I feel like it's been forever since I've written a blog, but in reality it's only been two weeks. Very strange. My thought will be brief this week as part of my functionality is limited on these applications.
VoiceThread: The link to my thread is below. I wish I could've used VoiceThread to its optimal potential; I really enjoy the "narration over pictures" concept as well as the ability to embed videos. It's like making a brief, more customizable Powerpoint that can be easily saved to the Internet. Not requiring an account to view them makes the application a great tool for a classroom, as students can just "click and go."
My practice thread: voicethread.com/share/5067191/.
Animoto serves as almost an upgrade to VoiceThread, allowing for opportunities for students to create small videos to present to each other. It serves the same purpose as Windows Movie Maker or iMovie, but is more concise and takes less time create, meaning that students at a lower level or teachers with less time to contribute to a certain subject than they'd like can use it for easily accessible outside the classroom work.
Wordle is something I first encountered during my undergrad practicum. My cooperating teacher was big into technology and graphic design (he actually took a full time graphic design job the next year) and had several Wordles posted in his classroom. In the classroom I currently work in I have created a Wordle of our classroom "Dead Words," which i developed by checking our students' writing samples and picking out words that we wanted students to stop using. The most commonly used (and therefore, biggest) word? "Stuff." The Wordle I created is based from the famous "V word" monologue from my all time favorite movie, V for Vendetta.
Voilà! In view, a humble vaudevillian veteran, cast vicariously as both
victim and villian by the vicissitudes of Fate. This visage, no mere
veneer of vanity, is a vestige of the vox populi, now vacant, vanished.
However, this valorous visitation of a by-gone vexation, stands vivified
and has vowed to vanquish these venal and virulent vermin vanguarding
vice and vouchsafing the violently vicious and voracious violation of
volition. The only verdict is vengence; a vendetta, held as
a votive, not in vain, for the value and veracity of such shall one day vindicate the vigilant and the virtuous. Verily, this vichyssoise of verbiage veers most verbose, so let me
simply add that it is my very good honor to meet you and you may call me
V. (http://www.wordle.net/show/wrdl/7216537/V)
I like how you did your Wordle. The VoiceThread page said I did not have access to view it and I did not see a link to an Animoto you made. I also found the way you use Wordle in your class to be interesting. It can be used for so many types of things. I didn't think of using it for words that are "Dead Words." I agree though that "stuff" is a dead word. It's up there with a few other words on my list of "Dead words." Nice timing for Halloween!
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