What digital storytelling tools have you used? Look through the list below, as well as think of others.
Below is list from Melissa Comte, an undergraduate education student at The University of Regina in Alberta, Canada. I've been following her blog, and caught her Tech Task # 6 post with this list.
Melissa selected Google Search Story to try because "it is easy" and creates "a story in an interesting way." She also likes Dippity and Five Card Flickr.
Here's her Google Search Story about her dream to go to Spain and teach English classes there.
Here is a list of the digital story tools that professor, Alec Couros, offered the class:
Google Search Stories--easy to create stories based on Google searches
Flcky--generates random 5-photo stories
VoiceThread--group conversation tool
TooDoo--easy carton creator
Pixton--another popular cartoon creator
Glogster--for creating online multimedia posters
Wayfaring--for creating personalizes maps
Flickr--various ideas include 5 frame stories, 6 word stories, pictures with stories
Blabberize--a strange storytelling tool
Animoto--alternative to slide shows (sign up for the fuller-functioned Ed. account)
extraNormal--"if you can type, you can make movies"
Prezi--another slide show site, known for its zoom feature
Zooburst--digital pop-out books
Ahead--impressive zooming presentations
Dipidity--creative interactive timelines
Sketchcast--draw and record audio instantly
Fotobabble--creating talking photos
Jog the Web--create web tours
Bitstrips--comic maker
GoAnimate--make easy cartoons and animations
Storybird--create short, art-inspired stories
MapSkip--create stories around places
For more information specifically about how Google Search Story Creator can be implemented in the classroom setting, check this blog post: Tool Review: Google Search Story Creator.
Which of the tools listed above have you used? Would you recommend this tool to others? How can the tool be used to promote literacy?
Alan November TED talk: In this talk, November addresses what we need to do to improve student learning and make schools relevant. His ideas will shock some. To others, he'll make perfect sense.
Go through the talk in its entirety. It's worth the wait to hear all of provocative points. Some of the most powerful examples are in the second half of the video, but the first part provides the context. Listen to it all.
After listening to the talk, leave a comment. What lessons do you take away from the talk? What will you most remember? With what points do you most agree? With what points do you most disagree?
For additional resources about Alan November, check these links:
As a fan of SlideShare, when I come across an excellent slide presentation there, I save it to my favorites for quick access.
Screen shot of My Favorites in SlideShare
Today, I was emailed a link to an excellent slide presentation, and once I opened it in SlideShare and viewed it, I marked it as favorite. Here it is embedded for your easy access. 50 Sites in 60 Minutes is an overview of new websites organized by categorized with direct links to the sites and a review of each site. Given these are newer sites, you might not know of many of them. All have applicability to education. Let us know which are of interest to you and why. If you check into any of the sites, let us know your reaction.
Top 100 Tools for Learning 2011 You might want to go through this presentation quickly the first time, and then pour through it more slowly and jot down some notes of tools to explore.
by Jane Hart on Nov 13, 2011, 5th Annual Survey of Learning Tools
Which of these tools do you integrate into your teaching or your own learning? How do you use them? Which tools do you want to learn? Which do you see as best promoting literacy?
Yes, Twitter takes some adjusting. This pictorial infographic says it well.
Are you ready to start your adventures on Twitter? Have you already? If so, what stage are you at?
Here's a quick news spot about how one teacher is using Twitter in the classroom:
In this NEXT video, we learn about a middle school English teacher uses Twitter with her students and parents.
Do you believe that is about time for teachers to get on board with using Twitter? What are your concerns? What do you see as the possibilities?
Once you do get on to Twitter, use the "search box," and enter any one of the hashtag resources found in this post "20 Hottest Hastags." You will see what prominent educators are posting and discussing. Feel free to lurk for awhile using such popular educational hashtags as #edchat #engchat 6thchat #ntchat, etc.
Are you yet convinced of the power for Twitter for professional development and finding resources for teaching? You need to begin to follow educators with similar interests as well as experts in the field. What more do you want to know about Twitter as a tool for educators and professional development?
Tom Barrett (on Twitter as @tombarrett) shared this presentation, 64 Interesting Ideas for Blogging in the Classroom. There's a wealth of ideas offered in the presentation. Of the 64 ideas, which ones strike you as most inviting? Why? How can these ideas be used to promote literacy skills?
GoAnimate is a site where teachers, students, and others can create quick animated videos. Here is an example of a 45-second animation focused on teens. Check out the site GoAnimate, and take some time to view other animations. Let us know what you see as the potential for this site in the school setting. GoAnimate.com: School News for Teens! FREE TV Show Opening! by null
Like it? Create your own at GoAnimate.com. It's free and fun!
What is Animoto and What Does It Do? Animoto is a popular Web 2.0 tool for making movies from collected images. These images can be photos or pictures located online. The images are collected and then uploaded into Animoto. Once uploaded, the series of images can be rearranged and specific ones can be deleted.
Music from the site can be selected to play in the background. In addition, depending upon the final template chosen to create the movie, text can be added. However, text can be added in only a limited way, and with some templates, text can only be added at the beginning or end of the show.
Once your presentation is completed and saved, Animoto will create a "mix," automatically making the movie for you. An email will let you know when the mix is completed. You will click on the link and be able to view your new "movie."
Within your Animoto account, you can store the movies you create and access them from there. You can also embed your Animoto "movie" into your blog, which is a good idea, as you will have easy access to it and others can write comments in your blog about your movie.
Animoto: Big Buddies with Kindergarteners
Here is an example of an Animoto created by a kindergarten teacher featuring activities in her classroom based on a Big Buddies project. The project used photographs that were uploaded to Animoto. Music was then selected. The final "mix" is the video: To learn more about the project, after viewing the video, click on the link to the teacher's blog.
I found this example on kindergarten teacher Marie Knee's blog The KinderKids' Blog Animoto to Capture Scenery or For Geography Lesson Here's one of the first Animoto displays I created. The photos are from a trip I took to Costa Rico. I used Animoto as a fast way to show others photos from the trip. Given the incredible geography of the country, I also realized this kind of movie could be integrated into a geography study of countries in Central America, or even a science lesson on flora or fauna. Did you know the national flower of Costa Rico is the orchid, which grows in the wild? Did you know that Costa Rico has more species of birds than the US and Canada combined though the country is no larger than the state of West Virginia? Did you know Costa Rico has no military? The government instead uses its funds for protection of the environment and to promote ecotourism. Did you know that the typography of Costa Rico is largely shaped by volcanoes, which are still active today? As you view this Animoto, you will see I still need to edit it to remove some of the photos. That is easy to do: I just need to go back into my Animoto account, open the video, edit it, and then save it for another "mix."
Animoto to Teach an Elementary School Math Lesson on Geometry
Recently, I learned of an Animoto a 1st-2nd grade teacher created with her students to reinforce what they were learning about geometric shapes. Aviva Dunster, the teacher, offered this information on her class blog:
"This afternoon, we went on a Shape Hunt around the school. Students had to find and photograph different shapes. Here’s a short Animoto slideshow with some of the photographs. What shapes do you see in these photographs? What are some of the properties of these shapes? What other objects do you know that are the same shapes?"
Here's the Animoto the class created.
Animoto to Teach Social Studies: Commercials of Historic Figures
Animoto to Teach Social Studies Lesson in 1st Grade Classroom
On her Education 584 blog, Roseanne Field has created a blog posting that includes several Animoto Videos her students created to complement the social studies curriculum. Check her blog posting. There you will also see one that two children created for their mother in celebration of her birthday.
Now that you have seen a bunch of Animoto videos, surely you have ideas for using Animoto in the classroom or for other professional needs. Share those ideas with us, posting a comment. What are some ideas you have for using Animoto in the classroom, for professional purposes, or personal enjoyment? What is the next Animoto you plan to create? Discuss your ideas for using Animoto in the comment section.
Before signing up for your own Animoto account, be sure to use the code you have for creating a free account, which is good for approximately six months.
VoiceThread is still one of my favorite web tools. You upload slides to it, and viewers can add written and audio comments, and even draw on the slides. VoiceThread is an excellent way to create digital stories. For a preview of the possibilities, check the VoiceThread digital library. In the library, you will find a good number of VoiceThreads to use. Try out some of them.
Here's a sample of one of the first VoiceThreads I found a few years ago. It demonstrates how the tool can be integrated into the elementary school classroom to complement an existing unit on the study of story writing. But it also shows how the technology can be used to create learning experience that otherwise would not be readily possible. I hope you enjoy the VoiceThread. There are plenty more to explore through the Voice Thread digital library.
Now that you have seen one example of a VoiceThread used with students, here is a VoiceThread that explains how the tool works:
Also, check this blog post about using VoiceThread in the early childhood education. There are several embedded VoiceThreads right in the blog.
After learning more about VoiceThread, post your ideas about using it in the classroom. If you have seen some good VoiceThreads, please leave links to access them.
The wiki, 50+ Web 2.0 Ways Tell a Story is an excellent place to learn about storytelling: 1) the purpose, 2) process, and 3) tools. Spend some time exploring the site.
Below is a video from the site that reviews the concept of digital storytelling.
Once you have watched the video and explored around the wiki website, be sure to return to this blog post and comment upon what you discovered and can share with others.
Okay, you'll hear a lot about all three of these--wikis, blogs, and Google docs--throughout this course, EDUC 584. Here are some videos to help you understand more about each of these wonderful collaborative, multi-media tools.
What's A Wiki in Simple English?
Did this video give you a good sense of what is wiki is?
Now, take a look at this video about What's a Blog in Plain English:
Okay, now you know more about wikis and blogs, and you now have an idea of how they differ and also overlap in specific ways.
Now, let's take a look at What's Google Docs:
Now, you have heard in plain English what's a wiki, a blog, and Google docs. Some of you already knew about all these tools, some of you probably knew about one or two, and for others, perhaps all three were new to you.
Overall, did you find these videos helpful? More videos about each of these tools and how to use them will be added to the Instructional Technology blog, so be sure to keep checking. In the meantime, what more do you want to know about any one of these tools? How can you see these tools being used in educational settings?
If you have used any of these tools, let us know how? If you already have a blog, with what blogging tool did you create it? For instance, did you use Blogger, EduBlog, WordPress, Tumblr, or one of other blogging platforms available? Have you used a wiki tool like Wikispaces? Have you experimented or made regular use of Google Docs? If you are using any of these authoring tools, let us know how easy and effective you find what you've used or are now using.
