Brin Be Blogging

Wordle for me was once a tool to organize words in an attractive way, but after reading some of the articles in class I came to find that I can use them in better ways to enhance student learning in the classroom.  Apart from word walls to showcase vocabulary, I can also use it as a way to have student brainstorm on a specific unit topic, for instance having students jot down what comes to mind when given a single topic such as "Stress". Advantages - FREE - User-friendly - Attractive Appearance - Options for sharing - Options for themes/styles Disadvantages - Requires internet access/ Java - No account to keep all saved Wordles in one location Walkthrough How to Wordle Student Product Health Wordle

Pinterest is a very good resource tool to collectively bookmark resources for students/teachers in one location. Teachers can use boards to give students specific resources to go over a lesson or for supplemental resources to enhance learning. If given permission students can also add on any pins of their own that they have discovered to be useful on the topic. We can also ask students to pin the resources they used on a research paper or resources they used in a project instead of a reference page. Advantages: - User-friendly - Multiple ways to share - Various resources provided and ready to share and re-pin - Can upload files from the computer instead of just websites Disadvantages - internet access needed Walkthrough How to Pinterest Student Product Anti-Bullying (still adding more to this)

Blendspace is a great tool that allows simultaneous use of resources to create a unit review or lesson on a topic. This tool consolidates a variety of resources in just one location and is a great tool to differentiate instruction using technology all wrapped up in one tool. This tool collaboratively allows the presentation of media from Google images and web links, youtube videos, Google Drive, Dropbox, uploaded files from your computer and so much more. I absolutely love this tool. Advantages: It FREE (upgrade available for more features) Consolidates a variety of resources on the internet and on your computer Very User-Friendly Ability to share resources and lessons with other teachers Disadvantages: Requires internet access Youtube (blocked on-campus; may pose a problem for viewing video files) How to Blendspace Blending the Blendspace

So my first interpretation of a Wiki was something like Wikipedia in which people can edit and change and add a things here and there where necessary. After playing around with it a little more I was able to find that Wikis can be used for a variety of things primarily as a dashboard to instigate discussions, discuss pages, events, and projects. A Wiki is a site that allows students and teachers to discuss topics in a variety of ways. Wikispaces allow the Wikispace users to create new wiki pages, attach files for discussion, create a discussion in a forum style, create and discuss projects and notify members of events. Advantages: User-friendly Opportunities to work collaboratively in teams Variety of Wiki options available for discussion Disadvantages: Needs internet access Invitation is necessary to access the Wiki How to Wiki Wiki Product  (Accessible to people invited only)

VoiceThread is a great online multimedia tool that can be used in the classroom to share different kinds of files and simultaneously giving viewers the opportunity to provide comments in a variety of ways including by telephone, recording, webcam, and text. This program can be used in the classroom as a supplement presentation for students who are absent as well as for those students who are not comfortable presenting in front of an audience so that they may be able to receive comments and share feedback with each other. Advantages: It supports a variety of file extensions  Variety/Flexible ways to provide feedback and comments Private/Public Sharing capabilities Disadvantages: internet is required for program to work and for sharing. VoiceThread Student Product How to VoiceThread

Prezi is an online-based presentation tool that allows the user to maneuver around one's presentation by zooming in and out through transitions of slides or frames. This tool is useful for the classroom because it gives an alternative for a more engaging presentation instead of the conventional PowerPoint slide. Additionally this can be helpful for those students who do not have any presentation software or do not already avail to Google's presentation feature on Google Drive (sad to say there are some students who refuse to transition to a Google email simply because they find it to be too much hassle in trying to familiarize themselves with a new email). Advantages Free account Limitless canvas to work with Uploading of pre-made Microsoft PowerPoint Slides Transition between slides makes it more engaging for students Portable download of presentation (requires adobe flash player) Disadvantages Internet is needed Not very student-friendly; requires extensive ex...