Productivity+and+Collaboration

Productivity and Collaboration Travis & Laura

=**Storybird**= =[|storybird]=

**Create an operational definition for the tool. **  Storybird is a free web 2.0 program that allows one or more people to create stories online. By inserting your own text and selecting pictures provided by Storybird you create your own story. Stories can be published and displayed to view at home and at school. **Does the technology promote student engagement or merely entertainment? **  Students will be engaged in creating their own Story. Storybird allows you to create a story using pictures they provide. By selecting picture and inserting your own text students are engaged in creating a story of your own. **Analyze whether this technology adds some demonstrable pedagogical value to traditional instruction. **  Storybird is a clever program that I believe will get kids excited about writing. By providing a variety of pictures students can select characters and storylines they are interested in without the struggle of “what/who am I going to write about.” Along the way students will learn about character, sequence and story structure. Stories can be shared with friends and family members as well as others who venture to the Storybird site. Stories that have already been created can be shared in a whole class setting by using a Smartboard or students can individually explore the site at home or as a center activity at school. **Assess the use of this particular technology to aid students in the acquisition of //knowledge// and not just information. **  This is a learn by doing web site. Students will not learn story writing strategies or techniques but will be engaged in creating their own stories and possibly gaining ideas about story writing from viewing others stories. **Suggest some educational uses for this tool in the K-12 classroom. **  I am excited to use this site to teach story writing and story sequence. Students can create a wordless picture book by arranging pictures in a logical sequence; sharing their wordless stories on the Smartboard and telling the story to the class. Lessons about characters, setting, and events certainly would be easy to incorporated using Storybird. You could also teach sentence structure using the storyboards created. **<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 12pt;">Discuss the pluses and minuses of using this tool with students. **  This is such a cool site for kids of all ages. I think the pluses far outweigh the minuses. Students will be creatively engaged in their own learning at their own level. A variety of pictures are available to create a vast number of stories. The ability to share what you have created with friends and family makes it fun for children. It appears that soon a print option will be available. As far as minuses, students are not able to create their own pictures or import their own pictures. There is not an option to change the font size or style. It can be difficult to read what you have typed at times due to the font size. There isn’t a preview option to view in real size the book you have created. Due to the large number of pictures available it may be overwhelming for younger kids to select their pictures. [|PBWorks] **<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 14pt;">PBworks.com ** <span style="display: block; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; tab-stops: list .5in; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt;">1. Create an operational definition for the tool. <span style="display: block; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">**<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt;">PBworks.com is a productivity and collaboration website that allows students to build webpages, embed video clips and post documents to enhance learning. For the educator and school, this web 2.0 tool allows educators and schools to easily host and share information between students, faculty and staff members, encourage staff development and share resources across schools. **

<span style="display: block; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; tab-stops: list .5in; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt;">2. Does the technology promote student engagement or merely entertainment? <span style="display: block; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">**<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt;">This web 2.0 tool is geared for education and allowing teachers to bring their classroom into the 21st century by encouraging critical thinking and real world communication. With online workspaces, students are engaged outside the classroom, parents can stay more involved easily and school resources are more accessible. **

<span style="display: block; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; tab-stops: list .5in; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt;">3. Analyze whether this technology adds some demonstrable pedagogical value to traditional instruction. <span style="display: block; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">**<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt;">This web 2.0 tool is a great addition to traditional instruction. It offers communication tools to build skills and productivity in students today. This tool allows students to publish their work, build collaborative projects, keep parents involved at home, work or nearly anywhere, provide students the opportunity to build a self portfolio, upload homework and share their work all while interacting with other classrooms or groups globally. **

<span style="display: block; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; tab-stops: list .5in; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt;">4. Assess the use of this particular technology to aid students in the acquisition of knowledge and not just information. <span style="display: block; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">**<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt;">PBworks.com will aid students in the acquisition of knowledge because they are more able to communicate their knowledge with others as well as gaining knowledge from others easily through the use of technology. Students are also allowed more flexibility in their learning and through the use of this web 2.0 tool, they are enhancing their opportunites for a real life audience in authentic situations. **

<span style="display: block; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; tab-stops: list .5in; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt;">5. Suggest some educational uses for this tool in the K-12 classroom.

<span style="display: block; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt;">**Educational uses:** <span style="display: block; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt;">***Students create their own page (like a wikispace) to showcase and save their** <span style="display: block; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt;">**work for many to see.** <span style="display: block; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt;">***Students can build their own webpage from a given topic to show their research and share with other classrooms.** <span style="display: block; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt;">***Students create projects while embedding video clips for added information.** <span style="display: block; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt;">***Grade levels can collaborate and share information such as websites, video clips that other teachers and students may want to use to add to the curriculum.**

<span style="display: block; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; tab-stops: list .5in; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt;">6. Discuss the pluses and minuses of using this tool with students. <span style="display: block; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">**<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt;">Pros: ** <span style="display: block; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">**<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt;">*Can be used by variety of uses for teachers, parents, students, schools ** <span style="display: block; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">***Free training online for additional support and ideas** <span style="display: block; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">***Can be set up to student/teacher specifications** <span style="display: block; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">***Students take ownership of their work/wikis**

<span style="display: block; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt;">**Cons:** <span style="display: block; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">**<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt;">*Only free for the basic classroom workspaces (premium spaces with more ****<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt;">options are $100/year ** <span style="display: block; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">**<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt;">*Free version – up to 100 users **

<span style="display: block; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt;">*2 GB storage <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 12pt;">**Zoho docs** <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 12pt;">[|Zoho] <span style="display: block; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; tab-stops: list .5in; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt;">1. Create an operational definition for the tool. <span style="display: block; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">**<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt;">Zohodocs.com is a free online workstation where the user can access online email, create wikis, presentations, spreadsheets, calendars, and numerous applications for working and learning online. **

<span style="display: block; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; tab-stops: list .5in; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt;">2. Does the technology promote student engagement or merely entertainment? <span style="display: block; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">**<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt;">This technology promotes student learning and engagement by having students use online workstations for collaboration, completing assignments, taking notes while enhancing instruction in the classroom, at home, or nearly anywhere. **

<span style="display: block; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; tab-stops: list .5in; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt;">3. Analyze whether this technology adds some demonstrable pedagogical value to traditional instruction. <span style="display: block; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">**<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt;">Zoho docs adds value to traditional instruction by allowing students to become more organized and creative in sharing and saving their work. This web 2.0 tool should also get students more excited about creating presentations and sharing them on the web. **

<span style="display: block; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; tab-stops: list .5in; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt;">4. Assess the use of this particular technology to aid students in the acquisition of knowledge and not just information. <span style="display: block; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">**<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt;">This tool is to aid students in enhancing knowledge they have acquired and to help in the process of gaining new knowledge. The student is responsible for how the applications are used to meet their specific learning needs. **

<span style="display: block; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; tab-stops: list .5in; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt;">5. Suggest some educational uses for this tool in the K-12 classroom. <span style="display: block; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">**<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt;">Educational Uses: ** <span style="display: block; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">**<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt;">*Create a wiki for online collaboration ** <span style="display: block; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">**<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt;">*Create an online presentation on a topic being learned in the classroom ** <span style="display: block; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">**<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt;">*Type reports or organize classroom notes using online word processor **

<span style="display: block; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; tab-stops: list .5in; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt;">6. Discuss the pluses and minuses of using this tool with students. <span style="display: block; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">**<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt;">+: *Student and parent online communication and collaboration made easy ** <span style="display: block; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">**<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt;">*Applications can be used for nearly any age with some adjustment ** <span style="display: block; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">**<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt;">*Manage school projects easily ** <span style="display: block; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">**<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt;">*Final projects/presentations can be used as an assessment tool ** <span style="display: block; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">**<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt;">*Share presentations, spreadsheets, etc. easily ** <span style="display: block; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">**<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt;">-: *More applications for business than for the classroom ** <span style="display: block; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">**<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt;">*More for upper level students ** <span style="display: block; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt 0.5in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">**<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt;">*Very “wordy” and may be difficult for younger students **<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt;">.