Collaborative Tools in the Classroom

Considering the writing tools I've come across this week, I think http://writeboard.com/  is a top notch collaborative writing tool, that can be used successfully in the classroom. It's user friendly and very helpful in all ways.

As to write up research projects, I've found that both http://prezi.com/ and http://photopeach.com/home seem to be very practical tools. I would certainly make use of both of them and instruct students to apply one or the other at different times.

Other websites can be employed for entertainement in developing writing skills. The ones I liked best are http://www.dvolver.com/moviemaker/index.html, which is really fun to use and I am sure students will enjoy very much, http://www.spellingcity.com/, which offers multiple ideas for writing games, and http://www.wordle.net/, which seems to be very effective for creating guessing games with short texts.

Writing Tools Review

On Week 2 of Classdigitools we're getting acquainted with creative writing tools.

I've come across two great tools. The first is letterpop.com, which seems to be excellent for teachers in general. You can write classroom news and post the messages on your blog, Twitter or Facebook. It's beautifully designed and can be used for personal purposes as well. It's handy and many-sided. The only problem that may arise is that it's a paid service. But if you're willing to try ...

Another very useful tool I've found is creativewritingprompts.com, that I would suggest for advanced learners. You certainly won't run out of ideas for compositions with this handy tool, and students will be able to choose their own numbers, which will open up their prompts.

There's another tool that called my attention, and that's bitstrips.com. The idea here is to teach using comics.

It's an educational tool that engages students creating comics. It's paid for but there's a discount when you subscribe for a whole year.

I'd like to try these and other tools to check how they perform in a real classroom.

Week 2 - Story Starter

Our first tast on Week 2 was to write a Story Starter inspired by some pictures, not exceeding 50 words.

Here is my introduction, inspired by pictures 1D, 2B and 3D:

Uncle Ben had always been an amazing storyteller. In one of those memorable evenings at Laura's, he reminded us of Rex, the old family dog, that had been famous for his braveness and determination. Just once Rex misinterpreted the facts and tried to save Billy from an implausible underwater adventure.

I can't believe I made it, 50 words sharp! As a writer I love using adjectives, so that makes my texts a bit longer than they would otherwise.

Link to my post:

http://classdigitools.pbworks.com/w/page/47831193/Week2#comment1326668849

     

Lesson Plan Ideas

I was thinking of using Flavors.Me and Prezi in a class aimed at vocabulary review for elementary level preteens.

We wouls start out with an illustration they had already seen before 

and we would review the school objects. We could also mention the clothing items the kids are wearing.

Then we would use a Prezi presentation for these and other vocabulary topics they had already studied such as means of transportation and describing the weather. Prezi is an excellent tool for showing info on different topics.

After the review, they would work on an exercise page at Flavors.Me, with filling the blank, true or false and multiple choice questions, in which the topics would be linked to each other throughout the exercise.

I think they would enjoy it, and  it all translates into learning can be even more fun using web tools.

I'd like to hear your feedback on this activity. Thanks!

Technology Integration Matrix

Guess I'm at the Entry level, with active and constructive characteristics as a teacher. Students will be active and constructive as well, also at the Entry level.

Actually I'm planning to use the online resources not only for classroom activities, but also for homework, when students will have more time to explore them at their own pace.

I intend to have students work collaboratively sharing info and knowhow using web tools.

Little by little we can reach a constructive approach and adopt the use of technology tools as part of our learning routine.

Intro

When I received an invitation from BRAZ-TESOL to take part in an online workshop offered through EVO 2012 I felt very excited and at the same time a bit uneasy.

I am aware I need to improve my abilities to use online tools and incorporate what is learned in my teaching practice. But as I am, should I say, a novice to all this, I was afraid I wouldn't be able to accomplish the various tasks.

But being a brave girl I've decided I would accept the challenge, so here I am, doing my best to develop these new skills.

I must say I've learned so much since the workshop started a few days ago, ideas are popping up in my head and I'm eager to putting them into practice when the new school year starts next February.

That's because I'm writing from Brazil, S. America, and we're on our summer vacation now.

By the way I've made an introduction of myself, which can be viewed at:

http://about.me/regina10