Cyberbullying

Digital technology offers fantastic opportunities for children and young people throughout their lives. However, the technology can be misused and this can be very painful for those who are the targets of cyberbullying. In recent guidance from the Department for Children, Schools and Families it was stated that adults need to help children and young people prepare for the hazards whilst promoting the many learning and social opportunities available. To obtain key safety advice as well as access to resources suitable for use in school click on the following link:
www.digizen.org

Wordle - Creating Beautiful Word Clouds

Wordle is a tool that generates “word clouds” from text that you provide. It identifies the words that you have used most frequently and gives them the most prominence. You can also tweak your clouds to change the appearance. Apart from looking pretty this tool has potential use in self reflection, as an alternative means of presentation, or a pictorial summary of content.

Have a try yourself by entering some text into the web site and see what happens – I guarantee you will become addicted!

The image shows what this article looks like in Wordle. To try it out for yourself visit www.wordle.net

Best Embeds for Educational Wikis and Blogs

Now that you and/or your students are using wikis and blogs, are you curious what could be added to them? From animated slideshows to collaborative documents to interactive review games, many great (and free) tools are available. Have a look at this extensive list.

Kerpoof

Kerpoof provides free multimedia software that can be used directly from any browser, on any computer with Internet access and an up-to-date Flash player. It can be used to create original artwork, animated movies, and stories, among other things.

You can select from a number of backgrounds and then add characters/props to the picture or scene. The quality of the production is exceptional. In the example below, the character actually animates.












Click here to find out more about this excellent tool.

Glogster (for educators)

Glogs are virtual posters. Glogs and can be shared with the world because they are published online. Unlike physical posters, glogs can combine text, pictures, graphics, video, and audio to create an interactive online poster. Glogs can be easily edited and changed at anytime.

Once a glog is saved, it is given a web address. A glog also has an embed code so it can be easily embedded into your website, blog, or wiki.

There are 2 versions of Glogster. The Glogster-edu version is specifically geared for education. It has the following features:

• A web 2.0 platform that easily allows users to upload photos, videos, text, audio and more to create a unique online, interactive poster.
• A new and creative digital outlet for educators to help keep students ENGAGED and make learning more fun!
• A simple and easy interface designed to introduce basic concepts to students.
• A series of teamwork mechanisms to allow users to publish and share their creations and to collaborate with other users on joint efforts.
• A secure, private, safe platform that can be monitored directly by teachers.
• A valuable learning tool that can be integrated with several core subjects including math, science, history, technology, art, photography, music and more.
• A tool that fosters advancement of skills as students progress through grade levels.
• A virtual, digital, educational platform that transcends age, gender, background, subject matter, grade level, school type, location, etc.

See here for more details. Really worth a look!

Etherpad

Etherpad is a unique custom in-browser text editor. It allows up to eight people to collaborate in real time. Each user is colour coded and the changes made will appear on all screens almost in an instant. For more details and a short 90 sec screencast just click on the title of this blog entry.

Prezi

I had a conversation with a teacher recently who said that a certain syllabus for GCSE stated that the students were required to use Powerpoint to produce a presentation. It was only after a few probing questions that she accepted that Powerpoint wasn't actually named. We have reached the stage where the word presentation is synonymous with Powerpoint. Teachers feel that they are expert in its use and so we get Powerpoint used everywhere, by the teachers and by the students. Using Powerpoint is not the only, and very often, not the best software for presenting ideas. Instead, we should encouraging our students to use alternatives remembering that we, the teachers, do not need to be 'trained' in its operation. The students are more than capable of working out all its nuances. Prezi is one such alternative.

Prezi.com is a website that allow you to create dynamic presentations. You create a map of your ideas which can include text, images, videos, etc. You can then show the overview of your presentation and zoom to see all the details! It is very simple to use. Words can't do it justice! Go to the site and check out the showcases. The site also includes a manual.

For the free version, you get 100Mb of storage and the off-line editor. The small prezi logo will appear in the initial screen but it certainly doesn't interfer with the display.