More Cool Things

Yes, more cool things! This means kids in the media center and kids in the classroom can be working on the same activity (possibly research) and it all comes together on the virtual notepad.This looks like a great tool. This is free.

http://etherpad.com/

Here are some ideas how it can be used in the classrooms. (taken from various sources...thank you!)

Using it with Guided Reading groups, where maybe 5-6 kids are reading the same book. Instead of having a group meeting where we all start discussing what the kids read, we begin by having the students all write their thoughts on Etherpad and begin responding to each other. Then, in our meeting, we already know the basics and can move right into the more in-depth issues where perhaps the group was not in agreement. We get more out of our in-class reading sessions as a result.

I was facilitating a workshop session where teachers were creating a lesson plan from scratch. At the beginning, on person was typing everything into a Word document. Other teachers were making suggestions and recommendations but the typist had a hard time keeping up with the process. I quickly created a new "pad" and sent the URL to all the teachers in the session. After they got to the site, they all were able to edit the document, make additions, and generate a well-structured lesson plan that they could all take with them. In this situation, not only did EtherPad help the process move faster, but it also gave everyone an opportunity to collaborate, and consequently, design a better lesson.

Student can use the tool to work on collaborative writing project.

Students can partner with other students in locations around the world use the site to generate / create documents products independent of physical location.

Students can invite subject matter experts to work with them on projects.

Another amazing tool for digital storytelling—
http://education.animoto.com/
It is free. Yes free. The sky is the limit when we can use these tools to engage our students!