md+Web+2.0+Tool+Review

 Free Web 2.0 Tools 1. XTRA NORMAL Link: [] Age appropriateness: All
 * How it might be used in the classroom:** As the demo video on the home page cites, the uses for movie-making are endless. Some of the best examples that come to my English-teaching mind are presenting literature in a compact and/or modern way, and creating communication tools that summarize units or projects.
 * Why it is a good tool:** It's fun, interactive, user-friendly, and gives students control and creativity on what they produce.

2. JEOPARDY LABS Link: [] Age appropriateness: All
 * How it might be used in the classroom:** I will use this for assessment, both formative and summative. Informally, it is a great way to evaluate where my students are in their knowledge of our unit; formally, it is a fun way for up to 10 groups to compete through an infamous TV game.
 * Why it is a good tool:** Most students love the chance to play games, and working in groups to come up with answers lets them practice collaboration. The tool also allows for score-keeping.

3. RUBI STAR Link: [] Age appropriateness: Middle and High School
 * How it might be used in the classroom:** This is a great tool for teachers who like the idea of rubrics but need a place to start. RubiStar has ten category topics which include more than 50 templates. The templates allow you to select criteria for your rubric that is tailored to your specific topic. Of course, you can also edit any words you dislike to make it your own perfect fit. Finally, they keep a library of rubrics that other teachers have modified and published.
 * Why it is a good tool:** Rubrics are time-consuming to make, and new teachers especially need help to build their curriculum. I deigned a rubric in 10 minutes to evaluate collaborative team work; when I was done, I could print, publish to the web, or download in Excel.

4. QUIZ STAR Link: [] Age appropriateness: All
 * How it might be used in the classroom:** QuizStar allows an instructor to create quizzes for all their classes. It saves paper, corrects the quizzes for you, and then analyzes the results so that you can re-write confusing questions and keep track of a student's or class' progress.
 * Why it is a good tool:** If you can write challenging multiple-choice questions, then this can serve as a good summative assessment. One is not necessarily limited to multiple-choice as the tool allows for short-answer questions. I also like the data it produces, which is helpful for conferences and other situations where numbers are beneficial.

5. GAB CAST Link: [] Age appropriateness: All
 * How it might be used in the classroom:** Students can speak their mind, explain a project in their own voice, conduct interviews, and even learn from a distance.
 * Why it is a good tool:** It lets anyone create a podcast (up to 120 minutes) - even from a home phone line. It connects to VoIP, RSS feeds, blogs, mg3 from one's own channel.

6. POLL EVERYWHERE Link: [] Age appropriateness: When most students have cell phones
 * How it might be used in the classroom:** Conducting anonymous polls for formative assessments, games, encouraging risk-taking, revealing social misconceptions, and increasing participation.
 * Why it is a good tool:** Students love cell phones, and this device allows for a productive use of them in the classroom. It also provides feedback/answers within seconds, anywhere in the world.

7. PROJECT GUTENBERG Link: [] Age appropriateness: All
 * How it might be used in the classroom:** It provides digital text for more than 30,000 ebooks that can be read or listened to audibly on most portable devices. This gives all students - special needs included - more options for comprehending the material. They could also copy and paste large chunks of text for further analysis when the originals aren't available or would require too much time to type.
 * Why it is a good tool:** It saves money by providing the books for free, the accessibility creates a broader audience, and if an audio version is not yet created, you can do it yourself. I saw a teacher recently who didn't have enough books to let her students take them home; multiple sections needed the books. Thus, the teacher had to provide reading time in class. While I'm not opposed to reading time, this tool eliminates her limitations.

8. PIC LITS Link: [] Age appropriateness: Middle and High School
 * How it might be used in the classroom:** This cite helps English teachers especially provide practice with grammar and other structures (like poetry). It is a great project tool that combining viewing and writing as students drag-and-drop words into picture to describe their meaning.
 * Why it is a good tool:** It teaches the fun school of grammar in an interactive way with three levels of learning: writing, rhyming, and mastering. The mastering section is advanced lesson plans for taking the basic idea to a higher platform.

9. LUMINOSITY Link: [] Age appropriateness: All
 * How it might be used in the classroom:** Practicing literary and vocabulary building in five themes: problem solving, memory, flexibility, attention and speed.
 * Why it is a good tool:** It's a fun game that allows people to practice literacy and become more articulate.

10. ESSAY PUNCH Link: [] Age appropriateness: Mid-Elementary +
 * How it might be used in the classroom:** Starting an essay, building an outline, and following an organized process with pre-writing and revision techniques.
 * Why it is a good tool:** It's really easy to begin because you answer questions with phrases and key words instead of sentences. It has lots of ways students can ask questions of the program and monitor where they are going. (Note: A simple version of this program is free, but the full options do require a license. I would recommend this to students who need extra help with forming sentences and outlines at home.)

HOME