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Blogs
What are they?: Online journals or “diaries” that are written
on a variety of different topics. They
are organized by the date they are published and displayed in reverse
chronological order. They can include
text, videos, graphics, and links.
Others can also comment on blog posts, which creates discussion about
the topic.
Motivation: Blogs
can be written about a vast amount of topics, but there are many that focus on
the idea of promoting literacy. You can get lost in the information and
ideas that you can read in blogs as a literacy teacher. There are so many great ideas and tips that
other professionals are willing to share for free. I have created a blog for this very reason to
motivate students to read and write.
Another way to incorporate blogs is to have students not only read them,
but write them. More advanced students
can create their own blog to publish their original work or to give their
opinion about a certain piece of literature they have read. They will need a tutorial on how to set them
up, but once they are familiar with the process they will be unstoppable.
What
is it?: A social-networking site that allows users
to create posts that are no longer than 140 characters. Those who use twitter primarily use it to
update others on the happenings in their life.
It is also referred to as microblogging because people can journal, like
they can on a blog, but they are limited to how much they can say at one time.
Motivation:
Students might be interested in using Twitter to
express feelings, opinions, or discussions on books because it is a form of
writing that many are becoming very familiar with using. Students can respond to literature from home,
on their phone, ipad, or at school. They
are also forced to keep their response or opinion to 140 characters, so this
makes them be clear, concise, and to the point in what they write. They are also able to respond to each other’s
tweets to start up a conversation about literature or writing.
http://www.twitter.com
What
is it?: A classroom discussion site that is very
similar to Facebook, but for education.
Students each receive a sign in code to use to be able to access their
classroom’s page. Teachers may post
assignments that students can complete and upload right to their class
page. Students can also respond to books
they are reading and get feedback from others in the class.
Motivation:
Some older students revolve their lives around
Facebook, so by using Edmodo you will be incorporating something that students
can relate to. It is an alternate way
for students to complete assignments, and be assessed for their writing
responses. It also acts as a motivator
because students can choose to have their writing viewed on the class page for
their peers to read. You can also
“friend” other teachers and schools to really make learning a community,
collaborative effort.
Glogster
What
is it?: A digital poster that you can add text,
graphics, videos, and multimedia to. The
word “glog” just means graphic blogs.
Students can create these online posters to present a book report,
display a scene, or brainstorm for a piece of writing. Teachers could use glogster to give book
talks, to present notes, or give an assignment.
These blogs can be set as private or public depending on your
preference.
Motivation:
Glogster offers students an alternate way to present information without doing
it the traditional way of creating a poster.
Glogster can become a creative way for notes during group discussion. Students can come up to the computer to add a
thought and graphic, and during discussion can explain why they chose the
graphic. It allows students to get
imaginative with what they would want to include to get their point across
visually. Students will be motivated to
create a well done presentation because they know it will be seen by others.
What
is it?: an online educational tool in which you
create an avatar and give it a voice.
The reader can use the character to express inflection and fluency in
their reading. After choosing what you want
the character to look like you can also choose a setting. There are three options for making the
character talk and they are; typing the words, using a microphone to speak the
words, or using a cell phone to speak the words. Once the words are recorded the character
will speak them back to you when you click, “play.” There are also lesson plans
available to use or take ideas from.
Motivation:
Students really enjoy being able to create a character
that represents them or is just silly, and then make it talk. It is really great for students that need to
practice their fluency and reading aloud.
They can read aloud privately and then the teacher can check it at a
later time. The teacher doesn’t have to
be sitting down right next to the student to hear them read a passage. Students can also play back what they have
read to themselves to discover what they need to work on. Voki can also be used for students that have
trouble presenting in front of a class.
They can use this avatar to speak for them, but relay their ideas.
What
is it?: Creating a digital version of a story and
adding in graphics and sound effects to accompany the words. It is almost as if you are creating your own
personal movie based off of a story you have written. It is a way of bringing a
story to life and publishing it for others to see.
Motivation: Digital
Storytelling motivates students to picture their story in their head, and
create an image of what it might look like as a movie. This might help them spot areas in their
writing that might need some work because they are lacking in detail. The outcome of these digital stories is all
up to the creator of the story, the student.
They get to decide what images they include and what the audience might
get out of the story from the visuals that are included. Many students that struggle with reading or
writing still enjoy watching movies, so now students have the capability in
becoming the director in their own mini movie.
