Storybird: Plot Elements

I used Storybird to create a short story adapted from P. D. Eastman's Are you my Mother?. I was wanting to use this as quick example of the different parts of a short story as a brief introduction or review in my writer's workshop. I read Gina's reflection of using Zooburst, and I thought putting together the whole story piece by piece sounded time consuming. Looking back, I think I may have preferred that because it was difficult to piece a story together using art that was already created. I also wasn't able to figure out how to choose art from different illustrators to use in the same short story. (I saw examples of it, but I couldn't figure it out.) I also wish that I could have chosen different fonts, one for the story and one for the plot element explanation.


Mama?(Adapted P. D. Eastman's Are you my Mother?) by ecsnyder on Storybird

Tagxedo and Studyblue

I am doing my assignments a little out of order...
I saw the cool image created by Karen Fox, and I agree that it would be a cool thing to put on a website. I also think it would be a fun activity for students to create an image on tagxedo that is made of words and an image to represent a character in Iqbal. I also love the idea of using it as a review for them to show what they have learned about a topic by using words and a shape that connect their learning to the topic that was discussed. I chose a shape out of the options on the website, but I saw that there was a place to add a shape or turn it into a word. I just decided that I should experiment with those options and re-created it into L.A. (Language Arts)

The website was very user-friendly. I also used studyblue.com to create flashcards. This was also extremely easy to use. I made flashcards for different types of figurative language. I am unable to post them right now. I think it's because when I signed up, our school was not listed in their database yet. It said that it will check to make sure my school exists and then get back to me. It's not letting me add students or embed my cards. I am assuming that if I link it, that won't work because it is password protected. I really like the site though. It would be easy to create cards to quiz my students, and it would also be very easy for my students to create their own cards.

Pimp my Presentation: Popplet

I chose to use Popplet for my presentation because I always wanted to make a Prezi, but I had heard from a few people that sometimes it was difficult to use and share. According to the description and the instructional video, Popplet looked very similar to Prezi and easy to use.

I definitely found Popplet to be very easy to use. It had clear instructions and was quick and easy to navigate. I would be interested in creating a Prezi as well to see what is different or better/worse. I would definitely like to get into my school computer and make my powerpoints into Popplets. I think it would be fairly easy to do. I just need to decide if this is better or since I'm having a smartboard next year, if that program is better since it's interactive.


Poetry Popplet

Blog Bling

I used youtube videos a lot in my media literacy unit where students advertised commercials. They really enjoyed the quick little snippets, so I would like to incorporate more throughout my other units as well. The video below I might use as an introduction to poetry in order to grab my male student's attention and get them interested in writing their own rap or poetry.

I looked at the different blogging and website options that were listed on the weebly website sent from the camp counselors. I am stuck between two. I really like Weebly as a way for me to communicate with parents as a website. I could upload instructional videos, embed my class calendar, and other really useful tools. I am wondering how time consuming that would be to update my site every day. Does anyone else do that?

I definitely like Edmodo to use with my students. I like the format and the easiness of it all. I also think it would be more exciting for students to use visually. There seem to be a lot of cool tools on there as well, and am I correct in saying that they would just need one account but they could access all of their classes? I LOVE that part of it!

Better Late than Never

    I am writing this a little late...I've been busy with my first child (a seven month old girl), Summer STEAM, and remodeling my new kitchen in the midst of moving! I know....it's been a crazy June.

    I am really excited to learn about this new technology that will help me motivate my students to learn and be active participants in class. I am really hoping to be able to incorporate technology in my writer's workshop to make it easier for me to see my student's writing and easier for my students to publish their work.

     This summer I am hoping to complete my Summer Camp class, take a class for my master's degree in reading, remodel my kitchen, have fun with my daughter, and travel to North Carolina. It is going to be jam-packed and fly by!