Storybird...Create collaborative stories online!

Storybird.com provides a great, and easy to use platform for creating stories online. To start, from http://storybird.com click on Start a Storybird Now. You'll then be able to browse and select the artwork that you'd like to base your Storybird on (this is my favorite option), or scroll down the page and explore by theme (also a good choice =). You can click to See More Art or See More Themes from both of these areas. You can also click Reload from the Image pages to view even more artwork! Once you decide on the artwork that you would like to use, click to Start a Storybird with this art. This is where the fun really begins...

When you see a screen similar to the one above, you are ready to roll. The artwork group that you selected will be displayed to the right and left of your Storybird book. If you can't see all of the images, no worries, just move them around on your screen. You can click and drag them to a different spot, or just click once to view it larger! To place an image on the Storybird just click and drag it onto the page. The location of the image on the page will depend on where you place it. If you put the image more to the right side of the page then you will have a place to type on the left, and vise versa.

The story board for your Storybird (try saying that fast 3 times!) is below your book. From here you can add or remove pages, as well as re-arrange the order of your book (just click and drag). Don't forget to click on the cover of your book from here to add the title and author.

You have the option to just Save, or to Publish your story (publishing means it's open to the public). You can also invite a collaborator to the story so that they can "jump in" and add to the story where you left off. If you want to save your Storybird, and you have not yet created an account, you will be prompted to do so at this time. 

Classroom Application

Write a Storybird with your class. Have students give input as a class and publish online for the students and parents to access. Additionally, Storybird gives you the option of creating a class with your login, and adding students to the class (all for free!!). Students are given a username and password in the system that they can use to create Storybirds that you as the teacher will be able to access. You can also give an assignment to the students on the website for creating a Storybird. They will see the assignment when they login!

*Make sure if you post student work online that you have the necessary approval from their parents/guardians. 

Have fun and enjoy!

Pixlr...Photo Editing Services

www.pixlr.com

Pixlr provides a great online application for editing photos. So you may ask...what makes it different from other online photo editors?? Well for starters, you don't have to register for an account so it is quick and easy to start using the application. 

Even better, Pixlr offers you a couple of options for editing your photos. If you're a beginner with photo editing, Pixlr Express is a great place to start. It offers cropping and resizing tools, as well as adjustments and effects that you can apply to your image. 

If you are familiar with products like Photoshop, then you will be quite comfortable using the full Pixlr Editor. The editor will allow you to import your own images and it gives you the option of creating an image from scratch. In the Tools window you will also find red-eye fix, blur, clone, and many more correction and editing tools.

When you click on either of the options (Editor, or Express) you will first see a window that prompts you to select your image source (or create a new blank image in Editor). Once you make your choice, you will see the application with the toolbox on the left. 

Enjoy! 

Snappy Words

The site this week is www.snappywords.com, an online visual dictionary. What exactly does this mean? Rather than the traditional definition format that you are used to seeing when you search for a word in a dictionary, you will see a graphical representation of different words that explain the meaning.


When you first go to Snappy Words you will probably notice the web of words that appears. This word is generated randomly by the site when you pull it up. The word in the middle of the web is the main word, with the lines and colors that connect to the other words representing various things.

Even more fun is the fact that the word web is interactive. Click and drag to move the web around, scroll up or down to zoom in and out, and you can even click on a word and move it to a different location. You can even hover your mouse on any of the words in the web to see more information. To see the meaning of the various lines and colors, view the key that is found below the word display. If you're wondering what dictionary Snappy Words uses.... 

"The Snappy Words interface queries the WordNet lexical database developed by Princeton University and made available for students and language researchers. This dictionary groups synonyms into synsets through lexical relations between terms. These meanings and semantic relationships are revealed graphically by the interactive web technology made available by Snappy Words." -www.snappywords.com

To search for your own word just enter it into the search window that is found in the upper-right portion of the page. Now do I think this a replacement for the traditional dictionary? No, but I do think it is a fun change of pace that will stimulate some thought with your students. Once students have seen and used the site, maybe they could come up with their own "visual definition" of a word.

Jeopardy Labs

Summer is soooo very close, and I know you'll be sad to hear it...but it's the last Webby Wednesday of the school year =( I'm going to leave you this year with a website that provides an online platform for creating Jeopardy style games for your students. I know some of you do some planning throughout the summer, so if you do, and even if you don't, keep this site in mind in the future...

The website is http://jeopardylabs.com. To get started just click Start Building (this is the free way). You will be prompted to create a password. Just make sure you remember your password because you will need it if you want to edit your game in the future. Once you click Start Building, you will then be taken to the edit screen. Building your Jeopardy game is easy, just click to edit the Title and Categories, and click on a point value to enter an answer and question (think Jeopardy style). Just complete as many questions and answers as you'd like, and then when you are finished, make sure you click Save at the bottom of the page.

Once you Save, you will be given links to your game. Make sure and bookmark and/or save the web addresses. When you play the game with your students you can pick the number of teams playing, and then keep record of the scores on the website by click the + and - buttons.

You can find many Jeopardy games already created on the site by clicking on Browse from the homepage (that's where I found the following sample, http://jeopardylabs.com/play/5th-grade-end-of-year-test).

Happy Summer and Enjoy!

Sheppard Software

Sheppard Software offers one online stop for many learning games and activites in the content areas of Language Arts, Math, Science, and Social Studies.

Many of the activities are very brief and offer a great way to reinforce a concept. In addition to the games there are also quizzes over the topic areas of Chemistry, Health, History, Nutrition, and Seasons.

There are quite a few Geography activities/quizzes that can be found on the site by clicking on World Geography Games or US Geography Games at the top of the page. The games are all based upon the idea of locating a requested area/country/city on a map.

In the Science section of the site you will find activities on the topics of dinosaurs, seasons, life cycles, cells, endangered animals, and deep sea science. Several different life cycles can be re-enacted on the Sheppard Software site. The life cycles of the butterfly, frog, and bird are all accessible and operated by the user placing the stages of the life cycle in the correct order.

In the Math section of Sheppard Software there are activities on basic operations, mixed operations, fractions, place value, time, money, early childhood math, and pre-algebra.

Language Arts activities that are found through the site primarily pertain to various parts of speech and vocabulary (all the way up to SAT and GRE vocabulary prep).

Take a look at Sheppard Software and see what activities would be helpful to your students. With the "game-like" environment of some of the activities, some students may even find this site as a fun place to spend a little time this summer on a rainy day =)

As always, please feel free to leave a comment and let us all know how you are using this resource in your classroom.

Picture Book Maker

The Picture Book Maker is an easy to use site that allows you (and your students!) to create a book. The site supplies the images, you just supply the words. No registration is required to use the site, which makes the site ideal for younger student use. When you arrive at the site you will see three options. To begin your book, click Enter. 


From there you will be in an open book, looking at the first and second pages. To add pictures to your page, just use the images found at the bottom of the page.

 
You will find backgrounds to the left, characters in the center, and objects on the right. Click the arrows to page through the different choices. To use one of the images just click it. A background will automatically go in your book, but with the characters and objects you then click where you would like to place it on your page. You can choose between different actions for your character once you place it in your book by moving the slider titled Actions. In addition, you can also scale the images once you place them in your book by moving the Scale slider. 


To add text to your book click the pencil, then click into your page and type your text. Click and drag on one of the corners to move the text box to a different location on your page.


One thing that I found kind of odd about the site is that it does open you to the first and second pages, not the cover of the book. Just remember to click the C in the pages below your book to design your book cover.

When you are finished with your book click Finish to view your book and see more options. From this screen you can print your book, or email the link to the book to someone.


Enjoy!

Math Manipulatives

The Math Manipulatives portion of the Math Playground site offers some great Math tools. You will find Fraction Scales, Fraction Bars, Decimal Scales, Probability Spinners, Pattern Blocks and many others. The tools allow you to manipulate and add your own information to solve or explore a problem.

Fraction Bars (pictured above) allows you to set the numerator and denominator for each row by sliding to a different value. The number titles can be turned on or off.

Classroom Application

No registration is required to use the site which makes it easy for teachers and students to use. Teachers can use the products to illustrate problems and concepts. These tools can also be used by students to assist them in solving problems.

Have fun and enjoy!