Blogs- Blogs are an online log that can be about almost anything. For this course, students will create an online journal chronicling their thoughts and reactions to texts we have read in class along with short creative assignments to be assigned periodically.
Creative Commons- Allows students access to alternatives to "all rights reserved" media which can be used in the creation of projects/reports/creative assignments. It will also be used in this class for students to reinterpret works into their own words.
Exploratree- Used to create thinking guides and other visual aids. Primarily a tool I will use in planning, but it is also one I encourage students to use in helping with their own individual
comprehension and in group work.
Gliffy- A resource used to create flowcharts, diagrams, and even floor plans. It will be used by me to help create a seating plan, arrange our room in an effective manner, and arrange my thoughts on lesson plans. I also highly encourage students to use this program to order their own thoughts on the material we are covering.
Glogster- Really interesting resource which aids students in creating posters and "glogs" (graphic blogs). We will use it to create graphic interpretations of the texts we are reading both in groups and individually.
Go!Animate- One of my favorites, this site is a free tool for creating short animated videos. We will use it to make animated interpretations of texts (the more creative and funny the better). See example below.
GoAnimate.com: Hamlet, Monkey Prince of Denmark by Brian Edwards
Like it? Create your own at GoAnimate.com. It's free and fun!
Google Docs- Simple to use online office suite. Will be used to supplement Microsoft Office Word and other word processing programs when working on research papers and group projects.
Google Earth- Interactive globe, map, and geography program created by Google, Inc. We will use this program to explore many of the settings of the texts we are discussing.
Story Jumper- Free online tool that will allow us to create and illustrate our own books and stories. Much like Animoto and Go!Animate, this will be an option to use on one of our more creative projects.
Teachertube- Pretty much a teacher version of Youtube (a free online video service). I will show the class brief video snippets from here that tie into our discussion from time to time throughout the year.
