Weekly Technology Assignment - Boom Writer

Boom Writer is a unique site based on collaborative writing and student voting.   Boom Writer allows students to work within a safe environment and create one chapter at a time as part of a class.  The students then have the opportunity to vote for the chapter they think is the best fit for the story before moving on to the writing of the next chapter.  If you want, you can even purchase a published version of your book for $9.99.  To learn more about how Boom Writer works check out the "How It Works Page".

Tech Tool:  Boom Writer

Activity:  Creating a collaborative book in your class is a great way to involve all students in the writing process while at the same time validating each individual student's efforts.  In an English class, this can be used to develop a creative story or as a resource for writing prompts.  How about in other classrooms?  What better way to give purpose to your student's hard work than to have them create a resource that can be used by your classes in the future?  Another idea is to have your students begin to create a collaborative journal about their studies, school events, etc.  For more information and ideas, check out Boom Writer's teacher page. 

Example:  Pierce School

Weekly Technology Assignment - Meograph

With the start of a new school year comes more neatly packaged lessons and tutorials for you to integrate into your classroom curriculum by way of the Weekly Technology Assignment here on Tech Messages.  This week the assignment incorporates Meograph which is a really simple and fun way to tell an interactive story.

Tech Tool:  Meograph

Activity:  Every person, event, or concept has a story to be told.  Think about your curriculum and what you are teaching in class right now.  How could you have your students develop a digital story using Meograph?  You could even have the students use their own images or video to create their story instead of using what is available on the web.  Check out the story of Whitney Houston's life below for an example.

Example:  Whitney Houston's Life

Weekly Technology Assignment 11 - Easel.ly

Infographics (information graphics) are very popular in social media because they are easy to read and full of information.  Ultimately, I prefer to read them because I can get information from them without actually having to take the time to read (gives me more time to blow bubbles with Jillian or shoot hoops with Ali).  In this week's assignment, you will be using a site called Easel.ly which is a drag and drop builder for creating nice looking infographics.

Tech Tool:  Easel.ly

Activity:  With the school year winding down, many teachers are asking students to demonstrate what they have learned over the course of the school year.  For this activity, students (and teachers) can create a visually appealing information graphic about that topic.  Teachers...I'm sure you have more data than you care to admit.  You can use that data to create an end of the year graphic.  Students can use Easel.ly to do the same but focused on a topic.

Example:  Summer Vacation Plans

Weekly Technology Assignment 10 - Smore

Hey what do you know...this is already the tenth edition of the Weekly Technology Assignment!  I hope that you find these mini lessons and tutorials beneficial in planning new opportunities for your students to use technology in the classroom or at home.  This week's assignment will be to create a flyer using the website Smore.  Flyers can be used to promote an event or they can be just a one page informational handout or presentation visual.


Tech Tool:  Smore

Activity:  This weeks activity is not only for your students but also for YOU.  Using Smore you will create a flyer for something that is coming up in your school or in your classroom.  How about a flyer for the graduation ceremony or field day?  A newsletter about your classroom?  Creating a flyer using Smore is quick and easy so this can just be a homework assignment for your students.  They can create an informational flyer about a reading from the previous night or a topic you are covering in class.  It can even be about a famous person or event like in my tutorial below.

Example:  Fourth Grade News

Weekly Technology Assignment 9 - Quizlet

This week's technology assignment uses a website called Quizlet.  Quizlet is a site that is used by teachers and students to create web based flash cards, study those cards and play games using the vocabulary.  To learn more information about Quizlet and it's features, check out my previous post here on Tech Messages.

Tech Tool:  Quizlet

Activity:  Creating flash cards is a time tested way to study information and for many students a manageable way to study on the go.  For this assignment, it is time to look toward that "word wall" in the back of your classroom and see how much the students remember from the course of the year.  In this assignment, students should create 15 flash cards (you decide the number up or down) using vocabulary words that were learned throughout the course of the year.  Using their own cards and those created by other classmates they can study for a cumulative assessment on the vocabulary of the past year.

Example:  Italian Colors Flashcard Set

For more videos on using Quizlet, check out my Quizlet playlist on YouTube.

Weekly Technology Assignment 8 - Prezi

This week's technology assignment uses a website called Prezi which many of you are probably familiar with at this point.  Prezi is a presentation tool (hence the name Prezi prounounced pre zee) which has taken the world by storm in the past year.  It is easy to use and much more dynamic than the presentation types of old.

Website: Prezi

Activity:  This site is great for teachers looking for a new way to present information to their students but even better for students looking for a new way to present information to their peers.  PowerPoint is an excellent program but it can be...how should I put it...boring at times.  Prezi allows users to create a much more flashy presentation that is engaging and interactive.  A good introductory assignment for your students would be to create a simple 5 path Prezi describing a topic in class or a vocabulary word or even answering a homework question with some supporting details.  Check out the tutorial below to see how easy it is to use and publish on Prezi.

Example:  Presentation on Funnel Brain (web-based flash cards)

Tutorial: 

Weekly Technology Assignment 6 - Wallwisher

For this week's assignment we will take a look at a website called Wall Wisher to create a bulletin board where students can post sticky notes with text, images, and video in response to a topic that you select. I love Wall Wisher because it allows every student's voice to be heard and gives them a chance to see what their classmates are thinking/saying kind of like blogging, but without the extra steps.  Check out the assignment and tutorial below for more information:

Website: Wall Wisher

Activity:  As a homework assignment have your students respond to a topic or question that you post to a board.  For example, if you are studying algebra, have the students create their own problem and put it on the board as a sticky note.  The next day in class you can choose three problems from the student's sticky notes and make the initiation of your class more engaging.  If you are studying a historical time period or event, ask the students to give their opinion on something you are discussing.  This is a great springboard for discussion the next day in class.  To see how other educators are using Wall Wisher check out this collaborative document.

Example:  Preserve the Planet

Tutorial: 

Weekly Technology Assignment 5

This week's assignment will use a website called Fakebook created by classtools.net to create a fake Facebook profile page.  I really love how simple it is to create this profile and the ability to really get creative with the posts and comments.  We all know how pervasive Facebook is in our society and this is a great way to make learning authentic for your students.  Check out the assignment and tutorial below for more information...

Website:  Fakebook

Activity:  Have your students create a Fakebook page for a book character, a famous person or even a famous landmark or event.  Another great way to use this website would be to have the students create a fakebook profile for themselves and then share them in class to learn more about each other!   The possibilities are endless.  If you are interested, I have also created some great resources for the creation of a profile including a graphic organizer for planning and a reference sheet...feel free to use them in your classroom.  For those with SmartBoards...check out this template for use with notebook.

Example:  Derek Jeter

Weekly Technology Assignment 4

This week's assignment will use a website called ThingLink to create an interactive image.  This is a great instructional tool for teachers to use in the classroom but also can be used for an outside of the box presentation.  ThingLink is a website where you can add multimedia content to a static image and share with others so they can view it.  Check out the assignment and tutorial below for more information.

Website: ThingLink

Activity:  Assign an image (or have the students choose) and ask each student to include a certain number of hot spots with information related to the image.  An interesting use could be to have each student create an interactive image of themselves to share with the class.  You could also have them use an image of a natural disaster, periodic table element or painting.  The purpose of the assignment is to encourage students to further the understanding of a topic by adding relevant media to an image.  For more assignment examples check out this Google Doc.

Example:  The Human Heart

Tutorial: 

Weekly Technology Assignment 3

In this week's installment, offer your students the opportunity to create a story using a very simple editor created by Google and YouTube.  Before you proceed...each student must have their own YouTube account (comes with Google account) in order to publish and share their story.  If they do not have a Google account they will not be able to share their completed story.  Check out the assignment below:

Website: Google Search Story Creator

Tutorial: How to Create a Google Search Story

Activity:  Google search story creator is a really neat way to tell a story using something we all do everyday...Google searches (websites, images, maps).  A Google search story could tell the tale of how a scientist like Mendel created their genetics theory or trace the path of a character in a book.  You could also encapsulate a current event from start to finish (makes a great timeline) or work through a math problem (don't forget that Google does more than just word searches).  This could also be a great way to create a "how to" story.  Have fun with this assignment and let your students be the creators!

Example:  My Koala

Voki

Last week I posted about the "Weekly Technology Assignment" involving the creation of a Voki.   Mr. Cleveland and Mrs. Esposito at the middle school have decided to give their students a "Weekly Opportunity" to make a connection to the class content completing my technology assignment at home.  This will be counted as extra credit in addition to the work being done in class.   Several of their students (haven't heard about any high school kids) have created their own avatars in reference to the situation in Darfur and the recent Kony 2012 video on YouTube.  Check out a few examples that the kids created:

Don Cheadle - This is related to class because we are learning about the genocide in Darfur and Don Cheadle is helping to put an end to this. He is raising awareness about the topic and wants us to help!

Darfur Refugee

This Voki is Jakob from the Kony 2012 video. This relates to what we did in class because we learned about the people in Darfur/Africa. Jakob and other children need help and saved from Josef Kony.

Weekly Technology Assignment

Last week I was talking with a teacher who wanted to start giving their students the opportunity to go beyond class discussions and create a project using different websites and apps each week.  I thought it was a great idea and offered to create a quick tutorial and lesson idea for this teacher each week.  Naturally, it made sense to share with the entire school as well (and my loyal blog readers!).  Last week's assignment can be found here.  This week I prepared a video tutorial for Voki.  The assignment is below:

Website: Voki

Tutorial: How to Create a Voki

Activity:  Voki is a website where you can create a personalized, speaking (up to 60 seconds) avatar.  For this assignment you can have your students create a character that is relevant to your class.  It could be a book character, a presidential candidate or an important painter.  If you would like the focus to be on something other than a person, like a math concept, you can have the kids create a likeness of themselves explaining an event or concept from class.  The possibilities are endless.  For more ideas, you can check out the Voki lesson plan page and search by grade and subject.