Teaching with IT

Author: admin

  • Storybird.com

    What is it?

    I came across this website while planning for a unit on stories and story writing. This web 2.0 website allows you to create illustrated books online.  After you sign up (they offer a separate sign up for children with a parent/teacher email address) you can create your story by either selecting an artist or theme. There is a great selection of artist work, varying greatly in styles.

    How did I use it in class?

    I used this website with a Year 2 class. They were looking at stories that have a beginning, middle, and end. I had asked them to create a Storybird that told a story in three pages.  They first selected an artist that they liked. Then they selected the artwork, they wanted to use for the beginning, middle and end of the story. They wrote their story using were encouraged to search for an artist that inspired them to be able to create their stories.

    Examples of student work:

    Here are some examples of the stories that they wrote.

    ALICE AND THE POIZENT STROBERY! on Storybird

     

    THE MONSTER OF THE CARS on Storybird

    Lilli little bunny and the party on Storybird

    Final Thoughts

    In the end this was definitely a successful project. The students really enjoyed this software and many created their own accounts at home. They were truly inspired by the artwork that was available and after they finished their first stories, and had learned how the website works. They could not wait to create another story. Many students were so excited they created their own accounts at home and couldn’t wait to have me read them. Which, in the end, is probably the best sign of success of any project.
    My main concern with the usage of this web 2.0 site in schools is that i does not allow you to print your students work. They say they will have the possibility to print the published stories as bound books. Which I am sure would be a great final product, but it may not be the best option for a large number of students books. To print the books I used print screen then put the images together as a pdf file for each of the students.

  • Great sites to find free alternative software

    Working at a small private school, I need to be creative with my budget. Many schools can just buy licenses for all the software that they need. I do not have that option. I am constantly seeking free or open source alternatives to the standard software being used in schools.
 Most people are aware of Open Office as an alternative to Microsoft Office. Some people are familiar with Gimp as an alternative to Adobe Photoshop. Now if you are a power user these alternatives may still be lacking, but for the average user they are excellent options.
To find alternatives to many of the programs that you use daily you should use one of the following sites:

    Alternativeto.net

    alternativeto.net

    My first choice for finding alternatives to both desktop and mobile applications.


    Osalt.com

    Osalt.com

    Another site where you can search for alternative software.

  • Online Stories Websites

    There are quite a few websites that are great for online stories. These can be used at a  circle reading time if you have an interactive board.

    http://www.storylineonline.net/

    This is my favorite website with screen actors reading children’s book aloud online. There is a nice selection of stories for all ages and some really good titles. (22 stories in total + PDF activities to go with each story and some information about the famous reader)

    http://www.speakaboos.com/

    This is another good website with a variety of stories ranging from fables to folktales. Each story plays a video as a famous person reads the story aloud (the reader is announced at the beginning of the story). You can record your own stories and get the class to participate in making a read aloud too! (Book Week Idea!)

    http://storynory.com/

    This is a handy website since it is also linked to iTunes and you can have the stories automatically download to your iPods or mp3 players. These are only audio stories, but there are 31 stories in total and more are added every once in awhile. The reader “Natasha” has a very clear voice and reads at a good listening speed.  The stories range from famous poems, classic authors, junior stories to educational stories.

  • Ning will no longer be free

    Ning Networks

    According to an email I received today from The Ning Team with the subject “Changes coming to Ning in July”. The first change that is announced is that they will be phasing out all free Ning Networks. Basically they say they would like to provide a better product for their customers and it would be impossible to do so offering a free service. They say that this will not happen until July and they are doing this to give everyone with a Ning Network to weigh their options.

    What are the new options?

    From their official announcement of their plans they will offer ad-free Ning Networks with the Ning Mini from as little as $2.95/month (or 19.95/year) to the Ning Pro at $49.95/month (or 499.95/year). Which if you think about it is not an excessive amount of money for what they are offering. My only problem is that with the Ning Mini offer you are limited to 150 members. Now I can understand why they would limit the bandwidth and storage, but I cannot understand why they would limit you to 150 members. I am on a few Ning Networks with over 150 members that have been around for a number of years. This means that you will be forced to pay at least $19.95/month or $199.95/year if you want to keep your network up and running.

    What other things might be missing if I select the Ning Mini?

    Well to start off with all of the uploaded audio and video. Not to mention the Groups and Events that you have already created. If you have added Pages or Notes, you can forget them too. You can view their comparison of all three plans for more information.

    They say that they are leaving the free option behind but are offering a service that “is affordable for almost every budget”. The problems is that this affordable plan is not really an option for most Ning Networks and they will be forced to pay much more just to keep what they have up and running.

    I am very curious to see what happens to the many Ning Networks. Will people be willing to pay to keep their sites alive or will they search for another free option? And if they keep their sites, how will this affect other free services that may one day be changed to pay services?

  • Google SketchUp Y5 Ancient Art & Architecture

    The project

    The year 5 students were working on a UOI that focused on history. One of the focuses was on the change of Architecture over time. In order to show this we looked at different forms of architecture in the past and the materials and techniques used to create them. Every few weeks I would introduce a new for of architecture. We looked at the ancient Egyptians, the Romans, the Maya among others. They were asked to try to recreate some of these structures using Google SketchUp

    The process

    • Present students with a slideshow of different architecture from different times around the world (Pyramids, Arch of Constatine, Temple of Chizen Iza, La Sagrada Familia, Frank Llyod Wright building, The Guginhem Museum in Bilbao, etc.)
    • Ask students to think about what materials and techniques were used to create these structures
    • Introduce Google SketchUp and basic techniques by having the students create the Arch of (You Name) based on Constatine’s
    • Introduce more advanced techniques while having the students try to recreate Citzen Itza and a Pyramid
    • Give the students an opportunity to create personalized building of their choice

    Examples of student work

    Assessment

    Observational notes, Rubric

    Reflection

    This was a very successful project mostly because many of the students went home and installed the program and began experimenting at home. This is one of the best types of success one could have, creating interest to learn more on their own.