Randomizing Who You Select In Class

During the Summer Curriculum Technology Institute this past summer, a couple new web2.0 tools were shown during the first day.  One website in particular that was demonstrated pertained to randomly selecting students in class, created by Primary Technology.  (We all know that at times it is hard to make sure that you call on every single student in the classroom each and everyday).  The participants particularly enjoyed this website.  In fact, a couple of weeks ago, the Global Studies Teachers decided to implement this into their classroom discussion.

How do you go about using this website?  Glad you asked...it is quite simple.  You are first prompted to enter in all of your students' first names.  Then, when you hit the go button, all of the names will flash before your eyes.  It eventually stops on a 'victim'.  This victim is then responsible for answering the question.

There are a couple great components to this website:

• You are able to save your list so that you do not need to re-enter student names each and every time.
• When you hit the save and share button, you are given an embed code to put this in blogs or sites.
• You are able to select the appropriate time length you want to give the 'victim'.  I particularly enjoy the fact that they can see the time flash before their eyes.
• Great visual with sound effects

This might not be something that you use in your everyday lesson however it might be fun to implement every once and awhile.  To check out this great tool, click HERE.  Have fun selecting your 'victims'!

Don't Forget About Wordle...

I realized today that it has been over a week since I have last posted.  I must say that the storm over the weekend put a damper on posting.  Anyways...

I realize that Wordle is not a new web 2.0 tool, however, I do find it necessary to be reminded of the great tools that are out there.  For those of you who do not remember, Wordle takes any written text and creates a 'word cloud' of that information.  The more times a word is used, the larger it appears.  Once the wordle is created, you are able to change the appearance, such as the colors or style of font.  The create a wordle, click HERE.

Mr. Cannon actually used a wordle last week as of means of sparking conversation in his Global Studies Lesson.  To view the actual wordle online, click HERE.

A wordle can be used in different situations:

• You can ask students to create a wordle on a paper that they wrote.  By doing this, students are able to see just how many times they used certain words.  This can help students rewrite their paper if necessary.
• You can show a wordle of a paper that was written.  Ask students to explain what they think the paper is all about.  This could be great for analyzing poems.
• Create a wordle on a famous short story or poem.  Ask students to see if they can name the title of the poem.

As usual, the possibilities are endless.  Feel free to contact me for help or ideas!