Exploring Web Tools

            The Web Tools assignment required a lot of time and effort. Looking back, it wasn’t that hard to complete but while I was working on the assignment, I was a bit confused. Making the rubric was fairly easy. I had troubles with the point system not printing right, but that was because I was making it more complicated than it really was. I think this tool is great and I will be using it in my classroom.

            The next part of the assignment that I worked on was the wordle. The wordle was fun and could be very easy. However, I made it more complicated that it should be which is nothing new. I used the advance version as requested in the instructions, so I was dealing directly with font sizes and colors. Once I played around with it for a minute and got more familiar with it, I realized how simple it really was. I loved the end product of my wordle! I really like this tool and think students will too.

            The next part I worked on was my favorite of the four: the storyboard. I love the idea of creating your own story. You could make it fiction or non-fiction or you could request for your students to write poems. The possibilities with this tool are endless. The only problem or confusion I had with this tool was even when you save the story you are working on, when you open it back up, it looks like it isn’t there. Once you click on each page, it all shows up again, but that definitely caused me a few scares because I thought I lost my work. Other than that, this tool is fun and I think students will like the idea of “publishing” their very own story.

            The last part of the assignment I worked on was Track Star. I can see why this tool could possibly beneficial but for me, it was a headache. Doing this part of the assignment, I was very confused. I think I finished it correctly but I was still lost when I turned it in.  

            I think all four of these assignments meet the NETS-T standard 3.  If I were to use all of these, I think it would demonstrate my knowledge of digital age technology. 

***CLICK HERE TO VIEW MY STORYBIRD STORY***

***CLICK HERE TO VIEW MY WORDLE***

HERE IS MY TRACK STAR INFORMATION:

Created Track #451493, 'Biomes

Track Star

http://bogglesworldesl.com/kids_worksheets/BiomeWordSearch.doc

This worksheet will be an introductory assignment to Biomes. The students will match each biome with a picture. The students will also search for those same words in the word search. This will help the students visualize what each biome looks like and the spelling of each one.

http://www.worldbiomes.com/

This website gives an over view of each biome. The students can easily navigate on the world biomes page. They can see images of each biome as well as read descriptions. This offers an out-of-textbook reference for the students.

http://www.science-class.net/Lessons/Ecology/Ecosystems_Biomes/biomes_brochure.htm

This URL gives basic instructions for a biome brochure.  The student will use this website to find information and use it in their brochure. This is an easy way for the children to use hands on activities as well as technology to do a project and to learn. The students will design a brochure with information about the weather, landforms, plants and animals for their specific biome.

https://sites.google.com/a/pennridge.us/mr-j/teacher/biomes-webquest

This assignment is a fun way for students to use the computer. The students get to navigate on a website. They use the website to find information about biomes. The students research where the biomes are, what the climate is and what animals live there. They use all of this information to create a scrap book.

http://img.docstoccdn.com/thumb/orig/116225636.png

This worksheet allows students to graphically organize their knowledge of each biome. The students will work in groups on this worksheet. The students can either use their textbook or the internet to find the information. They will fill out the diagram and color it.





HERE IS THE RUBRIC I CREATED USING RUBISTAR:

Making A Poster : Biomes
Teacher Name: Rebecca Caraway
Student Name:     ________________________________________
CATEGORY	20	15	10	5
Title	Title can be read from 6 ft. away and is quite creative.	Title can be read from 6 ft. away and describes content well.	Title can be read from 4 ft. away and describes the content well.	The title is too small and/or does not describe the content of the poster well.
Labels	All items of importance on the poster are clearly labeled with labels that can be read from at least 3 ft. away.	Almost all items of importance on the poster are clearly labeled with labels that can be read from at least 3 ft. away.	Several items of importance on the poster are clearly labeled with labels that can be read from at least 3 ft. away.	Labels are too small to view OR no important items were labeled.
Required Elements	The poster includes all required elements as well as additional information.	All required elements are included on the poster.	All but 1 of the required elements are included on the poster.	Several required elements were missing.
Use of color	The poster diplays at least 6 or more different colors.	The poster displays 4-5 differnt colors.	The poster displays 2-3 differnt colors.	The poster diplays only one color.
Organization	The poster is very neat and well organized.	The poster is not very clear.	The poster is hard to follow and unclear.	The poster is unorganized and confusing.