January+27,+2012

Welcome to Powerful Paperless Practices

Before we begin, consider this. Can making something more fun, change behavior? media type="youtube" key="2lXh2n0aPyw?version=3" height="315" width="560" align="center"

Paperless Practice:
livebinders Livebinders is a free website that is a storage site for documents that you would like access to 24/7. Share the link with whomever you would wish to be able to view the documents as well. No more paper needed for assignements...check the binder. quizlet Quizlet is a free vocabulary website that allows a user to create electronic flashcards for vocabulary practice. Some vocabulary has image potential. You can also use sets of vocabulary words already created and shared on the site. museumbox Remember bringing in the paper bag that held items that you chose to represent yourself. Museumbox is the electronic equivalent of that paper bag. You can store images in a box that would represent a character from a book, an era from history or items in a science lab.

Paperless Collaborative writing/editing:
This site provides free access to a webpage called a pad. Numerous members of the pad can create,edit and publish a document at the same time. All contributions to the site are color coded for visual reference. There is a chat window in the right portion of the screen that will allow for discussion on the document separate from the document itself. There is a history of all contributions made to the pad. You can also copy and paste any work into a Word document for publishing. All work is completed in real time which means you see it the same time your other members see it...even from afar. [|titanpad] Use this pad to experiment with how it works or start your own by clicking the link above.

Powerful Paperless Presentations:
Tired of looking of looking at screen after screen of power point slides that have too many words...too many images...not enough higher level thinking or creativity involved? Then you need to assign a different platform for presentations...try one of these.

Windows Movie Maker You do not have to access the web to get powerful projects. Windows movie maker can make any paper assignment a more engaging activity by using video created from video footage, photographs or power point slides saved as jpegs. Video cameras and digital cameras are available through the library and Miss Lyons for your classroom use. Take a look at what you can do with a camera and power point.

Video and power point slides: media type="youtube" key="zuqS1Hj0bgA" height="324" width="576" Click here for more options and instructions on how to use Windows Movie Maker.

Prezi Prezi is power point on steroids. This is a free platform that uses the images you upload along with text to create a dynamic presentation. By dynamic, I mean it zooms, spins, and concentrates your audience to big ideas and little details all in one screen. Any image or text you would load in a power point can be loaded to Prezi.

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Animoto Animoto is a free website that uses images with short text (think a tweet worth of text) to create a dynamic slideshow that integrates free music as accompaniment. Images for Animoto can be photos or power point slides saved as jpegs. The effect of a finished animoto show is much like a movie trailer...you will not be disappointed. media type="custom" key="12215628"

Paperless Assessments:
Need some formative assessment in a flash? Want to know for sure if your students understood the objective of today's lesson? unit? story? Try Google forms.

Google forms will allow you to create a short survey of questions to assess any concept covered in class. Your students do not need Google accounts to use a form. Simply post the link to the form on a teacher webpage. Students access the link and fill in the form. Results automatically load in a spreadsheet format. You can display the results on a big screen to review whether or not your students understood the concepts. It is easy and quick to use. Google forms can be formulated to be self grading quizzes as well.

Let's try a sample quiz. Click here. Click [|here] to view the results. Watch the big screen as your answers load.

Check out this link for a video on how to make your form self-grading.