Educational+Resources



//"I think anyone who uses the web is smart and will profit." - Jason Mraz //

**Below is a list of resources that I believe will benefit both my students and myself in the classroom. Each resource is very different and will allow the use of technology to be explored by everyone involved. Although some of the sites might take longer to get used to than others, I think each of them serves as a great tool for the ELA and/or SS classroom!**

[|www.wallwisher.com] Wallwisher.com is a great resource for teachers and students to create notes, projects, or even just communicate with one another. Using Wallwisher is a simple way to display information to students without overwhelming them with paragraphs and paragraphs of text. Wallwisher is a free site and can really be beneficial to visual learners. Another great thing about Wallwisher is that students can access the notes, images, and videos from their homes if internet is available. Posting things to the site is very easy and user-friendly, so it should not take teachers a long time to teach its navigation to the students.

[|www.glogster.com] Glogster.com is a site that is basically used to make posters/presentations online. Students can individually use the site to create projects for whatever topics they choose. This is a great site because students can share their presentations and notes with whomever they choose, and they can also learn from each other’s presented materials. Students can easily share photos, videos, text, and add themes to their Glogster creations.

[|www.makebeliefscomix.com]

This site is used to create digital comic strips. If students are interested in the site, they can use it not only in the classroom but also use it at home for fun. I had students use the site to create scenes from Lois Lowry’s //The Giver//, and the results were amazing. Students can choose how the characters look, create different background scenes, and add their own dialect to the characters’ speaking bubbles.

[|www.tagxedo.com] Tagxedo is a wonderful site for using words and images to convey a message or interest. Students can enter words into a generator box and choose which type of image they want it to mold into. Students are able to choose color schemes, fonts, and other display aspects of their images. The site provided several images that students can choose from, but it also allows students to upload and an outside source and use its image for creation.

[|www.timeglider.com] Timeglider is a terrific site for students to use during their social studies classes. The site allows students to create their own timelines while adding images and/or videos to support the claims they are making. The images and videos really add a lot of support to dates, such as December 7, 1941. For this date, students could add images of fighter jets, explosions, soldiers, and flags to explain the date even further than text alone.

[|www.cobocards.com]

Cobocards is a site used for creating flashcards digitally. Students can most likely benefit from this site on their home computers because it does require a free downloading process. I am not quite familiar with computer rules of schools and what software is wanted or unwanted, but I do think schools would benefit from the free software. Students can make flashcards and add images to them for any subject, and I think the site could especially benefit for studying vocabulary. [|www.edmodo.com]

Although I used Edmodo in the category about 21st century and technology, I wanted to make sure it was included in my resources. Edmodo is a great way for teachers to organize grades, lessons, quizzes, tests, materials, etc. The site keeps whatever needs to be kept and allows students to ask questions regarding homework, study guides, etc. at a much faster pace than e-mail does. The site is completely free and creates a community for teachers of all subjects to share plans and resources. <span style="display: block; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 120%; text-align: center;">[] Museumbox is a site that I have just recently been exploring. The site is free and allows teachers and students to become historical experts. Photos, videos, texts, and even personal documents can be uploaded. I have seen the site used for social studies presentations, but I think it can also be used for projects that center around “About Me” or “My Identity” themes.

<span style="display: block; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 120%; text-align: center;"> [|www.youtube.com/searchstories] Google Search Stories

<span style="display: block; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 120%; text-align: center;">I have just been introduced to the Google Search Stories site, and it allows people everywhere to upload personal stories to YouTube and share. I think by having this used as a specific class channel would be a great way for students to share interests, growth, and what they have learned in a class. This way, students can comment on each other’s stories, provide constructive, criticism, and learn about each other!

<span style="display: block; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 120%; text-align: center;"> [|www.communitywalk.com]

<span style="display: block; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 120%; text-align: center;">This site is a free and easy way for students to create interactive maps. This would be a great tool for a social studies classroom to use in order to study geography, community efforts, and even architecture. This could also be used in a language arts classroom to create a real-life example of a novel’s setting.