Tool #7 Digital Storytelling

I created a Photo Story of my life in Paraguana Peninsula in Venezuela where I was born and raised. I included pictures of significance to me like places I visited frequently, the church where I was married and the grade school I attended and worked. I wrote out a dialogue to accompany the slide show, but the program isn't recognizing my voice. I attempted to download the slide show to the blog, but it isn't working either. Any ideas??

I enjoyed creating my video and I'm sure the kids will too. Digital Storytelling is an excellent tool for the teacher to introduce, summarize and review concepts.
The students could collaboratively write and create their own digital story to explain or review concepts too. They would learn how to research information, identify the main ideas, and summarize it in their own words. As the students create their presentations they are engaged in their own learning and will feel motivated. Because this is a collaborative effort students will be able to edit their classmates' writing, thus improving their reading and writing skills.

For my first graders, I would initially ask them to make a digital story on a topic that is personal and familiar to them. For example: Create a video on your favorite vacation place.

Tool #6 Wikis

The students could write a story collaboratively using the wiki tools.

We can also create a collaboration with another school in a different country! This would be a great opportunity for the bilingual program where students can learn other cultures while improving their vocabulary. Also, students would be motivated to know where their new friends are located taking a greater interest in Geography.

Wikis can be used for planning a school activity with my team instead of a chain of emails which drives me crazy!

Tool #5 Tagging & Social Bookmarking

I discovered the following cool Science websites: Science Buddies and Try Science using the "experiment" tag on both the Diigo and the Delicious bookmarking sites.

I can find interesting articles and videos using tags; as well as share them with teachers and students.

The great thing about using biigo and Delicious is that my bookmarks can be retrieved on any computer. It helps when making a presentation using another desktop. Another great advantage to Diigo is I can highlight parts of an article and have discussions about it.

Tool #4 Cool Google Tools

Google Docs provides a very efficient way of managing files with my team mates. This tool helps achieve quick responses and share ideas without cluttering our inboxes. In the classroom it's useful for giving feedback on students' writing not only by the teacher but also by their classmates. They can access their writing at any time from anywhere.

Google Reader is a fun tool to use! I can finally read the articles of my favorite sites in one simple window! As well as share interesting and educational articles with the students, parents and teachers.