As I mentioned in my previous post, my favorite web-based tool has to be VoiceThread. A VoiceThread is an interactive, collaborative album that can share images, documents and videos. When a voicethread project is shared, people can add comments using voice (with a microphone or telephone), text, audio files, or video (with a webcam). You can create a Voicethread project for a class, and create different identities for each student. Students can then comment about the images added to the project.
I've presented several conference sessions on using VoiceThreads in the classroom. I also include VoiceThreads as a major topic in a credit course I teach about Web 2.0 Tools for the Classroom. A class collaboration is embedded below.
I've collaborated with several K-12 teachers in developing creative VoiceThread projects with their students. These projects can be set as public or private, so student and public participation and viewing can be moderated. Art teachers, world language teachers, kindergarten teachers, science teachers, school nurses, and others across the educational spectrum have found inventive approaches to use this tool.
Rather than reading any further on my blog, go to the VoiceThread site and watch the tutorials or search for some examples of educational projects.
Thursday, August 28, 2008
Saturday, August 23, 2008
My Second Favorite New Tool
VoiceThread would have to get the vote for my favorite web tool. More on it another day. I just discovered Photoshop Express . I've been playing with this free online photosharing and editing application this past week, and I love it!
I live in the Windows world most of the time, and have taught students and adults graphic arts and editing skills in Photoshop ( from 2.0 through CS3 as well as Elements ) for years. I've always been disappointed that Windows has never included a decent graphic editing app like the new iPhoto. iPhoto and Garage Band are reasons enough for me to reboot my MacBook pro and move from the "dark side" (XP) and play with the Leopard lifestyle. Sure, anyone can download the GIMP for free, but until now, I've never come across something as fun,free, and easy as this new web application for working with digital images.
Adobe has created a flash-based, web 2.0 application for uploading, editing, organizing, and sharing photos. The interface is intuitive, visually appealing, and has an iPhoto-ish feel to organizing albums and editing pictures. It allows you to use images already loaded to Flickr, Picasa, Facebook, or Photobucket. You can upload and save 2GB of images online with a free account. Galleries have a variety of 2-D and 3-D display options with a Cover Flow feel.
Rather than rambling on about features, I'll suggest that you explore it yourself. I envision great ways to use this tool in the classroom. Students can collaborate on digital stories by uploading their own pictures to a class account, and creating captioned albums and slideshows. Digital art portfolios can be created and shared. Primary classrooms could create Alphabet Albums - collections of images of student images of objects that represent specific letters of the alphabet. Here's an embedded album I made of this summer's adventure:
As Adobe joins the rank of big players who understand that the web will be the computing platform of the next decade, they are developing some fine, free resources with which teachers and students can be creative. ( Have you seen Buzzword?)
I live in the Windows world most of the time, and have taught students and adults graphic arts and editing skills in Photoshop ( from 2.0 through CS3 as well as Elements ) for years. I've always been disappointed that Windows has never included a decent graphic editing app like the new iPhoto. iPhoto and Garage Band are reasons enough for me to reboot my MacBook pro and move from the "dark side" (XP) and play with the Leopard lifestyle. Sure, anyone can download the GIMP for free, but until now, I've never come across something as fun,free, and easy as this new web application for working with digital images.
Adobe has created a flash-based, web 2.0 application for uploading, editing, organizing, and sharing photos. The interface is intuitive, visually appealing, and has an iPhoto-ish feel to organizing albums and editing pictures. It allows you to use images already loaded to Flickr, Picasa, Facebook, or Photobucket. You can upload and save 2GB of images online with a free account. Galleries have a variety of 2-D and 3-D display options with a Cover Flow feel.
Rather than rambling on about features, I'll suggest that you explore it yourself. I envision great ways to use this tool in the classroom. Students can collaborate on digital stories by uploading their own pictures to a class account, and creating captioned albums and slideshows. Digital art portfolios can be created and shared. Primary classrooms could create Alphabet Albums - collections of images of student images of objects that represent specific letters of the alphabet. Here's an embedded album I made of this summer's adventure:
As Adobe joins the rank of big players who understand that the web will be the computing platform of the next decade, they are developing some fine, free resources with which teachers and students can be creative. ( Have you seen Buzzword?)
New Purpose and Mission
I confess, I've been a poor blogger. As I discover and share exciting new techie resources with colleagues, I've often been accused of "having way too much time on my hands". In fact, my real passions all involve going outside to play...usually going WAY outside, and playing HARD!
I realized that it takes much less time to browse, explore, and discover than it does to create and produce. With iGoogle, RSS feeds from edublogs, tweets, Digg, del.icious, and StumbleUpon, finding cool new resources is easier than ever.
I've decided to try to use this blog to share some of my favorite resources and ideas for using them in K-12 education and professional development.
If I subscribe to my own posts, I'll be reminded as I check e-mail of my promise to myself and see how well I keep it!
I realized that it takes much less time to browse, explore, and discover than it does to create and produce. With iGoogle, RSS feeds from edublogs, tweets, Digg, del.icious, and StumbleUpon, finding cool new resources is easier than ever.
I've decided to try to use this blog to share some of my favorite resources and ideas for using them in K-12 education and professional development.
If I subscribe to my own posts, I'll be reminded as I check e-mail of my promise to myself and see how well I keep it!
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