CBR Mind Map Using Mindomo

Click here for mind map by Mindomo.

Have you ever used a mind map? I have used concept maps before and I know they are very useful. Using the website www.mindomo.com I was able to create a wonderful mind map for my CBR project. I was able to create topics, subtopics, add photos, and attach a link. How awesome is that? This program was very easy to use and I know I will use it for teaching many lessons in my classroom. Click below the photo to see my creation.

BP8_RILS_Links_to_Comments



Wonderful Website to Check Out!



Jeff posted a wonderful lesson and video on his blog about Twiducate and Voki. Follow my post and check out his blog by clicking on Jeff's Blog.

Wayne posted an interesting lesson on the website Schoology. I can’t wait to learn and experience that site too. Check out his blog by clicking on Wayne's Blog.

Shawn describes in his blog about how his students completed a Google Doc to complete an experience. It is wonderful. Check out his blog by clicking on Shawn's Blog.

ETC_Final Project

What an amazing lesson for my students! They have loved experimenting with Zimmer Twins. Watch the video to learn how I implemented the website in my Language Arts block. Follow the lesson plan below to share this wonderful web 2.0 tool in your classroom!

Zimmer Twins Lesson Plan

Jonnie Williams

1.    Target Audience – My target audience will be my class of second grade students in my class and in the computer lab.

2.   Materials – Teacher and students will need access to a computer and the Internet. Completing this project on a large interactive whiteboard is very helpful.

3.   Objectives – Students will create a comic story video on ZimmerTwins.com, identify the story elements, and evaluates other comic videos by posting an appropriate comment.

4.   Procedure

Ø  Before getting started with the class, go to the website www.zimmertwins.com and create an account. Then, make a comic video and/or watch some that have already been created and mark them as a favorite.

Ø  With the students, access student background knowledge by discussing what they know about comics.

Ø  Ask students what story elements comics have. (Plot, character, setting, problem, and solution.)

Ø  Go to the web site www.zimmertwins.com and log in. Watch a comic video that you created or put in your favorites.

Ø  Identify the story elements of the comic video watched.

Ø  Then, watch and choose a story starter.

Ø  Have the students identify the story elements of the story starter. Discuss ideas on finishing the story.

Ø  Choose students to help finish the story. (I use popsicle sticks with student numbers on them so I can keep track of student opportunities.)

Ø  Watch the completed comic video and review the story elements.

Ø  You can make another comic video or take the students to the computer lab and have them create one on their own or with a partner. Students can complete a comic video by selecting the create a story from scratch or use a story starter.

Ø  Watch some of the comic videos the students created and use them to identify story elements.

Ø  Show students how to comment on each other’s comic video creations. Model the importance of commenting in a positive manner.

Ø  Encourage students to create some stories at home.

5.   Web 2.0 Tool – www.zimmertwins.com A creative and fun way to be the director and create a comic video.

6.   Social Participation/Social Learning – Students collaborate with a peer to create a comic video. Also, students learn to give appropriate feedback to others about the videos they created.

7.   Making Connections – Students will use their background knowledge of comics and story elements while acquiring new knowledge by creating a comic video on the website www.zimmertwins.com. The website is very kid friendly and the students can view and observe what others around the U.S. have created. Students can make comments on each other's creations but not communicate on a personal basis.

8.   Create/Produce – Students will create and publish a comic video. Students will evaluate other videos by posting an appropriate comment.

Zimmer Twins Rubric

9.   Assessment – Rubric

	3	2	1
Created a comic video.	The video flows clearly and makes sense from beginning to end.	The video flows clearly and makes sense most of the time.	The video flows clearly and makes sense some of the time.
Comic video includes story elements	Comic video includes characters, a clear setting, a clear problem, and a clear solution.	Comic video includes only 3 of the story elements.	Comic video includes only 2 of the story elements.

Comments: _____________________________________

_____________________________________________

10. Reflection

a.   Students – Students will be presented with the questions “What did you like about this lesson?” “What did you dislike about this lesson?” “What should the teacher do differently next time she teaches this lesson?”

b.   Teachers – I will document the following, “How did the ending product meet expectations?” “What changes can I make next time I teach this lesson?” “What were the students’ overall attitudes about the lesson?”

PE_4 Zimmer Twins

I have been experimenting with www.zimmertwins.com quite a bit this week. I am really excited about implementing this lesson in my class next week. So, I am trying to figure out all of the elements of my RILS plan. I know all of the steps I am going to use to implement the lesson. The only thing I am concerned about is how I am going connect it to the "Making Connections" part of the RILS plan. Here is a story starter from the Zimmer Twins website that the students can use. I will keep you posted on my progress.

PE_5 Zimmer Twins

Yahoo, I have figured out how I am going to connect the website to the "Making Connections and Social Participation" elements of the RILS Plan. I will teach students about how to make comments and post it to another students comic movie. Adding comments on any website is an important lesson to learn. Students should learn how to comment appropriately. This will be a fantastic lesson to learn!

BP4

Okay, I searched and searched and searched for another Web 2.0 tool that I can use in my classroom. I found some that I liked but one really made me smile. It was so much fun. The site is Zimmer Twins. 

This site is so wonderfully creative. It reminds me of something off of the Disney channel or Cartoon Network. So, after I signed up (which was free) I watched a 45 second clip about how to get started. I was a bit concerned about how long it would take to create a cartoon movie, but it was so easy.  I clicked on Create a Movie. Then, many choices of characters, places for them to go and actions for them to do popped up on the next screen.

Clicking on a bubble slide allows you to type the text in the bubble for the cartoon. 

                                           

Slides keep going as long as you want for the movie to continue.  Here I put in my character crowd surfing.

Know  my character is  very dizzy. What will happen next?

                                                                      

                                       You guessed it CRASH!!

All of the actions and slides come with sounds. There are no voices in these cartoon movies but I think that is great because students will need to read the bubbles. If students cannot think of their own story to create they can choose from any of the story starters. The movies do go by quickly so I had to choose more slides with bubbles, but that was okay and it just added to the fun. This sight would work for just about any age group. I bet it would be great for any foreign language class. Also, I can join the VIP club for a small fee. I think I just might do that because it is so much fun! 

PE3_iMovie11

I have learned so much using the iMovie11 tutorials through lynda.com. During this last part of training I have learned how to edit my iMovies. I can add several sound effects and music to my projects. Also, I can control the volume levels of each sound effect or music entered into the project. To help with a smooth beginning and ending to the music I controlled the fade in and fade out slides on the frequency bars. "What about voices on the video or background noise?" you ask. Well, all of that can be controlled too. I added transitions between each slide and used the precision editor to create smooth transitions between some slides. I added text to different slides and used the Ken Burns cropping on still photos. What is great about adding the text is you can use the fonts on your computer by clicking system fonts. Although I did not use it on the following video, I am looking forward to trying the green and blue screen applications and the video in video or picture in video. Wow, there is so much to learn. Enjoy my video.   

PE2_iMovie

Okay, I have watched some more tutorials and "WOW" there is a lot to learn. There are many ways to organize your video clips like putting similar clips in the same event folder and putting old clips in a different hard drive. Also, there is a great tagging system to easily recognize landscapes, people, animals and many more. The concept that I felt was most helpful for me was the clip trimmer and precision editor. With these two buttons you can easily edit your clips. Oh, I found out how to flip my video upright.

PE1_iMovie

I have been going through the tutorials for iMovie11 through Lynda.com. I have worked with iMovie11 for a few months and I have learned a lot on my own, or, so I thought. An interesting concept I learned through the tutorials was the volume slider under the preview screen can mute the sound while I am going through additional footage to add to my project. Also, the toggle bar, under the videos to choose from, can be moved to the left or right. This will give you more or less frames of footage to choose from. You can be more precise on footage you need to add to your project. 

BP3_iGoogleScreenshots

Here are my screen shots. I can honestly say...Wow! That was a lot of fun. I can't wait to see if the iGoogle page is going to help keep me organized or make important sites easier to find.

Keep smiling!

BP2_Little Birdtales

For the last few days, I have been researching different Web 2.0 tools that I can use in my classroom. One of my favorites that I discovered is the site Little Birdtales. It is free to become a member. I joined as a teacher and set up my class. I was even able to put each students name under my class list. I created a project or tale (as it is referred to on the site) to explore the difficulty of using the site. It was not difficult at all! Students can draw their on pictures on regular paper and write a story to go with it. The most difficult part will be uploading pictures to the computer. When pictures are uploaded, then the student can go to the Little Birdtales web site and type in the story to go along with their pictures. Students can record themselves reading the story. Not only that, but after the project is completed, students can automatically email it to their parents. Click on the link and look at the short story that I created. A Story by Jonnie Raye

Also, I encourage you to check out the site. There are some wonderful demos to watch. Little Birdtales

Keep smiling,

Jonnie Raye

BP1_Welcome to my blog.

Hello everyone! I hope you are having a wonderful day. I am having a great day too. In my class we are learning about ocean animals. My students liked researching people and completing a biography poster. Now, they are going to research an ocean animal and create a diorama or a 3D model of their chosen animal. I am so excited to see what creativity they produce. The goal is to research and present the research in a creative and meaningful way. I remember the first time that I did this unit. It was so exciting to learn about the ocean and its habitats. I learned that my favorite ocean animal is the jellyfish. It is so neat. It moves through the ocean by sucking in water and releasing the water. Also, they come in so many beautiful colors. For an animal that is so pretty it has a mighty sting to keep away prey.

Tell me about your favorite ocean animal. What is it? What is interesting about it?