Inspiration

I would use Inspiration in my classroom, but not frequently. It does involve a lot of time, therefore I would compose a small portfolio of diagrams to use for different classes. It is a great organizational tool, and I can see how it would be extremely beneficial for students. It was beneficial for me as I was creating it.

scavenger hunt

Podbean

Although I do not have much experience with podcasts, I support using them in the classroom. I find that listening to podcasts helps me to learn class material more beneficially and without the same stress of the actual classroom. Therefore, I think it would beneficial to my own students in the same way.

Podbean would be especially useful for music classes, as it would allow students to listen to and identify songs and/or sections of songs as they relate to the material. I would like to use it in my own classroom.

Slide Show

pictures

Smilebox

I enjoyed Smilebox much more than Picnik, mostly because it could have many uses in the classroom as well as out of the classroom. My favorite aspect was that teachers can use it to better communicate with parents! Students, parents, and other teachers would benefit from its use for the classroom. It provides a way to creatively organize and share even more information with many people at once, and very conveniently at that! I would use Smilebox in my own classroom.

Picnik

I think Picnik is a neat website. I'm not fully convinced to use it in my classroom, but it seems fun for personal use. Many of the effects required an upgrade, however-most of them, in fact-and that was a bit annoying. I do not believe I would ever have much use for it unless I went into a more photography-focused major or direction with my class.

TimeToast

I thought that TimeToast was a good idea, however I was not a fan of the website itself. I felt as though it was "behind the times" concerning signing up and managing the timelines. I also disliked that you could not scroll over only one event at a time on the timeline. The design was not appealing, either, and would most likely not hold the interest of younger students. The website seemed very useful, however, and would most likely benefit students' organization and understanding of history in many subjects. It would not be my first choice, however.

Wordle

The concept of wordle is great, and I can see how beneficial it can be for students. However, I agree that other, more convenient websites exist that produce similar, if not better, results. For example, my favorite site would definitely be Tagxedo. The concept is the same as Wordle, but Tagxedo offers options for shape, more options for color, and allows the creator to have more control over his or her word cloud. Even so, both websites provide creative ways to organize information, especially for younger students. It allows them to do so without really thinking about the process, also, which is especially beneficial for the younger students.

GLOGSTER!

I love Glogster!!!

I think glogster is the greatest thing ever! I did not even know such creative websites existed. I strongly believe in encouraging and providing opportunities for creativity, and this is such a useful and safe tool for doing so! I think teachers can monitor the elements of their students' creativity better while still allowing them to create themselves. If there was a "love" button on this, I would click it.

Great tool!

Del.icio.us

I really enjoy discovering and learning about all of the new technological education tools. Delicious is a great tool for organizing websites. I'm a big organizational person, and any tool, especially one that can be accessed from any computer, is extremely helpful! I think delicious is an extremely useful website, and it can make lesson planning as well as learning so much easier, quicker, and more accessible!