Posts

Peergrade

Image
While I can see this technology being more useful for classroom teachers, I can see peergrade being a great tool for learning! In its essence, peergrade allows teachers to create an assignment, upload a rubric and offer students a platform to upload their work to. Students submit their work and once the submission period is closed, student work is anonymously given to other students to look over and offer feedback. As a librarian, I love this idea as a way to help students understand what peer reviewed journals actually mean versus non-peer reviewed. As a teacher, I love the idea of students being able to learn through feedback. I can see students taking this seriously and doing their best to offer their peers honest and effective feedback. Peergrade could be a great way to begin a conversation about effective feedback--what is helpful, what is hurtful, what is meaningless. I firmly believe that the collaborative programs of today will mean an increase in collaborative work in t
Post a Comment
Read more

Google Keep

Image
I found Google keep from ALA list of Best Apps for Teaching and Learning from ALA. Since we are switching to a google school platform, anything with Google in the title catches my attention. The premise of Google keep, as an online bulletin board or filing cabinet is one I love! While it isn't wildly different than pinterest, it is a bit more organized and professional feeling. Pinterest has an aspect of social networking on it that keeps me from posting everything I want there--will people really tolerate it if I post one MORE library bulletin board idea? So I create a secret board so I can pin 50 of similar things if I want to. But Google Keep just feels more tidy. There is also the question of filters--some schools block the use of pinterest, so Google Keep is able to corner that market. For students, Google Keep is a great way for them to keep things organized as they do research or explore resources on the web. If they like a web page, they can make a note about it--
Post a Comment
Read more

Plotagon

Image
Last week I read on School Library Journals  that educators could get a free account on plotagon. I signed up for it and feel it has great potential for use in the school library environment.  Plotagon is an animation program that allows the user to write a script and use animated characters to act it out. This is a great alternative to a written end product in research projects. I can envision students preferring to create an animated short rather than write an essay on a history topic. They could also use this program to create vignettes that inform their classmates about various facts they learn.  While teachers and educators get a free year long trial, students only get a 30 day free trial. This seems a little silly to me. Why teach students how to use something only to take the tool away from them after 30 days? To ensure student access, a teacher can purchase 30 student accounts and an educator account for $99. For $299, you can have 150 student accounts and one educato
Post a Comment
Read more

Jing

Image
Since we are using this in class right now to complete the second part of our Data Assessment Assignment, I thought it would be a good idea to think about how I could use this program to teach students information literacy in the library setting. As you are entirely aware, Jing is a screencast tool that allows you to walk others through steps on the computer without them actually being present. I can think of several interesting tutorials I could do on navigating the library webpage and databases for students, as well as a few to encourage teachers to explore and utilize the new NOVELNY databases. To be honest, it would be very useful for me to create those tutorials, since I am not completely familiar with the new sites. Actually, if we are being completely honest, I am not really familiar with any of the databases our school uses. This past year was my first year and I felt entirely too overwhelmed to learn something on top of everything I was learning at UB and in trying to
Post a Comment
Read more

Glogster

Image
Glogster is a fun way to present information in a visual way.  Glogster offers students the chance to create a virtual poster, with various customization options, including fonts, text color, background images, and with provided clipart, as well as the ability to add video and audio files to the poster.  I really like the multimedia aspect of glogster--how cool to be able to add a video to a poster?  I tried the free version of glogster to create an infographic about learning disabilities.  I enjoyed the options of using clipart for the background or a picture I have taken. One thing I found frustrating was that I couldn't customize the text boxes to be any color. Each text box design came with pre-selected color options, sometimes as few as three per style, which was fairly limiting. I am still not sure if I was missing something or if you really cannot change the color of the text boxes. Coming from programs with complete customization, not being able to change some
Post a Comment
Read more

CMAP

Image
CMAP is a concept map application that I used for one of my classes this spring. Rather than an online tool, CMAP is something you have to download to your computer. Since this is a computer program, it means the end results are only saved to the local computer. At our school, our students have their own personal drive on the school network, which means they can access it on any computer attached to the school's network. Our school is also moving toward a one-to-one program, so each student would have their own computer to save it to anyway. When you open CMAP, you are brought to this screen. It shows you the CMAPs you have made and you can choose to open one. Otherwise you can click on File and choose  New CMAP to start a new one.  Once you have a new CMAP up, you can click anywhere to put a concept. A little box appears with a text box to type in. You have the ability to change the color of the text box, the size of the font, and the font.  The Styles window co
Post a Comment
Read more

WeVideo

Image
WeVideo is a great tool for creating videos. WeVideo offers you an educator classification, with a free day 30 day trial. During the free trial, WeVideo does place a watermark stamp on all created videos, which is a little frustrating, however it does create the video for you. Upgrading to a paid account removes the water mark and gives you additional tools to use in creating your videos. For a personal account, WeVideo charges $4.99 monthly or you can purchase an unlimited membership for $7.99. The unlimited offeres a higher video definition, advanced marketing tools, and an unlimited number of videos published per month. The personal account allows you to publish 30 videos per month, but allows you access to the same number of songs, images, and special features that the unlimited subscription offers. Educators can purchase up to 30 users for $199 a year. The aspect of WeVideo that first drew me to it was the fact that it can be added as an app to google chrome. You are a
Post a Comment
Read more