I've loved Wordle since last summer and 23 Things. I've used it for posters in my classroom and I've even made rather evil word banks for students to use on vocabulary tests. WordSift is more left-brainish, so not as appealing to me, however I can see students making use of the suggested links.
Glogster is a fun site, and students love photo manipulation, so this is a very useful alternative to traditional posters. Yes, students need to be a bit more organized to turn in their posters online, but most students are capable of using this technology. Some students still prefer to use printed projects from Glogster on traditional poster board to create a kind of collage effect which can be very cool. Voice Thread didn't do much for me, perhaps because of the very dry narrator. It appears to be much more complicated and in-depth than my needs require.
Animoto is cool, but it reminds me of Windows Movie Maker but with fewer options. Windows Movie Maker allows you to create videos of any length with more ways to manipulate pictures and music. I can see how students would really get into Voki - they would LOVE making their avatars talk. This could be a cool alternative to traditional presentations.
Bookr would be a neat alternative to visual presentations in Social Studies and Science.
Create your own video slideshow at animoto.com.
I understand your lack of motivation. I always try to acquire all my hours in the summertime, but it gets old when it's always hanging over your head and you just want to relax! I thought Wordle was fun, and I made a poster that hangs on my office door, but I haven't used it much since. The Voki thing is a hoot and the kids WOULD love it. I didn't think about using it for a presentation. But I did actually see a book trailer that was narrated by a similar generator. I love Animoto because it does all the work for you and you get a nice professional product (and less bells and whistles means less for me to trouble shoot in the library -- haha). I need to really figure Glogster out. Our kids are so computer oriented so I think they would really dig it -- and I am tired of teaching iMovie.
ReplyDeleteCindy - Try Windows Movie Maker. I like it a lot.
ReplyDeleteI've tried posting my Animoto creation, but haven't been very successful. I wanted it to be a part of this post, and I know I learned how to do it last year, but I haven't been able to figure it out this sumemr. Any suggestions, anyone?
Click on the "Video Toolbox" button under your video, then click on "Embed," and "Copy Code." Then just paste it into your Blogger post and that should do it. Let me know if that doesn't work...
ReplyDeleteThanks, Cindy. I knew abou the "embed" and "copy code," and I tried again, but I can't get the code to paste into my blog. Is there a specific place to paste it? Maybe I'm trying to put it in the wrong spot.
ReplyDeleteYea! I figured it out! 10th time was the charm.
ReplyDelete