In the previous post I shared what you can do with Kerpoof, and now I am going to go into more detail about these features.
Make a Picture consists of students choosing a scene for their picture and then choosing pictures to add to the scene. For example, if a student were to click on the soccer field, they would have the option to use soccer balls, a sun, a moon, lots of children, and words like "POW!" If a picture that the student wants is not showing, they can simply click on one of the other pictures and new ones will appear.
Make a Movie consists of students first choosing a story line. Once this is chosen, they can choose a scene and and characters and objects to the scene. There are also stage methods options like Show Title, Start Song, Fade to Black, and Weather that the students can use.
Make a drawing consists of students using tools such as a pen, can of paint, grabber hand, and eraser to make a picture. They can choose which color ink to use as well.
Make a card consists of students can choose the card they want to use and then then can add their own objects to customize the card.
Make a story consists of students choosing their scenes and adding objects to the story. They can make multiple scenes to make their story longer. The objects they add also have a phrase bubble attached so they can type what the characters of objects are saying right in the bubble.
Still have questions about Kerpoof? Visit this company web site to learn more. There is even a presentation of Kerpoof that you can watch. You can also watch this You Tube video about Kerpoof to learn more.
Sunday, November 16, 2008
Kerpoof Part 1
Kerpoof is a website that can be used in many ways by both students and teachers. It is free to join, and once you join you will be able to save your work. To ensure that parents know that their children are safe using Kerpoof, there is a "For Parents" button on the bottom of the page that parents can click on. It discusses what Kerpoof is and why the children are safe using it. One thing it says in this section is that they are adding new activities to Kerpoof almost monthly, so the children will always have plenty to do.
With Kerpoof, you can make a picture, make a movie, make a drawing, make a card, and make a story. These are all fun activitities that students would love to do during their classroom time. It is something that can be done independently, which helps the teachers out tremendously. This link shows a possible illustration that students would write about that I made using Kerpoof. When students are free writing they sometimes can't think of anything to write about. If they can make a picture like this one, then they will have something great to write about. What is so great is that the students can customize the picture to suit them. There are many more ways that Kerpoof can be used educationally by students, teachers, and parents.
With Kerpoof, you can make a picture, make a movie, make a drawing, make a card, and make a story. These are all fun activitities that students would love to do during their classroom time. It is something that can be done independently, which helps the teachers out tremendously. This link shows a possible illustration that students would write about that I made using Kerpoof. When students are free writing they sometimes can't think of anything to write about. If they can make a picture like this one, then they will have something great to write about. What is so great is that the students can customize the picture to suit them. There are many more ways that Kerpoof can be used educationally by students, teachers, and parents.
Saturday, November 1, 2008
Twitter Part 2
Twitter part 2
In my previous post I talked about the background of Twitter and what it is. Here, I will show you more specifically the tools that are available on Twitter.
Some of the options you have on Twitter are below.
Home: On the home page you have three directions to get you started. This will help make your experience to Twitter easier and not as overwhelming.
Replies: This is where people can respond to you with replies. You can check it to see who left you a message.
Direct Messages: These are message sent specifically to you. They could be based on your postings, or they could simply be comments someone wants you to see.
Your Favorites: Similar to tagging on Delicious, you can star Twitter updates and they will be saved to your favorites for later use.
Everyone: You can check to see what everyone is doing right now on Twitter.
Learn more at this Wiki about Twitter.
In my previous post I shared my idea of using Twitter to find people who could help teach my students about the rain forest. The way I did that was to post what I was doing in the hopes that someone would see if and respond to me. While thinking about that, I found a better way to find people who live near the rain forest. I have decided that another way I could try and get more responses is to search for people who live near the rain forest. This way my students are not waiting for someone to respond, they are seeking out people. However, when I search for people living in the rain forest this is what I got back from Twitter.
I truly believe that when it is up and running this will be an excellent feature to use with my students so that they can search out people instead of waiting for people to contact them.
Still need more convincing to try Twitter? Take a look at this YouTube video called Twitter in Plain English. It is a great video to watch to truly understand what Twitter is all about.
In my previous post I talked about the background of Twitter and what it is. Here, I will show you more specifically the tools that are available on Twitter.
Some of the options you have on Twitter are below.
Home: On the home page you have three directions to get you started. This will help make your experience to Twitter easier and not as overwhelming.
Replies: This is where people can respond to you with replies. You can check it to see who left you a message.
Direct Messages: These are message sent specifically to you. They could be based on your postings, or they could simply be comments someone wants you to see.
Your Favorites: Similar to tagging on Delicious, you can star Twitter updates and they will be saved to your favorites for later use.
Everyone: You can check to see what everyone is doing right now on Twitter.
Learn more at this Wiki about Twitter.
In my previous post I shared my idea of using Twitter to find people who could help teach my students about the rain forest. The way I did that was to post what I was doing in the hopes that someone would see if and respond to me. While thinking about that, I found a better way to find people who live near the rain forest. I have decided that another way I could try and get more responses is to search for people who live near the rain forest. This way my students are not waiting for someone to respond, they are seeking out people. However, when I search for people living in the rain forest this is what I got back from Twitter.
I truly believe that when it is up and running this will be an excellent feature to use with my students so that they can search out people instead of waiting for people to contact them.
Still need more convincing to try Twitter? Take a look at this YouTube video called Twitter in Plain English. It is a great video to watch to truly understand what Twitter is all about.
What is Twitter? Twitter was started in San Fransisco, California in March of 2006. It is a real-time messaging service. It can be used with many different devices (such as your computer and phone), and can be used over multiple networks. Twitter is a way to follow information not only from friends but around the world. In other words, Twitter is another social website where you can find people who are doing the same thing you are doing. It is free to sign-up and very easy to use.
You can set up a profile on Twitter. By setting up your profile, people will be able to find you easier. The best things to add to your profile are your real name and where you are located.
If you want to change your user name at anytime, you can do so without risking losing all of your information, messages, and replies. Just make sure you let your friends and followers know of the name change!
Twitter wants to ensure safety for all of their users. One way that they are doing this is to allow you to protect your profile by approving only those who you choose to view your profile. The people you approved will be able to follow what you are doing and can see your updates. Anyone who is not approved will not be able to follow you or see your updates.
Educationally, this could be used by my students when we do research projects. In the spring we do a research project on rain forest animals. So, on Twitter I put that I am researching rain forest animals and will check back daily to see if anyone responds. In class I mentioned that this would be a neat project to use to get information from people who live near the rain forest. However, a comment was made that makes sense. Would people living near the rain forest have technology to respond? My Twitter posting will hopefully spark some interest with people and hopefully I will get some students who live near the rain forest who could share information with my students.
Take a look at this Twitter blog to keep up-to-date on Twitter.
DELICIOUS PART 2
DELICIOUS PART 2
In my previous post I shared the basics of what Delicious is. Here is a Wiki about Delicious that you can check out to learn more. Now, I will share some more reasons why Delicious could be an effective addition to your computer for classroom use.
See what's fresh: This is a listing of the most popular bookmarks that are being saved at this current moment spanning multiple areas of interest.
Your bookmarks will organize themselves: Using Delicious, folders are not needed anymore. This is because they are not set up for large collections of bookmarks. Delicious gives you the opportunity to tag your bookmarks with a word or two describing the website. So, if you found great websites for your classroom that are phonics-based and primary, you could tag them as "phonics-based" and "primary". All of these websites would go to the same place in Delicious.
Exchange bookmarks with your friends: You can exchange bookmarks with friends using the inbox feature. Or, you can add your friends to your network and watch as their bookmarks start showing up.
Front page finds: On Delicious, the front page shows the hottest websites around. Take a look and see what people are so excited about here!
Do you enjoy Delicious and would like the opportunity to blog about it? Just go to this Delicious blog and blog away!
In my last post I shared how I would start bookmarking sites that would work for my reading centers for my students. That required me to search through the sites and bookmark ones I liked. In this post, I am expanding that idea to make it easier for myself. With Delicious, you can type in key words and anytime a website or posting is listed that fits that criteria, it is automatically added to my list. Being busy with work, this is a great help. Now I don't have to search for great websites, I let the websites find me. Here is a screen shot of what I entered for the computer to search for and another screen shot of a few websites that came up.
In my previous post I shared the basics of what Delicious is. Here is a Wiki about Delicious that you can check out to learn more. Now, I will share some more reasons why Delicious could be an effective addition to your computer for classroom use.
See what's fresh: This is a listing of the most popular bookmarks that are being saved at this current moment spanning multiple areas of interest.
Your bookmarks will organize themselves: Using Delicious, folders are not needed anymore. This is because they are not set up for large collections of bookmarks. Delicious gives you the opportunity to tag your bookmarks with a word or two describing the website. So, if you found great websites for your classroom that are phonics-based and primary, you could tag them as "phonics-based" and "primary". All of these websites would go to the same place in Delicious.
Exchange bookmarks with your friends: You can exchange bookmarks with friends using the inbox feature. Or, you can add your friends to your network and watch as their bookmarks start showing up.
Front page finds: On Delicious, the front page shows the hottest websites around. Take a look and see what people are so excited about here!
Do you enjoy Delicious and would like the opportunity to blog about it? Just go to this Delicious blog and blog away!
In my last post I shared how I would start bookmarking sites that would work for my reading centers for my students. That required me to search through the sites and bookmark ones I liked. In this post, I am expanding that idea to make it easier for myself. With Delicious, you can type in key words and anytime a website or posting is listed that fits that criteria, it is automatically added to my list. Being busy with work, this is a great help. Now I don't have to search for great websites, I let the websites find me. Here is a screen shot of what I entered for the computer to search for and another screen shot of a few websites that came up.
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