Flat Stanley in the 21st Century

Flat Stanley has been embraced by teachers and students since 1964. Originally a character featured in a Jeff Brown's children's book, Stanley's most appealing trait is that he has the ability to visit his friends by being mailed in an envelope around the world.  

Kathy Rolfes and Veronica White have found a much more efficient way for Stanley to travel, using  VoiceThread, a Cool Tool often featured here. They have modified Flat Stanley and sent him into a 21st Century learning environment.

The 21st Century Flat Stanley will not get crinkled or lost in the mail, and he is ready and waiting for students across the globe to discuss, 24/7.

Please visit the Flat Stanley VoiceThread and then help him move across the globe by passing him along.

     Flat Stanley VoiceThread

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Screencasting Tools

ScreenToaster:
This is a free online screencasting tool with plenty of handy features. The site itself is a great source of already created tutorials and it's worth checking out. ScreenToaster was very easy to use, and publishing a short screencast was painless. This seems like a wonderful screencasting tool and I will use it again.
Go to ScreenToaster

Jing:

Jing is an old, familiar application that works well and has exciting potential, but it tends to take a long time to load and play. Jing is free, but there is a download required so this is a tool for home use. There is also a more streamlined paid version of JING that is worth checking out. 
Go to Jing

Screener:

At first glance, Screenr seemed like the perfect tool for recording simple video tutorials. Creating a Screener couldn't be easier, but publishing one was a different story. First, Screenr insisted on posting my screencast to Twitter, but then it couldn't quite make the connection. All of the Screenrs I created are somewhere lost in CyberSpace.
Go to Screener

ScreenJelly:
This is another screencasting tool that depends on Twitter for publishing, but it also has a nicely displayed collection of already created screencasts.
Go to ScreenJelly

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WallWisher

WallWisher is a free tool that allows you to create a page of online sticky notes. In addition to text, the notes can include images, links and videos as long as that media is already stored somewhere else online. Create a themed wall, then invite others to add stickies. Just think of all the ways this Cool Tool can be used!

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Web 2.0 Tools for Online Presentation and Resource Sharing

Nadine Norris, Instructional Technology Coordinator in District 15, always has a lot of useful tools to share. Here are some of the tools she shared at ICE today.

• √ Wallwisher
• √Online Screencasting
• √ScreenToaster
• √Screenr
• √Jing
• √ScreenJelly
• ShareTabs
• Stixy
• SlideShare
• SimplyBox
• LiveBinder
• Weblist
• BagTheWeb
• Kwout
• Skitch

These tools will be used, reviewed, and discussed on this blog.

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NEO2 for Keyboarding and Writing

The NEO2 is worth taking a look at for schools looking for cost-efficient machines for keyboarding and writing. This machine is the newest Alphasmart. Here are some great features of the device:

• text can be enlarged
• not Internet-connected
• transfer data wirelessly to computer
• includes the "Home Row Check" feature within keyboarding program
• has a feature to wirelessly transfer data to Google Docs
• Text2Speech add-on device available
• made out of football helmet material

The Fusion and the Writer are similar devices and I will try to take them for a test drive at ICE today. 

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Pixie 2 for Learning in D97

Pixie 2 software is available on our lab machines. Over the past month I've seen some creative teachers use the software to help students learn. The results have been terrific, and teachers and students are enjoying using this Cool Tool for learning.

Pixie 2 is software made simple. A user can open the program, experiment with familiar drawing/painting tools and create! Stamps right within the program provide opportunities for those of us with limited drawing ability to create and express ourselves visually in spite of it. This opens the door for a world of writing possibilities. The ease of publishing Pixie 2 creations with Google Docs and a blog helps create a 21st Century Learning environment that extends the walls of the classroom and encourages higher quality work that is published for an audience.

The best way to take a peek is to take a look at a VoiceThread created with samples of the work and comments. You can also view some of the project featured by clicking on the links below.

Pixie2 for Learning VoiceThread

A closer look at projects

• Alliteration  - Debbie Creticos and Lucy Divis - Longfellow - Grade 2
• Catastrophic Events - Phyllis Frick - Grade 6
• Fall Fun and Festivals Janet Barnstable - Julian - Virtual Classroom Global Dreamers - Grades 7-8
• City Wildlife - Stella Turi - Holmes - Grade 3 

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Catostrophic Events: Pixie 2 and Google Presentation

Phyllis Frick's 6th grade science students used Pixie 2 to create slides about catastrophic events. After completing some research, each student created original artwork depicting the event and wrote a one sentence summary about it.

This was the first time Phyllis and her students used these Cool Tools in the lab, but they were able to create powerful slides in just about one lab session.

Please view and enjoy the Catastrophic Events SlideShow

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Alliteration in a 21st Century Learning Environment

The students in Debbie Creticos's and Lucy Divis's 2nd grade class learned about alliteration through painting and writing on the computer. Their work is impressive and delightful.

They used Pixie 2 to create the work, then uploaded the images to Google Presentation for publishing on the class blog.

Please enjoy the Alliteration Slide Show created by Longfellow 2nd graders.

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Google Presentation for Guided Student Learning

Google Presentation is a versatile tool. Since a presentation can be published online and linked to a blog or website, perhaps a good use of this tool is for guided student learning. After all, this Cool Tool is really only a blank page.

I'd like to share an example of a Google Presentation that integrates many of the Cool Tools discussed on this blog. This is a series of guided learning opportunities for students that focuses on Internet safety and introduces students to some of the Web 2.0 tools they might be using to create and share their learning.

Please take a moment to view Design Your Digital Self, by Veena Rajashekar, Beye School.

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Prezi: Online Presentations with a Twist

Prezi is an online presentation tool that's quite exciting, and certainly a welcome change of pace to the traditional slideshow. Prezi abandons the concept of using slide after slide to display bulleted text, and instead uses one giant canvas to hold all of the content. Viewers follow a path set by the author to explore chunks of information, and zoom in to take a closer look. You can embed videos and images, create links, and have a lot of fun creating and viewing Prezi presentations.

This nontraditional presentation is a Cool Tool for changing the way students and teachers disseminate information and ideas. Perhaps Prezi could be used to help students do something with all that information that's out there, and it could be used to encourage them to remix and create rather than regurgitate. Prezi seems very well-suited for the 21st Century Classroom.

If you want to try Prezi yourself, it's fairly easy to use, especially if you take the time to view the tutorial before getting started. You can sign up for a free account to get your feet wet and decide for yourself whether or not Prezi is for you.

Please take a look at an example of a Prezi presentation with a powerful message. The experience is better when you view it in fullscreen. (Choose More at the bottom of the screen.)

View Prezi: Web 2.0 in the Classroom, by Ryan McCallum

Sign up at Prezi.com

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Google Presentation for Student Portfolios

Compatibility with PowerPoint combined with the ability to easily publish slideshows online makes Google Presentation a Cool Tool for creating and maintaining student portfolios. I know of two innovative teachers in D97 who are building these portfolios, and they are definitely worth taking a look at. What a great way to celebrate the learning, progress and talents of your students, and what a fabulous way to share with relatives and friends across the world! I'll bet these students love having their work published and it certainly does encourage people to check your blog.

• Erica Childress' Kindergarteners at Work (See Class List in the sidebar)
• Sheila Vietzen's Kindergarten Class Work Blog (See Student Portfolios in the sidebar)

Sheila and Erica are two of the teachers you might be working with if you decide to attend a D97 GoogleDocs training session, coming to a location near you. Sign Up for Google Training 


Please comment to share your thoughts about these kindergarten portfolios of student work. Just click the link below and type a message into the box.

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How's Your Web Presence?

Blogger Flicker Twitter Facebook Picassa Glogster SecondLife WikiSpaces GoogleSites GoogleDocs Del.icio.us VoiceThread YouTube Diigo GlobalSchoolNet... the list goes on...

If you are using Web 2.0 tools, then you do have a web presence. Have you googled yourself lately? Unfortunately, the Internet does not allow us to categorize ourselves to make a distinction between our personal and professional selves. This is true for everyone.

Do you think students, parents, and even prospective employers use Google to check you out? You bet. Do you think universities offering scholarship use Google to check out prospective students? Yes. Do you think students think about their own web presence and how it relates to their future. They should.

After you've googled yourself, remember this. Check the settings in all the Web. 2.0 tools you use to see how to set the privacy and lock things down. If a tool offers no control over what others see, is it a Cool Tool?

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