Thing #2 - Library 2 Play 2

OK, I thought since I got high-speed internet since 23 Things, everything would run like clockwork... not exactly. I used IE7 and the Wordle image would not show. I followed directions and reinstalled the newest version of Java with a restart and still no luck showing the image on IE. (I had also noticed that lately, my Avatar was not showing...the "Red X Syndrome." I had even changed the Avatar image and no luck).

Then I tried Mozilla and still no Avatar (but no red X box either), but this time my cloud shows up in Mozilla but still not IE. Any suggestions out their on how to get rid of the red X in IE? I followed the directions. And how do I get my Avatar to reappear?

Anyway, I created a Wordle image of the first chapter from the official site of The Alamo - History and the most frequent words are San Antonio and Indians. It would definitely be helpful in bringing the most common words to the forefront for a summary, especially in longer passages. I see here that the mission at San Antonio was built for the Indians.

(created at http://www.wordle.net/)

I just got through playing with Glogster and love it. Here is a link to what I created on Traveling. I found it super simple to use. The tutorials were really good and I liked the fact that she gave the same tutorial in several formats. It would be excellent for my students to create posters online instead of the traditional paper poster (which they always forget...or claim to). This way they all have access at school to the internet and can all create a project. It would be good for upper elementary through high school on animals, biomes, artists, biographies, Spanish speaking countries...to name a few we do. I also liked the concept of the teacher created one for information purposes. It is a lot more exciting to look at than all text. Student thinking...I found it is quicker to do this type of poster. It eliminates some steps (printing, cutting, pasting). If internet access is not available at home, time must be provided at school. Students can manipulate what goes on the poster easier...changing sizes and colors at a whim without wasting paper. Students will want to do this more than the traditional poster because it is new and they prefer anything technical.

I also played with Animoto and created a 30-second quickie on travel. It was unbelievably easy. Although it needs more practice to really tweek it, I know it has great potential in the classroom. Librarians already use it for booktalks. History projects showing a sequence of events set to music, art projects showing works of art by a particular artist or showcasing a students own work, using photos to illustrate an abstract concept.


Bookr was a unique little tool from Flickr although working with it I encountered some limitations. However when I looked at a few in the archive I could see that by spending more time I could probably work out some of my issues of picture size as others did. I see a lot of possibilities with this from elementary to high school. K-2 could build a book with the teacher working the computer and the students telling her what pictures to find...as in what do you find on a farm, in a rainforest, in the snow, etc. Older students could do history events, science projects. This could take the place of any of the other tech tools in this lesson or PowerPoint or PhotoStory. Each has its advantages and disadvantages. Here is one I did on the Missions of San Antonio.