Two Excellent Web 2.0 Tools

Convincing third, fourth and fifth graders that Computer class is not social hour has been one of my biggest challenges since jumping into teaching elementary grade students, only five months ago.  The key I found is to begin each class with the hook; something fun and interesting that they are eager to learn.

 

Just last week I introduced my third grade class to Voki.  I first learned about Voki in my Learning with Technology class.  One of our assignments was to create a Voki and embed it into our blog.  I had so much fun creating my Voki and knew that this would be a huge hit with my third grade class.

 

Voki is user friendly and doesn’t require an e-mail address to begin.  Students are able to pick from several categories of faces including animals, animee and fantasy.  Modifications and details can be added including sun glasses, bling, hats and facial expressions.  My students had a great time and were disappointed when class was over before they could complete their Voki.  In order for students to save their Voki, they need to have an e-mail address.  Since I knew I would get a similar response from my other students, I looked into Voki Classroom.  Voki Classroom allows you to setup classes and students.  It allows you to create a logon and password for each student, review existing lesson plans, make assignments and best of all the students can create their own profile and voki.

Voki.com offers lesson plans that cover a wide variety of subjects.  I used the following lesson plan fr my third, fourth and fifth grade classes.  I had them create their own Voki and had them create a public service announcement about cyberbullying and digital citizenship.  The class was a huge hit and the students will be presenting their vokies during the next class.

http://l-www.voki.com/open_pdf.php?file=Cyberbullying PSA _6-8th Grade SUBJECT_.pdf


 

 

Working on a lesson plan about Digital Citizenship, I learned about a web 2.0 site called Digizen.  The Digizen website provides information to teachers, parents and students about digital citizenship.  It is a site where you can learn and share ideas about social networking and cyberbullying.  You can create a Digizen, play games, watch videos, and obtain ideas for role playing.  There are separate areas for teachers, parents and students.  The website is easy to navigate and another great interactive website where you don't need an e-mail address.

I felt that Digizen had great information about cyberbullying and had the students reference information for the Voki public serviceanouncement.

 

The two NETS standards I would use to adopt this lesson plan is:

 

2. Communication and Collaboration

Students use digital media and environments to communicate and work collaboratively, including at a distance, to support individual learning and

contribute to the learning of others.

a. Interact, collaborate, and publish with peers,experts, or others employing a variety of digital environments and media

b. Communicate information and ideas effectivelyto multiple audiences using a variety of media and formats

c. Develop cultural understanding and global awareness by engaging with learners of other cultures

d. Contribute to project teams to produce originalworks or solve problems

4. Critical Thinking, Problem Solving, and Decision Making

Students use critical thinking skills to plan and conduct research, manage projects, solve problems, and make informed decisions using appropriate

digital tools and resources.

a. Identify and define authentic problems and significant questions for investigation

b. Plan and manage activities to develop a solution or complete a project

c. Collect and analyze data to identify solutions and/or make informed decisions

d. Use multiple processes and diverse perspectives to explore alternative solutions