3 point 2 power point presentation

Editor's Notes

• #3: Mary: I see the use of Quizlet as a strength in that it supports the understanding of academic vocabulary by having students create flashcards. It allows for deeper understanding since students have to create and use HOTS. I see its weakness being that it is used minimally just as a digital flashcard, with no creativity involved in the process of producing and/or creating and using. I can see how Quizlet can enhance any lesson that uses academic vocabulary. In fact, with CCCS, academic vocabulary is a huge foundation of just understanding the standards. When used at its capacity and with creativity, I can see that Quizlet would increase student understanding of vocabulary and/or concepts (such as math terms, formulas, etc.). I find Quizlet to be very purposeful and engaging! Kip: I like the fact that you can use pre-made cards. I wonder if there are sets for CST's? That would be an excellent way to bring reviewing for state tests to the web 2.0. Also students can collaborate and make a set of cards for test review. Creatively, it may be a bit lacking from what I have been able to see. A web 2.0 tool should be highly interactive, flexible, and dynamic, and I was not able to get that out of Quizlet. But in its simpleness is its effectiveness.
• #4: Mary: I love the collaboration piece of Google Docs and how more than one person can work on a live document and it saves it real time (just like this presentation)! It opens up all sorts of possibilities in assignments, discussions, and community sharing. I wish this was available during my college days. It would be so much easier than editing and then sending the document to someone else and changing the name of the document to show that it is the most recent version, and repeat! The challenge I see with this tool is its compatibility with other programs, such as embedding it into a website. Would it reformat? I have seen this transition causing problems, especially with the spreadsheet that seems to reformat and/or is not so easy to read. I've also seen where inserting the embed code into some websites adjusts the sizing and makes it difficult to read because of the formatting. Otherwise, I love Google Docs! :) Jacob: I’m a huge fan of Google Docs. There is so much that can be done, at all grade levels, with this powerful and engaging tool. I feel that especially in the area of the humanities this helps improve students’ learning, productivity, and creativity. Even better is that fact that Google Docs is now part of the bigger picture of Google Drive, cloud-based storage access. I have transitioned to using Google Docs for all attachments I link into assignments online. I also have students submit assignments through Google Docs. I can grade, review, and comment on those assignments while the student can save that version in a folder for a portfolio. One weakness of Google Docs is that it does lack some sophistication in comparison to other programs such as Word or Pages. Yet, it’s constantly improving and getting better.
• #5: Mary: I really like the ability of Creately to create mind maps, flow charts, Venn Diagrams, and other graphic organizers. As the name suggests, it really gives you the opportunity to be creative with your projects, opening up possibilities for higher order thinking. I also like that it automatically syncs and can be shared/embedded and allows for collaboration. The challenges I foresee are the cost (because it's a subscription) and the learning curve in using the program. Jacob: The use of diagrams is a powerful way to illustrate relationships, cause and effect, statistics, etc. I can see Creately enhancing student understanding in the disciplines of science and math especially. However, as Mary pointed out, subscription based tools could be difficult to integrate into the classroom. Creately diagrams could be used at many levels for students to visually demonstrate results of equations or experiments. Kip: Again, here is an application that allows for students to collaborate on a project and instantly have access to the changes when they could be miles apart. I like the ability to manipulate the images and bring in your own. It could also be a powerful teacher tool, I can use it to explain some of my experiments and embed it into my Khan Academy style videos. Yes, subscriptions are tough, but I will be paying it for a try.
• #6: Jacob: The primary strength of Symbaloo is in its aesthetic appeal. The use of tiles versus a boring URL or keyword is really powerful. Yet, it seems a bit limited with the size and organization of the tiles. It might be neat to organize the images into shapes other than a rectangle and make some tiles larger or smaller (based on value or use). With so many valuable web resources out there, it is critical to student learning that these resources be accessible. I can see Symbaloo being used as a component to a webquest assignment. Kip: Great resource. I like the visual, the way you can organize links and give them a face instead of just a hot link. Can they be used with other web 2.0 apps? I imagine some of the tiles being used as part of a glogster poster. If that's the case then I do agree with Jacob, it would be nice to adjust the shapes and sizes to better fit into your project.