wix.com

Are you ready for a resource that just anyone will find beneficial! It is wix.com! This is one of my most favorite websites. Where else can you make your own website. Yes, you can actually make your very own website on wix.com and it is FREE! That last word just caught your attention right?

I am working on a couple websites right now. I have completely revamped the school counseling website at the school I am working at. Check it out. http://schoolcounselors.wix.com/dunbarhs (I still have a few pages to finish up but it is live). I am also working on an interactive resume so that I can showcase my various talents. And finally, I am debating whether I want to do some website designing on the side for a little extra cash, so I have been playing around with a simple website to advertise those services if I ever decide to go forward with that little moneymaking hobby.

This can be used in the education world in a variety of ways with students. One activity that I plan to have my students do is create a resume for scholarships on wix. Students can create an online portfolio of projects completed in class. For instance, we offer a class called Intro to Information Technology. I can see students creating a portfolio of all projects they do in Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Outlook. This would also be a great site for a science fair project, posting research, methodology, and results. Rather than having students complete a research paper, you can have them create a research site. The ideas are endless.

So wix is pretty simple to use.  You can choose between html5 or flash. What is the difference between those two you may ask? The basic difference is how "interactive" the webpage is. The html5 tends to be more of your typical websites. This is the type of site that I used for my school counseling webpage. The flash is "flashier". I am using the flash for my interactive resume. Just make sure that whatever template you use is the one you want because once you starting editing it you can't change the template.

The great thing is, wix has a youtube channel with LOTS of tutorials to choose from, so if you get lost and are not sure how to move forward, just check out this http://www.youtube.com/user/wixmypage webpage :)

Screencast-o-matic.com

Do you want to make your own YouTube videos? With this website, it makes it super easy and it’s FREE. Well with this program you can do that, plus more. You can use whatever presentation software that you want with this program whether you choose powerpoint, prezi, or smartboard notebook. You can also create demonstrations on how to use different technology so example if you wanted to show how to create a master slide in powerpoint, you can easily record this. If you want to show how to use a particular website, you can record that too. And if you have a web camera, you can put your face on the screen as well.

Teachers! If you have an especially difficult lesson that you want to post on your website, you can use this tool to record your lesson on something like SMART Board. You can also have students create their own videos on ANY subject matter. This would make a GREAT project for any subject. I am planning to use it in the future to show how to use some websites that I love and instructions on how to sign up for classes on Florida Virtual School so that I can post it on my school counseling website.

Screencast-o-matic is easy to use. My suggestion is to have a script ready before you begin recording and know what you want to show. Have students submit a script and an outline of visuals they will show.

Try it out and see if you like it. Better yet, have your students try out this website with your next project.

Prezi & Simplebooklets

WOW! It has been way too long since I last posted. IT IS SPRING BREAK for me!!!! While I would love to be spending my time in the Florida sun, the weather has not cooperated with this plan so instead I am using Spring Break as an opportunity to catch up on my blogging.
Here are two great resources that you can use in your classroom or office.
How many of you have ever given a project and asked your students to make a PowerPoint Presentation? While I SUPER LOVE PowerPoint, sometimes it does get a little boring seeing the same old same old all the time. That is why I love Prezi.com.

I love the way that Prezi zooms in and out. Here is a Prezi I recently created for a presentation in my Advanced Counseling Methods class on the subject of Family Systems Theory.

http://prezi.com/2hec9_qtlfbs/family-systems/?kw=view-2hec9_qtlfbs&rc=ref-23143655. Overall, prezi is pretty simple to use though it does take sometime to get used to all the different tools and options. As with any good Powerpoint presentation, it is best to have a idea of what you want to include on your prezi before you begin to create it.
Here is youtube video that shows the basics of prezi.

Another tool that can be used is simplebooklet.com. It is a virual flip book. This can be used to have students design their own childrens' book, explain how photosynthesis takes place, a brochure on a recently read book, basically anything that you would ask your students to do on a PowerPoint. Educators can sign up for an account upgrade for $10 a year which allows a teacher 30 student accounts and a separate gallery to view student produced work that is also ad free. This is not necessary since each simplebooklet can be shared. I would suggest having student send you the url and keep track of them in a excel spreadsheet. Like prezi, the tools can be a little tricky to get used to especially when you are accustomed to using Microsoft based programs.
Here is another tutorial that you can watch that will help you get started with simplebooklets.

Smore

Are you ready for smore? No, I am not talking about the yummy campfire treat made of chocolate and melted marshmallow, sandwiched between two graham crackers (though I am now in the mood for them). I am talking about the website www.smore.com. This website promises to help users create aesthetically pleasing flyers in a short amount of time. I created the flyer below in 10 minutes but could have been much less if I had all my pictures together first.

 

Currently, the site is in beta so that means new backgrounds, fonts, and colors will available in the near future. ♥

The user has the ability to post this flyer in a variety of ways including: facebook, pintrest, twitter, and craigslist. You can use a link like this one https://smore.com/8q7r  or email it to others. And of course you can embed it like I have done above.

What is neat about this website is that you can add different types of media. You don't have to use just pictures, you can add video too! You can easily add more layouts or delete layouts that you don't want.

So how can this resource be used in the education world... Besides making flyers for events such as open house, awards night, or fundraisers, you can also use it in content areas. For instance, history teachers could have students write a RAFT advertising for the Freedom March, a math teacher could have students create a store that sells parts of geometric figures (example: with a circle it has a circumference, diameter, radius, area), a school counselor could have students do a flyer about their strengths, reading teachers might have students do a flyer about a book that they read.

Do you have any ideas on how you could use this resource in the classroom?

Poll Everywhere

Have you ever been incredibly frustrated when students have their cell phones out in class? Rather than constantly battling students about cell phones, why not use them as a learning resource. Classroom response systems can be expensive; with polleverywhere.com your students' cell phones are turned into a classroom response system. The free version allows users to write unlimited number of polls with up to 40 responses per poll. You can save the polls for use in multiple classes. The polls can be embed into PowerPoint slides, can be accessed on a link, or can be posted on blogs or websites like I have done below ☺.

So how can this be used in schools...  This resource can be used in a variety of ways since it can be set up to have multiple choice responses or free responses. It can be used for quizzes, check for understanding, to get students opinions, start a discussion, to get to know your students, attendance, or just for a little fun.

This video shows some great ways that poll everywhere can be used in the education field and basic instructions on how to get started.

If you have any other questions regarding the use of poll everywhere, the company has a you tube channel that is extremely helpful.

http://www.youtube.com/user/polleverywhere

MATH TEACHERS! Poll Everywhere now has the capability to insert pictures and math equations!


Enjoy polling!

Live Binders

I have this great website for you. It is called Live Binders. This resource is great for saving virtual sources in one convenient place, while putting them in the order that you want. Instead of just giving a link, the virtual notebook will pull up that webpage. You can combine PDF's and Word documents in one binder. And the best part is that you don't have to print everything out. Save trees ☺. If you want you can then share all your documents in an easy presentable format including with a SMART Board. You can add the notebooks to websites or blogs so that others can access the information you put together. 

Plus there is a library of binders already created that you can access!

Check it out!

http://www.livebinders.com/

Word Splash

Has anyone ever heard of a word splash? A word splash is a differentiated instruction strategy where a student lists all the different words associated with a topic. For instance if a History teacher was covering the Civil War students might list Abraham Lincoln, 1861-1865, slavery, North & South, etc. A Geometry teacher may use it to go over the properties of a square. A Reading or English teach may use it after a student has read a novel. School Counselor use this strategy as well. Often in groups, school counselor will have students start a list of positive traits or characteristics of the other students.

Here is an AWESOME website that uses the word splash strategy in a creative way. www.tagxedo.com

These are some of the ways that I have used this website in the past few weeks.

This is a word splash that I used on my school's school counseling website. www.bit.ly/dhsschoolcounseling

I used this word splash on a poster I created for National School Counseling Week.

You can also use them for your personal life and even create t-shirts, bags, mouse pads, or even coffee mugs. The possibilities are endless.

So instead of just having your students write words on a piece of paper, have them go a step further and transform it into ART. You can then print them out and decorate your classroom or office or laminate them for students to keep as a memento.

The website itself is fairly easy to use.
Click "CREATE"
From there you will click "LOAD". This is where you list all the words associated with your topic.
"THEME" controls the colors of the graphic and "SHAPE" controls the shape. The program provides many shapes. If they don't have the shape you are looking for you can upload your own like I did with the paw print.

How will you use this site?