Must See Monday - You Tell You

You Tell You claims to be a place for digital story telling, and it is, but not in the way that we as educators are used to creating digital stories.  You Tell You creates an online magazine, but not a digital magazine.  You can write paragraphs separate from the pictures, such as an introduction or conclution,  as well as captions for your photos. 

The digital stories are also available for viewing and are broken down by categories.  The great thing is (well depending on how look at it) that there are currently no digital stories under the Politics and History, Science and Tech, Breaking News, and Music.  So what does that mean?  It means an opportunity for your students to be the first to add to these categories.

Signing up requires all the usual information, and no verification of your email address is required which is great for teachers.  When creating a "magazine" you can provide the date and time, a title, a summary (Which will always be at the top), choose a category, provides tags, and even include a Geotag. 

You can add photos from your computer (.jpg only and it took about a minute for 7 photos), Facebook, Flickr, or SmugMug.  You can also email pictures directly from your phone.  Pictures are organized into sections.  This is where you can determine the location of your pictures and organizing your "magazine."  Below is an image of the sections.

The site overall seems to be more geared towards present day, but with a History category, it obviously does not limit itself to that.  It would be great to share things happening in your classroom or sporting events.  Great way to log events for a yearbook.  An education catergory would be great as well.  They also do not have to be published. Students can create them and then in class, present in preview mode.  Either way, I think that You Tell You offers another options for using picturs to tell a story. 

Friday Focus - Cool Stuff!!

Ahh, Spring Break, one of those wonderful perks of teaching.  I enjoyed the time of relaxation and a break from everything and being semi-unplugged for a few days.  While I was taking a break I received some interesting websites that I want to share.  Most are subject based, some or broad.  Hope you find some that you like.

The Story of Bottled Water - I came across this interesting video that tells the story of how bottled water was developed.  It talks about Manufactured Demand (Great for an economics lesson...what other products were created because of manufactured demand?) and the false perception of bottled water.  You could also use the video as an introductory lesson in Science for students to develop their own experiment on the preference of bottled water and tap water.  Marketing classes could also use the website to discuss how bottled water is marketed to make it appear it is fresh from the mountains, when in reality it is just purified tap water.  The Story of Bottled Water comes from the website, The Story of Stuff Project.  There is also a video about Cap and Trade, and a video in the future about the Story of Electronics.  The site, videos, and books are the work of Annie Leonard.

What Happened In My Birth Year is an interesting site because of how it tells what happened your birth year.  What Happened In My Birth Year types out what happened like a typewriter.  As I was visiting the site, I realized it was taking to long, so I closed it.  When I attempted to close it, it prompted me to finish because it was moving to slow.  The site discusses books, movies, current events, etc.  Be neat to share with your students.

For you elementary teachers I came across a site called Write4Kids.com which can help you write your own children's book.  If you are someone interested in writing your own book, then Write4Kids.com would be a great starting point that provides tips and help for writing a book.

From the National Parks Service and the U.S. Department of the Interior is a great website that helps students learn more about Alcatraz Island and the multimedia that is available to learn about Alcatraz.  Could be a neat lesson for local California teachers (if they were not pink slipped)

Peter Lourie is a present day explorer/archeologist who has his own website talking about his adventures.  He also has a teachers page where he shares many of his lessons as well as experiences visiting and talking with students.  This would be an excellent resource for elementary teachers to look at for a while.  The man has been TONS of places that we all study in Elementary and Middle School.

South Pole Quest is a great site for learning about the South Pole.  It also has links for education and offered students the opportunity to ask questions about life at the South Pole.  Definitely worth looking into for a great geography lesson.

My Ah-Ha Moment in Computer Programming

I was asked by a teacher today about putting a timer in a Power Point Presentation. She displays her daily agenda and objectives on Power Point for every class that day. She had a generic Power Point for the week. She wanted to use the timer to track kids while they go to the bathroom or work on a quiz or an assignment.

I tried the usual suggestions I found on the web by adding text boxes and animation and have multiple slides. That is not what I was wanting though. I was wanting to add a timer within a slide, not make a timer out of Power Point.

Then I realized it was all in how you search. I went from "insert" to "embed" and found what I needed. I found a Shockwave Flash Timer file from the following website.  I downloaded the file and saved it on my computer.  The next step was embedding it into Power Point.

As hard as it was for me, I went to the "Help" icon and searched "Embedding Flash" and found the information I needed.  I was able to embed the timer on Power Point 2007.  I then sent it to the teacher and made the necessary changes on her 2003 version of Power Point. 

Creating the Flash timer required my first use of Visual Basic.  I also created my first video tutorial explaining how to embed a Shockwave Flash Timer into Power Point.  I did not record my voice though because I did not have a mic handy.  Hope you find this little trick helpful and useful in your classroom.

TeachMeet Nashville 2010 - Presentation

Here is the presentation that I am presenting at TeachMeet today in Nashville about using Web 2.0 tools to supplement your lecture.  It also offers way to take Web 2.0 tools and have your students do your lecture for you.

TeechMeet Presentation on Prezi

Twitter Tuesday - March Final Edition

Hard to believe that we are already at the end of March.  Considering I started this blog and started using Twitter in December, I wonder what I would have known had I started in August, or even last school year.  I am doing a Professional Development on Twitter and Blogging and hope to transmit how Twitter and Blogging have transformed my passion about education, teaching, and students.  So much is lost these days with legislation and budget cuts that we are forgetting who is affected the most.  Students. 

But enough rambling, time for the great Twitter Tweecap from the past week.

1.) As a History teacher, a Ning like this would be really beneficial.  The Teaching History with Web 2.0 Tools is great for social studies teachers to join and share how they are using Web 2.0 in the Social Studies Classrooms.  By the way, when I shared this Ning on Twitter last week, it went from 6 members to 31.  And the Ning was created as part of a PD.  You can see the creators blog here

2.) The 23 Things Project is designed to help introduce you to tools that can help transform your classroom, school, and teachign style.  Thanks to @Web20Classroom for such a great project and idea.  Also another great link from his Blog is "Why a PLN?"  A great voicethread!

3.) Want to learn more about Web 2.0?  Well take a class!  This is a self paced experience to help you learn about Web 2.0 and create an online protfolio.  Great to share with new teachers and teachers interested in using Web 2.0.

4.) 25 Essential Free iPhone Apps for e-Learners

5.) TubeChop - Allows you to easily chop sections of YouTube videos and save for later.

6.) Dreams of Education - A new blog by @ktenkely that discusses all things that many of us wish education would be and focus on.  Looking forward to it as an addition to the Blogging Alliance :)

7.) My school system uses Turning Point because of its easy integration with Power Point.  Here is a list of 10 Ways to use Turning Point to make your classroom interactive.

8.) Share with your students the 15 Essential Web Tools for Students.  Gerat stuff!!!

9.) From @RusselTarr - A great way to edit pictures online using Cut My Pic.  Also a great Countdown Timer...that lets you choose music and upload your own!!

10.) Want to build a website?  Try one of these 45 Web Builders.  Really?  That Many?

11.) A MUST READ!!!  10 Gaps in Education that don't get enough Press

12.) Interested in starting a Blog using Blogger?  Check out these Blogger Video Tutorials.

13.) Lit 2 Go - A great way to put literature on your students iPods.  Especially if you have an iPod Touch Prorgam.

14.) Want to share files online?  Here are the 5 Best Sites for Online File Storage and Sharing.

15.) Fresh Brain - A place for students to create Facebook Applications, Video Games, and Videos.

16.) Math teachers are always looking for movies to show in class.  Well, this website has a TON of clips. Way to go Harvard!

17.) Constitution Facts - Great for government classrooms.  I was always looking for a great way to teach the Constitution.

18.) A Wallwisher Wall trying to findout what your favorite Web 2.0 Tools are.  Share your favorites.