Tool 3: Image Generators and

Create your own video slideshow at animoto.com.

I had a blast generating images and mash-ups!

Some of my ideas for the classroom are:
Generate ideas by writing words that correspond with shapes using a Word Mosaic in Image Chef.
Write words a character says, feels, or does using a Word Mosaic in Image Chef or Captioner in Big Huge Labs.
Make a field trip video using Animoto with uploaded images from the trip.
Add student names to a class blog for "Student of the Week" in a fun way using Spell with Flickr.

What do you think? Am I stretching or not reaching far enough?

2nd Tool: PLNs and Comments

After reading the post on PLNs and commenting, I realized I was more clueless about blogging than I previously thought. I appreciated the article about getting readers to comment on posts. Through posing open-ended questions to encourage conversations and more learning opportunities, a blog really can become a "news" source. Wouldn't it be awesome if parents and teachers could communicate through a class or school blog about their questions or concerns?

Blogs I've commented on:
The Little Blogger that Could
Fatigued Teacher
Kindertracs
Glover's Science Emporium
Sherrill's Kindergarten Friends

Tool #1

Tool #1 is completed. I have to admit that after completing this assignment, I feel somewhat like a tool myself. According to the information about avatars, they usually tend to be "alter egos." Honestly, I struggled finding my alter ego. The best I could come up with is who I'd like to be in another life: a beautiful fashionista living it up in Paris, France.

Perhaps, my students will not feel so much like tools when creating avatars. In fact, I know they will have a blast creating their own. I wonder how many avatars a blog can take? One of my goals for this year is to create a class newsletter. Could I create a class blog instead? Each update could include an avatar representing a student of the week with a little blurb about him/her. Hmm... the wheels are turning.

*Update: I changed my voki avatar. She is now a superhero with a laser beam hidden in her necklace. By day, she is a classroom teacher. By night, she fights crime in the Greater Houston area.