Productivity Tools - WebQuests and Digital Stories

Animoto. Exciting vehicle to try on slide shows. I loved the Istanbul video and want to try the program with an educator account.

Shutterfly is like Winkflash or Blurb. It is a great tool.

Top 50 Web 2.0 sites
http://www.techlearning.com/Default.aspx?tabid=67&EntryId=3962

Google Docs Productivity Tools
I have been using Google Docs this year. I agree that Forms is the most powerful. I am glad tat non-google users can complete the forms.The privacy issues are very complexing. I never really thought about how that information is in the public domain. I have been hesitant to add too much to the the shared docs. I love the collaboration capabilities and have really utilized it this year. The district wide project Blazes has allowed me to share docs with teachers in other schools and gathers their data through forms int my Excel files. The new collaborative avenues offered to teachers this year have opened new doors.

Productivity Tools allow you to increase your capabilities in a shorter amout of time. Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Publisher are all Microsoft tools that allow higher efficiency. Open Office allows some Microsoft type files yet does not sve or format as well. It is a sub for some tools yet has compability issues. Zoho is a business productivity tools. I think we are only seeing the tip of the iceburg and

Webquests have a built in problem solution just as a Digital Story. We will be working toward completing the webquests by next week or the following. I have been frustrated with trying to fit in collaboration time and have been sending e-mails to Erkay. For some reason he does not want me to access the webquest program and sending word docs is difficult. The webquest is coming together aand it would be a good project to tie in with the architecture program I like the structure and think it would be a fun and educational project for a class.

Digital Story Reflection
I loved creating my digital story and felt I had a clear problem/solution structure on The Foundation of a Dream (Building a deck without money) The Digital Story was a real challenge and many students were frustrated to find they did not follow a story format. One challenge with technology is that the technical side can sway the academics and students will miss the structural components of an assignment. Each task that involves technology has to have more to it than just learning a new tool. There has to be focus, intent and an educational goal to make it a teaching tool. The process is also very important and planning through graphic organizers can often create a structure that forces a creator to include certain elements. A rubric is also a great tool that lets the student know how they can receive the best grade possible.