Online+Applications+and+Tools

Online Applications and Tools: = Please add your idea and sign with your first name and last initial and the month/year =  **__Voice thread__** I'd like to try to add a voice thread **http://voicethread.com/#home** to a slide show that I created to show prospective families at my school the types of activities done in the library.This could also be used at the Alternative Fair as a way to showcase our school when we are offsite. Alice K. January, 2010

Voicethread Voice Thread is on my planning list. I have started a library club and they're waiting for their first project. We'll use Voice Thread to develop a "How To" on using the library. The first series of voice threads will be geared to Kindergarten students. Images with accompanying instructions on library usage will be the first topic. We're in the middle of the year and many Kindes still have difficulty with locating the Everybody section and understanding how to use it. Some are already library "Pros", however. I can see the advantage of using both the library club members and these Kindergarten pros to instruct on the library's many uses and using voice thread to reach them. Later, as students go from beginners to seasoned library users, those who learn will become the teachers. Beth M, February, 2010

Voicethread Early elementary students could use this to make comments on their favourite book - why they chose it, what they like about it, etc. Dawn December, 2009

[] This link provides a 'speech' template that could be used by middle, highschool or post-secondary students who are preparing a presentation for a class. Laura H. April 2009

** [|Voicethread] **
I decided to use [|Voicethread] to modify an project that I assign my Integrated Science students at the conclusion of the astronomy unit. Rather than make a Powerpoint slide like I have in the past, I am instead going to have my students each use the internet to research a contemporary, cutting-edge astronomical topic. They will then upload an image relevant to their topic to Voicethread, and afterwards will narrate over the image with 30-45 seconds of pertinent information. When all of the students have finished, their threads will be consolidated which would enable the students to watch the entire presentation anytime over the web, and it would also allow them to comment on each other's individual threads. While I plan on using this assignment during my astronomy unit, it can certainly be adapted for a similar assignment in any subject area. ~Scotty C., February 2009

We already have a teacher (Dr. Geo) who has a geography question once per week for intermediate and one for primary students. He reads the question in the morning with the announcements and then visits each class to collect their answers. If he would let me, I could tie in with this. I could teach the intermediate students how to use SLED. Then, the question would be one that they would need to use SLED to find their answer. It would be great if they had to cite their source as well. That may be an add on later in the year...baby steps! DeAnne R. July 2008
 * __SLED__**

I will definitely be setting up a del.icio.us account specifically for my library blog. This will be a great resource for teachers and parents and for the older students. As I have been taking this class, I have been noting a variety of sites that I will be including. There are so many out there. I will really need to focus on keeping it simple and most relevant. DeAnne R. July 2008
 * __Del.icio.us__**

For tools such as Open Office, Zoho, Jing etc.

Voice Thread is a very cool site. I'd like to make some of my new books displayed on my webpage as "voice threads" and have kids comment as they read the book. Then others could see what peers thought of the book. Wendy L 5/08


 * Google Docs, Zoho, etc.** Conduct an inservice for teachers to show them how valuable these tools are for teams. Monthly newsletter? Start a Google doc and let every teacher add his/her piece independently, and then share the final version with the administrative assistant. Or use it to write paperless weekly newsletters to parents, and e-mail the link or post it on the school web page. (It's a great way for teachers to cover themselves and prove that they are communicating about homework, tests, and expectations.) It's also an invaluable tool for documents teams need to collaborate on, such as open house night handouts. Staci C. July 2008


 * [|Library Thing]**. Use the widget tool from Library Thing to upload pictures of new arrivals to your library web site. (I got this idea from one of the links in the course, so I can't take credit!) Staci C. July 2008

LIbraryThing - another idea..... Lots of reading teachers have students keep logs of what they've read and then present a project at the end of the quarter. I'd love to see teachers use this tool instead. Students could add books they've read to their log, add comments, rate them (very cool) and then do something interactive with other students. They might be required to leave comments for on other student libraries, etc. I think there could be lots of options. I'm quite sure Hanshew teachers are tired of watching 150 Powerpoints! This could be more fun. Wendy L, 7/08

Idea #1: Have your students count all the books in their house (not including cook books.) Have them sort them by type (fiction/nonfiction, mystery, sports, subject, size, color -- their choice) and list these on a spreadsheet. This activity would be fun and we could see how many students own the same books and how many students rate the same way as far as their favorite books. In math we work on pie graphs and bar graphs. We could then graph all of the information on the number of sports books we have or the same books we have like Harry Potter maybe. Kristen A July 2008

[|Zoho Writer]
Use this for students doing a research project for their initial idea gathering and research gathering of information and then the final project. The teacher could follow the students as they go along and comment and monitor progress. Jill G. July 2008

[|LibraryThing] I would like to try to use this tool to have students make a wish list of the books they would like to see ordered for the library and add their favorite books to a LibraryThing account. Jill G July 2008

[|Voicethread] I want to use this in my school library wiki in many places. Even something as simple as the overdue book policy could be cleverly illustrated. Putting my voice to the site makes it warmer and humor can be used while emphasizing the importance of turning in the books. I think that can dispel some of those "mean librarian" stereotypes, particularly to parents. With some parents I'm afraid their only contact with us is the "dreaded overdue notice" form letter. Personalizing a website with Voicethread adds another dimension to our contact with students and parents. Sonja H. July 2008

del.icio.us Create accounts for staff and students to access. Bundle the tags by content area so visitors can search more effectively. Elaine D. July 08


 * Library Thing** Have an account for each teacher with the books that students have heard in the library. Students can tag the title with their first name and a rating 1-5 (i.e. Sharon5.) Then when it's time to fill out self-reflections for portolio share, students can pull up which book(s) had the highest rating by the tag. Sharon H. July 2008


 * __Library Thing__**: Use LT to feature books a bookclub is reading and help promote the bookclub to other students. I also think teachers could use LT for their supplementary book lists. We have several teachers who require students to select from a specific list. This includes science, social studies and math teachers as well as English teachers. Suzanne M. July 2008

Google Docs Spreadsheet This past year I started a recycling program at our school (mostly paper). Once a week student helpers would go around and collect all the recyclables and then volunteers would take it to the recycling center. It was staggering at times the amount of paper that was being thrown away. I think it would interesting to somehow weigh the recycled paper each week and keep track on either the Google doc spreadsheet or Zoho spreadsheet. At the end of the year calculate how many pounds of paper we kept out of the landfill! Audrey J. July 2008

Google SketchUp Sixth grade teachers are always looking for new ways to teach their Structures unit. Google SketchUp was discussed in our textbook in Chapter 10. With this program you can create three-dimensional models of anything that you want. It would probably work well with a geometry lesson also. I haven't played with this yet but the book says that it easy to learn. Audrey J. July2008

Zoho Writer/Google Docs: We had lots of trouble in our computer lab last year using Open Office to create documents which could not be opened and edited from other school computers. I will suggest that using Zoho Writer/Google Docs this year would ensure that the documents can be accessed and edited from any computer. Robert M. July 2008

[|http://dotlrn.org] ".LRN is a global community of educators, designers, and software developers who partner together to drive educational innovation." It offers these tools: Assessment Forums E-Mail/Bulk mail LORS Central (Learning Object Repository) Calendar LORS Management Curriculum News .LRN Photo Album .LRN Ecommerce Project Manager Homework Dropbox Staff List Edit this page Survey Gradebook/Evaluation Syllabus Expenses Tracking User Tracking FAQs Weblogger File Storage Slide presentations There are no license fees for using the software! Mandy Y. 2008


 * Zoho Show** - Students could create an About Me project by uploading photos about themselves to [|Flickr] . They would then use ZohoShow ([|www.zohoshow.com] ) to create the presentation. –Lydia H. July 2008


 * Digital Pipeline:** Teachers could set up shared folders that students would access to read articles about current topics in class. This could go the other way as well. Students set up a shared folder with the teacher to keep track of what articles they are finding and reading for class. This could also be used professionally between teachers, between a mentor and mentee, principal and staff ect. Heather F. July 2008

Susan K. July 2008
 * Tux Paint** ( http://www.tuxpaint.org/ ) is a free drawing program for kids 3-12 yrs. old. Those who are familiar with KidPix will appreciate the similarities. I think this is a great program and we don't have to worry about purchasing the program and site licenses which gets costly, especially when we are always desperate for funding.

[|Del.icio.us] I would like to set up a deli.cio.us account for my school and do a mini-training at a staff meeting on how to use it. I am on every staff meeting agenda (whether I have anything specific to say or not), so it would be a quick way to show the staff how their collaborative effort was growing. ..I would hope. Nicky E June 2009

[|Zoho Writer] Our district library staff is planning a presentation at an upcoming literacy conference this fall. When we did this 2 years ago we all had to email our contributions to one person, who then had to consolidate everything. This time around we all can all work on the document together. Nicky E 2009