Week 7: Thing # 17 Sandbox Wiki

I explored all of the topics in the Raven About 2.0 Curriculum wiki and came away with more ideas of how to apply Web 2.0 tools to the curriculum. I liked the Sharon's idea of having the students create their own Avatar to put on their library cards. What a creative way to spice up a procedural task! Deborah also collected and posted some great links on SmartBoards, which our library is trying to meaningfully integrate into our instruction and model for staff and students. Here they are:

http://www.e-learningforkids.org/
http://its.leesummit.k12.mo.us/smartboard.htm
http://www.kenton.k12.ky.us/SmartBoard/smartboardindex.htm
http://www.ecarter.k12.mo.us/dept/elementary/fourthgrade/ccrites/etipslesson1.html
http://www.internet4classrooms.com/smart_board.htm

Under Image Gererators, Robin described Moo Cards, which I am very excited to try! Moo Cards are business cards that you create and personalize using images from Flickr or other sources.

Here is a short clip on Moo Business Cards:

Introducing the new MOO Business cards
Uploaded by MOO_Crew

Robin's post reminded me of BigHugeLab's blog which shares ideas and applications that could easily be used or adapted for the classroom. In fact, I found a blog post dedicated to BigHugeLabs in Education which linked me to a site called WEB 2.0 Wednesday Challenge, which is a weekly challenge for students and educators to use web 2.0 tools in the classroom. What a great resource! BigHugeLabs is the challenge for Week 8 and along with the challenge was a list of ideas for teachers:

• Use the badges to create name tags for field trips.
• Use the Trading Cards to create Flora and Fauna Cards
• Create an Avatar to use as with your online presence
• Students created National Park trading cards.
• Create Movie Posters to share about a book or time in History.

The movie poster idea would be a great final project for a 3rd/4th grade class at our school who is collecting images from the Alaska's Digital Archives for a historical timeline. Again, I am amazed at how powerful the circuitous route is!

Week 5: Thing #10 Online Image Generator

Comic Book Club
Originally uploaded by lorrielibrary2

The students at Glacier Valley are very excited about graphic novels and creating their own comic strips. I used Photo Booth with the special effect of Comic Strip to take a picture of me and then uploaded it to Big Huge Labs to create this Trading Card. Once I shared the trading card with my flickr account, I easily posted it to my blog. The more I use a third-party application, the easier it gets. Thank you, Joni from World Wide Web Quest, for the inspiration! To encourage students to spend time developing their characters, I could use this trading card as a carrot and culminating project. Students could share their trading cards, discuss and brainstorm stories that could involve several of them.

Week 3: Thing #7 Big Huge Labs - Integrative Tools

Arts Education
Originally uploaded by lorrielibrary2

Still exploring what Big Huge Labs has to offer and enjoyed creating my own motivational poster through Motivator. With a blog entitled, Glacier Arts and Minds, you may have guessed that I am a big arts education advocate. The uses are endless! Students could use the Motivator to create posters illustrating idioms, morals, etc. I also liked Magazine Cover, which would be a wonderful tool for students to create an attention-getting summary of their autobiography. It could serve as a final project to an integrated library unit: magazine format, style of writing and biographies.

Week 3: Thing #6 Flickr Mashups - Autumn Mosaic

I joined Big Huge Labs so that I could share this mosaic of my favorite autumn photos collected on Flickr. I enjoyed exploring Flickr Services and their open Application Programming Interface (API) which allows you to present your flickr photos in creative ways (like this mosaic).

I first had to create an account with Big Huge Labs, which then asked me if I'd like to link it to my Flickr account. Once I agreed and uploaded this image to my Flickr account, I was able to post it to this blog.

I liked the lab's Trading Cards idea and their blog which gives folks the opportunity to post and share projects. Making trading cards of famous figures throughout Alaska's history would be a creative final project. I also liked the Badge Maker. One teacher at our school used this application to create Grammar licenses for each student in his class. As students mastered a grammar skill, a box on their Grammar badge was checked off. Very official-looking and motivating for kids!