Creating Digial Portifolios with students

        A Digital Portfolio is a  purposeful collection of student work that shows the student's  personal   growth and espansion of knowledge and skills over the the course of the year  in a digital   format.
       The digital portfolio allow studetns, teachers and parents to see some of the actual work the   studnet did during the year.  Teachers and students decide on what to put into   the portfolios . The portfolio is an actual fille put on a webstie, Cd,   or zip drive.
     On a digital protoflio there will  be  an organized collection of  projects, articles, reviews,  and lessons  that  students  have done  that demostrate what the student has sccomplished during the school year. .   Each portfolio  organization depends on the student and the amount of information that is placed into the portfolio and the type of file that it is placed in.
      A Digitla portfolio is also one of the best ways for students to show thier knowleged of the use of technology and how it is applied to school and everyday life. In the years to come  this will be important to both students, teachers, employers and workers.
      Now on to find the best way to present Digital Portfolios  with students!

Technology Tools- Early!

  I am posting this not  on Wednesday because I wanted to get to tell you early in case you didn't know or remember about Children's Book Week!   It is being held this year from May 13-19. ( Next Week). How will you be celebrating?
  If you want information or ideas about what it is and what to do, check out their sites at www.bookweekonline.com.
  Children's book week is a time to celebrate books and reading in schools, pubic libraries, and book stores. Their theme is Cover to Cover , Coast to Coast and Every Child a Reader.

   During this w eek , the announcement of winner of the  Children and Teens Book Awards. This  is a national book awards programs whee the winning titles are selected( voted on) on by readers of all ages. Voting is open from March 19th to May 9th) So there is still time to vote if you do it this week!
  From the website , you can download both the poster and the bookmark. There is also a Digital Toolkit which you can find a badge to put on your blog or website. There are also stickers you can use for children and students who participated in the vote.
  Alkso check out the many ideas for activities that can help you plan  the celebrations for the week.
Next year the Children's Book Week will be held  from May 12-18!

Wired Wednesday- Technology Tools

     365 Project is a fun way to record your year in the library and share the experience with other educators, students, and  your community.  365 Project is a photography project , where you take one photo each of the day . The photo can really be on any theme. So what you are doing is a daily photo journal.

     You can use this photo journal to show what you are doing in your library programs. This will also serve as a memory tool of all that you have done and accomplished during the year in the library.

     It is easy to create an account and it is free.  Then you can upload your photo's, and do one each day.   The images are easily shared on Facebook, your library page,  your blog, or through the 365 site.

    This is a great tool when it time for your yearly report, or if  your administration wants to know how you have positively impacted student achievement and learning.  It also serves  to keep you and  your students motivated and interested  in the library happenings.

Wired Wednesday

    Microsoft Photo Story is an free site that lets you create  photo presentations  to save as a video file.  It is easy to use with a step by step tutorial to help you  make your stories/ presentations.
   It is as easy as dragging  the photos/ illustrations that you want in the order that you want them.
There are easy editing tools that allow you to change the size, fix the colors and other ways to fix your photos. 
  You can check the slide show and also put in as many photos as you want.
   You can also make a sound track- have not figured that out yet! But I am guessing it will not be difficult.   The story is saved in WVM format  .
    I can see this being using by teachers to teach many subject areas. I can also see students using this to create their own stories , using either photos or their own illustrations. It will be a great tool to encourage students to write , edit, and produce their own stories!


Microsoft Photo Story 3

Wired Wednesday- Technology Tools

   Quizlet is a site that allows students and teachers to  search  already designed learning sets( Flash card type games). These sets help students ( and adults) learn just about anything. Most  importantly they make learning fun  by using the technology of our computers.
   You can browse by many subject categories: Arts ; Literature, Languages &Vocabulary, Math & Sciences, History & Geography, and Standardized Tests ( AP classes, Sat's, GRE's,  Professional tests for college students )
   There are six different study modes using Quizlet's  flash cards( flash cards, speller,learn, scatters test, space race) to use to help students study in learn many different topics.
  The other option if you can't find your desired topic is to design your own  learning set.   There are also Brain training games that help you train your brain to be better preforming.  This site has a lot to offer to help students become better learners.


 http://quizlet.com/

Technology Tools- Wired Wednesday

   Drop Box is not specifically made for teachers, but it is a great tool that they can use both for themselves and with students  if they use a lot of technology.   With drop box you can share documents, homework, videos, and links , , or you can have them available where-ever you are.

In other words , if you start something at school or work, and want to do something at home, you do not need to email it to yourself. Just put it in your drop box and pick up at home ( or where ever you have a computer ) to work on it again.

I have known teachers that have students put their work in the teachers drop box and then the teacher can look at when time arises.

You install  drop box on your computer , and then will have a drop box folder. Any time you want to save something to work on later, save it to your drop box and then you can work on it on your other computers, phones, or the drop box website.

https://www.dropbox.com/

Technology Tools- Wired Wednesday

      Animoto is a tool that students and teachers will love to use.  We can be very creative with Animoto and provide students with a way to show information  acquired through research or creativity.

     Educators can apply for a free Animoto Plus account for use in the classroom. Its many features can be used to create amazing presentations  which can incorporate images, video clips, music and text. 

     Animoto has a variety  of tools for creating videos in your classroom.  Some of the features : share on Facebook, twitter,  or youtube, embed to your blog, Hugh defination video quality. Add image captions, title card to narrate your video or presentation.

      On the site you can also preview some great examples of how other educators are using Animoto with their and for their students.

http://animoto.com/education/