CLASSTOOLS' FAKEBOOK

Interested in doing an awesome technology project that most of your students will enjoy doing rather than a written report?  Well try Classtools' Fakebook.  It can be found at the following URL:
http://www.classtools.net/fb/home/page .  Here you'll find a template that your students will fill in and the result will look amazingly like a Facebook page. 

Use "Fakebook" to chart the plot of a book, the development of a character, a series of historical events, the debates and relationships between people, and so on!  Get started by entering a name at the top of the page. Then proceed to add friends, posts, comments and profile information.  You can save your work and edit it again later.  You can also embed your Fakebook into your blog as I have below.  In my Fakebook I took on the identity of native American artist, R.C. Gorman.  I gave him friends that he communicated with according to what I discovered about him such as his father being a code talker.  So I added Mr. Keith Little as one of his friends.  Mr. Little, by the way, was a real code talker in WWI.  It's easy to upload URLs for websites and even Youtube videos.  This can be the ultimate in "Creative Reports."  If you want to see the original one online without the advertising on the side, go to the following address: http://www.classtools.net/fb/99/TBPPX5 .

View Fullscreen | Create your own

TECHNOLOGY BLOG AND TUTORIALS

Principals, lead teachers and media coordinators attended a workshop
presented by Larry Hewett regarding the use of technology tools in the
classroom.

The link below includes 2 tutorial videos (note they can be expanded to
full screen), and a link to Larry Hewett's educational technology blog.
http://www.columbus.k12.nc.us/techworkshop.htm

TECHNOINTEGRATION WIKI

http://technointegration.wikispaces.com/ITES2

The above link connects to a wonderful wiki filled with almost everything you want to know about integration of technology.  Why not try it out?

YOUTUBE VIDEOS

Even though YouTube is blocked in the Columbus County Schools system, that doesn't mean our students don't look at it while at home.  Here are a few special videos that I did and uploaded to YouTube.

INTERACTIVE ART QUIZ

TESSELLATION TUTORIAL

DERP AWAY

LITTLE RED RIDING HOOD GETS CAUGHT IN A WEB 2.0



EVEN MORE FREE SITES

EVERNOTE

50 PLACES TO FIND FREE BOOKS ONLINE

WORDSIFT

BEFUNKY

PHOENIX BY AVIARY

FLIXTIME

EMBEDITIN

The blog below has been embedded using embedit.in.

EXIT TICKET

You know we couldn't have class without an exit ticket.  So today your exit ticket will be a very quick test.  Don't worry it's only three questions.  The test was created by Testmoz.com, my favorite online test generator.  Click on the link below in order to take your test.

http://testmoz.com/38533


Type in your full name and when asked for a quiz passcode, type in the number  38533


Hope you have enjoyed this as much as I have.


Larry Hewett
653-3769
840-6400

EDUCREATIONS

Click here for Educreations

BLOOMS TAXONOMY OF IPAD APPS

http://issuu.com/ktenkely/docs/lg_alpha/1

FREE APPS FOR YOUR IPAD

Quick Voice Recorder

Discover — Wikipedia in a Magazine

Evernote

ABC Phonics

Teacher Clicker - Socrative

Skitch

Dragon Diction

Prezi Viewer

Vimeo

Sock Puppets

Screen Chomp

Side by Side

PaperPort Notes

TED

Riveting talks by remarkable people, free to the world.
http://www.ted.com/

Willard Wigan: Hold your breath for micro-sculpture

Video about a wonderful artist

FLISTI

Want to create an online poll quickly?  Well Flisti can do it for you.  It could not be any easier.  Click on the link below to take a poll and see for yourself how Flisti works.

http://flisti.com/27006


Here is a poll just for today.  Please vote.

http://flisti.com/27632

BETTER LESSON

Better Lesson is a site for teachers where they can upload and download different lessons and activities that they or other teachers have successfully used in their very own classrooms.

All you have to do is set up an account with whatever grade level or subject matter that you are interested in. Teachers may find this website a great resource of information to use when they need ideas on projects and other assignments that they may want to use with their own students.

Watch the video HERE

TIMETOAST

Ever use a timeline in your classes?  What about an online timeline generator where everything is stored in the cloud?  Timetoast is just such a generator.  I haven't used it yet but I do want to this semester while working with art history.  I plan on doing a group project in which each team receives four or five small lamenated pictures of artwork with artist's name and title on it.  Then they will go online and do some research to find the artist and the work of art.  They must also try to find the year the piece was made.  Once they have this information, they will upload everything to Timetoast including a photograph of the piece and a brief description.  Can you think of any other ways to use this online tool?

Timetoast

TECHNOLOGY ALTERNATIVES

Tired of doing the same old homework assignments and book reports? Think your students might be tired of them also.   Get techy with it then!!!!  I happened to find these alternatives to homework and book reports online.  So I thought this might be a group of people that would find them interesting.

ALTERNATIVES TO HOMEWORK ASSIGNMENTS:

1. Standard Homework Assignment: Create a poster board over a book/person/event.
Technology Alternative: Create a Glog using Glogster for Education
2. Standard Homework Assignment: Find an article about a certain topic (Current Event maybe) and bring into class with a write up discussing the content
Technology Alternative: Have students find that article online and post a link to it on a blog or wallwisher wall discussing the content. Share the blog/wall in class the following day.
3. Standard Homework Assignment: Complete the questions from a certain section or chapter review in your textbook.
Technology Alternative: Create a Back Channel Chat using a site like TitanPad and discuss the questions from the book at a certain time that night.
4. Standard Homework Assignment (Math): Do a certain number of problems from your book and bring them in to check for correctness
Technology Alternative: Use a site like Twiddla and provide a whiteboard area for students to collaboratively work together on the problems.
5. Standard Homework Assignment: Complete a worksheet and turn in to the teacher the following day
Technology Alternative: Create the worksheet and make it available to students online (Use a Word to PDF converter or on a Mac>Print>PDF). Have students search the Internet for the answers and provide a link to the source for where they found the answer.
6. Standard Homework Assignment: Read a poem/story/section of a book and be prepared to discuss in class the next day
Technology Alternative: Read a poem/story/section of a book and create a blog or Twitter account for students to discuss the night they read it. Then share the comments on the blog with students to facilitate the discussion in class the next day. It also provides a way to grade them for participating in the reading. If they do a blog response, they get a grade, if not, they don’t.
7. Standard Homework Assignment: Write a Poem.
Technology Alternative: Use a site like PicLits and write the poem using an image as inspiration. Email the completed poem to the teacher. Share in class.

ALTERNATIVES TO BOOK REPORTS:

1. Let students create a cartoon version of the book they have just finished.
2. Let students create a short video clip about the book.
3. Create a virtual poster advertising the book.
4. Encourage students to create their own virtual bookshelves with Shelfari
5. Book Adventure is an online reading motivation program.
6. Bookcasting is a recorded audio podcast about a book.
7. Allow students to create a timeline of events in the story they just read in an online timeline.
8. Wikis are an excellent place for students to share book reviews.
9. Excite and motivate students to read with Book Wink http://bookwink.com.
10. Voice Thread is an amazing site that allows students to create web 2.0 slide shows that become interactive and collaborative.

DIGITAL BLOOM'S TAXONOMY

Need to know some really good online tools that can help you with each level of Bloom's Taxonomy?  Look no further because it is right here.  Choose the level you want and click on any of the online tools in that category.  You are instantly hyperlinked to that tool's site. 

DIGITAL BLOOM'S TAXONOMY

GOOGLE EARTH

Google Earth has been around for some time now but I had never used it until a couple of weeks ago.  My Art One students were studying the cave paintings in Lascaux, France and they didn't have the slightest idea where on "google earth" France was compared to Cerro Gordo, N.C.  So I finally got up enough courage to try Google Earth out and was I delighted with the end result.  I did a very short video that transported my class from Cerro Gordo all the way to Lascaux, France.  And we went by air!!!!

Google Earth has to be downloaded but with all the talk about Global Education, it is definitely worth it.  It is going to be one of my favorite tools and from what I've read there is so much more that can be done with it.  Click on the link below in order to download Google Earth.

Google Earth Download

FLIPBOOK

Flipbook is a website that I found recently and I have literally "flipped" over it, but more inportantly, so have my students.  Art One had completed our lessons on line and the five different kinds: horizontal, vertical, diagonal, curved and zigzag.  Then I began to wonder what kind of assessment I could give them that would be different, challenging, engaging and fun.  Then I found Flipbook.  There assignment was to create a flipbook with no more than 100 slides that would include the five basic kinds of lines.   

FLIPBOOK!

Click on the link below to see three of my students'completed flipbooks. By the way, since this is a digital medium they were able to send them to me for grading via email. Some of them liked doing that.

Art One Flipbooks

What kind of other projects or assignments can you think of that might be rendered in Flipbook? Whaat about drawing the portrait of a character in a story, working out a math problem, or by creating an animal or monster that will be used as a prompt for a story? Can you think of others?

PODCASTS

Sometimes I want to add podcasts to my blogs and not the video.  There are lots of free podcasts sites that can be found online.  Pick one and try it out.  If you like it - good, if not, look for one until you find one you do like.  There is one that I like in particular and it's Ipadio.com.  You create the podcasts, or they rerfer to them as phlogs, by phone.  Once recorded, you upload it to your blog or website and it's all free.

Ipadio.com

Want to see and hear an Ipadio phlog?  Just click on the link below.  This blog was one I created for my advanced art students to display and talk about their work.

Anthony talking about his work

http://advanced.aviary.com/

If I want to do an elaborate podcast I always go to Aviary.com.  Aviary is a powerful suite of creative tools including an Image Editor, Screen Capture, Music Creator and Audio Editor and they are all free.  Last year I took approximatley 20 students to Barton College in Wilson, NC to view the NC Scholastic Art Exhibit.  The exhibition pieces had been uploaded to Barton's Art Department's website.  I looked at the pieces and wrote one question about 20 different pieces of artwork.  I discussed medium, art elements, principles of design, techniques, etc.  Then I went to Aviary.com and created a podcast in their Audio Editor.  I created a remix of the background music, sound effects, etc.  Once completed I allowed my students to upload this podcasts to their Ipods.  I knew they would be taking on the trip.  When we arrived I handed each student a piece of paper on which they were to write the answer to the 20 questions.  This had to have been one of the best experiences in my teaching career.  The kids were actually discussing and arguing about the artwork.  They were using terms, making judgements, explaining their point of view, etc.  In the past it only took about 30 minutes to view the show.  This time my students were begging me to allow them just a few more minutes so they could answer all the questions.  WOW!!!!  Imagine they were wanting to stay longer instead of going to lunch.  Interested in hearing the podcasts?  I'll play it for you now.

PLAY AVIARY.COM PODCAST



Can you think of ways this free tool might be used in your school?

GLOGSTER AND MUSEUM BOX

Glogster is now a few years old but it is still a wonderful site that I use when my students do research about art history.  Instead of them writing a paper I have them create a Glog.  They like the looks of them when finished, they like the animated graphics and the ability to upload music, sound and videos.  It also allows me to grade them on their composition and design.  Students need an email address in order to create a free account.

  This is an example that I did so that my students could see what was possible to do with Glogster.  Sorry, but it is not loading properly.

Let's go inside Glogster and look around for a while.  It's very simple to use.

http://www.glogster.com/


Museum Box is a newer type tool as Glogster.  So far I like what I have seen and read about it.  I may use this with my Art One students this semester.

http://museumbox.e2bn.org/

For a tutorial click on the link below.

http://museumbox.e2bn.org/about/

VOICETHREAD

VoiceThread is an awesome free online tool for creating conversations in the cloud.  A version in which you have no administrative control is free.  This means that you can not edit nor delette comments.  So I have chosen to use the paid version.  It is approximately $200 per year and would give you enough accounts for the entire faculty.  It would also give you the choice of allowing a comment to be posted or not.  But I'll have to say in the years that I've used VoiceThread I've never had to delette a comment for being inappropriate.

VoiceThread.com

Here are a couple of examples.

Interested in using PicLits?  Click here for the website. 

This VoiceThread was done by my Arts and Technology class. They used the website PicLits to create a six word story like American author Ernest Hemmingway. But that wasn't all. Then the students had to post comments about their peers' work.


The last time I checked this VoiceThread had been viewed 17,314 times with a total of 180 comments.


Do you think VoiceThread could be used at your school? If so, how?

Let's look at a VoiceThread that I created just for today.

http://voicethread.com/share/2763027/

Click on the pause button and then either record or type in your response.  That's all there is to it.

Want to see a VoiceThread that one of my advanced Arts and Technology students did?  She wrote the story, took all the photos and editing them as well.

http://voicethread.com/share/2327618/

SCREENR.COM

Screenr.com is one of my favorite free online tools.  I use it just about every week.  It captures whatever is on your computer screen.  You can record the whole screen or just a portion of it.  There is a time limit though - five minutes.  But this has never been a problem for me.  I use my recording time wisely.  You also can pause whenever you need to but once you stop, the video is finished.  You have the option of keeping a video or trashing it.  If you sign up for a free account, Screenr will store all your videos for you and each one has its own URL.  Let's take a look.  Click on the link below for a quick demonstration video.

Screenr.com

Want to see a perfect example of what can be done using Screenr.com?  Click on the link below to see a tutorial created by one of my Art One students.  In the video she is teaching how to make a tessellation using Paint.  A student really knows something if they can teach others to do it.  What an assessment tool Screenr can be.  You may not be able to view this video at school because it is on YouTube.  Sorry!

Tessellation Tutorial


Here's a quick excerpt from her tutorial.  http://www.screenr.com/b3ys 

Can you think of any ways a teacher might use this in the classroom, or a media specialist in the media center or an adminstrator with the school staff?

FREE ONLINE WEB 2.0 TOOLS

QR codes are one of the newest tools that educators are beginning to adopt; however, they are not the only ones.  For a few years now I have been collecting free online web 2.0 tools that would be suitable for the classroom.  I thought I would share some of my treasures with you all today.  I hope that you'll find a few or a lot that will interest you enough to share with your staff or try them for yourselves.

BLOGS

As of now I have about seven blogs.  Each one of them serves a particular purpose.  I wanted to share a few of them with you.  I think blogs are an excellent way for a teacher to use as evidence for all the wonderful things going on in the classroom.  I like to think of it as a portfolio of artifacts and don't we all need documentation for what we do these days?  There are lots of blog sites but the one I like best is blogger.com.  My first blog, vikingart.blogspot.com was created several years ago.  It deals with my international travels, my personal artwork and my students at WCHS.

I teach an Arts and Technology course in fall semester.  For a couple of years now I have put all my lessons online.  Check it out at artstech2011.blogspot.com .  The majority of my lessons were created in Google Docs and then hyperlinked back to my blog.  I can easily show anyone all my lessons for the whole semester.  They are right there at my fingertips.

You may be wondering how I created my lessons that my students click on.  I first create them in word and then import them to my Google Docs account as a PDF.  In Google Docs each tutorial has its own URL and I just hyperlink to that address.  That's it.  By the way if you're not using Google Docs I would strongly suggest that you consider it.  This is where I store my lesson plans - in the cloud so that I will have access to them anywhere.  Then I email them to my assistant principal and that's it.

Let's take a look at my Google Docs account.  Click on https://docs.google.com/
Now I'll sign in.

One more thing I would suggest using in the Google Docs suite is Google Reader.  I am presently keeping up with out 100 websites and blogs about anything from art, education, and technology.  Instead of me constantly having to check and see if changes or updates have been made, Google Reader allerts me.  This is my favorite PLC.

Now back to blogs:

My newest blog other than this one was created to document all m lesson plans for my Art One classes.  It can be found at artone2012.blogspot.com .  I have not publicized this blog since we have had a change in student images without forms signed by their parents.  I wanted to include videos in this blog.  I hope all my students will return the forms signed by their parents.

And finally I wanted to show you one of the blogs that belongs to one of my Arts and Technology class.  Each student was required to create a blog and upload his very best work.  This incorporated Evaluating from Blooms and Creating as well.  I can also use this as a means to document the improvement of each student's work.  This blog can be found at fightingvikingart.blogspot.com .