The Other On-line Writing Tools

Tikatook and Big Universe were very interesting. Again, I am faced with the same dilemma about how appropriate it would be to use technology that wasn't present during a particular time period a project might be devoted to. I honestly don't know how much that truly matters if the kids are completely engaged in what they are doing. However, it is already so difficult to try to get them to imagine how things were before all of our present day technology. That being said, I don't know if having them draw a picture with colored pencils conveys the message any clearer than having them create the scene digitally. Clearly, I am ready to be convinced that it is worth it! And, again, I like that each child would have their own copy. I do wish there was a way to create an audience to view these outside of our classroom. Just knowing that a few people in this class read what I write changes the way I approach it. It makes me strive for a higher standard of quality. After all, I don't want to look like a fool in front of my colleagues and friends!

The ReadWriteThink tool would be fun for dialouge or even to create a story map before writing. It didn't have a very wide variety of images to use, and there was very little to offer in terms of controlling the view of them. But I think that makes it more valuable in a way. The focus can remain on the writing skill as opposed to the design.

The other tools all looked fantastic. I think they could be used in a variety of ways from writing instruction to an assessment tool. Having the kids create a comic to reflect a scenario or event from a particular time period makes them tranfer their knowledge in a different way than it was presented to them. That would make me feel more comfortable about assessing how much they actually got out of the unit.

I look forward to using these!

Mixbook - so COOL!

We'll see if this works...

View Sample Photo Books Create your own Photo Book

Okay, I'm really proud of myself for figuring out how to post this. And it makes me even more excited to use this tool in the classroom because the kids could so easily view each other's work. Mixbook is pretty amazing! :)

Mixbook - love it!

This could be such a fun tool to use. It could be used to review Wordly Wise words by having a picture on the front page and turning the page for a definition. It could be used for a variety of ways in Social Studies. We currently create a family album for our colonial times unit. I don't know if this would be the perfect choice, though, since there weren't really photographs at that time. BUT it would be great to use for Civil War. And I believe there were some rare photographs in the Westward Expansion time period.



I loved that example Sandy showed us from the Revolutionary War project. It was so clever to create a haiku riddle for historical figures from that time period. That could be beautifully translated into any time period. It would also be a great assessment tool. Fun!



Mixbook definitely needs to make an appearance this year. I love the fact that the parents will have the ability to view the book and also the choice to purchase it if they wish.