Video Creation Tools:

Sharalike             https://sharalike.com/

This app would be so useful in my personal life and my professional life.  It took only a few minutes to create an album, name it, change the music, rename the album, and experiment with several styles. I plan on making one of these albums to use for back to school night in the fall.  The students could use Sharalike to create albums documenting their creation of a project, record an experiment, make a class album to document “Signs of Fall”, display types of transportation, animals that hibernate, etc…

 

Animoto              http://animoto

Animoto immediately appealed to me.  The various background styles and numerous songs to choose from enticed me to create a birthday video for a family member before beginning my class project.  Even young students would be able to create videos using this program.  They could use Animoto to introduce themselves with an “All About Me” video, illustrate stories they’ve written, create a “commercial” about something they learned from the morning announcements (a motivator for listening), or make a “how-to” presentation about something they’ve learned.

 

Jing                http://www.techsmith.com/jng.html

I found Jing to be very interesting and something that would be most useful in working with older students or a tool for teachers and librarians to incorporate in their teaching.  Students could record their presentations to present at a later date, document ways to work math problems, record research, or “teach” something they’ve learned. There are numerous tutorials that provide visual, audio, and written assistance, along with practice and several ways to access help using this software.  When I get the opportunity, I would like to devote additional time to learn how to successfully use this tool. 

Library Websites

After reviewing many school library websites, I chose to share the following:

http://guides.rilinkschools.org/content.php?pid=548659&sid=4517818

http://wweslibrary.wix.com/wwlibrary

The first website contains a multitude of useful links and an incredible amount of information. It is possibly the most comprehensive elementary school library website that I have ever seen.  This is a terrific resource for anyone that is just beginning to create a library website or for anyone that is ons of useful nt,pdate their current website or begin a website--great resource for librarwanting ideas to update or enhance their current website. Possibly due in part to its extensiveness, it does look like it would take some practice for younger students to learn to navigate.  The very small tabs would not be conducive to independent use by early elementary age children.

The second website does not include everything that we have learned should be included in a school library website; however, I loved the idea of having a page for students that resembles the WWES home page. Even first grade students would be able to independently locate and use a web page with this type of design.

After looking at the website creation tools, I have chosen to use Weebly.  Based on comments that I’ve read, this could possibly be the easiest site for beginners such as myself.  Well, here I go….off to begin designing my first website.

Podcast

Podcasts can be used in numerous ways in the elementary classroom.  A few of my favorite ideas are student book talks, students reading their own stories, sharing research project information, promoting school events, conducting interviews, and creating a school or classroom radio show.

The podcast that especially interested me was the Let's Get Busy Podcast.  It is hosted by Matthew Winter, an elementary school librarian.  This podcast contains interviews with many authors and illustrators. I was immediately hooked when I heard his interviews with Jarrett J. Krosoczka, author of Lunch Lady, and Dan Santat, author of The Adventures of Beekle. Another great feature is what Mr.Winter refers to as his "5 books in 5 minutes" book reviews.  This podcast is a wonderful resource for librarians and teachers.

http://lgbpodcast.blogspot.com/

Audio Tools

Voki

One of my favorite audio tools is Voki. It appeals to students, it is easy to use and it contains a variety of characters, backgrounds, and voice options.

Vocaroo

Another audio tool, Vocaroo, is extremely easy to use. It is simply a voice recording tool. The user does not need to create an account, but he/she must have access to a microphone.

Audio Pal

Audio Pal, another voice recording tool has more options than Vocaroo. Your message can be recorded through the use of a microphone, phone, text-to-speech device, or a MP3 file. Like Vocaroo, the user does not need to set up an account. Simply provide an email address where you can receive the link to your audio message.

Blabberize

Blabberize is an audio tool that allows the user to "talk through a picture". Audio could be added through the use of a microphone, phone, or a recording. Blabberize is not as user-friendly as some of the other tools that we've looked at, but it is always a favorite of young students.

Ways to Use Audio Tools in the Classroom

In the first grade classroom, I would use any of these tools to provide a motivating way for students to practice fluency, sight word recall, create a story starter or tell their ending of a story, retell stories, create riddles and rhymes, and improve expression and listening skills.

Infographic

Reading is Relevant!

After reading reviews of online tools used for creating infographics, I decided to use Picktochart.  I loved the idea of being able to embed videos into the infographic; however, it does limit how it can be saved and presented. 

My biggest challenges were manipulating the font and getting my work to actually save even though it indicated that it was saved.  For some reason, I could see other available fonts, but I could not get them to work.

After investing numerous hours due to the fact that I had to recreate my entire infographic because it did not save, I decided to focus more on learning how to create the content that I wanted to include, remain concise, use current data, and utilize a good amount of variety. (http://www.coolinfographics.com/blog/2014/10/10/5-great-online-tools-for-creating-infographics.html)

Hopefully, my story is apparent.  In America, the ability to read, often has a great impact on an individual’s future, there are many benefits of reading, and there are ways we can help motivate students to read.

As I become more proficient at designing infographics, there will be additional time to focus on creating infographics that reflect the concepts of design that help to create products that look more professional.   I’m looking forward to learning more about creating effective infographics as I view the work of my classmates.

The following is the link to my infographic:

https://magic.piktochart.com/output/6492150-reading-is-relevant-copy-copy