About Voicethread

This is what I like about Voicethread. It's easy to use, it's fast, and there aren't a lot of buttons that you have to push to make it work. Overall, it is an awesome tool. The best thing, in my opinion, about voicethread is that the student is a storyteller. They are a performer. Let's face it, some of the best stories are the ones that are read aloud to us. Authors can add inflection, funny voices, and other elements that can't be caught just from looking at the page. In my time, I have known some great storytellers and I think that asking your students to assume the role of a storyteller will only add to their excitement about writing. How great would it be to add funny voices and other dramatic elements? In other words....voicethread rocks my socks.

A Man, A Plan, A Canal, Panama

About Panraven

Alright, so I know that I am behind everyone else. I have been struggling to keep up. I don't have internet at home and finding time to make it to the library to complete assignments has been difficult.
Panraven is a pretty cool program. I especially liked the possibility of publishing stories. This transforms kids INTO writers. Work can be added to a class library and kids can check out each other's books. This could be meaningful to any kid and it encourages them to keep writing. Students who see themselves as authors will continue to write. It's just that simple. I was frustrated with how long it took to upload pictures to the computer. This could be very frustrating in the classroom--a STOPPER if you will. I can only hope that the program will advance as it remains online and 'grows up'. Hopefully this can be something that I could plug into the classroom
Sam

Revised Panraven- A Man, A Plan, A Canal, Panama

Panraven-A Man A Plan A Canal Panama

Comic Life

I think Comic Life is a pretty snazzy program and tool. The options are limitless for the classroom and I think that it is a tool that every teacher should be well versed in. I myself, have used a program similar to Comic Life for a class of mine. The class required that we write a paper explaining the intervention process that teachers go through with special needs children. Instead of writing a formal paper (which let's face it, is not exciting) I decided to format my explanation in the form of a comic. It was pretty freaking cool. And it made more sense to me
This summer, I plan to use this program in my classroom. Students will be keeping journals (for either creative writing or journal-type writing. At intervals during the summer, students will be given the option to publish their stories and add them to the class libraries. I have many students who LOVE comic books and I can see them really getting into the whole publishing process through this media! I can't wait to try it out!