSpC-xP1buMXtOzvH0ySRJDiLJaHesz2ol/s400/shelf.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5446705356468217970" /></a></span></li></ul><ul><li><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:Calibri, sans-serif;font-size:medium;">This is a very thorough website with vast amounts of information about books--far more than just a summary.</span></li><li><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:Calibri, sans-serif;font-size:medium;">From what I can tell, Shelfari is not policed that well for inappropriate content. I came across a few comments from other members as I was looking around. Be aware of that if you use this site with your students. </span></li></ul><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:Calibri, sans-serif;font-size:medium;">Please let me know if your students would like help setting up a Shelfari account and bookshelf!</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:Calibri, sans-serif;font-size:medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:Calibri, sans-serif;font-size:medium;">Good Luck!</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:Calibri, sans-serif;font-size:medium;">Chris </span></div>Chris Clancyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05089332936059951929noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1528587013887741967.post-88420841345145337482010-01-05T12:15:00.000-05:002010-01-05T12:15:00.524-05:00B the coolest tchr @ school: Txt ur HW!No, the title doesn't have a bunch of typos. It's my attempt at text lingo. If you haven't figured it out yet, it says <em>"Be the coolest teacher at school: Text your homework!"</em><br /><br /><strong><span style="font-size:130%;">What is it?</span></strong><br /><a href="http://www.contxts.com/">Contxts </a>is a website that is actually designed for business people to create and share business cards via SMS (text) messaging. Basically, people can fill out the "card" with whatever contact and business information they want and Contxts will text message it to whomever requests it.<br /><br /><strong><span style="font-size:130%;">How can I use it in school?</span></strong><br />Since you are not technically filling out a "business card" on the website (you're just filling in a text box with information), you can type whatever information you want. So, instead of entering contact information, enter information about homework assignments. If you don't want to enter homework assignments, then use it to post a "question of the week".<br /><br /><strong><span style="font-size:130%;">How does it work?</span></strong><br /><ol><li>Create an account at <a href="http://www.contxts.com/">http://www.contxts.com/</a></li><li>Add your information to your "business card". You don't have to fill out all of the contact information--your name is enough. The most important part is the "<em>Your Txt Card</em>" box. That's where you'll type your the information you want people to see in the text message. The Txt Card box is limited to 140 characters, so you'll have to be brief. Here's what I was able to fit in mine:<img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 132px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5423259812762876226" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQIKilAWbYXmYY1G1fuBuL-6Jjr1nHh0RtEuwG2vNN5TFQzYHsQFvwaW3JEOhyphenhyphen3NUyawggUzq5lfU_xsRtTe9cdAp0OaBuSS9RAudKdpoXQ6CzRLlA2rrT_43MGuFXts1uf2DjZcA_IuzN/s400/Contxt+Card.jpg" /></li><li>Once you've entered your information, press "Sumbit" and you'll be given directions to give to your students so that they can receive your text messages. The directions will say something like <em>"Tell your friends to txt (</em>username<em>) to (</em>a number<em>)".</em> That's how they'll get your homework assignments. Give that username and number to your students and they're all set. </li></ol><p><span style="font-size:130%;"><strong>Try it!</strong></span> </p><p>Text <strong><em>cclancy </em></strong>(my name) to <strong><em>50500 </em></strong>(the phone #). You should get a text message back with my homework information within a few seconds. This is what it looks like on my phone: </p><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 267px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 400px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5423260305770114290" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhV9AiyB7_NiQUWf-vUEXooLCZwqE8nteY_c90ORi7Yt850k63ssi0LbK7Kzkre8zfjANGfCuE23Hcqp17muxnci3pvthoHy4gfIrs1DoySx5cUEvo45V-DyKN_QjVMM7MNqHFfH2j8f8uU/s400/Contxt+Message.jpg" /><br /><p>This is a really easy site to use! Give <a href="http://www.contxts.com/">Contxts </a>a try! </p><p>Good Luck!</p><p>Chris </p>Chris Clancyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05089332936059951929noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1528587013887741967.post-25806005411384273122010-01-04T11:17:00.009-05:002010-01-04T12:58:18.754-05:00Stop emailing files to yourself! Try Dropbox.com!<div><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 250px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 83px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5422941483662334642" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyqCyKX81L9_nQ2_xLn5zv7jhufawoRp0plp6rCFVCUdHRyktgcYDirdsZeActEBThyphenhyphenwNhXib2uJQxXDLHzDnfyI3iaiPD0sHPAJUJ3g5R2wuhFwKmx4VNUGDeIF6vXNnJQAMFJ5oPPie4/s320/dropbox+logo.jpg" />How many times a week do you work on a file on your home computer and then email it to yourself at school? Or maybe you use a flash drive to migrate your files from one computer to another--definitely more convenient than email, but not really a great place to permanently store your stuff. And I don't know about you, but whenever I use email or flash drives to move files, I usually end up with 2 or 3 different versions all saved in different places...even though I do think I'm an organized person! Isn't there an easier way?<br /><div><br /></div><div><strong><span style="font-size:130%;">What is it?</span></strong> </div><div><br /></div><div>Dropbox is <strong>FREE </strong>software that syncs your files online and across your computers. So, you can work on a file on your home computer, put it in your dropbox, and then open it on your school computer the next day (and vice versa)! No emailing! No flash drives! </div><div><br /></div><div><strong><span style="font-size:130%;">How does it work?</span></strong> </div><ol><li>Sign up for a <a href="http://www.dropbox.com/">Dropbox</a> account at their website. </li><li><a href="https://www.dropbox.com/install">Download Dropbox </a>onto your home and school computers. </li></ol><p>Once installed, you'll see a "<em>My Dropbox</em>" folder on your computer's desktop. Anything you place in that folder will be instantly synced to your online account <em>AND </em>to any of your other computers with Dropbox. </p><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5422941883664296018" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQoDA1T4r16m7kOeqM9VOciY_28IvDIWGpsLM8z52_tbKQ5VayDqp67cUHbY7sxRen06roxRimIswVji4tuulGUMCNRcFHnIjUqohAgjVlsY-NluGVzul_2Cp0TYJOu201oP6SUaeb3HcL/s400/Drop+Box.jpg" /><br /><p><strong><span style="font-size:130%;">Anything else I should know?</span></strong> </p><ul><li>Dropbox's free account provides 2GB of storage--<em>more than enough for your documents and presentations. </em></li><li>There are other free filesharing/file storage sites out there. Dropbox is unique (<em>and, in my opinion--<strong>better</strong></em>) because of the downloadable desktop folder that works like any other folder on your computer. With Dropbox, there is no uploading or downloading to a website. It's fast and easy. </li><li>If you're ever at a computer that is not yours and doesn't have Dropbox installed, just go to their website and login to your account. All of your files will be available. </li><li>If you open a file from your Dropbox, modify it, and save the changes, it will automatically sync those changes to your other dropboxes (online and on other computers). No more having multiple versions of the same file! </li><li>Your Dropbox will come with a "<em>public</em>" folder. Any files that you place in it will be assigned a URL that can be emailed for sharing. </li><li>Have an iPhone? Download the Dropbox App and sync your files to your iPhone! </li></ul><p>Give Dropbox a try! You'll love it! </p><p>Good Luck!</p><p>Chris </p></div>Chris Clancyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05089332936059951929noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1528587013887741967.post-16703253496503647882009-10-23T10:16:00.002-04:002009-10-23T15:14:26.867-04:00Are you using Twitter yet? Why not?<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzX_-XRGr1jCTLleGl5AOX4Nryz12kwruNge1auu_DQ9jvekWus6nQ0bYQv5f24RUhsGhLzp-5X1xmS690tbEFrhoD9pqIeTqVux8iXhKj2qudtew_MI5yibMRWYiVwhlmrhfI1Rs1kqMA/s1600-h/twitter_logo.png"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 320px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 74px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5395873616875970290" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzX_-XRGr1jCTLleGl5AOX4Nryz12kwruNge1auu_DQ9jvekWus6nQ0bYQv5f24RUhsGhLzp-5X1xmS690tbEFrhoD9pqIeTqVux8iXhKj2qudtew_MI5yibMRWYiVwhlmrhfI1Rs1kqMA/s320/twitter_logo.png" /></a><br /><div>I'll be the first to admit that I was a little skeptical about using <a href="http://www.twitter.com/">Twitter</a>. What's it going to do for me? Who cares about what I have to say? Why do I care about what people are doing? At first glance, it does seem like Twitter is just one more way for people to "lifecast" (broadcast their life). However, throughout the last few months I've learned that Twitter is so much more than just a way to talk about yourself--it's a way to build your own PLN (Personal Learning Network).<br /><br /><div><strong><span style="font-size:130%;">What is it?</span></strong> </div><p>Twitter is a free online service that lets you broadcast (very) short messages to your "followers". Sometimes, it's promoted as a microblogging platform (regular blog = long, descriptive; microblog = short and sweet). It also lets you "follow" people so that you can see their updates. </p><p><strong><span style="font-size:130%;">Anything else I should know?</span></strong> </p><ul><li>Twitter updates are limited to 140 characters, so you don't have room to say a lot. That's actually one of the greatest features of Twitter. It's easy to glance through your "updates" to get a snapshot of what's going on. You can usually click on links within the updates to learn more about the topics. It's kind of like perusing the newspaper--you can look at the headlines and 0nly read the stories you're interested in. </li><li>Once you have an account, you'll have your own Twitter username (e.g. <a href="http://www.twitter.com/cclancy">@cclancy</a>) and your own Twitter page (e.g. <a href="http://www.twitter.com/cclancy">www.twitter.com/cclancy</a>). </li><li>You can have Twitter updates sent to your cell phone. Login to Twitter and click "settings" to set it up. </li><li>I think that Twitter is all about who you follow: the better your network, the better your updates, the better it will work for you. Your best bet is to find someone worth following, and then look at his or her list of followers.<br /></li></ul><p><strong><span style="font-size:130%;">How can Twitter help me in school?</span></strong> </p><p>Twitter has been an amazing tool to help build my PLN. Your current learning network might be limited to your grade level or department. Need a new idea? <strong>Ask the Twitterverse for help!</strong> Or, search for keywords, like "socialstudies" or "geometry" at Twitter.com. </p><p>You can also use Twitter to follow world events...<em>as they are happening</em>. Search for keywords like "<strong>H1N1</strong>", "<strong>balloonboy</strong>", or "<strong>northwest</strong>" and you'll see realtime updates from people around the world as they tweet about Swine Flu, Balloon Boy, or the status of the crew from the Northwest flight that extended their trip... </p><p><strong><span style="font-size:130%;">How can I get started?</span></strong> </p><ol><li>Go to <a href="http://www.twitter.com/">http://www.twitter.com/</a></li><li>Register for a free Twitter account.</li><li>Find people to follow using Twitter's search button. </li><li>Start tweeting!</li></ol><p><strong><span style="font-size:130%;">Twitterers you might want to follow</span></strong></p><p><em>(Click on their name to go to their page. click "follow" underneath their name to follow them)</em>:</p><ul><li>Me <a href="http://twitter.com/cclancy">@cclancy</a></li><li>Our School <a href="http://twitter.com/qufsd">@qufsd</a></li><li>ASCD <a href="http://twitter.com/ascd">@ascd</a></li><li>CNN Breaking News <a href="http://twitter.com/cnnbrk">@cnnbrk</a></li><li>Kevin Jarrett (Tech Teacher) <a href="http://twitter.com/kjarrett">@kjarrett</a></li></ul>Still want more? Check out my <a href="http://delicious.com/cclancy2/twitter">Twitter Del.icio.us links </a>or this <a href="http://www.vrml.k12.la.us/curriculum/tech/socialnetwork/twitter/twitter.htm">Twitter Help for Educators</a>!<br /><br /><p>Good Luck!</p><p>Chris </p></div>Chris Clancyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05089332936059951929noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1528587013887741967.post-56893129357944948142009-10-08T13:00:00.005-04:002010-01-05T13:19:06.856-05:00MuseumBox: Virtual Learning Boxes<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrp6vWVYOMnsW0zExqMh2mKzo-g_BSzFoCywfOAtOgFaN7sUdjLvoAEC1kMC8b7YDH1zj-zfPTrC5LqE6rVIOu5d1yEMFKfB7uixWG6O8HP0pxtTcJG5oxEjCiVbv9yovW0BPFO3JFov1V/s1600-h/museum.jpg"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 261px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 44px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5388080980300227858" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrp6vWVYOMnsW0zExqMh2mKzo-g_BSzFoCywfOAtOgFaN7sUdjLvoAEC1kMC8b7YDH1zj-zfPTrC5LqE6rVIOu5d1yEMFKfB7uixWG6O8HP0pxtTcJG5oxEjCiVbv9yovW0BPFO3JFov1V/s320/museum.jpg" /></a>What items would you put in a box to describe your life? What about the life of a Civil War soldier? An ancient Egyptian?<br /><br /><strong><span style="font-size:130%;">What is it?</span></strong><br />Based on a <a href="http://gallery.e2bn.org/gallery1122-museumbox.html">real box </a>that was created by <a href="http://museumbox.e2bn.org/teachers/view.php?id=70">Thomas Clarkson</a>, a British abolitionist from the 19th century, <a href="http://museumbox.e2bn.org/">MuseumBox</a> is a website that lets you build an argument or describe an event by placing items into a virtual box.<br /><br />Each box can have between one and 24 compartments for users to place "objects". Each compartment has a virtual "cube" that holds the objects. A wide range of objects can be added to the cube faces, including images, video, sound, text, web links, and PowerPoint, Word, and PDF files!<br /><br />High School social studies teacher Mrs. Mary Tully contacted me recently about doing a MuseumBox project with her 9th grade Global Studies classes. She was looking for a different way for them to demonstrate their understanding of the 5 Themes of Geography. Working in groups of 2 or 3, they used <a href="http://www.google.com/advanced_search?hl=en">Google's Advance Search </a>features to research, <a href="http://images.google.com/imghp?hl=en&tab=wi">Image Search </a>for pictures, and cited everything with <a href="http://citationmachine.net/">Citation Machine</a>!<br /><br /><a href="http://museumbox.e2bn.org/creator/viewer/show/10634">Click here to see one group's MuseumBox! </a>Make sure you click on each of the cubes!<br /><br /><br /><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 414px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 219px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5390276647858258242" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjV4u5yPfgfn3INXv-P2r7-H2LFTPmOXZBxJnBbVRxdktNc9dQRfGXvuaMrYQwwnWR7xFYtlKgn7WWhelwSiK2GD8LokK3-UTa50ioO5CrCf1goLcmAEBAu1vPMAaRtjVRdAp37LY4xyevD/s320/box.jpg" /><br /><strong><span style="font-size:130%;">How does it work?</span></strong><br /><ul><li>Teachers need to register their school with the <a href="http://museumbox.e2bn.org/">MuseumBox</a> website. When students create their accounts, they will select their school and be identified by it on the site.</li><li>Students open the Creator, build their box and cubes, and save it at the MuseumBox website. Objects can come from the MuseumBox gallery, or they can be uploaded. </li><li>When students are finished with their boxes, they "submit" them virtually through the website. At that point, teachers can log in, view, and evaluate their class' boxes. If the box is approved by the teachers, it becomes part of the school's <a href="http://museumbox.e2bn.org/gallery/">gallery of MuseumBoxes</a>. <strong><span style="color:#ff0000;">UPDATE (1/5/10)</span></strong>: <em>Once boxes are submitted, teachers need to review and approve or reject them <strong>within 2 weeks</strong>. After that time, any boxes that have not been reviewed will be forwarded to the e2bn (MuseumBox) administrators. You'll have to email the company to get them back. </em></li></ul><p><strong><span style="font-size:130%;">Anything else I should know?</span></strong> </p><ul><li>MuseumBox is a UK site, so many of the images in their gallery were UK-based. </li><li>If students are collaborating on one box, it's important that only one student is modifying it at a time. If more than one person opens the box, it's possible that work could get accidentally deleted. </li><li>The entire project (with Mrs. Tully's students) took about 2 block periods, or about three 45 minute sessions. </li><li>MuseumBox is not just for social studies teachers! It has lots of applications for other classes as well! </li></ul><p>I found MuseumBox to be VERY user-friendly, reliable, and engaging for the students. I was impressed with how much they were able to do in such a short amount of time. </p><p>Please let me know if you're interested in doing a MuseumBox project with your class! </p><p>Good Luck!</p><p>Chris </p>Chris Clancyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05089332936059951929noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1528587013887741967.post-53588550041997558892009-06-04T09:00:00.000-04:002009-06-03T22:50:35.158-04:00Looking for Easy-to-Print Awards? Try My Award MakerIt's the end of the school year and award season is upon us. This is the time when teachers and schools look for ways to recognize their students' accomplishments with field trips, ceremonies, graduations...<em>and awards</em>.<br /><br /><br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5343259621701747506" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 85px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDpxvtWP2e3BjeiYIIovhE4Ym3IqAzi1kWeBLVWu0Ai7GaYY3FhOMzkIR_YnKfGo7jcq4r_sIWmcPs0_wsfVW4RmK3-EVxrZES9Nm_-XOvD58lQ9HfA8aF8u68vJj6vGX_CWrFziNopY5Q/s320/awardmaker.jpg" border="0" /><br /><strong><span style="font-size:130%;">What is it?</span></strong><br /><br /><a href="http://www.myawardmaker.com/home.html">My Award Maker </a>is a free and very easy website that allows you to download and print personalized awards for your students and colleagues. This site takes the hassle out of using programs like Microsoft Publisher because the template is completely finished--all you have to do is enter the name of the recipient!<br /><br /><br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5343175839225478994" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 247px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNYiikLFShQM0IYwrln9Niaa9fvYIpAvRS-MUS0w6ad8oWC-9Qa6zBOuOs58MvljnNxthNgeHD3KOwjlDJzjSWcLo8S9OKDC0rdljpiQZNjV6gtpbRJpxNM99GsMrkZ6mK-7iKetquckNt/s320/award.jpg" border="0" /><br /><strong><span style="font-size:130%;">How do I make an award?</span></strong><br /><br /><ol><li>Go to <a href="http://www.myawardmaker.com/">http://www.myawardmaker.com/</a></li><li>Choose an award category and find an award you'd like to use</li><li>Download the Award</li><li>Open the award (it's a PDF file) and change the personal information (name, date, etc.)</li><li>Print!<br /></li></ol><p><strong><span style="font-size:130%;">Anything else I should know?</span></strong><br /></p><ul><li>While you can modify the personal information (names, dates, etc.) on the downloaded awards, you can't modify anything else (clipart, font, colors, etc.). Basically, WYSIWYG.</li><li>There is a section called "blank templates" that allows you to have a little more freedom with the award (they're not set up as specific awards--you customize them).</li></ul><p></p><p>Good Luck!</p><p>Chris </p>Chris Clancyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05089332936059951929noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1528587013887741967.post-14492444068394318192009-06-03T10:31:00.001-04:002009-06-03T10:32:13.543-04:00Siftables: Hands-On Technology of the Future<div><div>Every once in a while, as I explore the Internet for the next great tech tool, I come across something amazing, something that blows my mind, something that is leaps and bounds ahead of everything else. A few days ago, I followed a link from one of the people that I follow on <a href="http://twitter.com/cclancy">Twitter </a>and discovered <strong>Siftables</strong>.<br /><br /></div><div></div><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 51px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5343107401931430066" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhM99P4D_pLVfCKsFCQWSvzi-RVPeovMEfOvU7eMHaVpn6JnjU1vhdwFw51Vf7zWHGQVDJ3oeDJpBUMoFn-XE6_3dGOeuT6doxjHKrKdSvzvUAeJuc4HUVh0wL76IMR5R-YdZnjoDtIQLQU/s320/siftables+font.jpg" /><br /><div><strong><span style="font-size:130%;">What is it?</span></strong> </div><div>Siftables are independent, wireless digital blocks that can communicate with each other. David Merrill, an MIT doctoral student and one of the developers of Siftables, was challenged with coming up with a way to make technology more "physical". He believes that people are skilled at using their hands to sift and sort through items to develop higher level thinking skills, but most technology devices don't lend themselves to that type of interaction. Siftables can be manipulated to play videos, spell words, solve math problems, create music, tell stories, and more. <a href="http://www.ted.com/talks/david_merrill_demos_siftables_the_smart_blocks.html">Watch this video </a>of David presenting Siftables to a group in California. </div><div> </div><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 190px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5343107614429495122" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9MYc3uoUZqbC8lRf77fAL9Z54ie4A8Mn152NIWn6PQy62JxV7qhtqxK3GZBjUxhr9sTf-MLSkk_s1zr-uZJCIOMQ4rETKL8tiJpqJcJtC63AHBK5zaC9xMmgxMepjIxK9RLYk6ZNGCFh3/s320/siftables.jpg" /><br /><div>The applications for education are obvious. Once Siftables are realeased and are available for purchase (<em>hopefully they'll be affordable for</em> <em>schools!</em>), they will change the way that we teach and the way that our students learn...<em>again</em>. I think that the thing that makes Siftables so unique and desirable is that they add a new layer to technology integration: <em>making it <strong>hands-on</strong></em>. There are so many incredible websites and tools out there, but few of them allow users to physically interact (<em>Those that do are incredibally popular--<strong>the Nintendo Wii</strong>--or expensive</em>). I can't wait to try out Siftables with a group of students! </div><br /><div>I know that there isn't really anything that you can take from this post and use with your students <em>right now</em>, but I thought that you might enjoy seeing (<em>what I think is</em>) something awesome. </div><br /><div>Start planning now...<em>how would you use Siftables with your students?</em> </div><br /><div>Chris </div></div>Chris Clancyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05089332936059951929noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1528587013887741967.post-44132708762527142312009-05-05T09:42:00.006-04:002009-05-05T10:57:11.245-04:00"I'll take EASY Jeopardy templates for $500, Alex!"Have you ever used PowerPoint to make a Jeopardy review game for your students? If you have, you know that it can be a pretty involved process...lots of slides...lots of hyperlinking...lots of time...Unless your pretty adept at PowerPoint, it can get frustrating.<br /><br />Well, I came across a solution that might just make your day.<br /><br /><br /><span style="font-size:130%;"><strong>What is it?</strong></span><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhE7MBqzFidczA6cBII-w6NcUDNqKr-896ZPQilRelIixJH6MXtYRdtgRriJ2dvA3D4SeBtV0VoK3IYGgU2icUeM7M7u9Oo37AU9RYOnguOwvHWwDbhDQmoVpySyiXyYZbbalJOM12HR2kj/s1600-h/jeopardy+logo.jpg"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 200px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 42px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5332352872921921650" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhE7MBqzFidczA6cBII-w6NcUDNqKr-896ZPQilRelIixJH6MXtYRdtgRriJ2dvA3D4SeBtV0VoK3IYGgU2icUeM7M7u9Oo37AU9RYOnguOwvHWwDbhDQmoVpySyiXyYZbbalJOM12HR2kj/s200/jeopardy+logo.jpg" /></a><a href="http://jeopardylabs.com/">Jeopardy Labs </a>is a website that lets you create your own Jeopardy templates online...<em>QUICKLY</em>!<br /><br /><br /><strong><span style="font-size:130%;">How do I do it?</span></strong><br /><ol><li><a href="http://jeopardylabs.com/">Go to the Jeopardy Labs website. </a></li><li>Click on "Start Building".</li><li>Create a password to protect your Jeopardy template (so that others can't edit it)</li><li>Enter a title for your game, as well as answer categories.</li><li>Click on the question boxes to enter answers.</li><li>Save your template, get the web address, and you're ready to play! </li></ol><p><em>Here's a screenshot of a finished Jeopardy template</em>:</p><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 467px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 304px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5332353038356502834" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgC4w1_C4vY8I1yD8E2Q9_bRbwMqULOr0NyiXaSoyxQpzLVDMXufq2CbD-Jm3gXYcKCLgOjnwKlpjpXHgaQNHePGxVLCEmg8D0X9uMVNaSnlEP1gdK0bbpcRl61-akev9wXB1nevA6Wj9sM/s320/jeopardy.jpg" /><br /><br /><p></p><br /><p><strong><span style="font-size:130%;">Anything else I should know?</span></strong></p><ul><li>Jeopardy Labs is completely web-based, so everything you make will be stored on their website. </li><li>When you're finished with your game, you will receive <strong>2</strong> URLs (web addresses). One is used to play the game. The other is used to edit your template (so you can build your game in multiple sessions). </li><li>You can search other peoples' finished templates. Just click "<em>Browse</em>" on the website and enter a topic you're looking for. Try this before you make your game--<em>it might save you even <strong>more </strong>time!</em></li><li>The template lets you select up to 8 teams and keep score (add or subtract points) for each of them while you're playing the game.</li><li>It is possible to insert pictures into the question boxes, BUT you need to have some HTML knowledge. I would just stick to text...</li><li>There is no "Double Jeopardy" or "Final Jeopardy" built in to the game, so you'll have to do that on your own outside of the template. </li><li>Take a minute to read the "<strong><em>About</em></strong>" page on the site. It will thoroughly answer questions that you still might have. </li></ul><p><strong><span style="font-size:130%;">How can I use it in my classroom?</span></strong><br /><br /></p><p><a href="http://jeopardylabs.com/">Jeopardy Labs </a>does not require users to create an account and login! <em>Why is that good news?</em> Well, instead of creating a bunch of Jeopardy games yourself, <strong><em>why don't you have your students do it? </em></strong>We're approaching the end of the school year, and I'm sure many of you are gearing to review for final exams. Wouldn't it be beneficial to your students if they were the ones to lead some of the review sessions? You could assign topics to different groups and have them use Jeopardy Labs to create a game to review! It would save you time <em>and</em> help them review the curriculum. </p><p>Please let me know if I can help your class with Jeopardy Labs! </p><p>Good Luck!</p><p>Chris </p>Chris Clancyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05089332936059951929noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1528587013887741967.post-44130123325230101322009-04-29T13:42:00.007-04:002009-04-29T15:00:20.406-04:00Sick of PowerPoint? Try Prezi!<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeU9n0jOZnnpOo4nm9JiGF-B59wPdW07FqqJHAUhzhdXGPxfUCTNw93ae96bRsBdRC9pIQ5hmXOegHZ2u6epuSnPmIDSg_f1zgllp9cID1bc7J2JxClyrEiyECtzj_5d_DG0khxROIQk-d/s1600-h/prezi.jpg"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 263px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 113px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5330187920682696994" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeU9n0jOZnnpOo4nm9JiGF-B59wPdW07FqqJHAUhzhdXGPxfUCTNw93ae96bRsBdRC9pIQ5hmXOegHZ2u6epuSnPmIDSg_f1zgllp9cID1bc7J2JxClyrEiyECtzj_5d_DG0khxROIQk-d/s320/prezi.jpg" /></a><br /><div><span style="font-size:130%;"><strong>What is it?</strong></span> </div><br /><div><a href="http://www.prezi.com/">Prezi </a>is a very cool and fairly new <em>free</em> online presentation tool that (for me) has been a very refreshing (and much needed) alternative to PowerPoint. According to the website, <em>Prezi allows anyone who can sketch an idea on a napkin to create and perform stunning non-linear presentations with relations, zooming into details, and adjusting to the time left without the need to skip slides.</em> And, it looks great when it's finished! </div><div><br /></div><div>PowerPoint presentations are typically "linear", meaning that viewing one means that you'll look at one slide, move to the next, and so on. I'm sure we've all seen great PowerPoint presentations...and we've seen examples that aren't so great. It's painful to sit through a presentation in which the speaker puts an unreasonable amount of text on the screen. Or, worse yet--when the presenter reads the text for you from the presentation! Where's the excitement with that? How is that engaging? As far as I'm concerned, it's virtually <strong><em>impossible</em></strong> to make a boring Prezi presentation. </div><br /><div><strong><span style="font-size:130%;">How does Prezi work?</span></strong></div><div>Instead of creating individual slides with information, Prezi gives you a "space" that allows you to insert text, pictures, and movies--literally jumping and zooming from one to the next. It really lends itself well to presentations that are created to encourage discussion or to highlight a few important points. <a href="http://prezi.com/prezi/27/try/">Check out this Prezi tutorial </a>that lets you <strong><em>try it</em></strong> to see how it works. </div><br /><div></div><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 463px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 321px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5330188358223161538" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyCsT1Whf-YPwQomTDKFKTGmjHE-14bnL9e8RFEe0NOPxt3F72-Jjtlu1tBUR2fFcsbz8VZVVz1LygMIsCN2aXM5P-fac9z2Ogmj-DeMOlp5kR_megrygUP7XuiJIGQSUEfY8RMgD2Xnmq/s320/sample+prezi.jpg" /><br /><div><strong><span style="font-size:130%;">How can I use it in my classroom?</span></strong> </div><div>Obviously, if you're looking for a different way to present and engage your students, Prezi is perfect (A Prezi looks great on a SMART Board). I would suggest that you select a topic and give yourself a few days or weeks to create your Prezi presentation--just so you can get used to things. Prezi doesn't offer "teacher/student" account access, so if you'd like your students to use Prezi, they'd have to create their own individual accounts. </div><br /><div><strong><span style="font-size:130%;">Anything else I should know?</span></strong> </div><ul><li>Prezi is completely web-based, so you'll have to connect to the Internet to create and view presentations. Although, it is possible to download your own presentations when they're finished (you can't download other users' presentations, but you can view them)</li><li>The free Prezi account inlcludes 100mb of storage space (more than enough) and publishes finished Prezi presentations to their "Showcase". You should <a href="http://prezi.com/showcase/">check out the Showcase </a>to get ideas. </li><li>I would highly suggest that you check out the "<a href="http://prezi.com/learn/">Learn</a>" page at Prezi.com before you begin working. It will make things easier. It took me a while to get used to the editing and viewing controls that Prezi uses, but it was well worth it. </li><li>Prezi is a European company, so you may notice a few language differences on some of its pages. </li><li><a href="http://prezi.com/9303/view/#1">Here's another Prezi </a>with some tips and tricks</li></ul><p>Please let me know if you'd like my help using Prezi!</p><p>Good Luck!</p><p>Chris </p>Chris Clancyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05089332936059951929noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1528587013887741967.post-19959498854243451892009-04-22T10:50:00.005-04:002009-04-22T13:20:47.740-04:00Create Talking Avatars with Voki<strong><span style="font-size:130%;">What are Avatars? </span></strong><br /><br />Avatars are computer users' visual repsresentations of themselves. Many Web 2.0 sites ask registrants to upload photos of themselves when they create their profiles...although it's really not a great idea to post pictures of yourself publically anywhere on the web. Avatars are great alternatives--it's a picture of you, but it's not really you! (If you have ever played a Nintendo Wii, you've made an avatar. It's the character you use to play the game).<br /><br /><br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5327540205847805618" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 167px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 239px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgynuktPtAJINBbQx5pdIaCWcAQdsMQahM4laB72-EUsYMhHvTGLSfIhT1gx3XsrFN7kSk8spX3xyDDsDT6U6NTMwyKU3zsx_PZqplpFga-et2ctQzpqMPhSyjkG9jjYRMTBWuuaUbxM5kr/s320/voki.jpg" border="0" /><br /><a href="http://www.voki.com/">Voki </a>is a website that allows users to create 3-dimensional avatars...<em><strong>that talk</strong></em>! It has some great features that allow users to design their own character (or browse through their premade avatars that include politicians, celebrities, creatures, aliens, characters, dogs, and cats!). Once you've created your character, you can give it a voice in one of 4 ways: using your cell phone, recording directly to the website with microphone, typing text that Voki will turn into speech, or uploading an audio file from your computer.<br /><br />Social Studies teacher Mike Varney contacted me recently about a project idea he had that incorporated Voki. During his unit about the Vietnam War, Mike asked each of his students to write a speech as a “Dove” or “Hawk” stating whether they support The War. The students were asked to write from a first-person point of view and to provide reasons to support their opinions. However, instead of having the students recite the speeches in front of their peers, he helped them create avatars (digital representations of their War character) to “give the speeches for them”. Using Voki, Mike helped his students create their characters and record their speeches. The results were outstanding…and very entertaining. <a href="http://clancytech.blogspot.com/2009/04/create-talking-avatars-with-voki.html">Check this one out</a>:<br /><br /><br /><object id="voki" codebase="http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=" height="267" width="200" classid="clsid:D27CDB6E-AE6D-11cf-96B8-444553540000"><param name="_cx" value="5292"><param name="_cy" value="7064"><param name="FlashVars" value=""><param name="Movie" value="http://vhss-a.oddcast.com/vhss_editors/voki_player.swf?doc=http%3A%2F%2Fvhss-d.oddcast.com%2Fphp%2Fvhss_editors%2Fgetvoki%2Fchsm%3D17bfaf039f9030078bdb2592f86e3638%26sc%3D1285322"><param name="Src" value="http://vhss-a.oddcast.com/vhss_editors/voki_player.swf?doc=http%3A%2F%2Fvhss-d.oddcast.com%2Fphp%2Fvhss_editors%2Fgetvoki%2Fchsm%3D17bfaf039f9030078bdb2592f86e3638%26sc%3D1285322"><param name="WMode" value="Window"><param name="Play" value="-1"><param name="Loop" value="-1"><param name="Quality" value="High"><param name="SAlign" value=""><param name="Menu" value="-1"><param name="Base" value=""><param name="AllowScriptAccess" value="always"><param name="Scale" value="ShowAll"><param name="DeviceFont" value="0"><param name="EmbedMovie" value="0"><param name="BGColor" value=""><param name="SWRemote" value=""><param name="MovieData" value=""><param name="SeamlessTabbing" value="1"><param name="Profile" value="0"><param name="ProfileAddress" value=""><param name="ProfilePort" value="0"><param name="AllowNetworking" value="all"><param name="AllowFullScreen" value="false"><embed src="http://vhss-a.oddcast.com/vhss_editors/voki_player.swf?doc=http%3A%2F%2Fvhss-d.oddcast.com%2Fphp%2Fvhss_editors%2Fgetvoki%2Fchsm%3D17bfaf039f9030078bdb2592f86e3638%26sc%3D1285322" swliveconnect="true" name="voki" quality="high" allowscriptaccess="always" scale="noborder" bgcolor="#" width="200" height="267" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" pluginspage="http://www.macromedia.com/shockwave/download/index.cgi?P1_Prod_Version=ShockwaveFlash"></embed></object><br /><br /><br /><strong><span style="font-size:130%;">What Else Should I know?</span></strong><br /><ul><li>Voki is a free website, but it does require that users create accounts and register an e-mail address. Because Mr. Varney's students don't have school e-mail accounts, we used <a href="http://www.mailcatch.com/">MailCatch</a> to create enough accounts for each of the students to use. </li><li>There is a 60 second time limit for recording, so keep the narration short and sweet!</li><li>When they are finished, Voki avatars are embeddable. Mike's students embedded their avatars on his classroom website. </li><li>The entire project took 2 class periods: one to create the avatars, and one to record the speeches. It was definitely a quick project.<br /></li></ul><p>Please let me know if you'd like to try Voki with your students! </p><p>Good Luck!</p><p>Chris </p>Chris Clancyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05089332936059951929noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1528587013887741967.post-84813581145776674622009-04-03T11:28:00.005-04:002009-04-03T15:28:11.081-04:00Check Out the New Google Earth<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUmAZqBnf21y4HFy3fw2dhITqABsnLWh4oWhyv0f8CyYM2eILt7Vd8HOwEXkDaA00rz8Qw-FTYo4BR8T6IJ18s-peVvhwnSxrpTEBqDbmD-VeYeX3dUwD1tgpNVzNQMoHtJPwuyRaJ3RdM/s1600-h/google-earth-logo-apr08.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5320544995879820274" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 123px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 90px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUmAZqBnf21y4HFy3fw2dhITqABsnLWh4oWhyv0f8CyYM2eILt7Vd8HOwEXkDaA00rz8Qw-FTYo4BR8T6IJ18s-peVvhwnSxrpTEBqDbmD-VeYeX3dUwD1tgpNVzNQMoHtJPwuyRaJ3RdM/s400/google-earth-logo-apr08.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><div>Google recently released its newest version of one of my favorite tech tools: Google Earth. This new release (<em>Version 5</em>) looks and works very similiarly to previous GE versions, but it includes some pretty cool new features:<br /><br /><ul><br /><li><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6ATw1f_qcEg">A New "Ocean" Layer</a>: Now you can fly underwater to learn about expeditions, shipwrecks, and marine life. (<em>I don't think the underwater graphics are amazing, but I'm sure they will improve</em>.) </li><br /><li><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GjcCF6cIlPw">Travel to Mars</a>: Previous versions allowed you to explore Earth and Space, but now you can visit The Red Planet to see satellite and Rover images. There are some excellent guided tours located within the "Mars Gallery" layer. </li><br /><li><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FOR0fPTx-os">View Changes Over Time</a>: Use the new "historical imagery" feature to view how locations have changed throughout the last several decades--<em>a great way to check out our impact on the environment. </em></li><br /><li><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jYF3UFmHyNQ">Record Your Tour</a>: We have always had the ability to create, save, and share "Placemarker" tours in Google Earth. Now, we have the ability to <strong>record narration</strong>, which gives students the ability to talk their way through their tours. </li></ul><p><em>You can click on any of the titles above to see a short description of the feature. Or, </em><a href="http://earth.google.com/tour.html#v=1"><em>click here </em></a><em>to watch an overview of Google Earth 5.0. </em><br /></p><p>5th Grade Teacher Nicole Enny recently attended an after school professional development class about Google Earth. She had been using the volcano layer in GE to teach her students about The Ring of Fire. After attending the class and learning about some of its new features, Nicole decided that she wanted her students to create a tour of different types of volcanoes around the world. She also wanted her students to record and narrate their tours so that they could be shared back in her classroom. <a href="http://sites.google.com/site/chris21stcenturypage/google-earth-files/table6tour.kmz?attredirects=0">Click here </a>to watch one of their completed tours. </p><p>*<span style="color:#ff0000;"><em>Please note: You will need Google Earth <strong>Version 5</strong> in order to watch the tour</em></span>. Not sure if you have Version 5? You probably don't. <a href="http://pack.google.com/intl/en/integrated_eula.html?hl=en&ciint=ci_earth&ci_earth=on&utm_source=en-cdr-earth4&utm_medium=cdr&utm_campaign=en">Click here </a>to download the newest version. </p><p><strong>Here are some other awesome Google Earth resource pages:</strong> </p><ul><li><a href="http://web.mac.com/jburg/GoogleLit/Home.html">Google Lit Trips</a></li><li><a href="http://www.realworldmath.org/Real_World_Math/RealWorldMath.org.html">Real World Math</a></li><li><a href="http://www.gearthblog.com/index.html">Google Earth Blog</a></li><li><a href="http://www.google.com/gadgets/directory?synd=earth&cat=featured">Google's Earth Gallery </a></li></ul><p>Please let me know if you'd like my help with creating your own Google Earth Tour! </p><p>Chris </p></div>Chris Clancyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05089332936059951929noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1528587013887741967.post-34984602466751139822009-03-20T12:20:00.002-04:002009-03-20T20:24:20.233-04:00Make Your Own Google Custom Search<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKnsEGkQSyoCl0374axsrHCz6I8HauyZTWDlRSxHhWX9hW_ipGGOihXl65dC47gtMT8YGWRFgWZbsLttPhFgXckE3kG1ZnrmqdzHyIQx5zTNio7B_Tqmr-gvo6Pxu0VY1-d3XNL5uViD0B/s1600-h/custom_search_sm.gif"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5315427303231672962" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 150px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 65px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKnsEGkQSyoCl0374axsrHCz6I8HauyZTWDlRSxHhWX9hW_ipGGOihXl65dC47gtMT8YGWRFgWZbsLttPhFgXckE3kG1ZnrmqdzHyIQx5zTNio7B_Tqmr-gvo6Pxu0VY1-d3XNL5uViD0B/s400/custom_search_sm.gif" border="0" /></a><br /><div>We all know how a typical Google search works with students. They tell Google what they want it to search for. They click on the first result. There is too much text or it's too difficult to read. They click on the next result. It has nothing to do with what they're looking for. They raise their hand and tell you that they can't find any information. </div><div></div><div> </div><div>Sound familiar? There are few ways to solve this problem: </div><ol><li>Teach your students how to use Google (<em>or let me show them how</em>). A <a href="http://www.google.com/advanced_search?hl=en">Google Advanced Search</a> is very powerful. </li><li>OR, make a (<em>free!</em>) Google Custom Search with your own list of websites and show your students how to use it.<br /></li></ol><div><strong><span style="font-size:130%;">What is it</span>?</strong><br /></div><br /><p>A <a href="http://www.google.com/coop/cse/?hl=en">Google Custom Search </a>is just what it sounds like. It's a Google search that you can customize. Basically, instead of Google searching the entire Internet, you tell it to search specific websites that you have previewed and approved. A Custom Search looks like and works like a typical Google search, but it's <em>faster</em>, <em>safer</em>, and <em>more useful to your students</em>. <a href="http://www.google.com/coop/cse?cx=011442599812669503377:jwnvcme0rvk&hl=en">Click here </a>to see a Google Custom Search I made recently for a 6th grade social studies class. They were studying Greek and Roman Gods and Goddesses and a lot of the Internet material they were finding was too difficult or inappropriate. So, I found 8 kid-friendly websites and made a Custom Search for them to use. It made research much faster! <a href="http://www.google.com/coop/cse?cx=011442599812669503377:jwnvcme0rvk&hl=en">Try it out!</a> Search for your favorite God or Goddess!</p><br /><p><span style="font-size:130%;"><strong>How do I make a Google Custom Search?</strong></span> </p><ol><li>You (the teacher) find useful, safe, and appropriate websites that are at your students' readability level. </li><br /><li><a href="https://www.google.com/accounts/ManageAccount">Create a Google Account </a>(unless you already have one).<br /></li><li><a href="http://www.google.com/coop/cse/?hl=en">Go to the Google Custom Search Homepage </a>and follow the steps. You'll have to provide some information about your search, but it's not a lengthy process. </li><br /><li>Paste the URLs (addresses) of the sites you want the Custom Search to search. </li><br /><li>Eventually, you'll be given a URL for your search. Create a link for it on your classroom webpage and you're all set! Custom searches are also embeddable!<br /></li></ol><p>Please let me know if you'd like some help setting up a Google Custom Search! </p><p>Good Luck!</p><p>Chris</p>Chris Clancyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05089332936059951929noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1528587013887741967.post-20009618320275672752009-02-12T10:37:00.016-05:002009-02-24T16:43:19.891-05:00Check Out Animoto: It's like PhotoStory with a Sugar High!<span style="font-size:130%;"><strong></strong></span><br /><span style="font-size:130%;"><strong>What is it?</strong></span><br /><br /><a href="http://www.animoto.com/">Animoto </a>is a very unique Web 2.o tool that creates professional looking "music video-like" movies with photos that you upload from your computer. Simply upload photos, select music from Animoto's library (or upload your own), and Animoto does the rest. In a matter of minutes, it analyzes your music and animates your photos accordingly...very cool and very easy.<br /><br /><strong>Here's the best part</strong>: Animoto is generously offering <a href="http://education.animoto.com/signup.html">free all-access passes to educators</a>! This means that you can create individual accounts for your students and that they can make <strong>full-length, downloadable videos</strong>. (<em>Typical users would have to pay for these features</em>)<br /><br />Now, I know what you're probably thinking: "<em>This sounds an awful lot like PhotoStory</em>." Well, it is similar, but I think it's <em>different enough</em> to deserve a look. Keep reading to see how some 5th graders compared Animoto to PhotoStory.<br /><br />5th grade teacher Renee DeBlock approached me a few weeks ago with an idea for a media project. She wanted her students to create commercials about cities in Canada as part of their social studies curriculum. <strong>Animoto was the perfect tool!</strong> <strong><em>ALL</em></strong> of her students did an outstanding job and produced amazing results. <a href="http://animoto.com/play/66nFXm0R9N40b6a1otkXFQ?autostart=true">Click here to watch one of the commercials</a>.<br /><script src="http://widgets.clearspring.com/o/46928cc51133af17/49a4692baa0e5fb6/46928cc516a6a652/74d7309f/-cpid/4d97e67d7e0b1d17/autostart/false/widget.js" type="text/javascript"></script><br /><br /><span style="font-size:130%;"><strong>How we did it:</strong></span><br /><br /><ol><li>We decided to give her students the option to choose either PhotoStory <em>or</em> Animoto for their project. Neither one of us has used Animoto with a class before, so we weren't exactly sure how it was going to go. And some kids hadn't used PhotoStory yet, so we wanted to give them that opportunity. I think that it's importatnt offer choices to students, too. Does every student's final product have to look the same? Isn't it more interesting for <em>everyone</em> if they don't?<br /></li><li>When we started the project, we wanted the students to have a clear idea of what their responsibilities were and what each choice would involve. I created and showed them a sample PhotoStory and Animoto about Halifax, Nova Scotia. I used the same pictures, the same music, and the same script for both because I wanted them to focus on how these 2 things were similar and different--not necessarily on the content I used to make it. When they were done watching both, we filled out a Venn Diagram comparing Animoto and PhotoStory. Here's what they came up with (<em>we used a SMARTBoard and I converted the handwriting to typed text</em>):</li><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5306481002016496306" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 255px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhs3m9bZWyrkFElBLXwTntOLMAPAECONuOudiVvMcIhgJ1Jex2_52vMakK8rNazkQ5hmHIpnCXc61eT5NNJEbTrsYdz-LzP2dVTp04bR5gor-WxhLVnmx1hRNUDeGYrwKt0WRc7OrvES_ak/s400/Animoto+Venn.jpg" border="0" /><br /><li>The biggest difference between the 2 programs was that PhotoStory allows you to have "more control" over your movie. In other words, you can record narration for individual pictures, but you can't really do that with Animoto. It basically makes your pictures move to the beat of your music. </li><br /><li>Renee's students used the Venn to help them make their choice. Amazingly, half of them picked Animoto and half picked PhotoStory.</li><br /><li>We spent the next few class periods researching, filling out graphic organizers, finding pictures, and writing scripts for the projects. </li><br /><li>When the time came to put everything together and start building the movies, Renee instructed the PhotoStory group and I instructed the Animoto group.<br /></li><li>The students who chose Animoto had to record their script using <a href="http://audacity.sourceforge.net/">Audacity </a>(free audio recording and editing software), search for and download background music from <a href="http://www.freeplaymusic.com/">FreePlayMusic.com</a>, and then turn both of these things into an mp3 that would later be uploaded as their Animoto "music".<br /><br /></li></ol><p><strong><em>Notes about the project:</em></strong><br /></p><ul><li>The entire project (not counting information and photo research, and scriptwriting) took about 4 class periods. </li><br /><li>Completing an Animoto project took <strong><em>no longer</em></strong> than completing a PhotoStory project. In fact, both groups finished on the same day! </li><br /><li>All Animoto movies are downloadable and embeddable (with the special educator access). <a href="http://www.queensburyschool.org/Classroom_Web_Pages/WHBI/DeBlock/news.htm">Renee embedded her Animoto projects on her classroom webpage</a>. Not only does it look good, but it's a great way to share the projects with the community.<br /><br /></li></ul><p><strong><span style="font-size:130%;">Anything else I should know?</span></strong><br /></p><ul><li>When you register for an educators' account, Animoto will send you an e-mail with link. You must use that link to create individual (or group) accounts for students. Renee and I used GMail (Google's e-mail) to create student accounts because they have a very cool trick. Here are directions from the Animoto site:</li><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5306478434257420194" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 236px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYEGt4RPxr0aWDUL1s_cdAqcXNuh9JtZ_cSCioAI1zI6sN9MDpVvOUBz2IE9OdNH2HfsKORGZ-fle8QW3E9qYkhzM8rxiSedV4Y506YwIHvrwLHzvzUV7fw79pE0cn1MBR2AOiFGa7qPjk/s400/animoto+gmail+direcs.jpg" border="0" /><br /><br /><li>If you're going to use pictures from the Internet, make sure you take a few minutes to teach your students about copyright and fair use. They shouldn't be taking pictures from the Internet without giving credit.<br /><br /></li></ul><p>Take a few minutes to <a href="http://www.animoto.com/">visit Animoto </a>and create a movie. You'll see how <strong>easy</strong> it is to make very professional looking digital stories in no time at all. </p><br /><br /><p>Please let me know if I can help you and your students with an Animoto project!<br /></p><p>Good Luck!</p><p>Chris </p>Chris Clancyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05089332936059951929noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1528587013887741967.post-83669591756609166012009-02-02T09:32:00.007-05:002009-02-03T23:47:56.999-05:00Quickly Zoom Into Any Screen on Your ComputerMany of you probably remember <a href="http://davidwarlick.com/2cents/">David Warlick</a>, the speaker who visited our campus last May to talk about 21st Century education. While he had many things to say about the new ways that students learn, one of the things that intrigued a lot of us was his ability to zoom in and out of certain portions of his screen. Many people have asked me how he was able to do that, and the simple reason is because he was using a Mac Computer (I believe it's a built-in Apple feature).<br /><p><br />Other than looking very cool, I thought that a feature like this would benefit Queensbury teachers because of the plasma monitors that are in every classroom. Sometimes you want to use them to show your students something, but it's a little tricky for them to make out the detail on the webpage or in the document. So, I set out to find a solution...<br /><p><br />That's when I came across <a href="http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/sysinternals/bb897434.aspx">ZoomIt</a>. It's a <strong><em>free</em></strong>, downloadable program that <strong>you can install</strong> on your classroom computer in <em>minutes</em>.<br /><p><br />Here are a few screenshots so that you can see what the program does: </p><br /><br /><span style="font-size:130%;">It allows you to <strong>zoom</strong> into the screen:<br /></span><p><br /><a title="Untitled by chrsclncy, on Flickr" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/qbytech/3252540310/"><img height="324" alt="" src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3493/3252540310_541e76a410.jpg" width="500" /></a><br /></p><br /><span style="font-size:130%;">It allows you to <strong>draw</strong> on any screen:<br /></span><p><br /><a title="Untitled by chrsclncy, on Flickr" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/qbytech/3251714939/"><img height="350" alt="" src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3505/3251714939_644aea7750.jpg" width="500" /></a><br /></p><br />To install <a href="http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/sysinternals/bb897434.aspx">ZoomIt</a>, follow the steps in <a href="http://www.screencast.com/t/hlfom8fCK">this video that I made</a>. It's not that tricky, although you might want to watch it twice before you try--just to make sure it makes sense.<br /><p><br />If you're still stuck, send me an e-mail and I'll get it set up for you.<br /><p><br />Good Luck!<br /><p><br />Chris<br /></p>Chris Clancyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05089332936059951929noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1528587013887741967.post-28798687826727154782009-01-21T09:05:00.005-05:002009-10-08T22:16:03.324-04:00Become a Part of History with VoiceThreadYesterday (Inauguration Day) was obviously an important day in U.S. history. Most of us will likely remember where we were when we watched Barack Obama become the first African-American president, and I know that we all tried to instill that message onto our students. Although, it will probably take some time for them to realize the significance of January 20th, 2009...<br /><br />Anyway, I was looking for a way for our students to "leave their mark" and have voice in everything that occurred yesterday...when I miraculously received an e-mail from one of my favorite new websites about a collaborative project they were working on.<br /><br />The website is called <a href="http://www.voicethread.com/">VoiceThread</a>, and it's been around for a couple years, but I think that educators have started to see its value more recently.<br /><br />Why is it called VoiceThread? Well, most of you are probably familiar with <a href="http://video.queensburyschool.org/qtube/displayimage.php?pos=-481">PhotoStory</a> and how it allows you to tell a story with pictures, voice recording, and background music. A VoiceThread is similar, but it adds a unique 21st century twist: <strong><em>collaboration</em></strong>. When a VoiceThread is created, it's posted on the VoiceThread website in a gallery with all of the other VoiceThreads. Anyone with a VoiceThread account can watch it and (<em>here's the <strong>collaboration</strong> part</em>) <strong>comment</strong> on it. When someone leaves a comment about your VoiceThread, a small box with the person's avatar (picture) appears. When your VoiceThread is played, the comments are shown (or played) along with it. Comments can be left with text (typing), audio recording, video recording, and even by cell phone! It's an easy way to get a "global perspective" about a topic.<br /><br /><a href="http://voicethread.com/inaugurationdayvoices?utm_medium=email&utm_source=Email+marketing+software&utm_content=497640236&utm_campaign=Inauguration+Email+_+dtjtij&utm_term=Click+here">Click here to visit the webpage that VoiceThread created for the project they're calling "Inauguration Day Voices"</a>. Basically, it's a collection of VoiceThreads about Barack Obama's inauguration. There are 2 samples on that page that you can watch to get a better understanding of what it is and how it works.<br /><br /><strong><span style="font-size:130%;">How can I use this in my classroom?</span> </strong><br /><br /><ol><li>Create a VoiceThread account (takes a minute), find an "Inauguration '09" VoiceThread that you feel warrants a comment, and leave a comment as a class. You can do this in a matter of minutes. </li><li>Create your own VoiceThread (with my help!) and use <a href="http://flickr.com/photos/qbytech/3214990867/">this Wordle word cloud </a>about Obama's Inaugural Address as your "central picture"(<em>note that the larger the word is, the more times it was used in his speech</em>). You and your students (and the rest of the world) can leave comments about what you thought of the ceremony and his speech. <a href="http://clancytech.blogspot.com/2009/01/wordle-clouds.html"><em>See this previous blog post to learn more about Wordle.</em></a></li><li>Create your own VoiceThread (with my help!) and upload a video of Obama's Inaugural address (<em>or--more simply--a picture of him giving the speech</em>). You and your students (and the rest of the world) can leave comments. </li><li>Other ideas? </li></ol><p>VoiceThread is an easy way for your students to share their opinions about the new direction of our nation, <strong>and I would really enjoy showing them how to do it!</strong> </p><p>Please let me know if I can help you out with this awesome project!</p><p>Good Luck!</p><p>Chris </p>Chris Clancyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05089332936059951929noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1528587013887741967.post-26523314527682734082009-01-16T14:30:00.007-05:002009-01-16T16:51:03.076-05:00Are You a Googler?<strong>Note to e-mail subscribers</strong>: <em><span style="color:#ff0000;">You should </span></em><a href="http://www.clancytech.blogspot.com/"><em><span style="color:#ff0000;">click here </span></em></a><em><span style="color:#ff0000;">to go directly to my blog. There are some things that I have included in my blog post that will be left out of this e-mail.</span> </em><br /><em></em><br /><p><br />Everyone has a favorite. <a href="http://www.yahoo.com/">Yahoo</a>. <a href="http://www.aol.com/">AOL</a>. <a href="http://www.lycos.com/">Lycos</a>. <a href="http://www.altavista.com/">AltaVista</a>. <a href="http://www.ask.com/">Ask</a>. <a href="http://www.google.com/">Google</a>. <a href="http://www.blackle.com/">Blackle </a>(just learned about that one from a 5th grader). <a href="http://www.live.com/">Live Search</a>...and the list could go on and on.<br /><p><br />My favorite happens to be Google, and I think that it's because throughout the last 2 years, I have really dedicated some time to learning how Google works. As you can imagine, I spend a fair amount of time on the Internet learning, researching, troubleshooting, etc., so I really need to understand <em>how to search</em> in Google.<br /><p><br />Now, I know what some of you are thinking: <em>What else could I need to know about Google? It's so easy because I can go to </em><a href="http://www.google.com/"><em>www.google.com</em></a><em>, enter my search term, press enter, and then follow the first link. </em>Well, sure, that works sometimes. But spending a little time learning <em>how</em> to search in Google will help you find exactly what you're looking for <strong><em>quickly</em></strong>. And, you might learn about a few of Google's cool features along the way.<br /><p><br />Here's a great 7 minute video from <a href="http://www.teachertube.com/">TeacherTube</a> with some timesaving Google search tips:<br /><p><br /><embed src="http://www.teachertube.com/player/search/mediaplayer.swf" width="425" height="350" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" flashvars="height=350&width=425&file=http://www.teachertube.com/flvideo/65421.flv&image=http://www.teachertube.com/thumb/65421.jpg&location=http://www.teachertube.com/player/search/mediaplayer.swf&logo=http://www.teachertube.com/images/greylogo.swf&searchlink=http://teachertube.com/search_result.php%3Fsearch_id%3D&frontcolor=0xffffff&backcolor=0x000000&lightcolor=0xFF0000&screencolor=0xffffff&autostart=false&volume=80&overstretch=fit&link=http://www.teachertube.com/view_video.php?viewkey=8440f27574666b9e9735&linkfromdisplay=true&recommendations=http://www.teachertube.com/embedplaylist.php?chid=56"></embed><br /><p><br />So, as you may have learned from the video, it's all about <em>how</em> you search in Google. You sort of have to train yourself to think a little differently--instead of just typing a few random words into the search area. This is such an important skill for us (adults) to learn, but imagine if your students were Google pros (I bet that some of them are). Instead of spending countless class periods looking at (<em>mostly useless and irrelevant</em>) information, they could be finding exactly what they need--quickly! We spend so much time teaching kids how to use reference books, but we don't spend much time at all teaching them how to use the Internet. (<em>By the way, where do you think most of the are going to start their research?...Hmmm...</em>)<br /><p><br /><a href="http://www.google.com/intl/en/help/features.html">Check this page out too.</a> It's Google's search "help" page that lists some of the other things that Google will search for (and how to do it): movies, stocks, flights, calculator, unit conversion...It's pretty amazing.<br /><p><br />One final thought: This might seem strange to you, but it's something that I've noticed recently. The way in which we navigate to websites breaks us into 3 groups:<br /><ol><li>People who use Google as their homepage and use it as their "portal" to get where they want to go. For example, if they wanted to visit the Target website, they would type "target" into the Google search space, press enter, and follow the first search return (which is the Target store). This seems a little weird to me. It seems like an extra, unneccessary step, right? </li><li>People who use whatever homepage they want and type the URL of the site they want to visit into the address bar. So, this person would just type <a href="http://www.target.com/">http://www.target.com/</a>. This makes more sense to me.</li><li>People who keep a list of "favorites" or "bookmarks" and use those to navigate to sites. </li></ol><p>So which one are you? I created this poll to find out, so cast your vote! I'm interested to see what the results will be...<br /><p><br /><script language="javascript" src="http://www.blogpoll.com/poll/view_Poll.php?type=java&poll_id=163817"></script><noscript></noscript><br /><p><br /><p>Please let me know if you'd like me to come into your class and help your students learn how to Google fast and efficiently! </p><p></p><p>Good Luck!</p><p>Chris </p>Chris Clancyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05089332936059951929noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1528587013887741967.post-85915386193620771022009-01-12T12:04:00.024-05:002010-11-30T16:27:51.058-05:00Create Amazing Digital Books with Mixbook<strong><span style="font-size:130%;">What is it?</span></strong><p><span style="font-size:0;"><span style="font-size:0;"><br /></span></span><a href="http://www.mixbook.com/">Mixbook </a>was originally created for users to create digital scrapbooks using personal photos from weddings, vacations, parties, etc. While it is great for all of those purposes, Mixbook also has some great applications for education. If you're looking for a way for all of your students to demonstrate what they've learned, Mixbook is the perfect tool for you! One of its greatest features (other than the great layout and beautiful finished product) is that Mixbook allows multiple users to collaborate on one book.</p><p>Recently, I completed a Mixbook project with <a href="http://www.queensburyschool.org/Classroom_Web_Pages/WHBI/Discenza/index.htm">Michelle Discenza's 5th Grade Class</a>. Her students had all read biographies about famous Americans and Michelle was looking for a culminating project...and along came Mixbook...<br /></p><p><br /><a href="http://www.mixbook.com/photo-books/all/famous-americans-2703889">Here is the <em>amazing</em> Mixbook that <em>her students created</em> </a>(100%, cover to cover):<br /></p><p><br /><object width="380" height="380"><param name="movie" value="http://www.mixbook.com/flash/mixbook_albums.swf?b=2703889&k=StGLaq6aXW&mode=production&pid=2703889&autoplay=true"><param name="wmode" value="transparent"><param name="FlashVars" value="b=2703889&k=StGLaq6aXW&mode=production&pid=2703889&autoplay=true"><embed src="http://www.mixbook.com/flash/mixbook_albums.swf?b=2703889&k=StGLaq6aXW&mode=production&pid=2703889&autoplay=true" flashvars="b=2703889&k=StGLaq6aXW&mode=production&pid=2703889&autoplay=true" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" width="380" height="380"></embed></object></p><div style="text-align:left; font-size:11px; font-family:tahoma,arial; height:26px; padding:2px;"><a href="http://www.mixbook.com/"><img src="http://mixbook.s3.amazonaws.com/images/mixbook_player/logo_embed.png" style="border:0px none;margin-bottom:-3px" alt="Mixbook - Create Beautiful Photo Books and Scrapbooks!" /></a> | View Sample <a style="text-decoration:underline;" href="http://www.mixbook.com/gallery">Photo Books</a> | Create your own <a style="text-decoration:underline;" href="http://www.mixbook.com/photo-books">Photo Book</a></div><br /><p><br /><span style="font-size:0;"><span style="font-size:0;"><br /></span></span><span style="font-size:130%;"><strong>How we did it:</strong></span></p><span style="font-size:130%;"><p><span style="font-size:0;"><span style="font-size:0;"><span style="font-size:0;"><br /><br /></span></span></span></p><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-size:0;"><span style="font-size:0;"><span style="font-size:0;"></span></span></span></span><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-size:0;"><span style="font-size:0;"><span style="font-size:0;"></span></span></span></span><ol><li>Michelle's 5th graders read biographies in small groups and completed a packet with graphic organizers. This helped them organize their thoughts when the time came to write summaries in their Mixbook. Each group (team) learned about one famous American. </li><li>Michelle created a (free!) Mixbook account using her school e-mail address. She created a book with enough blank pages for each team to have 2 pages of work space. </li><li>Students worked in collaborative teams of 3 to search for and save pictures to use for their pages. To conserve time, we asked each team to find only 3 pictures (enough for a 2 page layout). When they found and saved a picture, they also saved the URL (that would later go into the Mixbook) for copyright purposes. Most teams needed only one 45 minute period to find all of their pictures. </li><li>We assigned teams to specific pages in the Mixbook (i.e. one team had pages 2-3, the next had pages 4-5, the next had 6-7, etc.). It was important that the teams stayed on the pages that were assigned to them (if they used other pages, it would overwrite other teams' work) </li><li>Most teams spent about 2 periods (45 minutes each) writing and designing their pages. Mixbook has TONS of options for page layouts, background design, texts and fonts, and even a new "sticker" option for that <em>authentic scrapbook look</em>. </li><li>When all 8 teams were finished, Michelle asked a student to create a cover page, it was added to the book, and the book was published. </li></ol><p><em><strong>Notes about the project:</strong></em> </p><ul><li>The entire project (not counting reading the biographies) took about 4 class periods, so creating a Mixbook is <strong>not</strong> a <em>major</em> time commitment. </li><li><a href="http://www.queensburyschool.org/Classroom_Web_Pages/WHBI/Discenza/homework.htm">Michelle "embedded" her class' Mixbook on her classroom webpage.</a> Embedding means that people who visit Michelle's webpage can flip through her Mixbook without leaving her webpage. This is a great way for parents and the community to see what you're doing in class. </li></ul><p><span style="font-size:130%;"><strong>Anything else I should know?</strong></span> </p><ul><li>Books that are published on the Mixbook site are public, so please remember that using individual pictures of students is not allowed without written parental consent (<em>per</em> <a href="http://moodle.queensburyschool.org/twt/file.php/1/forms_and_policies/Website_Publishing_Policy.pdf">QUFSD Website Publishing Policy</a>). </li><li>In order for students to collaborate on one book, they would all have to login to the same Mixbook account. For Michelle's project, she and I logged students into the Mixbook site (there were only 8 computers). If you don't want to do that, and you also don't want students to use your account, then you can create an account with a "<em>fake</em>" e-mail address from a website called <a href="http://www.mailcatch.com/">MailCatch</a>. Simply register for a Mixbook account by making up an e-mail address with a mailcatch.com domain (e.g. <a href="mailto:mrclancy@mailcatch.com">mrclancy@mailcatch.com</a>). If you visit <a href="http://www.mailcatch.com/">http://www.mailcatch.com/</a>, you will be able to check your "inbox", but you won't be able to write mail. It's a safe alternative for your class...</li><li>If you're going to use pictures from the Internet, make sure you take a few minutes to teach your students about copyright and fair use. They shouldn't be taking pictures from the Internet without giving credit. </li><li>If you're really happy with the books you create with your students on Mixbook, you can actually <a href="http://www.mixbook.com/printed-photo-books">order a hard copy</a>! Michelle ordered a copy of her Famous Americans book and it looks great--very professional. The cost of the book depends on how many pages the book has (more pages = more $). Of course, you don't have to order the book--you can just use the digital version. </li></ul><p></p><p><strong><em><a href="http://www.mixbook.com/photo-books/education/world-war-i-2785">Here is another sample from Mixbook</a>:</em></strong> </p><p></p><br /><p><br /><object width="380" height="380"><param name="movie" value="http://www.mixbook.com/flash/mixbook_albums.swf?b=2785&k=etNSLBEibv&mode=production&pid=2785&autoplay=true"><param name="wmode" value="transparent"><param name="FlashVars" value="b=2785&k=etNSLBEibv&mode=production&pid=2785&autoplay=true"><embed src="http://www.mixbook.com/flash/mixbook_albums.swf?b=2785&k=etNSLBEibv&mode=production&pid=2785&autoplay=true" flashvars="b=2785&k=etNSLBEibv&mode=production&pid=2785&autoplay=true" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" width="380" height="380"></embed></object></p><div style="text-align:left; font-size:11px; font-family:tahoma,arial; height:26px; padding:2px;"><a href="http://www.mixbook.com/"><img src="http://mixbook.s3.amazonaws.com/images/mixbook_player/logo_embed.png" style="border:0px none;margin-bottom:-3px" alt="Mixbook - Create Beautiful Photo Books and Scrapbooks!" /></a> | View Sample <a style="text-decoration:underline;" href="http://www.mixbook.com/gallery">Photo Books</a> | Create your own <a style="text-decoration:underline;" href="http://www.mixbook.com/photo-books">Photo Book</a></div><br /><p><br /><br /><a href="http://www.mixbook.com/">Visit Mixbook</a>, create an account, and play around on the site for a few minutes. You'll see how easy it is to create a great looking book in no time at all.<br /></p><p>Please let me know if I can help you and your students with a Mixbook project!</p><p>Good Luck!<br />Chris<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /></p><p></p><p></p><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;font-size:85%;color:#333333;"></span></span>Chris Clancyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05089332936059951929noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1528587013887741967.post-14444664013796941922009-01-06T10:43:00.014-05:002009-10-08T22:21:57.736-04:00Wordle Word Clouds<strong>What is it?</strong><br /><br />Wordle is a <em>very cool, very fast,</em> and <em>very easy</em> webtool that creates a "cloud" of words. The size of the words in the cloud is directly related to the number of times each word is used (i.e. the more times the words is used, the larger the word). It's a great visual representation of text--and it's something that a classroom teacher or a student can make in <em>just a few minutes</em>. It looks really cool too!<br /><br />Here's an example I made with the National Technology Standards for Students:<br /><br /><br /><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 210px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5288236349299802210" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLlMK3W5NzJLO4KPi15V_cc0HY2hjgb9vsAdPR099Y9hACXAvKZHPOLzQal2q5DAwvtqPqL45z4wT05s0Z4xkeHtmCYZbde_bcmySqgMywNVsrpNTV6k9Eu1c7qnArD6uMBXuoCh8p26zk/s320/NETS-S+Wordle.jpg" /><br /><strong>How does it work?</strong><br /><ol><li>Determine what text you want Wordle to analyze. It can be a Word document, webpage, blog--anything that has text that can be "copied and pasted". (You can also just type the text onto the Wordle site.) <em>See below for ideas...</em></li><li>Visit the <a href="http://www.wordle.net/">Wordle </a>website: <a href="http://www.wordle.net/">http://www.wordle.net/</a></li><li>Click on "Create your own."</li><li>Either copy and paste or "freetype" your text into the text box.</li><li>Click "submit" and Wordle will automatically create your word cloud.</li><li>Once it's created, you can change the colors, layout, font, and style using the "edit, language, font, layout, color" menus above your word cloud.<br /></li></ol><p><strong>How can I use it in my classroom?</strong> </p><ul><li>Have students use Wordle to copy and paste their essays or reports to analyze word use. This could be for editing purposes or to help them analyze a theme of their writing. I'm sure that it would interest them to see what word or words they used most frequently.</li><li>Google song lyrics or poems and use Wordle to create a word cloud. You could display it on your plasma to start a class discussion--<em>Why do you think that word was used? </em></li><li>Copy and paste relevant newspaper articles.</li><li>Google websites that provide transcripts of historical speeches <a href="http://www.historyplace.com/speeches/previous.htm">like this one</a>. Use Wordle to start a discussion about why the person giving the speech chose to empasize certain words or phrases. <a href="http://blog.wired.com/27bstroke6/2008/09/michelle-obama.html">Here's an example </a>I found online. This might be a cool idea for the upcoming <a href="http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/sou.php">State of the Union address</a>...</li><li>Use a word cloud as a "word splash" activating strategy--create it beforehand with key concepts and vocabulary and display it on your plasma.</li><li>Use it as a vocabulary activity--have students type the main vocabulary word into the text box a few times (so that it appears larger) and then type a list of synonyms and antonyms. It will make a very cool representation of the word! </li><li>Introduce literature or a new chapter--copy and paste or freetype the first paragraph or page of a new book or chapter and use the word cloud to stimulate a discussion and build background knowledge. </li><li>Make a guessing game--have students create word clouds about characters in a book or main ideas in a chapter (without giving away the actual name or idea) and then have them share the word cloud with the class. The other students would use the clues to guess which character or idea the cloud represents. </li><li>Teachers and students could create an "about me" word cloud at the beginning of the school year. </li></ul><p><strong>Anything else I should know?</strong> </p><ul><li>Wordle is uncensored and there is no way to guarantee that your students won't see an inappropriate word (if <em>they</em> are using Wordle). I don't think that this should scare you away from using Wordle, but it is something to keep in mind...</li><li>To see the actual word count for the words in your cloud, click on "language" and then "show word counts" at the bottom of the menu. </li><li>When you create a word cloud, you are the only one who sees it...unless you click on the "save to gallery" button. Then, everyone (in the world) will see it. </li><li>To print a word cloud, click on the "print" button underneath your word cloud.</li></ul><p>You should really give this a try--it will only take a few minutes. And if you really want your students to be engaged, let <em>them</em> give it a try! </p><p>Please let me know if you would like my help with Wordle or anything else! </p><p>Good Luck!</p><p>Chris </p>Chris Clancyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05089332936059951929noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1528587013887741967.post-32645470151484634982009-01-05T10:37:00.003-05:002011-01-17T20:46:04.070-05:00Welcome, 21st Century Educators!<span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">Welcome to the 21st Century</span><span style="font-family:verdana;"> Learning Blog! This will be a space to share tips, tricks, project ideas and examples, and great tech tools for your classroom. </span><br /><span style="font-family:Verdana;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:Verdana;">I will update it as often as I can--possibly daily? Weekly? I'm not sure--it's really going to depend on my schedule. </span><br /><span style="font-family:Verdana;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:Verdana;">Here are some ways that you can stay updated with blog postings:</span><br /><ol><li><span style="font-family:Verdana;"><strong>Check the blog daily</strong> </span></li><li><span style="font-family:Verdana;"><strong>Subscribe to the blog using an <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0klgLsSxGsU">RSS</a> aggregator</strong>, such as Yahoo or <a href="https://www.google.com/accounts/ServiceLogin?hl=en&nui=1&service=reader&continue=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.google.com%2Freader%2F">Google Reader </a></span></li><li><span style="font-family:Verdana;"><strong>Subscribe to the blog by typing your e-mail address into the "Subscribe via E-Mail" box at the top right corner of the screen.</strong> You will receive a "confirmation" e-mail when you subscribe and you'll have to open that e-mail and confirm it--please check your <em>junk mail</em> folder for this e-mail. If you do this, an e-mail will be sent to you whenever I write a new post. </span></li></ol><p><span style="font-family:Verdana;">Whichever way you choose to subscribe, when you read the posts, you'll notice that I will try to consistently set them up with this information:</span></p><ol><li><span style="font-family:Verdana;"><strong>A description of the website, project, tool, lesson, etc. </strong></span></li><li><strong><span style="font-family:Verdana;">How you can use it in your classroom</span>.</strong></li><li><span style="font-family:Verdana;"><strong>Any other advice or information that is worth sharing.</strong></span></li></ol><p><span style="font-family:Verdana;">I'm hoping that you'll see and read about great ideas on this blog and then implement them with your students--with my help and support, of course. Please feel free to contact me with any questions.</span></p><p><span style="font-family:Verdana;"></span></p><p><span style="font-family:Verdana;">The other great feature of this blog (<em>actually, of all blogs</em>...) is that you can comment on any posting that you wish. If you read what I have written and have a thought, idea, or personal experience you'd like to add, click "comment" under the post to share! </span></p><p><span style="font-family:Verdana;"></span></p><p><span style="font-family:Verdana;">Good Luck!</span></p><p><span style="font-family:Verdana;">Chris </span></p>Chris Clancyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05089332936059951929noreply@blogger.com0