Week 3 Thing 7--Picnik

This photo was edited from Picnik which is a very easy photo editing program and fun too.  I'll probably use this one again.  Also once your picture is edited you can save it right to your computer.

Week 3 Thing 6: Comics in the Classroom--Extra Credit

Comics in the classroom is a great way to present ideas to students that are Visual Learners. Also students can use the knowledge they have learned to create a project and present that knowledge to others. It's very empowering to the student that their work can be printed and posted online. The best is the project can be used as a teaching tool to share with other students. The program I used in this blog was Toondoo. Another great program is Pixton which is a little more advanced  but still pretty easy.

Week 3 Thing 6, ToonDoo--Comics in the Classroom

By dsobien | View this Toon at ToonDoo | Create your own Toon

This was created by ToonDoo.  Another very easy program and fun to do.  The program has a free section and a paid section.  Your creations can be embedded on blogs and websites as well as saved on your own computer.  Check out the linked tutorial (ToonDoo User Guide) I found online if you need help in creating a comic.  It also alerts you to where the embedding code is too. Technology has changed our world so quickly in the past thirty years that we are now moving "out of the box"  in education.  Students tend to learn more when they can actively participate in creating and presenting the ideas they have learned. 

Week 3 Thing 5 Photo Book Creation

This link is to my cat photo book created with the program Mixbook. ( Some of the words were cut off from the embedded version below.) This program was fun and it's easy enough to be used in the classroom with students. To create and share books online is free.  However, you can not save to or print from your home computer.  You can have the books published in print for a fee.

Week 3 Thing 5--Mixbook/Smilebox Comments

I really like both of these digital photo book programs. Both are easy enough to be used by teachers and students. Mixbook I liked as student work could be shared in a book like format and placed on a school wiki or school blog for viewing. Smilebox is great for presentations with music. It could be used for a general display of what's going on in the classroom or a special event. Also it would be great for me to showcase our weekly star students on our morning announcement show. I have been using powerpoint but Smilebox looks so much easier. Both programs have an Educator's corner...Smilebox has a free part and a paid subscription part. They look as though they give a few paid memberships away for educators for a year. I signed up to see if I could get one. Check it out...

Week 3 Thing 5--Mixbook project embedded

| View Sample Photo Books | Create your own Photo Book

I embedded the Mixbook Project to my blog.  After I saved the project I returned back to the main page, scrolled down and in the lower right hand column there is an embedding code.  Just copy it and then go back to your blog.  Select New Posts and click on the HTML tap to copy the code in this area.  You can also embed projects into wiki's as well.  I came across a Mixbook tutorial online showing how to do a project with instructions on where to look for the embedding code.

Week 2 Thing 3

  This avatar was created at http://www.doppelme.com/.
I enjoyed creating the avatar.  It was quick and easy.  I'm planning on looking for other avatar creating programs to post and share.  Fun....

Collaboration Goal

Collaboration is an important tool for a teachers and my number one goal.  This year I want to promote the use of Edmodo and Skype.  I also want to encourage teachers to use Google's Doc for document sharing and to create a wiki to share student projects.  Does anyone know of any other sites to use for educational collaboration?

Welcome!

 Welcome to Chissy Tech Talk!  This blog was created to explore Web 2.0 tools with teachers and students.  You are invited to share great apps, lessons and tools you have come across.  For those interested in avatars check out http://www.doppleme.com/.  It's a quick easy little program to use.