Pinterest

The website Pinterest has a category called Education. It contains thousands of posts dedicated to crafts, decorations, projects, assignments, games, etc. that are perfect for the classrooms of all grades. It can be useful for teachers and parents can even use it with their children. You can even create an account and "like" posts or "pin" them to your own board to save for later. Great way to keep organized and get ideas to enhance a child's learning.

The link is here.

Video

Asperger Syndrome: Success in the Mainstream Classroom

Here is a helpful video I found about teaching children with Asperger's Syndrome.

Various teachers offer tips and information about how the topic.

Air Pollution PowerPoint

Air Pollution PowerPoint

Watch the video above to learn the causes and effects of air pollution and how to prevent it!

Protect Our Earth!

Below is a video about the importance of living sustainably and how vital our resources on Earth are.

What I Ate When I Went Abroad!

What I Ate When I Went Abroad!

My friends and I describe some foods we ate when we visited various countries around the world!

Questions

1) What are two interesting foods you heard about in this video?

2) Have you ever visited another country? If so, which one(s)? If not, where would you like to go?

3) What food described in this video would you like to try most?

Blabberize.com

Blabberize.com

A Review

Blabberize is a website that allows users to take a photo, "cut" a spot for a mouth, and make the photo "speak" by using a vocal recording. First, the user must upload a photo. Then he or she has to cut out a spot where the mouth is so that when the picture talks, it looks like the mouth is opening and closing. Finally, the user can either record their voice, upload a track, or use their cell phone to add the vocal aspect. (The vocal part can be no longer than 30 seconds). Once it's complete, the project can be viewed and sent. Like it says on the website's homepage, it takes about 30 seconds to make a creation. 

The website is fun to use and it's funny to see the final project. However, it's not too user-friendly. It was difficult for me to figure out how to get started and begin to make a project. Also, cutting out the spot for the mouth was difficult for me; I can only imagine how difficult it would be if a young student had to use it. I think it's an okay program for a teacher to use. He or she could use a historical figure, an animal, or another character to relay information in an entertaining, yet educational way. Essentially, this could be used for any subject, depending on what character is used. I think if students were going to use it, they would have to be in middle school. I think it is too difficult to use for younger students and too simple for older students. Middle school students can make informative projects with this application. However, with such a short amount of time allotted for the speaking part, it can be tough to make a thorough presentation. Also, I believe teachers will have to give some instruction on how to completely use the program. 

The best aspect of this application is the fact that the user can use any character's face for the project. There are many options for what to use, such as: cartoon characters, an animal, a president, or even the user's own face. The possibilities are endless! It can be a fun and effective activity for students to get their ideas across, which is why it's inspirational to users. Since there are so many possible faces to be used, and the fact that the user's own voice can be used to say whatever he or she wants, is a really great thing for students to experience. Students are also more likely to pay attention and be interested in the information being relayed if it's relayed in a unique and entertaining way, just like with this program. It would be best for students to use this individually. This is because only one character can be used at a time, so only one student should be working on each individual project. Overall I think it's a good activity, but not the best. It might get old after a while and students may lose interest in it. Additionally, only a certain amount of information can be relayed in the 30 second time allowance. However, it is definitely a good program for teachers to try out with their classes.

User-friendliness: low

Image/Audio quality: high

Educational level: neutral

Entertainment level: high

Burnout likelihood: likely 

Click here to use Blabberize!

ZooBurst.com

Zooburst.com

A Review

This is a program that lets users create virtual 3D pop-up books. It's user-friendly, incredibly fun, and fosters creativity. I believe it's a great addition to any elementary school class. First, users must create an account. They can then begin their book. They must add a title and description of their book. Then, they can change the colors of the book page and background. They can search for pictures and add them to their book. After that, they can move the pictures around, resize them, alter the angles, and add "dialogue" for the pictures. They can also add text to describe the whole page. When the users have added all the pictures and text to their book, they can save it and view the finished product. The pages can be changed by clicking the arrows on the side and the dialogue can be read by clicking on the blue speech bubbles with exclamation points in them. You can view my book by clicking the link here!

The best features of the application are:

• Variety of pictures.
• Ability to change colors on the page.
• Ability for students to be creative and imaginative. 

This program is best used by individuals. This way, the students can make their own books and express themselves. It's very rewarding for them to have their own projects. 

ZooBurst is very motivating and inspirational for students. This program is very good for young people to use. They can be creative and also work on their writing skills. It's especially useful for teaching literature. Children can write stories about whatever they want, add images, and express their writing in a more exciting way besides just on paper and pen. A teacher can assign a project with this application, such as write a creative story, write a memoir, write about a historical event, or many other activities. It can be used in the classroom many times for a variety of different reasons. The stories can also be printed. It would be very fun for the students to be able to show their creations to their parents. I think this would be best for elementary schools.

User-friendliness: high

Image/Audio quality: neutral

Educational level: neutral

Entertainment level: high

Burnout likelihood: unlikely 

Click here to use ZooBurst!