Another one to try!

Apparently I'm going to find enough to share this week so that I need to create a daily post!  Today's entry is about Board800.  This site is a very quick application that allows you to draw, include text, work with an image, etc. on a small whiteboard screen.  You can then save the work to use later as a .png file (or a .jpg file).  It's quick and easy, so try it out!


• Go to Board800
• Click Start Drawing
• Click Create new session
• Use the tools on the left to create your text, etc. on the right (on the white screen)
• When you are done, click Save Image
• Change the name to something you'll remember (if you want a .jpg file, make sure you put .jpg at the end of the name, i.e. tigers.jpg)
• Save it wherever you need to you can access and use it later


That's all there is to it!


Here is a sample of a quick image I made with a few seconds of effort:

Here I am again with another site for you!

I can't believe it - I am finding things to post every day this week.  Oh, well, if something can help you in your classroom, then I don't mind posting every day!


I received an e-mail today that said Kentucky students were the highest number of participants in the recent Polar Bear Webcast.  Along with the e-mail there was a link to a blog page, the DEN Blog Network, that has an entry about polar bears called Tundra Connections.  On that page are seven ideas for students to learn even more about the plight of polar bears on our planet.  Under the section for Tuesday, there is a short polar bear quiz that is very interesting.  There are lots of other ideas to try, including using Blabberize (which I had not heard of) and EDU Glogster (which I have heard of and have been experimenting with since the Nashville Tech Conference). 


If you teach about animals in any way, please take a look at this site.  It will be well worth the few minutes you spend and may motivate a student to take an active role in the preservation of polar bears in the future. 

A new site I couldn't wait to share!

I have a site that I want to share with all of you that just can't wait for next week's posting!  "Make-a-Flake" is a site that allows you to create your own virtual snowflake.  (If you don't have Flash capabilities on your computer, the initial screen should ask you to download Flash 6 before you can utilize the program; if you do have Flash, you can click where it says "If you are sure you have the Flash 6 plugin, click here" and it will take you into the site.)


Once you open the site, you should see a blurred window with snowflakes falling.  On the right are three choices - Make your own Snowflake; Visit the Gallery; or Tell a Friend.  A good place to start is to visit the gallery where you can view snowflakes that have been created by others.  The date the snowflake was created will show underneath each entry and you can see previous entries by using the arrows at the bottom of the screen.  Clicking "Make-a-Flake" will take you back to the initial screen.


To create your own, click "Make your own Snowflake".  An initial piece of paper will be folded and cut right in front of you.  If you move your mouse over the triangular piece of paper, a pair of scissors will appear.  If the scissors show a red dot, where you have them located will not cut - move the scissors until the dot appears gray-blue.  Then you can cut!  Clicking once on the mouse will mark the initial cut.  Move the mouse and click in another spot and that will make the second cut.  Move the mouse and click in another spot and that will make the third cut and so forth and so on.  Keep making cuts however you wish until you are finished.  If you make a mistake you can always click the Undo / Redo on the left of the screen.  You can also click Start Over in case you want to begin from a clean sheet of paper. 


Once you have your snowflake cuts completed, click on Preview Flake.  You flake will show on the screen and some new choices become available - Cut some more and Save My Flake.  If you aren't satisfied and want to cut some more, click that choice.  If you are satisfied and want to save your snowflake to the database, click Save My Flake.  Enter a name (it can be just a first name or a nickname - these names do not show later) and click Submit.  Once you do that, you will be given your snowflake's # and you can either email your flake to a friend or download your flake for later viewing or use. 


Some of the snowflakes created are very elaborate and some are very simple.  I can see this being used with younger students just as a fun activity this winter, but it could also be used with older students, if used along with an explanation of angles and cuts (geometry) and how they make the snowflake appear. 


Have fun creating your own snowflake and don't forget to share!  Feel free to e-mail me  your creation so I can see your work - melissa.earnest@caldwell.kyschools.us. 

Welcome Back!

I hope everyone enjoyed their time off as I did.  I was fortunate to have two whole weeks to spend with my daughter and we accomplished a great deal, so I feel rejuvenated and hope all of you do, too!


I have a new book titled Blogs, Wikis, Podcasts, and Other Powerful Web Tools for Classrooms by Will Richardson which I'd like to share information from for my next several Blog postings.  The author's first edition was published 3 years ago and I will be using the second edition.  According to Richardson, more and more we are seeing teachers connecting their students to global conversations and collaborations.  He further states, though, that 90% of students use Web technologies in their personal lives, but only a small fraction of classrooms have begun to fully understand what these networked learning environments can mean.


Here's a little background on the "invention" of the World Wide Web - Tim Berners-Lee had a grand vision for the Internet when he began development of the World Wide Web in 1989.  At that time, the Internet was not much more than a network of computers that researchers and government officials used to share text and data.  But Berners-Lee wanted a "web" of linked information, built by people from around the globe.  When the Mosaic Web browser began in 1993, the dream began.  Suddenly, the Internet went from text and numbers to a colorful, graphical world of information for the masses.  However, being able to put information on the Web required a knowledge of HTML coding and protocols so it was a slow process and not everyone could do it.


Today, most all of us are reading and writing on the Web.  In 2008, one of the blog tracking services listed more than 110 million blogs online.  Right now, the service is adding over 120,000 new blogs and 1.5 million Weblog posts each day.  And it's not just blogs - multimedia publishing has exploded.  In 2008, over 100,000 videos were being uploaded to YouTube each day and now millions of photos, thousands of audio files, and countless other creations are being added.  As more people gain access, this trend will continue to grow.


So what does this mean for the way we teach and learn?  Education has been slow to adapt these new tools and potentials.  Richardson notes that it is a hugely challenging time to be an educator.  By and large, students are using a wide variety of technologies that they are told they can't use when they come to school.  Today's schools are faced with a difficult dilemma that pits a student body that has grown up immersed in technology against a teaching faculty that is less knowledgeable about the tools of the trade.  Even our youngest students are using sites on the Internet to post their creations.  (Take a look at http://www.flickr.com/photos/wrichard/sets/96435 which is an example from Richardson's daughter when she was eight years old.)


According to the author, the tools discussed in his book are relatively easy for anyone to use in the classroom.  He also tries to give educators tools that are free.  Richardson says before you attempt to bring these technologies to your students, first be selfish about their use in your own learning practice.  "It wasn't until I fully understood how these technologies can facilitate global connections and conversations around my own passions, how they could help me create powerful learning networks and communities, that I was able to see what needed to change in terms of my curriculum and my teaching."  Richardson says we need to make these connections in our own practice first and to ask ourselves these questions:
• What are your passions?
• Who are your teachers?
• How are you building your own learning networks?
• How are you modeling your learning for your students?


For the next several weeks, I will be sharing information on the following "tools" in Richardson's "toolbox" and hope that at least one of these will be something you'd like to try personally and then share with your students:
1.  Weblogs (Blogs)
2.  Wikis
3.  Real Simple Syndication (RSS)
4.  Aggregators
5.  Social Bookmarking
6.  Online Photo Galleries
7.  Audio/Video-casting


Just remember, like with everything else in life, using the Internet carries with it some risks.  As educators, it is most important for us to keep students safe when online.  Safety is about responsibility, appropriateness, and common sense.  As I share information from the book, safety will be an integral part and something we all should keep in mind as we move forward and try new things!


Next week, I will start by sharing information about Weblogs, or Blogs.  Hopefully some of you already have a Blog or might be willing to start one for your class(es).  Until then, start exploring "blogs" on the Web and see what you can find that's already out there.