Hi Tom, Fantastic post! Our school year is just about finished so I have just tagged it to my delicious account for future reference in 2009. Comic Life is another amazing literacy tool http://plasq.com/comiclife. It's not free we were lucky that it came with our iMac suite. Here are some student examples that I have posted on my blog. http://willie42.globalteacher.org.au/2008/06/25...
Linda
· 1 year ago
Great post - as we make slow steps to incorporating ict in literacy*, it's good to see people constantly looking forward. Like Martin I'd not come across PicLits before - another idea to testdrive, thanks!
*I was looking at one of the new Y5 literacy units with an LA consultant who has made huge efforts to overcome her IT reluctance to ensure that schools receive the right message about ICT. The unit suggests that children are introduced to new software (the example given is the Hot poatoes suite) and asked to explore and determine the purpose of the software, before writing a set of instructions for new users. I'm sure her reaction, of total bewilderment, isn't untypical. Why not pick on something with the obvious appeal of Wordle, Toodoo or Pivotmaker - another opportunity to engage lost?
Alice Wilder
· 1 year ago
This is a fantastic list! I just wanted to add another that you may or may not know of: www.thinkitinkitpublishing.com. We offer professionally illustrated wordless picture books in which kids write the stories and we publish them. The illustrations provide the scaffolding that many writers need as a starting point to express themselves. Thanks for this wonderful resource list!
Mark
· 1 year ago
Great list. Some I use. Others I'm planning to use. The strip generator might be my favorite.
Bill Boyd
· 1 year ago
To, This is a great list for teachers. Some I was familiar with and others I will definitely have a look at especially Strip Generator. I am working on a resource which looks at improving literacy through moving image.
Bill Boyd
· 1 year ago
Sorry Tom, That should of course say Tom!
Mr O.
· 1 year ago
Great list Tom! Does exactly what it says on the (virtual) tin!
PicLit and Woices are new discoveries to me.
Will need to think this through for Reading also...
Rich.
Meera
· 1 year ago
Hi Tom,
This is a great list!
You can also add ToonDoo, a free and easy-to-use comic strip creator with loads of cool features.
To know more about ToonDoo in education, you can also write to us at the address mentioned in this contact form. We'd love to hear from you!
Hello Tom! This is a great list! I'm sorry. My english it's terrible. But I will try to write. I use with my pupils Publisher. You can create a newspaper (We did one " La Tijereta" published with the local diary), a calendar with photos or produced phrases by the Kids. I hope that my offer serves. Lola
Grace Kat
· 11 months ago
Thanks so much for sharing your work Tom. Much appreciated.
Michael
· 11 months ago
Hey Tom! I have always wanted to do that. See you later.
Nicholas
· 11 months ago
Hey Tom, I am Nicholas from Nicholas' Soccer Blog. I really like your blog. I think you put a lot of thoughtful effort into your posts. Do you have a favorite soccer team. If so, which team. I look forward to your feedback. Bye
Celeste
· 11 months ago
Tom, Your first 10 reaffirm what I already use to help teach literacy in my classroom, while your second 10 are new to me and tools I will be looking into to spice things up. Thanks for sharing!
julie
· 11 months ago
Tom, that is a good list. I have used Wordle for character attributes of book characters. The piclit is really a good one. I have just recently discovered Glogster.com which is a type of scrapbooking. They have wonderful examples of literature and social studies projects that kids have done. There is an EDU version with no adds and they are all private. Besides book projects, they would make great e-portfolios for parent conferences when the children participate. They would be a great way for kids to showcase their work and also a way for parents to respond to their work. Keep keeping us informed!
feargalhogan
· 1 month ago
Great blog Tom. That is a fabulous reference point for anyone wanting to use technology to support learning, rather than learn ICT.
Eva Büyüksimkeşyan
· 1 month ago
Very useful tools. thanks for sharing. To see some of my favourites here is also very good.
Audrey Nay
· 1 month ago
Great summary , Tom Thanks for collating
Have you used tagul? Tagul - Gorgeous tag clouds Tagul is a web service that enables you to create beautiful looking tag clouds and embed it on your web page. very similar to Wordle but allows you to isolate each tag after created.. cheers Audrey :-)
Conchi
· 1 month ago
Hi Tom,
Really helpful post. As you said some I already knew about them but others are completely new for me and I would love to try them. There is another tool that is quite popular here in Spain where you can upload stories and activities related to them, best of all, it's free. Spanish teachers are uploading their projects and everyone is welcome to use them and contribute. It's called Jclic http://clic.xtec.cat/en/index.htm A nice example of what you can do with it, is the project Brown bear, you can find it by clicking in Library of activities, then Search activities and choose Languages/English/primary. Thanks for sharing those tools Cheers, Conchi M. Tejada
Zobeida Zoleto
· 1 month ago
GReat stuff! THX
DSninja
· 1 month ago
Not bad. You might add SoundSlides to your list. Also pretty cool.
All Comments
Martin Jorgensen
www.thedigitalnarrative.com
*I was looking at one of the new Y5 literacy units with an LA consultant who has made huge efforts to overcome her IT reluctance to ensure that schools receive the right message about ICT. The unit suggests that children are introduced to new software (the example given is the Hot poatoes suite) and asked to explore and determine the purpose of the software, before writing a set of instructions for new users. I'm sure her reaction, of total bewilderment, isn't untypical. Why not pick on something with the obvious appeal of Wordle, Toodoo or Pivotmaker - another opportunity to engage lost?
This is a great list for teachers. Some I was familiar with and others I will definitely have a look at especially Strip Generator. I am working on a resource which looks at improving literacy through moving image.
That should of course say Tom!
PicLit and Woices are new discoveries to me.
Will need to think this through for Reading also...
Rich.
This is a great list!
You can also add ToonDoo, a free and easy-to-use comic strip creator with loads of cool features.
To know more about ToonDoo in education, you can also write to us at the address mentioned in this contact form. We'd love to hear from you!
Meera
ToonDudette from www.jambav.com
This is a great list!
I'm sorry. My english it's terrible. But I will try to write.
I use with my pupils Publisher. You can create a newspaper (We did one " La Tijereta" published with the local diary), a calendar with photos or produced phrases by the Kids.
I hope that my offer serves.
Lola
See you later.
I am Nicholas from Nicholas' Soccer Blog. I really like your blog. I think you put a lot of thoughtful effort into your posts. Do you have a favorite soccer team. If so, which team. I look forward to your feedback.
Bye
Your first 10 reaffirm what I already use to help teach literacy in my classroom, while your second 10 are new to me and tools I will be looking into to spice things up. Thanks for sharing!
Thanks for collating
Have you used tagul?
Tagul - Gorgeous tag clouds
Tagul is a web service that enables you to create beautiful looking tag clouds and embed it on your web page. very similar to Wordle but allows you to isolate each tag after created..
cheers Audrey :-)
Really helpful post. As you said some I already knew about them but others are completely new for me and I would love to try them. There is another tool that is quite popular here in Spain where you can upload stories and activities related to them, best of all, it's free. Spanish teachers are uploading their projects and everyone is welcome to use them and contribute. It's called Jclic http://clic.xtec.cat/en/index.htm
A nice example of what you can do with it, is the project Brown bear, you can find it by clicking in Library of activities, then Search activities and choose Languages/English/primary.
Thanks for sharing those tools
Cheers,
Conchi M. Tejada
THX