Shepherd's Thing # 7

I had lots of fun creating my Voki! Very cool avatar tool. I found this tool easier to use than other avatar tools, plus I love the option to call my avatar and leave personalized messages. I can definitely see myself having fun with this one. Here's mine!




Get a Voki now!

Shepherd's Thing # 6

Spreeder is perhaps one of my favorie web 2.0 tools that I have ever seen. Being an English teacher, I am in a position where I need students to read. They read every day and I vary the technique used to read depending partly on my mood and partly on what they are reading. Some of my students are such poor readers that watching paint dry would be more interesting, and faster. I can see using Spreeder in two different ways. First, I can post a link to Spreeder on my class website (along with links for students to copy articles to paste into the site) so that students can work on their own with their reading skills. In addition, I can use this site as a bell-ringer activity in which I already have an article pasted into Spreeder, and once the bell rings I play it for the students who must write down the main idea of the article once it's finished. The only thing I wish Spreeder has is a way to save the articles that are pasted in there. I'll just have to keep track of that myself (perhaps by using Doris?).

Shepherd's Thing # 5

I could not get SimilarWeb to work properly. I had to download some sort of update from Microsoft before SimilarWeb would allow me to download. Once downloaded, I had to restart IE, which I did, and the SimilarWeb window automatically appeared on the left, but it always said "loading." I did go through the tutorial on the home page, and it looks handy--especially for doing research. I could see myself using this program if I could only get it to work! I will try it again a different day and see if it will do anything. If so, then I will update my blog.

Well, I tried this at home on Firefox and it still didn't work. This is the error message that I got:

Shepherd's Thing # 4

With over 53 million documents, Footnote has a file for everyone. It is easy to search and very user-friendly. The problem that I ran into was that I had to register to look at most of the images, and it definitely wouldn't let me save anything until I registered. Many of my students do not have e-mail addressed, which will disable them from using this site. Otherwise, I would have them use it when my students study the Holocaust and find their own images and write about them. Here is the image that I found. It's of marriage rings of people who died in the Holocaust.

Shepherd's Thing # 3

I also see great potential in Yaplet. I played around with the "add to your site" option and added it to my class website. It looks like it will actually save conversations. This would be an excellent way for students to post questions for me or for others (similar to Dr. Wall's Murky Waters Cafe) in IM format. Yaplet could also be used as a discussion forum for my students as they respond to specific topics. Interestingly, the embed code is blocked by my school's filter, but when I added it to my class website (slightly different HTML code) it wasn't blocked.

Shepherd's Thing # 2

Doris is also a very user-friendly web 2.0 tool. For me, personally, I would not be likely to use Doris very much, because in order to use Doris and have it be beneficial to me, I would have to leave it open pretty much all the time. I would do much better using old-fashioned sticky-notes to help me remember things. The physical act of writing things down on paper, as opposed to typing them, helps me to remember them better. I do have friends who are list makers, so I will definitely pass this site on to them!

Shepherd's Thing # 1

I found Slideboom to be a very easy tool to use. I made a habit this past year to post my PowerPoints on my class website, so that those students who were absent can still access the material. Some of my students didn't have any way of opening the file, which made it more difficult for both of us. With Slideboom, I can just create a video of the presentation and embed it on my class website, and problem solved! Here is a PowerPoint I created about how to do PowerPoints:

PPT_Dos_and_Donts

View more presentations or Upload your own.

My Thing # 7 Wallwisher

This is a very interesting site, which allows users who have the url to your "wall" to post comments and link to other websites in their posts. Go to this site, sign up for an account, create your own wall, and then blog about how this tool can be useful to you either in the workplace or with your students. Don't forget to post the link to your wall. Here's mine!

My Thing # 6 Resizem

There are lots of different software programs out there that allow you to edit pictures. Sometimes these are great, and sometimes I just want to do something simple to the picture. Go to this website, upload a picture, edit it, and post it on your blog. Then, blog about how this could be a useful tool for you to use. Here's my picture (it's of my mom's cat):

My Thing # 5 Quizlet

Regardless of what subject you teach, there is always the need to teach students new vocabulary words. Quizlet is an awesome site that allows students to review a set of flashcards that you made. They can to this in many ways, from simply reviewing the words and their definitions to testing themselves to even playing games! Teachers, you can use the Test button to create and print your own vocabulary tests. You can also search already made flash cards if you're in a hurry. Go to Quizlet, sign up for an account, and create your own set of flash cards for your content area. Then, put the tiny link to your flash cards in your blog. Don't forget to blog about how this could be a useful tool for you to use. Here's mine!

My Thing # 4 Zotero

If you don't already have Firefox on your computer, then download it here. Zotero is a Firefox extension. Download it from this site. It allows you to collect, manage, and cite your internet sources while you're browsing! We all have research to do, either for APSU or for our jobs, and this looks like a very handy tool. After downloading Zotero, go to any random website (like your blog, perhaps!) and the click on the word "zotero" located in the bottom right of your browser. Then, add that website to your library. Finally, blog about how this could be a useful tool for you to use.

My Thing # 3 Website

I had my students create their own website last year, but the website that I used, www.comfypage.com, eventually deleted their pages because they weren't updated after a certain amount of time. From what I can tell, this new site does not do that. Aside from having students create web pages, which is very simple to do, this is a great place to post information for students and parents at home! Think of how you could use this website builder in your classroom, and then create your own website. Post a link to your site on your blog. Here's mine! (I haven't developed it very much yet.) Don't forget to blog about how this could be a useful tool for you to use.

My Thing # 2 The Comics

An all too often underutilized too is having students create their own comic strips. Entire books have been written about how the use of pictures can greatly increase student understanding. This website, though it can get a bit complex, allows its users to create their own comics, and the best part are the publishing options. Sign up at this site and create your own 3 panel bit strip. Then, embed this image in your blog and don't forget to blog about how this could be a useful tool for you to use!

My Thing # 1 The Box

Go to this website and set up a free online account. I use this site for my students when we are in the computer lab and they need a place to save their work. I just create a folder for each class, then a folder for the student in that class. Also, be sure to check out the online applications while there (like the word processor, for example) and the potential for sharing folders and/or individual assignments. Once you are comfortable using the box, create a folder. Then, click on the blue "share" link, then the "embed folder in your site" link, and embed your folder on your blog. Finally, blog about how this could be a useful tool for you to use.