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=Using E-Books to Motivate Pupil's Writing=

Presenter: Colin Hill

Presenter Colin Hill made a great case for using E-Books in the classroom. He went through the process showing how to develop the books and edit them. He demonstrated using [|myebook.com]. E books allow students to draw, write, and record their work in a virtual space which allows friends and family around the world to read and enjoy. Hill stated that he used Photoshop 3 and Movie Maker as well as scanning and uploading files to develop the e books. Students can use different font styles and colors while adding their original art, photos, and videos to the books. To learn more contact him at hillcolin@hotmail.com.

This is definitely an idea that I will explore more, and that I plan to use with my younger students. I think that the publishing aspect is one of the most important in helping children see value in both themselves and their work.

=﻿Bridging History Using Web 2.0 Tools=

Presenters: Robin Beaver and Jean Moore

Robin Beaver (pictured above) and Jean Moore did an amazing presentation about ways to incorporate technology into the social studies classroom. Both ladies are teachers and are obviously passionate about their work and learning. Introduction was made to glogster.com; a website that allows users to develop interactive projects that include text, graphics, video, hyperlinks, and audio. It reminded me of e-scrapbooking meets blogs. Glogster is free to educators along with 200 free students accounts. Beaver and Moore showed examples from a unit on Asia which included aspects of higher level thinking skills, collaboration, and self-direction. In addition to Glogster, the presentation included information about Skype and gmail video chat.

After watching this presentation, I immediately set up an account at Glogster. In my collaboration meeting today, I introduced it to our middle school language arts teacher and we plan to use it in the spring with a unit on the Great Depression. I think the kids will be psyched.

http://advisplp.wikispaces.com/Robin+Beaver,+Rosemont+School+of+the+Holy+Child