Just Because!

BP13_Final Video

Let's Inspire Change!

PE9_Diigo

I have applied for the teacher account which allows you to manage several groups. I have one for my students and one for fellow teachers. I have downloaded the Diigolet, which allows you to easily bookmark, highlight pages for notetaking, add post-its, and comments. I have also, downloaded the offline reader for my iphone, which allows me to read content while offline. I can't wait to introduce this to my students tomorrow. I can't wait for them to start adding content.

To e Continued.....

PE8_Diigo

So I have created a group called Mrs. Johnston's Class. I have added all my students to my group, with student accounts, which disables the ability to share account info. I am in the process of adding bookmarks. My wish is to have links the students need in one place for the students to access whatever they need for assignments in class. Some of our links I will have to get when I am at school, since there is account info and passwords associated with the links. I want to find out if there is a way for me to save some account info, in a place for the students, so they do not have to remember all of it. I may have to create a google doc, but I am trying to get away from them having to go to multiple places. I teach second grade, so keeping it as simple as possible, opens it to more students.

PE7_Diigo

I have chosen to learn more about Diigo for my new Web 2.0 tool. I have searched for a way to organize all these amazing Web2.0 tools for my students and fellow educators. I think Diigo may be just what I need. In the beginning of the month, we were told to make a Diigo group and share it with our group. I did that, but have not found the time to explore it more. I need to know how I can make it accessible to my students. Technology can be amazing in the classroom, but it does take a lot of organizing before hand; otherwise you will end up with 18 students raising their hand, (if your lucky), saying, "What do I do now?".

PE6

Bitstrips for Schools

So I have been able to explore even more. I found a forum where teachers can get and share lesson ideas, get help, and request features. I had no idea this was out here for my students. I'm thinking even if I have to pay myself, it is worth it for the benefit of my students. In a simple lesson my students are creating, writing, and reading. I can incorporate the site into other subjects, also. I can have students hypothesize before a science experiment, explain math problems and create new worlds.

One of my favorite aspects of the site, is the

ability to comment on my students comic strip. the other students can also comment on each other's comics. This is a wonderful way to create an environment of encouragement and motivation. You can see in the picture above my students have already figured out how to comment, as they have commented on the strip I created to welcome them to the site.

As you can see my students have fully embraced this website. They are at home, doing

something other than playing video games or vegg-ing in front of the TV. I am sure they will

soon be showing me what I can do with Bitstrips. My goal is to invite administration to view our comics and convince them this is an amazing, untapped resource for student motivation. It is well worth the money. This has also proven to me, that there is a world of resources being developed for my students and I must always be searching for the best way to

personalize learning for them.

PE5

Bitstrips for Schools

So the students are at lunch, I get to play in bitstripsforschools.com, a little bit. It is more dimensional than I thought. Other comic strip programs simply allow the student to create and print. With bitstripsforschools.com, teachers can create student accounts. The students can log-in to our "classroom" and create an avatar. You can see in the picture to the right, the students were able to log on and create their avatars in a short time.

While we were in the lab and the students were creating avatars, I went exploring. The site allows the teacher to create lessons. For example, I create my first lesson, The First Thanksgiving. The directions state for the student to create a comic about their visit to the first Thanksgiving. They will do this after a virtual field trip to Plimoth Plantation. I asked the students to answer three questions with their comic, "What do you like?", "What do you not like?", and "What surprised you?". I think we are off to a great start using our new Web 2.0 tool.