Cartoon Generators and Fun Feedback!

As I venture deeper into the blogging world with the Teacher Challenge, I am finding more and more web tools and resources to share with my students -- and they are eating it up with a voracious appetite! I think any project that takes them away from the traditional book report is met with great excitement! And of course, I am loving the fact that they are free resources!

One tool that I am having a blast with myself is the cartoon/comic strip generator, ToonDoo! With a tag line of "World's fastest way to create cartoons",  ToonDoo allowed me to create a strip in no time at all!  Ease of use and minimal time are the things I look for in giving new assignments to my different grade levels.

As always, my mind is racing with the possibilities that this resource offers...story points for ILA, historic moments in Social Studies, discovery in Science...hmmm, maybe the kids will have better ideas?

Avatars (not exactly Oscar material -- or is it?)

It's a constant battle to stay on top of online safety for our students. There are some hard and fast rules that we teach them like not giving out personal information or posting photos. But, we also want them to have fun while being safe.  One of the things that establishes our online identity is our avatar.  Similar to the James Cameron movie idea, avatars are images that we set up to represent our online identities. But it turns our that it's not just for kids!

As part of the Teacher's Challenge , we were asked to establish an avatar for our blogs, and other online presences. Years ago when I started my movie blog, I used a filmstrip avatar; for my online PLC, a gold surfer on a mouseboard.   These images seemed to be an accurate representation of my interests, of what I wanted to show people who read my blogs. (I was never really fond of having my photograph taken or shared for that matter. 

In doing some research through the challenge, I came upon a great blog by Brit Gow that listed some really cool avatar sites. Her blog, "How Many Different Ways to Create an Avatar,"  about different sites that allow artsy, fun, even cartoonish images, was an invitation for me to play.  To the left is my "Picasso" self - who knew I was so artisitc?

I also tried out several other avatar creators, like ReasonablyClever, which is a LEGO avatar creator, or the creatur-istic Build a Wild Me! 

Another fun tool is the VOKI website -- a VOKI is a personalized speaking avatar.  I've added mine to the sidebar on my blog -- probably as close a rep of myself as it gets.

I can't wait to try these cool tools with my students -- another engaging way to reach out to the Digital Natives, while offering safe ways to play online.

Project Websites for Students (and Teachers)

I have been teaching EdTech for about 10 years in a K-8 school and am always searching for new and creative ways for my students to present their work.  Originally, it was printed documents, followed by Power Point presentations, and then limited videos. Over the past few years, there has been a boon of new innovations as well as web-based project sites for teachers (and students) to choose from for creative outlet. 

My students' current favorite is Glogster--an interactive web-based virtual poster--to the point that they want to do all their projects on it. They also like PhotoStory 3, whether it is their own video or art, or imported pictures in our predominantly PC lab.  The most recent find has been Museum Box, a great tool for Social Studies where students can collect items (pics, video, text, audio, etc)  and virtually place them into a box to describe an event or person -- it is very cool!

Not Just for Students...
These web based tools also allow my fellow teachers to find new ways for their subject matter to be presented -- and ultimately share with their students. Whether the subject matter is History, ILA, Science, or cross-curricular -- it allows for a fresh take on some old material for everyone -- a win-win!

I recently read a list from Mr. EduHow To's  blog where he compiled his students' "14 Student Favorite Project Websites". I thought I would share his list -- it will also give me a chance to share more options with my students!