Inspiration...the software

Here's a little screen shot of my latest Inspiration project:

What went well/not well:
Overall, the software was very easy to use. At the suggestion of Chris Richeson, I used the outline function to start my diagram. This did make it easy to create the structure. From there it was a matter of changing the look. This is where I ran into a little bit of trouble, since my design skills are a bit rusty. But with a little guidance from Dr. O'Bannon, I managed to create a diagram that is fairly well organized.

What would you change:
I think the software is very user friendly. I messed around with the software a little before class, but I still found this to be a time-consuming project. I still don't know that I would change anything. Some things just take time to learn.

How do I plan to use it:
As a social studies teacher, I love charts and graphs. I can see myself using this tool all the time to create charts and diagrams for presentations. Also, this would make a great project for my students. For instance, I could have students create a diagram showing the checks and balances of the 3 branches of the government or diagram the flow of capital in the European Union. I don't think I would use it as a student project very often though. It is just a little too time-consuming for the uninitiated.

Smilebox

Smilebox can be used to create collages, video collages, thank you notes, and myriad other artifacts that can be fun and informative in the classroom. Here's a fake newsletter that I created:

Customize a free newsletter design

Scavenger Hunt, part 2

Remember that scavenger hunt that I just blogged about. Well here's a Google Presentation of all those artifacts. Enjoy.

Scavenger Hunt

Today we participated in a totally rad photo scavenger hunt!

It was fun to get out of the classroom, but finding images that would capture the ideas that we were supposed to find. Finding a newspaper was easy, but finding a depiction of "similarities and differences" required some creativity. Taking the pictures and downloading them onto a computer turned out to be pretty easy. I've done that before many times. Also, changing the resolution was easy on the Mac (I've never tried it on a PC). Uploading the photos onto Picasa Web Albums was also seamless, however it took a while to figure out how to navigate through Picasa in order to get the embed code for the slide show. Google Presentation was a snap, since I could load my pics directly from Picasa. Embedding from Google Presentation was also much easier to figure out. I don't know that I would change anything about the assignment. As a social studies teacher, I could definitely simplify this assignment for students and have them create a slideshow of local landmarks or historical markers. As long as I give them plenty of guidance, I think my students will have a lot of fun AND learn something.

Here's a slideshow of the artifacts we found on our slideshow today:

Picasa Web Albums

I've been using Picasa for a while, but I wasn't familiar with all of the features. I could definitely see creating a web album for any region or country that my Geography students are studying. Here's an example for London:

Timetoast

Today we learned how to make an interactive timeline using a website called Timetoast. I don't think I need to tell you that my inner History teacher was celebrating. But outside...I stayed cool. Real cool.