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TeachersFirst Edge

New web 2.0 tools appear each day. Many of these tools were not originally intended for classroom use, but they can be powerful learning tools for today’s techno-savvy students and their more adventurous teachers. These sites appear (and frequently disappear) very quickly, launched by creative techno-geeks out there in the world.

Many of these sites require a higher-than-average set of teacher tech skills or extra monitoring to assure student “safety.” TeachersFirst Edge features these "tools on the edge,” and offers ideas for using them safely and effectively as yet another approach to teaching. This is the world your students already know. Try teaching in their vernacular.

If you are feeling adventurous -- or want to see many teachers will be doing in a year or three -- try some of these tools.

See General Tips for using These Tools - a must for first-time users

If you try one of these tools and find it especially useful or if you know of another tool that teachers would find beneficial, please contact TeachersFirst.

Here's the Edge:

Asterpix - Asterpix, Inc. Grades 6 to 12 - permalink

TeachersFirst Edge entry: For slightly adventurous technology users. This site is useful to create an interactive video (hypervideo) through the use of hyperlinking. Just like hyperlinks in a document, create hot links to notes, websites, and other material you link to from parts of the video. The links appear as little circles (hotspot markers) that are clicked to reveal the information you "attach." Add more information to your video for students to access during the playback. Easy-to-follow directions and quick tours to get you started. When the video is done, you can generate and embed a code in your blog or website. Video can also be emailed. Quicktime and FLASH are required. Get them from the TeachersFirst Toolbox page..
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In the Classroom:
Skills needed: Site is free, but you must join to create your own videos. Videos must originate from YouTube or TeacherTube (see editorial comment below). You can always upload your own originals to one of these sites, if you wish to annotate a video you shot for use in class, such as a science demo. Paste the YouTube url into the search function, click on a part of the video you want to label, and add notes to, or link to a website. No special skills needed. A teenager or techno-comfortable teacher will figure this one out in one minute. The only challenge is determining what notes and links to use. Keep a second window open to copy and paste website addresses quickly. Watch the demos for quick learning of how to use this application.

Safety concern: some featured videos available on the site's home page, especially those under "Entertainment," may not be appropriate for school viewing. If your school does not have an actively-enforced student acceptable use policy with specific consequences for accessing inappropriate content, you may want to avoid this page or generate such an agreement for student and parent signatures before allowing students open access to Asterpix. You can always create products of your own and share them directly by URL or by embedding them in your blog.

Does your school block YouTube? Try creating a video using an original from TeacherTube instead. Or follow your school's technology policy to request unblocking of specific YouTube video URLs that are directly related to curriculum.

Editorial comment: Be sure to SHARE the completed examples (and student-made products) with administrators and school decision-makers to demonstrate why school policies should permit such powerful opportunities for teaching and learning. Perhaps you can advocate, at the least, quicker unblocking of specific videos (24 hours or less?) for classroom use or permission for teachers to unblock on a per-computer basis. Your efforts to respect policies while pro-actively advocating for appropriate change will benefit all teachers and students.

Possible uses for annotated videos: Use a video and have students add information to check their understanding, such as to label the actions they observe during a chemistry demo and add links to web pages that explain the underlying concepts. Create teacher-made videos to share individually or on a projector with students of ALL ages to illustrate and annotate concepts that are especially challenging or simply to help students visualize the connections between the words they read or hear and the real world examples. Shoot on-site video at the zoo or at a pond study site, then add annotations later. Use videos already available, but add the explanations using the terminology from your curriculum and allow student so access then for review or extra help. Secondary students will love using Asterpix themselves and will give a new dimension to presentations they create. Teachers can use the interactive video for extra tutorial work, explanations of topics, etc. The possibilities are endless!

Blog Basics for the Classroom - TeachersFirst Grades 0 to 12 - permalink

This comprehensive article gives all the details on using gated blogs safely in the classroom, including explanations of blogging basics, a TeachersFirst Step-by-Step on how to start one, complete reviews of several free blogging tools for teachers, and over two dozen ideas for how to use a blog with your students. Make "writing to learn" approachable and exciting. Don't miss the specially-honored TeachersFirst Class Blogs.
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In the Classroom:
You could use this step by step as the framework for a self-directed or "buddy" professional development project. Share it with your principal or professional development coordinator.

Building Learners Project - TeachersFirst and TRIntuition Grades 2 to 12 - permalink

Follow the progress of 100 TeachersFirst members as they collaborate and use a safe web2.0 tool with the support of the tool developer and TeachersFirst's teacher-friendly team. The 100 participants receive free, premium pilot accounts to use TRintuition’s workBench and our support to help them build learners in their classrooms. These accounts allow teachers and students to create online collaborative projects using the workBench’s visually-rich and user-friendly tools, possibly even collaborating with classes from other schools.

Both teachers and students can build online or downloadable projects using the workBench. Each free premium pilot teacher account includes up to 45 student user accounts for access throughout 2008. Teachers who are part of the pilot project will be asked to complete at least one classroom-related, student- or teacher-created project (or as many classroom-related projects as you wish!) before November 30, 2008.

This blog documents the project and the idea-sharing from the announcement of the project start in April, 2008 and will remain online as a prototype for collaborative use of technology after the project completion.
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In the Classroom:
Teachers who wish to join the project should read the details and sign-up from the blog. Learn more about the TRIntuition workBench from the TeachersFirst Edge review of this tool.

Calendar Hub - Grades 0 to 12 - permalink

Teachers and students in any subject can use this TeachersFirst Edge tool for slightly adventurous technology users. This online calendar maker allows users (must register---for free)to create and edit online calendars with your own events and including local events (if you wish). Save paper by publishing your classroom calendars online using this free tool! Schools and teachers can use it to share upcoming important events. Classroom teachers and students can use it to plan long-term projects. Groups working on collaborative projects can share a calendar with to-do list and deadlines telling which person is responsible. Teach organizational skills to your students by modeling the tool in class and telling both parents and students about it. Middle schoolers just beginning to take responsibility for their own time management will enjoy creating their OWN calendar instead of being told what to do.

See a sample (look at June, 2007). Notice that there is not a clutter of advertising.
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In the Classroom:
Skills needed: Join the site (requires an email address, so this is not suitable for younger children. Consider setting up accounts using the teacher's email). Check out the Help for complete directions or simply play with the tools to make calendar events, share calendars, create groups---perhaps the sections you teach or the groups for projects, publish them, add events, etc.

Get the URL for your calendar by "publishing" it. You can make the calendar shared only between certain CalendarHub members (such as students working on a project). Do not include student names, birthdays, etc. on a fully public calendar unless you use first names only and limit the amount of identifiable information about your school. If students use the CalendarHub for group projects, require them to make theirs shared but not fully public for safety reasons.

Captioner - Flickr Toys Grades 6 to 12 - permalink

TeachersFirst Edge entry: for the more adventurous technology user. This creative page allows you to add captions to photographs you have uploaded or found on an online site such as Flickr. Upload your own set of digital images to Flickr ahead of time, then assign the task of creating a captioned sequence to explain a major concept, such as mitosis or narrative patterns. You could also have students create campaign ads, posters of important people, etc. If you limit the photos permitted, you can control some of the "risk" of students' accessing non-classroom content. Be certain you explore the potential areas of risk before trying this lesson.
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In the Classroom:
Skills needed: locating and uploading digital image files, locating the actual URL for specific images, navigating the tools of Captioner, managing potential safety and "appropriateness" issues of an online environment.

Carbonmade: Your Online Portfolio - nterface Grades 8 to 12 - permalink

TeachersFirst Edge Entry: for slightly adventurous technology users. This is one fabulous way for art or photography students to create a FREE online portfolio to share work in your class, share with each other, or submit as an online collection for competitions or college admissions. The users agreement specifies no "group" accounts or users under 13 years old. The free version is limited to 5 projects and 35 images (no videos in the free version), but this is enough to show your "best of the best." You can even choose the actual URL for the portfolio within Carbonmade. The home page has a Flash demo so you can see how the site works.
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In the Classroom:
Skills needed: join the site (free), browse for files and upload to site, label with captions, project information, other information, and decide about viewing options. Works best with Internet Explorer 6+ or Safari. No special html skills needed. A teenager will figure this one out in one minute. A techno-comfortable teacher will take no more than four minutes! The only challenge is figuring out how to change settings on a project within your portfolio and have them SAVE. Watch the demo.

Share portfolios among neighboring schools or through art teacher associations to inspire your students and help them develop the critical skills to choose their best work and articulate their reasons (Use the "notes" space on each image to tell about it).

Be sure that you adhere to school policies regarding posting of student work. Have students create their accounts ONLY with written parent permission, especially since there is space for a "profile" (which teachers should require students to leave BLANK for safety reasons. Use your teacher email account so there is no danger of having outsiders contact your students. After graduation students may change the settings and use the site in budding art careers! Avoid including any personally identifiable information in descriptions or images. Personally identifiable information can always be shared with potential colleges, etc. via email or letter, rather than posting it to the web.

CAST UDL Book Builder - CAST Grades 0 to 12 - permalink

TeachersFirst Edge Tool: For more adventurous technology users-- and those who are willing to take the time to learn the tool. This fabulous, FREE online tool allows you to create your own interactive "books" to help young readers learn reading strategies to build comprehension. The tool allows you to enter your own text, images, and hints. The finished product is a very polished-looking book in a form that you can save on your computer or burn to a CD and use over and over and over with students for years to come.

Be sure to try the model books and read the tips for writers and illustrators. Click to see a sample we made for you and placed on our site.
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In the Classroom:
Skills required: joining the site (free), locating or writing your own copyright-free text, locating or creating images for which you have the rights to make more than one copy (Fair Use does not apply!), copy/paste the text and resize/upload the images--following simple directions to create the pages and accompanying hints. Be sure to learn about the three interactive characters who teach the strategies! Publish and download the files of the finished "books" and save on your computer. Extract the zipped files and save locally, on your network, or burn to CD so your students can access them directly.

The uses of this one are endless. If you take the time to get permission from the publisher to use text from some of your textbooks or reading books, you could create interactive versions to use in your classroom or with special ed students. More simply, use student-written stories and artwork (scanned -- or created in Paint)to create the "book." Imagine creating a class "book" at the end of a unit on Communities or Animals, and including images you take with your digital camera. If you copy the CD's, students could sign out the "book" and read it to relatives using their home computer. You can keep the "library" of past books to help future classes. Or ask your middle/high school or gifted students to create books as writing/service project for struggling readers to use.

circaVie (beta) - AIM Network Grades 3 to 12 - permalink

TeachersFirst EDGE entry: for slightly adventurous technology users. This online tool allows you to create an interactive multimedia timeline on a topic of your choice. You are able to use pictures, videos, or text to mark an event. Video and audio files hosted elsewhere (podcasts, TeacherTube videos, etc) can be included in your timelines. Pictures can be included by upload or by URL. Embed the "finished" timeline into a website or blog or share it via URL. See a sample created by our Edge review team. Viewers can comment on the events in your timelines, unless you have opted to keep the events "private." Free registration is required to create a timeline. This site requires Flash. Get it from the TeachersFirst Toolbox page.. NOTE: as of this review, circaVie is in beta, so there may still be some "glitchy" behavior from this tool. AOL has purchased this tool, so its longevity may be more protected than some other web 2.0 start-ups.
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In the Classroom:
Skills needed: Join the site using an Instant Messenger Screenname or Open ID (both are free). You must know how to locate your photos and click to upload a photo or paste in the URL for an online photo/ video/ sound file to be included in a timeline. Note that photos and images included by URL do not raise the copyright issues of downloaded or saved images "taken" from web sources.

Safety/security concerns: Since all timelines are, to some degree, public, you will want to limit any student-created products to curriculum content rather than personal information or identifiable photos. The user information states that this is a "family friendly environment," but there are no guarantees. Use a single teacher GMail account to set up your OpenID account and avoid student email address or AIM screenname use, unless it is permitted by your school policies. If you plan to have students use this site, you will want to create multiple OpenID accounts using subaccounts of your GMail, since only one computer can be logged in per account at the same time. copyright (use URLs?)

Possible Uses: What a fabulous website to spark students' interest in creating a historical timeline. Have students work in teams to create timelines about various events in United States or World history. Have them make timelines to show the life cycle of a volcano, the water cycle, or the life of a famous scientist or author. Have them create a timeline of the plot of a novel, interspersed with the ways themes appear throughout the novel. If you read Dickens, be SURE to create a timeline of the many intertwined characters, such as Estella and Pip in Great Expectations! If you teach chemistry, have students create illustrated sequences explaining oxidation or reduction (or both). Younger students can create personal timelines, but there is the danger of "outsiders" seeing them.

Project the timelines on the screen or whiteboard in your classroom or embed them in your class wiki or blog for feedback and sharing. You can also share by exact URL using the link on Circavie.

Citebite - Grades 0 to 12 - permalink

TeachersFirst Edge entry: for slightly adventurous technology users. Imagine being able to give students (or parents)an exact link to a specific quote within a web page. This TeachersFirst Edge tool does exactly that. Why would you want to? Perhaps you want to send students to a certain paragraph for an activity: for reading comprehension, for reading a specific portion of text, or even for highlighting a literary device within a text or poem. Students will no longer waste time, announcing, "I can't find it!" or return to school saying they couldn't do the homework!
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In the Classroom:
No membership or cost required. Tool can be used in less than 30 seconds. Skills needed: Open TWO windows in Internet Explorer or any web browser. One should be open to citebite; the other to the web page you wish to reference. On that web page, locate and "highlight" the exact passage of text you want to "send" people to see. Copy/paste the passage into the quotation box at Citebite (copy, then change windows). Return to the target web page and copy/paste its actual URL into Citebite. Click "Make Citebite." Copy/paste the new url, indicated after "Your citebite link is:" Note: if the original quote is within a FLASH presentation, it will not copy/paste or generate a Citebite. See this example of a Citebite link to a tip about TeachersFirst Edge tools: http://pages.citebite.com/b1j4l1j7o0ndu

Have your middle and high school students do a web page "credibility critique" on their potential sources by using Citebite before they start a research project. They can highlight passages as proof of credibility -- or lack thereof -- and give you the Citebite links. They will love this easy way to reference a specific portion of a page. You will love the ease of finding it. If you give them a Word document table as a web site evaluation rubric, they can paste the Citebites there, with their comments in the neighboring cell!

Common Craft - Common Craft Productions Grades 0 to 12 - permalink

This is a TeachersFirst Edge Entry for ANYONE who wants to know more about new technologies. No special skills needed. Watch and learn. If you are embarrassed to say that you don't know what all the "new web 2.0" terms are all about, this one is for you (and probably for your students' parents, as well). Common Craft uses a very simple, visual method of explaining all the latest technologies so that anyone can understand, using short video clips narrated by a positive and respectful voice. The next time you hear someone talking about RSS feeds or some other new doo-dad, stop here first so you will know what they are talking about. Did you think you were the only one who did not know? Fear not. This site has incredible popularity because there are LOADS of people quietly questioning -- just like you. Videos require Flash. Get it from the TeachersFirst Toolbox page..
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In the Classroom:
Start by looking at "Most Viewed" and "Most Popular Right Now," but don't be afraid to search for other topics that have you wondering. You will definitely want to make this site a Favorite and tag is as "professional" information to keep you informed. Share it on your teacher web page to help out your parents, too!

Create an Interview Video - Washington Post Grades 7 to 12 - permalink

TeachersFirst Edge entry: for the more adventurous technology user. The Washington Post offers this short-term opportunity to create your own campaign interview. Begun in September, 2006, the project invites you and your students to create a video interview using the downloadable question "footage" they provide of an interviewer and insert your own video of the responses. You may submit your completed video back to the Post's site. After a few weeks, the Post will allow you to see others' work and comment to each other. This would be a great activity to teach video editing, but more importantly to teach about interviewing, political "message," and the election process. Although this activity was designed prior to the 2006 election, the video clips will work for most any election.
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In the Classroom:
As a class activity, you may not want to upload your resulting videos but instead share them in class, depending on your district policies about posting student work to the web. Certainly, you will want to keep student work anonymous. Tech skills needed: ability to download and upload, locating or creating video clips of responses, use of Windows Movie Maker, iMovie, or similar video-editing software, management of larger files, proper citation of sources.

Del.icio.us - Grades 0 to 12 - permalink

TeachersFirst Edge entry: for the more adventurous technology user. Delicious is a social bookmarking tool. Your high school students (and maybe you?)have probably been using it for a couple of years. Keep your Favorites (bookmarks) on a web page where you can access them from any computer, organize them by "tag" (keyword), and make them public or private. You can share them with others or search for others' choices by tag, as well, as long as the "owner" made them public. You must join to set up an account with a valid email, then you can download a toolbar or make an "Add to my Delicious" link on your links bar so you can add sites as you find them. Many school districts block this site, unfortunately, because the "What's Hot" links available from the Delicious homepage may lead to inappropriate content. Sometimes automated filtering systems therefore block the entire site.
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In the Classroom:
If you can access the site from school, tag links by the units you teach or by assignment so students can access the public side of your Delicious page and use the links to complete assignments. If you are a truly inspiring teacher, they may even add some of them to their own delicious accounts. Unless your school specifically permits user profiles and accounts for students, do NOT encourage them to set up these accounts from school. If they do, use pseudonyms. Another possible use is for collaborative projects. If students have their own accounts, they can "collect" links for a group project with a shared tag so others can access them. You may have to help those who have less experience with web tools, and you must be careful about equity issues such as home Internet access. Using a single teacher account IN class prevents these concerns. Another plus: you can add to your Del.icio.us from any inservice you attend and NEVER lose the links! Tech skills needed: developing a system of tagging that will facilitate sharing and searching (look to see how others do it), adding a link to your links bar, copying the URL of the public side for students to use.

Educational Uses of Digital Storytelling - Bernard R. Robin, Ph.D. Grades 5 to 12 - permalink

A fantastic and complete site that tells you all you need to know about making digital stories with students. The wide grade level range shows the versatility of the site for use with any student based upon his readiness to tell stories. The site includes everything from goals to resources to the step-by-step process used to create the stories. An example is also shown. Adobe Acrobat is necessary to see some examples.
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In the Classroom:
Fabulous for use with any subject that can be turned into a story. This is especially good for author projects, history reports, and adaptations of stories. It can be used by teachers from intermediate grades through college, depending on the topic, need, and abilities of the students. Be sure to explore the many links to see how other schools and students have used digital storytelling.

Fleck - Fleck.com Grades 3 to 12 - permalink

TeachersFirst Edge entry: for slightly adventurous technology users. Fleck allows you to put sticky notes and other annotations onto existing web pages and share them with others. Now you can tell students exactly what you want them to do on a page, point out instances of bias or unsafe Internet practice, etc. You can put effective reading strategies right ON the text of the page. See an example here. Your students can also "fleck" to each other as they work on group projects, noting how they will use information or categorizing what they find. Fleck uses FLASH and does not work well on TOP of Flash-driven pages. The annotated pages take a few moment to load, even on a quick connection.
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In the Classroom:
Possible uses: Student research projects, guided reading of web sites, comprehension questions, guiding questions, annotations for tough vocabulary with younger students, Internet safety lessons, students analyzing sites as part of information literacy lessons, art critiques by you or students, student collaboration and source-sharing, professional notes for your own reading or graduate work, etc. Assign students to "Fleck" a site as an assignment in critical thinking and turn it in by sharing with you.

Skills needed: Join the site and wait for the confirming email (our review team said it took a couple of hours). While you are waiting, click over to the HOME page and watch the "How this works" animation. Then try the link to "So why don't you give it a try." (This trial will NOT be saved!) Enter the URL of a page you wish to annotate at the top of the Fleck screen and click GO. Use the toolbar that appears with the web page to add notes, etc. and SAVE. You can also download an extension for Firefox or bookmarklet for Internet Explorer (to make a Fleck button on your toolbar). Be sure to choose public or private for Flecks you make when you SAVE (can be changed). Share your Fleck by clicking the Share button and emailing a note to your recipients-- or click the "blog" button to get a permalink you can copy/paste to share via email or other means, such as on your web page or an electronic assignment handout.

To use Fleck safely, you can have students use your login account to make their own Flecks. If students have their own email, they can also have log-ins, but you have no monitoring over what they do. For safety's sake, you might want to require all student Flecks to be private and shared ONLY with class members. Since enforcement is tough, start with the teacher-only account and make Flecks for students to SEE. Once you are comfortable with the tool, allow students to use your account. You will not know WHO made inappropriate Flecks, but you can see and delete them from one place. Of course, you will need to test whether Fleck is blocked in your school (we hope not).

IMPORTANT SAFETY NOTE: This is a public site, and some of the "recent Flecks" that show on the HOME page are NOT school-appropriate. TeachersFirst has contacted Fleck about this concern, and they tell us they are unable to "filter" these flecks at this time. We recommend always starting students from your member home page and avoiding Fleck HOME altogether.

Flickr - Flickr Grades 5 to 12 - permalink

TeachersFirst Edge entry: for the more adventurous technology user. This site allows you to upload and share images in an online location. It is not specifically an education site, so it has the drawback of possibly including "inappropriate" content. As a teaching tool, you can upload picture collections and "tag" them with a unique keyword so students can access them for various activities, such as creating sequenced "comic strips," making annotated posters, including photos in blogs, and other electronic projects. This is a great way to make the photos accessible for the students to use. Note: use the DIRECT URL to the specifically-tagged photos ("photosynthesisproject") or create a collection for each project.
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In the Classroom:
Join the site for free (and make sure you turn OFF all the "send me emails" features). Place photos online for all the projects you expect to do with students. They will remain in place for future years. If you wish to, remove them from "public" viewing when you do not need them. Note: You MUST be the actual copyright holder to upload photos to this site, so use your digital camera, NOT downloaded photos from the web! Skills needed: taking and saving digital pictures, location and upload of photo files, "tagging" them so students can a find them, copying the URL of the tagged group or of the collection, changing the attributes of your uploaded pictures, finding other tools on TeachersFirst or elsewhere to use the photos.

From Cave Art to Your Art - Sanford Grades 5 to 12 - permalink

Challenge your students' creativity and personal reflections about art: both their own and art through the ages. Use this site to CREATE their own videos with images from their own artwork, text, and video clips provided by the site. There are suggestions for structured video topics or you can suggest other ideas. The site provides clear, step-by-step instructions for students to complete their videos. The files can even be downloaded and played on any computer. Art teachers and computer teachers alike will love the possibilities of this project-site. If your students maintain electronic art portfolios, they will certainly want to add a video from this online production studio. REQUIRES FLASH!! Get it from the TeachersFirst Toolbox page..
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In the Classroom:
Demonstrate the skills and steps on an interactive whiteboard or projector, or simply allow your "digital native" students to work through the directions. Since no two computers are alike, it is strongly recommended that you or a student-assistant try a "practice run" to make sure your computers have all the right plug-ins and permissions. Then watch your students go to town! Share the products on a projector or burn them to CD. We were unable to find information on the site about copyright and whether you have permission to share them on a web page. This is a TeachersFirst Edge entry, though it is not difficult to use. Skills needed: drag and drop video elements, follow directions in Help, downloading files, unzipping and saving (directions provided)

Gliffy - Grades 0 to 12 - permalink

TeachersFirst Edge entry: for the moderately curious technology user. Research verifies the power of graphic organizers in promoting strong thinking skills and comprehension for all ages. Gliffy is a FREE online tool for creating graphic organizers without purchasing ANY software. Individuals or groups can create the organizers or the class can create them together, such as in a brainstorming session on a projector. You can assign students to "map" out a chapter or story or assign groups to create study guides using this tool collaboratively. Your students are certain to enjoy this tool and be forced to THINK in the process. You can export the graphic organizers to a blog or "publish" them on the web -- all for free. See an example of a published diagram/organizer made by our editors for more ideas.
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In the Classroom:
Skills needed: join the Gliffy site (free), play with the tools and toolbars to create diagrams, access help and FAQ to collaborate, publish, or embed diagrams in your blog or other web page. Easy to medium difficulty. Note: collaborators need individual email accounts to gain access. If your students do NOT have personal email, you may want to create group email accounts on Yahoo or GMail for which only YOU know the password and can log in for groups to work in class in order to avoid the safety and school filtering issues of student email access. This would also be a great tool for group projects in YOUR grad classes!

Google Docs - Google Grades 6 to 12 - permalink

TF Edge entry: If you have not heard about them, Google's online collaboration tools are a must for slightly adventurous technology users and for those in schools where students are allowed to log into their own accounts for web services. With Google Docs, users can create, edit, reformat, upload, and share documents they've created in WORD or other office applications. They can also look at their editing history. Perhaps the best feature is the ability to collaborate on documents and spreadsheets with anyone or with a selected group. Groups share editing capabilities, making collaboration much easier. Users can publish newly created, uploaded, downloaded, or revised documents and spreadsheets as well as making links to them on personal blogs. Easy directions and familiar-looking pages make exporting and importing documents simple; Google also helps users keep them organized.
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In the Classroom:
A "tour" and simple to understand directions make this site easy to use. Have your students set up collaborative groups for projects, lab data, and more. Or set them up yourself, giving them specific passwords to access their "space." Skills needed: join Google Docs, take the tour, experiment with collaboration tools, upload and download files.

Users are normally invited to "join" via an email message. This may be problematic in the many schools that do not permit student email access at school. Note that notifications sent by Google Docs may also land in "junk mail" folders or be blocked by spam filters. We suggest that you experiment with a small group of students to determine what will work in your particular situation. One option is to set up the groups with the teacher as a "member" but have students work from home, using their personal email addresses, for group projects. Make sure you are protecting the safety of student work and identity and are within your school's Acceptable Use Policy.

Groupvine - function technologies Grades 9 to 12 - permalink

This is a TeachersFirst Edge entry: for more adventurous technology users. Groupvine is a free (for now) tool for groups such as student council, clubs, teams, or even academic project groups to organize their files, maintain a common calendar, and organize "to-do" lists. If you are a club adviser or ask students to complete long-range group projects, you should consider using Groupvine.
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In the Classroom:
Although the site appears to be primarily for college groups, our editors contacted the folks at Groupvine, and they assured us that they welcome high school groups, as well. Skills needed: register to request a group space, follow simple tour and instructions to create groups, to-do lists, calendars, etc. If you plan to have students use the site independently, we recommend demonstrating it on an interactive whiteboard or projector so all are in agreement on how you will use the tools within your organization. If students will be posting, we strongly recommend using initials or first names only. Once your club or group is using the site, you may end up answering questions from other club advisers who are interested in doing the same.

GuruLib (beta) - Grades 1 to 12 - permalink

TeachersFirst Edge entry: for the more adventurous technology user. GuruLib is a great way to organize and annotate your classroom library. If you can find the ISBN number on your books or UPC codes on CDs/DVDs, you can enter the full information on these items into a library that students can use to find favorites to borrow (you can even sort them only shelves according to related units you teach). Another idea is to have students use this site (and your single log-in) to enter titles, authors, and reviews that classmates can read. Since "borrowing" an item requires having an account (not a safe idea with your students), why not allow all students to use your account and create a "shelf" for each student's initials?. Then students can drag books he/she has signed out from the classroom. Students can enter reviews (Sign with initials so others know who wrote it) and even comment on the reviews left by others. What a great way to promote reading in a motivational way! Parents and others see the site from the public side. If parents join GuruLib, they can even comment on the reviews their children wrote. Think of the excitement!
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In the Classroom:
Skills needed: Join the site (free). Read and play (limited help given)to Add items, edit them (including a review), add or edit shelves, drag items to shelves, etc. Show students how to enter a book and review on a projector, then mark your class library in Favorites on the classroom computer for them to make entries as they read! .See our editor's sample library from the "public" side. Power users can even add "widgets" to the class blog from the GuruLib. There's a challenge!

H2O Playlists - Berkman Ctr for the Internet and Society, Harvard Law School Grades 9 to 12 - permalink

This is a TeachersFirst Edge entry-- for more adventurous technology users. Create an online collection of annotated links and materials for academic research or have your students use this site to collect sources and materials for a collaborative project. A "playlist" is a set of links with explanations and tags that you (or students) can use to initiate self-directed research or that students could use to prepare or present content. Have students make a "playlist" on a research topic, such as the Vietnam War, displaying and speaking about the resources in a class presentation on a projector. You can monitor the progress of collaborative research by checking their playlists-in-progress. Students who have Internet access at home can add to the playlists from any computer. Playlists can be published and shared. You can also find other playlists with the same tags, extending the reach of your research.
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In the Classroom:
The site requires a log-in, so you may want to set up a single account and password based on your "extra" email account (always recommended for joining all these great web-based tool sites). When your students are finished with their projects, you can simply change the password. Skills needed to use this tool: join site (free), copy/paste links, create tags (keywords), reorder list items, start new lists (all very easy by clicking on text links). TeachersFirst Ede staff strongly suggest that you create a sample playlist to start and model the process to your students. They will catch on fast. You will also need to prevent them from altering profiles or creating unmonitored accounts and profiles, for safety reasons.

instacalc - instacalc Grades 6 to 12 - permalink

TeachersFirst Edge Entry: for technology users who like math and like to "play." This online tool lets you create(or "share" someone else's existing) online calculations/spreadsheets. You can also display instant graphs of the spreadsheet contents. The spreadsheets are displayed in terms that ordinary people can understand and allow you to "plug in" numbers to see instant results. Some of the shared calculators already online are surface area and volume of geometric solids, interest calculators, body mass index, and more sophisticated business functions. The best way to see how the site works is to read through their "tour" then click to browse through the examples, especially the shared ones. Even if you never create your own, this tool is great!
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In the Classroom:
Skills needed: Visit the site and observe how the shared examples work. If you find one you like, you can get the link (try the little disk icon) to go directly to it. If you are feeling more adventurous, try creating one of your own, perhaps for calculating the class average on a test. Your web-savvy students will love this tool for collaborative lab reports or graphs of statistics. For safety's sake do not use any student names or information if you share calcs online.

K12Online Conference 2006 - K12Online Conference organizers Grades 0 to 12 - permalink

TeachersFirst Edge entry: for adventurous technology users. This first-time online conference for those interested in the use of web 2.0 tools in education generated instant excitement among ed-tech geeks and teachers alike. If you hear about it before the conference in Oct/Nov 2006, you can join in. Otherwise, the conference blog will stay online indefinitely for you to learn how other teachers are using these amazing tools: blogs, wikis, podcasts, and more.
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Mindomo - Grades 1 to 12 - permalink

TF Edge Tool: for the moderately adventurous technology user. Create collaborative mind maps (graphic organizers) using this online tool. See an example created by our editors. The example gives some ideas for uses of this online graphic organizer tool. The tool requires Flash. Get it from the TeachersFirst Toolbox page..

NOTE: There is an advertising area at the right side of the screen on this free tool. TeachersFirst has been in communication with the Mindomo creators to assure that the ad content will not be alluring or inappropriate in the classroom. They are extremely responsive and interested in making their online tool practical for teachers.
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In the Classroom:
The site requires membership (basic level is free). Have students create graphic organizers in cooperative groups as a study guide for unit content, to collect information for a group research project, or show examples of an important concept. Share and compare the organizers on an interactive whiteboard or projector in class and allow classmates to suggest changes. Skills needed: join the site, practice with the tools (don't miss the notes feature!). Save up to 7 "private" maps and an unlimited number of "shared" maps.

Make a map available online by saving and clicking "yes" for sharing, then clicking the Save by URL icon. This will copy the URL onto your computer's clipboard so you can paste it into a word doc or even your teacher web page. Imagine sharing several student made "study guides" in the days before the unit test.

Note that maps that are shared can be seen by the public, but not altered. You specify members who may collaborate and make alterations. For students to collaborate using this tool they must have individual memberships, requiring an email account. These memberships must be activated from their email. So, if students do not have email that is accessible from school, classroom use BY STUDENTS will be severely limited. Editor's note: we asked the Mindomo folks about spell check and student safety issues. They are still developing this tool, so they MIGHT address these issues at a later date.

NumSum - Grades 4 to 12 - permalink

TeachersFirst Edge entry: for the more adventurous technology user. Share and collaborate on data for projects using this online collaborative spreadsheet tool. Group projects can share their data as they collect it, such as students who do animal counts in their backyards or water analysis in various locations. If you prefer to use it in class, students can all enter data from an experiment they do in the lab so you can compile a larger aggregation. Join for free. You can also see and collaborate with other schools a nd people ( be careful to protect student identities and location). Find interesting ideas by playing with the "search spreadsheets" feature.
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In the Classroom:
Skills needed: join the site (free) using YOUR teacher email or a yahoo or gmail account. This editor has an email account used strictly for memberships to such sites and uses the same user name and password for all. Set a username and password. Tools are very mush like Excel. Remember your user information. Students can use it or you can set up accounts for student groups so you can monitor their activities, if your district policies suggest this.

Our Story - Wisdom Ark, Founder Andy Halliday Grades 4 to 12 - permalink

TeachersFirst Edge Entry: For moderately adventurous technology users. Designed for families to record a time line of events in their lives, this online tool serves the classroom teacher as an electronic time line for a collection of "stories." Each event on the "playable" timeline is a "story." See a quick sample here . Free membership allows you to add "stories" with up to six uploaded images each (no more than 3MB per image). You can also pull in photos from your Flickr or Yahoo picture account. The timeline is intended to be shared with others by URL. If you simply want them to see the timeline, you can provide the link (URL) via email or from your teacher web page. You can invite others to add, if you wish. You must be a member (free) to add to a story or timeline. See below for a special TeachersFirst member opportunity to request FREE premium membership. This resource was featured in a recent New Teacher Hotline Podcast as one of the Tech Toolbox resources. Hear more about it on the podcast .
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In the Classroom:
If you use this tool as a teacher-only or whole-class account, you can keep a digital/timeline scrapbook of class events throughout the year. Make a time line using local, national, or international current events. Or look back in time and create a historical time line, scanning old pictures or using copyright free images from the Library of Congress American Memory Collection. Other ideas: artists musicians, writers from a certain period in history, the twentieth century in different countries, World War II timeline, Civil War timeline, timeline of insect stages, timeline of rock cycle, of a plant or tree, timeline or life cycle of migratory animals, personal timelines-- suitable for younger students only if they work with a parent's account. Elementary students could even interview grandparents and create a class timeline about their grandparents for Grandparents' Day. For collaboration, link up with another classroom in another town (or another country) to build a time line that shares events in each local area so students can see what was happening at the same time in another location, maybe in the opposite hemisphere (compare weather ans seasons!).

To have students log in on their own (13 years and older please), they will need individual email accounts. Our editors did notice that "fake" emails seem to allow you to establish membership. This does not comply with the user agreement, however, and your students may forget passwords. They will be unable to receive reminder emails with false addresses. Keep a record!
Some safety/content concerns: There is advertising on the side of the Ourstory pages (free version). There is also an "Explore" button which allows you to see random timelines by the general public (most are tame, BUT there is no control. Others can also COMMENT on timelines created in the free version. TeachersFirst recommends using a teacher account and carefully monitored spaces unless you have a written agreement and parent permission for students to use the full tools of the site with their own memberships (13 and over). You can limit problems by allowing students to take turns adding to a whole-class account with a single log-in. You can set the account to only show the changes with your approval.

The TeachersFirst Edge team has arranged with OurStory to explore classroom-friendly solutions. TeachersFirst members may email to support(at)ourstory.com and mention your TeachersFirst membership in the email to obtain a FREE premium account to OurStory. The premium account will allow you to set up individual stories for each of your students all from one log-in ("create a new profile"), block comments on a public story, use OurStory without advertising, and set up "privacy circles" for small group projects. Premium accounts also have more space for photos and can include videos. We will contact teachers using these free accounts for a quick follow-up later in the school year to learn more about possible site improvements and share great ideas for classroom projects.

Skills needed: Join the site (free or email a request for free premium version), Read through HELP, if needed. Under Settings, carefully choose approval levels and email notification, as well as personal URL for your story. Click Add Story to create an event("story")/item on your timeline. Upload or link to pictures (you could tag a set on Flickr for the project), continue adding and share the URL for others to see. Invite them to be allowed to add to the story. Adept users can Export the timeline to a blog or set up RSS feeds for changes so you know what is happening to YOUR Story and those your students are working on. Two recommendations: Under Settings, turn OFF "post image recommendations" to avoid image suggestions from Yahoo. Warn against the unsafe option of "Submitting a story to be Featured" on the story view page.

PBwiki - PBwiki. Inc. Grades 0 to 12 - permalink

TeachersFirst Edge entry: for slightly adventurous technology users. This online tool lets you and your students create a collaborative "space" online in any subject, allowing as many people as you want to edit, make changes, add new content, etc. You may be familiar with wikipedia, but wikis can be so much more! A recent poll of "high tech" educators cited wikis as the one web-based tool they could not live without! If you have not tried a wiki yet, visit the TeachersFirst Wiki Walk-Through for a detailed, step-by-step explanation and starter help, including dozens of ideas for ways to use a wiki in your classroom.

If you are not sure which wiki tool is best for you, see our detailed TeachersFirst review of PBwiki features, pros, and cons(done as part of the TeachersFirst Wiki Walk-Through).Ignore the persistent and pervasive suggestions that you upgrade to a fee-based membership!
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In the Classroom:
Skills needed: Click through the first two steps to create a free wiki, including the name (which becomes part of the wiki URL). Be sure to select "education" as the answer to "What is this wiki for?" Wait for your confirmation email (may take a while...check junk mail folder). After the email, choose whether your wiki is public or private (visible to members only or to the public). Set a "key" (password), if you wish. Bypass the offer to PAY. Use the Quickstart steps to configure the wiki just the way you want it or simply play to learn the Clickable editing toolbar. Add and edit pages, invite new members, explore the three template options and a few options for "skins." You may want to become familiar with the tool as a teacher-created site at first so you know its capabilities before turning students loose.

See the TeachersFirst Wiki Walk-Through for practical management and safety tips.

Safety concerns: Students need email accounts to have individual log-ins (consider using one GMail account you own, with separate sub-accounts). Note: with this wiki tool, you do not have the option of "locking" certain pages or setting different "levels" of users. You and your students have equal access to make changes, once you make them "members." There are also "plug-ins' (widgets) available from the toolbar, some of which may connect you to sites with unmonitored content. Decide ahead of time what you policies are concerning use of the "plug-ins."

PocketMod - Grades 0 to 12 - permalink

TeachersFirst Edge Entry: for slightly adventurous technology users (NOT difficult!). This VERY simple tool lets you or your students make simple, folded small booklets that fit in a pocket. You choose what will appear on each page: from blank space to lines to calendars or checklists. Then print the single sheet (and run copies!) for a student "organizer" useful for homework assignments, long-term project deadlines, checklists, even student-made study guides. Students use the booklets the old fashioned way: by WRITING in them; but the clever, customizable format lets you teach organizational skills in a way that works. REQUIRES FLASH!

See a sample PocketMod checklist, notes, and calendar booklet (with a separate page of folding directions) and one made from a PDF of the Pennsylvania Science and Technology Standards, converted using the free downloadable software.
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In the Classroom:
Skills needed: go to PocketMod and follow simple drag-and-drop visual screen to create the PocketMod from their many organizer options. Print and fold (NO Acrobat Reader required). More skilled users should consider downloading the free "PDF to PocketMod" converter that will take any pdf document and format it to the small, foldable format. If you have handouts in pdf format or can make them from your scanner/copier, you can make ANYTHING into a PocketMod. The converter assumes you have Acrobat Reader.

Possible uses: have students design their own study guides before a chapter test or maintain a project checklist to be submitted along with the completed project to build better organizational skills. Warning: Students will quickly learn that PocketMod is a great way to make CHEAT SHEETS. Be forewarned of student cleverness!

podOmatic - podOmatic Grades 1 to 12 - permalink

TeachersFirst Edge Entry: for moderately adventurous technology users. Create simple audio podcasts using this online tool and the free space they provide. Simply put, this tool lets you create and place sound recordings online for people to listen to and/or download from a web site. The site itself is a "web 2.0," social networking style site, so some schools may have it blocked. Ask about unblocking just YOUR teacher account so you can have students access it from school.

What can it do? You can record sound directly with the microphone built or plugged into your computer and make it available for people to listen to online or download to their MP3 player. See and hear a sample we made for you. Some possible uses: You record your homework assignments or directions; students create "you are there" recordings as "eyewitnesses" to historical or current events; students create advertisements for concepts studied in class (Buy Dynamic DNA!); students write and record their own stories; language students or beginning readers record their fluency with reading passages; allow parents to hear their child's progress reading aloud,etc.
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In the Classroom:
Skills needed: Join site (free), attach a mike or use a built-in computer mike, create the podcast by clicking a record button,(you may have to tell your computer to "allow" nonsecure items over and over), carefully select or SKIP many sharing mechanisms for safety's sake, limit any identifiable information with the podcasts, choose a background for your podcast page, share the link only with your students and parents. If you have students record podcasts as assignments, you may need multiple accounts because the free accounts have limited file space. An elementary teacher might have enough space for 25 students to keep a limited number of products, depending upon length. The site will tell you how much space each podcast takes and how much you have left.

Project//Draw 0.6 - AutoDesk Labs Grades 4 to 12 - permalink

TeachersFirst Edge entry: no special skills needed, just a little willingness to "play"! This product-in-development (beta) is an online vector drawing/technical drawing tool for geometry, science, engineering, and more. Vector drawings are far more precise because they are based on mathematical formulas (which you cannot see, of course), instead of the "little boxes" of pixels. Free membership allows you to save and re-access drawings later, all via the web. You can also export drawings to be saved on your own computer is several file formats. The drawing grid allows you to make floor plans, circuit diagrams, flow charts, project mock-ups, or simply demonstrate geometry concepts. Our editors noted that the way to make a shape "no fill" is to set its transparency to 0.0. A little experimentation will help you figure out the drag and drop tools. The tool works best in Firefox 1.5+ or Internet Explorer 6+. Editors' note: we tried the "upload an image" feature and found it "glitchy." You should not count on that feature.
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In the Classroom:
This tool is amazing on interactive whiteboard. Teach simple concepts, such as area,on the board or have students at computers create their own floor plans or maps to reinforce concepts of proportion, direction, and more. Students can even collaborate from home or continue over several days, since the files can be saved on the system. If you wish to save drawings on Project//Draw, create a single class log-in using an "extra" teacher email account and have all students use that log-in, as well. [We recommend that every teacher keep a secondary email account just for memberships.] Make sure you specify some standard ways for students to name files so you know who created them!

Safety note: students who log in and venture throughout the support site behind this will eventually find some bulletin boards where people are discussing features of the program. These discussions are largely technical and do not involve "social networking," but you should be aware of them. Also, since this tool is "in beta," you should not assume that drawings will remain online indefinitely. If you wish to keep one that is complete, download it and save it locally.

Protopage - Protopage Grades 0 to 12 - permalink

TeachersFirst Edge Entry: For very comfortable technology users who need more sophisticated capabilities than your TeachersFirst home page. This online tool creates a highly visual "home page" that can incorporate multiple elements simply by dragging and dropping them in place. Not unlike Google's personalized homepage, the elements look like little sticky notes or boxes, but there is far greater flexibility and a wider variety of content readily available. You can also make the page local (simply use it as the "home" on your classroom computer), shared by a select group (passworded), or completely public. You can easily make a theme or unit page for quick access of resources, complete with directions.
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In the Classroom:
How would you use this in your teaching? Create a set of RSS feeds for current events or a specific curriculum topic such as weather and make them available for an in-class activity, complete with directions. World language, world cultures, or geography teachers can profile a location on the globe, complete with local weather and news. Make separate tabs for separate activities. Students can access them by password or publicly from outside of class, as well. For primary grades, make simple instructions right on the desktop for a computer center activity. Use color coding of the instructions to differentiate for different children (Sam, I want you to do the yellow one). If your school permits students to set up accounts on web services, have groups make Protopages on an assigned topic, collecting and organizing resources, images, and information: "A Protopage Guide to Cells" or "Shakespeare's Times." Gifted and highly-able students will go crazy!

Skills needed: Join (free). Check out the Intro, Overview, and Quickstart to see how it works. Play to your heart's content, including making tabs. Learn about RSS feeds and other Widgets-- including sticky notes. Share the URL with those you wish to have use it. Note: this works on Internet Explorer 6 and higher and on Firefox. If your users are on older web browsers, the developers recommend upgrading. This may be a problem for some. Check with your end-user computers before you spend too much time making the perfect Protopage!

If you allow students to create their own Protopage, you will need to have very specific rules about content, since there are non-educational elements available.

retrievr - Grades 0 to 12 - permalink

TeachersFirst Edge Entry: for slightly more adventurous technology users. This unique image site allows you to make a quick sketch in a small area (you select the color and line size for the "pencil"). It then searches through thousands of images shared on flickr (See our separate TF Edge review and explanation of flickr) to find an image similar in art element to your sketch. It matches up line, shape, and color. Matches are not exact, but they are amazingly close, providing ample opportunity for your students to "see" images with these elements in common. You can also upload an image and ask for a "match," using the "search by image" option. What a fabulous way to see and compare images side by side!
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In the Classroom:
Use this site on an interactive whiteboard or projector to demonstrate art elements. You can also use it for advanced searching for images to fit a certain design need. Remember to see the Creative Commons licensing information on flickr if you plan to copy/download the images.

NOTE: flickr can possibly have images not suitable for classrooms, though this editor has not run across any. Use retrievr under supervision.
Skills needed: select color and line size, draw in the small sketch space, upload an images, if desired. (The sketch option is easy enough for a young child to try. The latter requires knowing the name and location of the file you wish to upload). Have fun with this one!

Scratch - Lifelong Kindergarten Group, MIT Media Lab Grades 1 to 12 - permalink

Teacher's First Edge Review: for moderately adventurous technology users (and those who are allowed to download/install or request free software). Want to get in touch with your inner child? Get Scratch! Warning: The use of this application is quite fun and engaging! Scratch is a downloaded program that creates interactive stories, animations, games, music, and art. This application can be used for bringing simple ideas and projects to life. It has great use as a paint program without using the animations. Downloads/install files are available for Mac or PC. Other links include a Getting Started pdf, Help screens to show what each block controls and how to use, and a Reference Guide which provides an overview of the interface. A support page is also available for help in using the application.

Material created can only be viewed within the program. Drawings are not saved as a jpg or pic file. However, a "snapshot" of the screen can be created by using these keys in Mac: apple, shift, and 4 and click/drag to surround the portion to save. In PC use: control/print screen. These snapshots can be uploaded or used as a picture in other applications. PDF guides require Acrobat Reader. Get it from the TeachersFirst Toolbox page.
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In the Classroom:
Skills needed: Download and install the program or have your tech folks do this for you.

Quick start: Click stage and in the center pane, click on backgrounds. Click on paint to make a new background. Different colors, pens, and materials can be used to create the background or an image can be brought in from your computer. Objects in Scratch are called a Sprite and can be added in by choosing the folders below the screen. By clicking the script tab, blocks can be moved in to create motion, add sounds (even record your own message), and change the look of the Sprite. Blocks are linked on to each other to create a series of events. A control block dragged to the top of the blocks control which key starts the event. Advanced options include adding variables and other controls.

Safety/Permissions Concerns: Be sure to check with your Technology Department, as many districts require authorization to download or install new applications. Projects can be shared online; however an account is required. Be sure to check your district's policy for creating student accounts online and using student email for verification. Many districts require a parental permission prior to creating an account. If online accounts are desired, another alternative to entering student emails exists. Create your own Gmail account with up to 20 subaccounts for each group of students (by code name or number) within your classes. Here is a blog post that tells how.

Work is saved to the computer itself and only shared online via an account. To avoid problems concerning content made by outsiders or issues with sharing, save the work locally and either create your own gallery on a supervised class website/wiki or set up a single account where you share the "best" projects online via your own log-in. Remind students of the school's Acceptable Use Policy and consequences of violations, if you do allow them to join/share. Images used should adhere to all copyright rules. Use pictures taken in class or those with Creative Commons licensing (and provide attribution!).

Practical tips: Students quickly catch on to this program when allowed to play and easily see what they can make from it. Provide a simple assignment with defined rules/tasks to learn the tools. Younger students may familiarize themselves more easily working with a partner. Have students use a storyboard to write down what they will do/draw/say in their creation in order to keep tabs on what students and their creations.

Possible uses: For the lower grades, Scratch provides unlimited possibilities. Use as a new way to show vocabulary usage. Use the paint program to add information to a picture from your class field trip or science experiment. Use Scratch to help in storytelling a concept in a new and unique way, such as how rocks are formed. In the upper grades, use Scratch to show complex material in a new way. For example, students can draw DNA and show replication, etc. through their drawings and storytelling. Draw the different movements of landforms in plate tectonics. Draw or illustrate solutions to Math problems.

Scribd - Trip Adler , Jared Friedman, Tikhon Bernstam Grades 9 to 12 - permalink

TeachersFirst Edge tool: for moderately adventurous technology users. This online file storage and sharing space allows you to upload Word documents, Excel files, pdfs, PowerPoint files, and other formats and keep them in a place where others (or just you) can access them. Scribed provides tools to convert between file types, for example to make a Word document into a pdf (readable in Acrobat Reader on most computers)or even to convert it into a SOUND file (MP3). The sound conversion apparently takes some time, as our editors found when uploading a sample. The default set-up makes files public when you upload, so you are , in effect, "publishing" them to the web, but you also have options to make them "private," i.e. limited access via a private URL for that document, or to make them only available to a certain "group." You can create or join groups, as well. Our editors made a sample that is "private," but available via this link. The site uses FLASH, so be sure you have the plug-in.
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In the Classroom:
Skills needed: Join (free). Email address is optional. Determine whether you have the copyright to the file(s) you wish to upload. You may ONLY upload files to which you hold the rights. Locate files on your computer and upload them. (Read FAQ for file types that are permissible). Choose options for that file: tags, private/public, etc. Create groups, such as for your class or group projects. Determine rights of the groups---who uploads? Who administers the group? You can also bulk upload. There is also a "collections" feature within your account, possible for different types of work, different student authors, etc. If you have a class log, click "more options" at the left of a document display to copy code and embed the actual Scribd file in your blog---a SAFE way to share it without sending students to Scribd.

How would you use this? As a productivity tool for yourself, you can make all your own files available from any computer, so you will never say, "I left it on my desktop at home." This is handy for itinerant teachers or forgetful students. Having pdf versions of handouts available with a few clicks makes it easy to share them with students via email or links on your teacher web page. As an instructional tool, you will first need to manage some safety issues. Scribd is a site for the general public, a]so the texts available can have objectionable subject matter. "Browsing" Scribd is not an option for the classroom unless they launch a Squeaky-clean education version. If more mature students want to maintain (and even share) a writing portfolio to accompany college applications or simply document their growth as a writer over time, this tool is great, It will even save "versions" of documents to show writing process. There are some other ideas in our sample document. For safety reasons, we recommend a written Scibd policy for your classroom requiring parent permission for using the site, maintaining limited access for class members of selected "collaborators," such as a partner class from another school, and strict NO BROWSING, NO COMMENTING , NO JOINING GROUPS unless they are known to the teacher. The simplest way to control this is to have all students use ONE account (that you can monitor) and create individual collections or "tag" their work with their initials or some other unique identifier. This would allow everyone to "keep" work there, so you can open drafts on a whiteboard, access writings from a few months ago for comparison side-by-side, etc.

A "possible uses" list: Share handouts or study guides (yours or student-made) Share permission forms, lab report formats, assignments, calendars, project rubrics and details, science fair documents, collaborative writing or group projects. Create an online literary magazine "dropbox." Encourage student responsibility by suggesting they maintain their own file repository on Scribd so they ALWAYS have their homework. Help students "hear" their own drafts read aloud (if the audio conversion works quickly enough). Share all lab data from a science experiment so students have a large data set to analyze. Then share their lab reports. Have students "turn in" any assignment to your group (if you and their parents think they are trustworthy on the site alone). The list goes on and on...

Sketchcast - Richard Ziade Grades 0 to 12 - permalink

TeachersFirst Edge Entry: for moderately adventurous technology users. This simple-to-use online tool allows any user to create a "recording" of a drawing without without narration. Simply draw on a "whiteboard" space on the computer screen (and, if you wish, record yourself talking as you draw). The finished product is available as a mini-video (recorded in Flash) that can be shared via URL or embedded in a blog or wiki, much the same way people share YouTube videos. See a sample created by the Edge editorial team with some ideas for ways to use a Sketchcast. Requires FLASH.
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In the Classroom:
Skills needed: Join the site (free). Membership requires an email address, but appears to work just fine with a "made up" address (warning: email notifications for forgotten passwords will not work if you pretend!). Watch the sample sketchcast, if you wish. Create a sketchcast (be sure to plug in a mike and check "with voice" if you want sound. When finished, name it, and publish it. You can copy/paste the URL from the page that shows the Sketchcast to share it, click to email it to someone, or copy/paste the code they provide to embed it in your blog. Edit or delete from the My Account page.

Some concerns: there is no way to keep your sketchcast private. Any visitor to the Sketchcast site can see it or link to it. They can also COMMENT on it--possibly a problem as you try to protect students. Also, your students can see any Sketchcast that has been made on the site, so content may NOT be appropriate to all classrooms. (Stick figures can be suggestive or scary, too!). There is a link to report any abuse of the site. The Edge team recommends some combination of a student-user agreement, signed by parents as well or close monitoring if you choose to use this in class. The safest way to SHARE Sketchcasts you make for students is to embed them in your blog so they will not "see" the rest of the Sketchcast site. NEVER allow students to create user names or Sketchcasts that are identifiable by unscrupulous outsiders. One other limitation is the difficulty of drawing with a mouse. If you have access to graphics tablets, these would really help. You might also try "drawing" with your finger with the site open on an interactive whiteboard!

Ideas to use Sketchcast: allow students to submit assessment quizzes using sketchcast instead of written essays (especially those with writing disabilities); create teacher-made explanations of concepts or math processes for students to access and play from your blog for review; Allow young ones to draw and talk about animals they have learned about (on the interactive whiteboard, then embed their videos in the class blog; have students talk about musical notes or symbols as you draw them and record for later review; allow students to do prewriting for assignments in Sketchcast; challenge students to create a visual explanation of an abstract concept, such as democracy or energy. The options are endless.

sketchfu - Matt Rubens and Andrew Chen Grades 6 to 12 - permalink

TeachersFirst Edge entry: for slightly adventurous technology users. Create simple drawings