Featured Sites Week of: Dec 19, 2010 -
Here are this week's features. Clicking the tags in the description area of each listing will present a list of other resources with this topic. | Click here to return to the Featured Sites Archive
reencoded - reencoded
Grades
2 to 12
3 Favorites
0 Comments
At reencoded you will find beautiful, interesting photography you can use as writing prompts. The URL for this review is just one of the pages of cool photography you will ...more
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At reencoded you will find beautiful, interesting photography you can use as writing prompts. The URL for this review is just one of the pages of cool photography you will find at this site. Since this is a blog, the front page will change frequently, so be sure to bookmark your favorite pages. Scroll to the bottom of the page and click on "older entries" to find a plethora of material.
tag(s): writing (308)
In the Classroom
Using photos as prompts is good for the students who have writers block, are having problems visualizing what they want to convey in words, or for young writers just starting out. Giving students a photo helps them to form a story and makes their ideas more concrete. Use your projector or interactive whiteboard to project one of the photographs and have students envision the photo as a video that has been put on pause. Ask students to come up with ideas for what happened in the video before it was paused, and what will happen once the video is on "play" again. Have students annotate the picture with the ideas the class comes up with using FotoFlexor, reviewed here, and then let them get started writing their story to go with the photo. You could do several of these and make a class book of the students' writing. For this you might want to use Book Creator reviewed here, to publish student writing and to give your writers workshop publishing a professional flare.You must be registered and logged in to add items to your favorites.
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Instapaper.com - Marco Arment
Grades
9 to 12
1 Favorites
0 Comments
Create a Read Later bookmark to send to any device for reading later. Though this tool is a download, all you need to do is drag the bookmarklet to your ...more
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Create a Read Later bookmark to send to any device for reading later. Though this tool is a download, all you need to do is drag the bookmarklet to your browser toolbar or click the button for "Get the Chrome Extension." There are also apps for the iPhone, iPad, Android, and Kindle. As you find articles to read later, be sure to click on the bookmarklet to save. When in your Instapaper account, you can change the title and read a summary of the article, and of course, read the entire article, and share it with others via email, X (Twitter), and Tumblr. Create folders to organize your articles and even create an RSS feed for the folder. Within the folder, you can highlight sections; once highlighted, they will appear in your Notes (found on the left menu). Send Instapaper articles to an iPad or iPhone using the app. Instapaper can also be connected with the Kindle (click on the Account tab for information including the cost from Amazon for doing so.)
tag(s): bookmarks (34), curation (26), DAT device agnostic tool (132)
In the Classroom
You must be able to set up your free account and manage bookmarklets in your browser toolbar. Be sure to click on the Account tab to set a password or change your username. Be sure to check with your IT Department before adding on to your browser. (Some school computers may be locked down, preventing this capability.) When articles are out of sight, they are often forgotten. Decide where you plan to access articles later (iPhone or Android App) to catch up on the articles you have found interesting. Download your articles in a printable file or export the entire list as a .csv or .html file. Archive your articles and easily retrieve them from the tab along the top. For more features, view this video which resides on YouTube. If your school blocks YouTube, it may not be viewable.Safety/security: If students are using Instapaper, plan for classroom use. Be sure that students are aware of appropriate and inappropriate use, even if inappropriate articles are added to the account from home. Ensure that you have obtained district and parent permission. Spell out consequences for improper use. Students must have individual accounts (email required).
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