Moodle

It's been a few weeks since my last update because I've been overly involved in setting up my Moodle site. For those of you unfamiliar with Moodle, then think Blackboard. It's basically the same thing but it's open source which makes it affordable for K-12. This has been the first year that I have not dreaded doing Media Center orientation. Moodle has made what is usually the most boring part of the year, joyous. It's amazing how fast students "get it" when they are able to have a semblance of control over their own learning. After Moodle training, students went to the media center, placed books on hold and were able to locate books according to call numbers faster than they have in the past. If you're a teacher and your county/district offers Moodle, I encourage you to utilize this learning management software. Not only are you increasing engagement and collaboration, but you're also saving the planet because the amount of paper you'll use is cut tremendously. Feel free to ask me any questions about Moodle or if we work together, swing by the media center. I'm here to help.

Book Reports: Sad to Stunning

It goes without saying that teachers think of fun and exciting things to do over the summer but time and resources cause our plans to fly out the window.  Here's a cool tool that will allow you to integrate technology into your lesson AND excite your students.  Go!Animate allows users to create free cartoons that may be embedded on websites or uploaded to Facebook, Twitter or MySpace.  Are you concerned about content?  No worries, Domo Animate is geared toward younger students and probably accepted by your school technology department.  View my tutorial below.  As always, contact me should you have additional questions.  I'm here to help.

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You may view the actual book report below.

GoAnimate.com: Eat Pray Love by Tamika@fb


Like it? Create your own at GoAnimate.com. It's free and fun!

BP8_Prezi

In 1984 the world was introduced to PowerPoint. In May of this year I learned the wonders of iMovie and today I will introduce Prezi to my readers.

We will start with this: Have you ever assigned a project to your students only to hear that they do not have PowerPoint at home? Well, those days are over. Prezi is a dynamic open source tool that allows the user to create presentations simliar to PowerPoint but the catch is that everything is housed on one page. I am sure this may sound cluttered to some of you but I assure you that Prezi will make your presentation easy to create and share on or offline.

Prezi allows the user to insert text, pictures and video to share information. Additionally, these items can all be rotated and resized. You determine the path, rather the order in which you want to show your video and viola, your Prezi is complete. Watch the video below to see how easy it is to present and publish in Prezi.

When you visit the Prezi website, you'll find step-by-step tutorials to help you create your masterpiece. So, why are you still on Ttwit? Get started today!