Q-T



Authors: Hickman, Corbly, Ewen (Group 3)
 * Tool Name:** del.ici.ious
 * Category:** Social Bookmarking
 * URL:** []
 * Grade Level:** All
 * Topic/Discipline:** All
 * Tutorial URL:** []
 * Possible Uses:** This site is great for building your own classroom websites. The students can access it easily and you can update your information easily as well. I have it bookmarked for my students to go straight to. They can safely use any of the website that I have posted.
 * Basics:** The students go to the site and click on people. They type in my username that I have given them. My site pops up with all the websites that I have viewed and off they go. Easy as that.
 * Positives:** The students are controlled. They can safely search for the information they are looking for. It has been specifically sought out by their teachers.
 * Negatives:** There are not many negatives. They can search other bookmarks if they are not being monitored closely, but they need to know another username at the same time.


 * Authors**: Hickman, Corbly, Ewen (Group 3)
 * Tool Name:** Spelling City
 * Category**: Reading/Spelling Interaction Website/ Audio
 * URL**: [|www.spellingcity.com]
 * Grade level**: All grade levels (great for teachers & parents)
 * Topic/Discipline**: Spelling, Reading, Comprehension, decoding (through use of intro of words, test and games)
 * Tutorial URL**: Help Link: []
 * Possible Uses**: This site is great for your spelling lesson or reading lesson of all levels. I have tested it out with more complicated words and it works great. I use this as a follow-up to my weekly spelling lesson. It is great to use in centers, large group smart board groups and independent work time! Once you put your weekly words in the site the students are able to access the words, print-outs, an online test with positive certificate reinforcement and games with the words included in them.
 * Basics:** Start out by creating a **FREE** teacher/parent account.(make sure to type in a name that your kids call you by, example "miss hickman". Then input you weekly word list and post it! You are ready to get the kids going! Have the students search your name and then choose the list! Within the list there is a word introduction section, games, printables and a test. Assign to the students what you want them to do and watch them be engaged!
 * Positives**:My favorite is that the teacher/parent creates a log-in for themselves. They can then put in as many lists as they want and only give the child access to one at a time! This helps the busy teacher especially. Once your lists are in all you have to do is go in and change the post! Another positive feature is each word is automatically put in only once. From there the students can access a number of games and actvities to keep them busy while testing their skills for hours! This site is great for encouragement and positive reinforcement. After finishing a test student are able to print out a certificate with their score/grade. Also, throughout the games there are cheers, claps, and encouraging words when finishing a level!
 * Negatives**: The only real negative I have found with this is that the format of the site keeps on changing! As a result of this the consistency of the students logging on may be difficult at times! It has never been really extreme changes, but sometimes it can feel like an ISPY game! One minor negative I also have ran into like with every other technology site, sometimes the site has been down when a lesson and lab were reserved ahead of time! Words of advice, "always make sure you have a back-up", but by now I'm sure all of those who are teachers are already aware of that! :)


 * Authors**: Hickman, Corbly, Ewen (Group 3)
 * Tool Name:** Star Fall
 * Category**: Reading Website (phonemic awareness), videos, interactive reading
 * URL**: [|www.starfall.com]
 * Grade level**: Pre-K, Elementary School, Special Ed.
 * Topic/Discipline**: Beginning-emerging reading skills, letter activities, interactive reading & seasonal books
 * Tutorial URL**: Help area: []
 * Possible Uses**: Can be used at home or school with access of the internet. Great for group smart board activities or for independent work time. Used best as a follow-up activity to a well planned lesson. Also great for follow-up center time! The website also provides printable worksheets to use within your lesson or as a follow-up home activity!
 * Basics**:Very easy to use! There are 5 basic categories: ABC's, Learn to read, It's fun to read, I'm reading and seasonal books! Choose the category the student would be working under! Within the activities there are videos, printable worksheets and surveys based on student interest!
 * Positives**:This is a FREE reading website. The website keeps our audio, visual and tactile learners focused in with constant engagement.Within this website there are not only sections for the kiddos, but they provide a section for both the teachers and parents. Finally, for all those teachers out there, the site provides a section on scope and sequence.
 * Negatives**: With all technology there is always a threat of the server or website going down! To help avoid this you may want to check the site before getting your kids going or have a back up worksheet from the site just in case. Due to the students constant engagement and enjoyment of this site it is also easy to become dependent on this site as either a lesson or time filler. Make sure not to rely soley on the site. It is always good to use this as a follow-up lesson!


 * Authors**: Ropp, Lieber, Weber (Group 5)
 * Tool Name:** ZigTag
 * Category**: Social Bookmarking
 * URL**: []
 * Grade level**: Middle School or above
 * Topic/Discipline**: All disciplines
 * Tutorial URL**: //__HELP__// tab located at the top middle of the page
 * Possible Uses**: Teacher and students tagging and sharing content specific websites with other group members or class
 * Basics**: A more manageable way to “Bookmark” a page than using your browser. In addition, students can share their tags with others
 * Positives**: Allows more focused web searching based on defined meanings, students can share pages with classmates
 * Negatives**: Poor quality website found and used by one student could be passed on and used by other students


 * Authors:** Scarlati, McCready, Rojas (Group 4)
 * Tool Name**: MySpace (or Facebook)
 * Category:** Social Networking
 * URL**: [|http://www.myspace.com]
 * Grade level use**: Grade 4 and up
 * Topic/Discipline**: All disciplines
 * Tutorial information**: [] This link takes you to the help page and frequently asked questions for MySpace.
 * Possible uses**: Create a social networking page for a historical character (art, history, foreign language, English, etc.). Students research the person and then pretend that they are alive today and make a page as if they were that person. They have to decide what they would include on the page and say about themselves based on their research. This can also be used if students are doing a project in which they have to create a fictional character from a certain time period. Either way, the information that the students put on the page is a combination of research and creativity with a modern twist.
 * Basis**: Students post pictures, videos, music and personal information to make available online
 * Positives**: Free, easy-to-use interface, most students are already familiar with this tool
 * Negatives**: Low security (but this isn’t much of an issue since the students are writing about somebody else who is either dead or doesn’t exist), most schools will have this site blocked (you will have to ask for special permission if you want to use this tool – students love it!!!)


 * Authors**: Scarlati, McCready, Rojas (Group 4)
 * Tool Name**: Vizu
 * Category:** surveying
 * URL:** [|www.vizu.com/index.html]
 * Grade Level Use:** all grade levels
 * Topic/Discipline:** all disciplines could benefit
 * Tutorial Information:** there are step by step directions to the left but no help button or turorial
 * Possible Uses:** poll your students or other classes for a math lesson, post a poll based on a reading in Science or Social Studies and discuss the next day, teach graphing,
 * Basis:** polls are set up as private or public, results can be immediately seen as percentages, polls can be posted onto a blog or website
 * Positives:** Easy use! You can take class polls or put it out there for the public to answer
 * Negatives:** may be blocked by some districts, can search through public polls that may not be appropriate

The home page also has a great video 
 * Authors:** Scarlati, McCready, Rojas (Group 4)
 * Tool Name:** diigo
 * Category:** research
 * URL:** [|www.diigo.com]
 * Grade Level use:** upper elementary and above
 * Topic/discipline:** all disciplines
 * Tutorial Information:** Link to infomartional site: []
 * Possible Uses:** group research, taking and sharing notes on the same topic, getting connected with other people who are interested in the same topics, find new information on sites you may not have found yet, saving all information in one spot,
 * Basis:** can highlight on a webpage, make a sticky note about a highlight and save it/share it
 * Positives:** can locate new information that others have bookmarked on a specific topic, share and discuss research
 * Negatives:** can be complicated to use, has a lot of features

**Authors:** Chickering, Digby, Taylor (Group 2) **Grade level use:** High school **Possible uses:** build and track your resume, contact employers
 * Tool Name:** GigTide
 * Category:** Resumes
 * URL:** []
 * Topic/discipline:** Business, Vocational classes
 * Tutorial information:** []
 * Basics:** Teachers and students can create a resume and share it with potential employers. They can also track how many times their resume has been viewed.
 * Positives:** compatible with other employment websites, includes tutorial videos, allows viewing as Word document or PDF
 * Negatives:** limited use as a non-member, fee for membership


 * Group Name:** Kristina Floyd, Vicki Bonnett, Michael Regilio (Group 6)
 * Tool Name: ** SurveyMonkey.com
 * Category:** Online surveys
 * URL: [|http://www.surveymonkey.com]**
 * Grade Level:** All
 * Topic/ Discipline:** Any interested in research
 * URL for tutorial: []**
 * Possible uses:** Fairly complex statistical data collection all the way down to simple opinion polls. Can also be used as feedback type forms.
 * Basics:** With Survey Monkey you can easily build web based surveys. The site will also store data collected for exporting to other statistical programs, excel, or you can even use their built in reporting tools..
 * Positives:** Paperless! Free account available! No web/database knowledge needed!
 * Negatives:** Free account only allows 100 replies per survey. Templates are not available in the free account.


 * Authors:** Kristina Floyd, Vicki Bonnett, Michael Regilio (Group 6)
 * Tool Name:** Goodreads
 * Category:** Social Networking site
 * URL:** [|http://www.goodreads.com]
 * Grade level use:** Any level
 * Topic/Discipline:** Reading, language arts
 * Tutorial Information:** [] or click on Tour in the upper right hand corner of the home page.
 * Possible uses:** Classes could share books they recommend within their own book club, publish individual or class stories within the group, play trivia games, select a quotation and write a journal entry about it, listen to a podcast interview of an author.
 * Basics:** Goodreads is the largest social network for readers in the world. Members recommend books, compare what they are reading, keep track of what they've read and would like to read, and form book clubs.
 * Positives:** Members can form their own book clubs, post their own writing, answer book trivia questions, and read quotations from famous authors.There is a famous author interview video section. The site is fairly easy to use.
 * Negatives:** There are pop-up ads that are supposedly children friendly but there was one in particular some parents may object to. More adult user friendly than children user friendly.


 * Authors:** Tamala Chickering, Heidi Digby, Lyndell Taylor (group 2)
 * Tool Name:** noodletools
 * Category:** resource
 * URL:** []
 * Grade Level:** middle school and above
 * Topic or Discipline:** language arts or writing course
 * Tutorial Information:** There is a pdf users guide at: []
 * Possible Uses:** Aides with the construction of a bibliography page
 * Basics:** Students apply for an account and are able to construct bibliographies in MLA or APA format. Students have to know where to find the necessary information for their resource in order to use this tool properly.
 * Positives:** This site would help students to construct a bibliography. It is easy to navigate through. Students can use MLA or APA formats.
 * Negatives:** Students can not rely on this site solely. Students should check through the finished document to ensure that the information is all there.


 * Authors:** Tamala Chickering, Heidi Digby, Lyndell Taylor (group 2)
 * Tool Name**: edutagger
 * Category:** social bookmarking
 * URL**: []
 * Grade Level:** teachers of all levels
 * Topic or Discipline:** all levels
 * Tutorial Information:** There is an “about” page that discusses common questions about using the site. It is at:[| http://edutagger.com/faq-en.php]
 * Possible Uses:** Teachers can use this site to share ideas on teaching.
 * Basics:** This page is great for educators who really want to enhance their instruction. Teachers can share ideas and web tools that they use in the classroom. Teachers can also discuss topics concerning teaching.
 * Positives**: This site is free to educators at all levels. Teacher can go on and share information and web links.
 * Negatives:** You need to have a tweeter account to post on this site. If you are new to the concept of twitter you may need to spend some time familiarizing yourself.


 * Authors: ** Hickman, Corbly, Ewen (Group 3)
 * Tool Name: ** Storyline Online
 * Category: ** Read Aloud
 * URL: ** http://www.storylineonline.net/
 * Grade Level: ** elementary
 * Topic/Discipline: ** Reading
 * Tutorial URL: **** a **** Help/F.A.Q. **** button is located in the bottom right corner **
 * Possible Uses: ** For students to enjoy listening and watching their favorite story be read aloud. This site includes activities and lesson ideas for teacher use.
 * Basics: ** This is an on-line video program with SAG reading children’s books aloud. All students need to do is click on the story they want to hear / watch.
 * Positives: ** The stories are brought alive by the reader. The students can click on About the Reader to meet the reader. The readers model fluency and expression while reading. The words are shown so the students can follow along. Music is added to make it more appealing. Activities and lesson ideas are included for the teacher. There is also a place where viewers can write comments. This site would work well in a listening station or on a Smart Board.
 * Negatives: ** The only negative I could find was that there are limited titles and the stories are not grouped by themes or genre.


 * Authors: ** Hickman, Corbly, Ewen (Group 3)
 * Tool Name: ** Interactive Science & Engineering
 * Category: ** Science
 * URL: ** http://engineeringinteract.org
 * Grade Level: ** ages 9 - 11
 * Topic/Discipline: ** Science
 * Tutorial URL: **** Under the “Teacher” button, directions and help is given. **
 * Possible Uses: ** A resource for students and teachers to use to motivate young children (9-11) to science and engineering.
 * Basics: ** This is an interactive, engaging game designed to teach students science concepts. The topics covered by the different games include Light, Sound, Force & Motion, Earth, and Electricity. The games are interactive and require the student to problem solve. The student chooses a game / topic. A scenario is given, the student investigates the topic, and solves the problem.
 * Positives: ** Great site for students who need to be challenged! Topics and scenario are very motivating. Science concepts are applied to real world applications. The site also includes a teacher section which explains each game / concept, and directions.
 * Negatives: ** This site if for a limited age group and has only one level of difficulty. A HELP button for the students would be beneficial.

