I enjoyed exploring different search tools and finding new resources for my students to use. Based on what I think would be best for my kids, I used KidRex, PebbleGo, and Choosito for my custom search engine. I like that KidRex has a kid-friendly look and is easy to use. I like that Choosito is designed for the K-2 learner, which serves the kids I work with. I found Choosito to be particularly interesting, as you can select what level reader you are and what specific resources you're looking for. I thought combining these search engines would be best. I left feeling like there is just a LOT of information out there!
Click For Custom Search
I will be honest - this lesson wasn't my favorite. I explored the different databases and did not find them to be user friendly. In working with second grade students with special needs, using a simple Google search tool is far easier than the searching that is required for many of these databases. Many topics that I searched garnered zero results, which was frustrating. I found Novel NY to provide more information than other sites, but it still wasn't easy to use. Across platforms I continued to receive zero search results for "tigers," "sharks," and "animals". Under NovelNY I did find the Kids InfoBits page, which I did like. I particularly liked the annotation tools on the side. Being able to highlight the text, print, and even send information directly to your Google Drive is a great feature! I also like that if students were working together on a group project they could use the "share to group" feature. This would be a nice way to teach students to curate information to be shared with one another. This is a tool I would love to share with my kids as we begin our next research topic.
InfoBits
For this lesson I read several articles and explored a few different tools on curation. I have heard of some of these tools before, but I hadn't thought of them in this way. For example, I love the idea of using Pinterest in the classroom. This is such a great way to curate resources for students in one place. I also think it's easy to navigate, so they would find success with it. I explored Diigo and I think it's a good concept, but probably more effective for older students. I also tried using Padet. I think this would be a good tool for students to collect ideas on a topic. For example, if the class had to respond to a text they could add their thoughts to the Padlet page as well as read the feedback of their peers. There are a lot of options here! I think the most important takeaway is that all of these outlets will increase engagement with our students!
https://padlet.com/aerin025/eduh5xfdj5z7
I explored a variety of tools for this lesson. Google Slides is one of my favorite programs. I find it to be easy to use, and I like that you can access the program from any computer at any time. If a student created their slide in the classroom they could access the same slideshow from the library, home, or on vacation. I tried using Beautiful AI and I liked the ease of use in terms of layout and design. I think this would be a straightforward program for students to use. They essentially just have to fill in the layout that they've been given. For some students, this may be easier than designing the layout for themselves, so they can focus on the actual content instead. I think Adobe Spark was my favorite program. I was amazed at how vivid the photos were! The transitions between each slide were very smooth, and my students would be able to select the photos they want to use with ease. I created a slideshow to introduce a unit we will be doing on animals. I would then have my students use the same program for their presentations. I will definitely be using this program in the future!
Animal Research Project Slideshow:
https://spark.adobe.com/page/ZWML2waVloUkO/
I tried using StoryBird and wrote a story. I liked that you could easily type in the program but I felt limited by the illustrations. I was also unable to download my story at the end, as the program said I didn't have enough credits to download it. I like that you can pay to have your book printed if you like. I think students would enjoy having this option were they to create their story at home. However, I think that younger children enjoy drawing illustrations to go along with their story, so they may not care for this program for that reason. It takes away from their creativity.
I tried creating a video with Animoto that you can check out here. I like that you can easily upload photos and they put them together for you into a video format very easily. I also liked that the music feature was so easy to add, too. However, working with special needs students, I don't see these as tools that would be as beneficial to me as some of the others I've tried so far.
I also tried using Make Beliefs Comixs, Sharalike, Animoto, and Exposure. I left feeling like digital storytelling is not an avenue that will give me the most bang for my buck with the students I currently service. While I do see the motivation factor, I don't see this as a tool that will create a lot of anxiety for my students. As second graders, they are pretty quick with iPads. However, utilizing chrome books and laptops in this way is a skill set that they are just diving into. I would have some major reservations about utilizing digital storytelling at this time.
I tried out several of the tools presented in this lesson and found ChatterPix and GoogleDocs Voice Typing to be my favorites. I think that ChatterPix would be a great program to use with my students! They could write a story and draw an illustration for their story. Then they could read the story using ChatterPix and one of their illustrations. Students could also take a photo of an illustration from the story they're reading and respond to a provided prompt using the picture they selected. My young students would be highly motivated by this! I will definitely be using GoogleDoc Voice Talking with my students, too. I have several students who struggle greatly with letter/sound correspondence. This will be a great tool to help them get their ideas down on paper! I will be using this as we start our next writing and research unit. I also LOVE the pop up pods and can think of several purposes for that in the classroom!
In exploring this topic I realized I am somewhere between Option 2 and Option 3. Because I've had a Twitter page for education for several years now I decided to start with Option 3. However, I rarely use my Twitter page. I explored the Paper.li but found it to be confusing. I liked the 93 Free Twitter Tools and Apps article and like the idea of data visualization provided by Riffle and SocialBro, but I don't feel like I use Twitter enough to benefit from these tools. Because of this, I went back to Option 2. I really liked the information I was able to find just by searching #edchat and #iteachsecond. While there were many hashtags I looked into, I found these to be the most relevant. One piece of interesting information leads right into another! I followed other teachers with similar interests. I particularly liked #iteachsecond because I liked seeing the way teachers had their students engage with content. Moving forward I will be including these hashtags in my tweets and using them to see what other educators are doing in their classrooms and communities.
