Web+Tools

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The following is a list of ten special Web Tools that can be used in many fun and original ways for both students and teachers. I found all ten to be useful in one way or another and can see myself using them both as a student and teacher in projects, presentations, and lesson plans. All Web Tools are meant to make education (in any form) interactive and entertaining for everyone involved.

1. Wallwisher - [|www.wallwisher.com] Did you have to sign up for it? Yes What is the purpose of the tool? The user is able to post notes onto a wall he or she creates. It is like post-it-notes for the internet. Was it useful? Yes Why or why not? A teacher or student can use the wall personally for their own notes or reminders or a teacher can open it so members from a particular class can comment on a specific topic in a fun way.

2. Pics4Learning - [|www.pics4learning.com] Did you have to sign up for it? No What is the purpose of the tool? Every picture on this site has been donated by students, teachers, and photographers specifically for educational purposes. Was it useful? Yes Why or why not? There are thousands of images that are not copyrighted for teachers to use in powerpoints, worksheets, etc. Sometimes there is trouble getting pictures on the internet due to copyrighting, but this is not something a user needs to worry about on this site.

3. Blabberize - [|www.blabberize.com] Did you have to sign up for it? No What is the purpose of the tool? The user can upload images (maybe gathered from PicsLearning?!) and enter text that the picture will "say" in a funny voice. Was it useful? Yes <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; overflow: hidden;">Why or why not? This is a simple tool that provides (sometimes) some much-needed humor in a lesson, especially during an English class (vocab lesson anyone?).

<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; overflow: hidden;">4. Wordle - [|www.wordle.net] <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; overflow: hidden;">Did you have to sign up for it? No <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; overflow: hidden;">What is the purpose of the tool? A user is able to create their own "word clouds" by entering text and designing the clouds. <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; overflow: hidden;">Was it useful? Yes <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; overflow: hidden;">Why or why not? This tool emphasizes certain terms in a way that will pique student's interest and keep class fresh, especially English classes. Students are able to create their own and print them out. If using this for an assignment teachers can hang them up in the classroom (for any subject).

<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; overflow: hidden;">5. ToonDoo - [|www.toondoo.com] <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; overflow: hidden;">Did you have to sign up for it? Yes <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; overflow: hidden;">What is the purpose of the tool? Students can create cartoons to express certain ideas, opinions, or concepts. <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; overflow: hidden;">Was it useful? Yes <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; overflow: hidden;">Why or why not? This tool helps to create a visual and also offers a humorous approach in the classroom. This ultimately helps students to focus, understand the concept, and motivate them.

<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; overflow: hidden;">6. PicLits - [|www.piclits.com] <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; overflow: hidden;">Did you have to sign up for it? Yes <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; overflow: hidden;">What is the purpose of the tool? The writer is able to create sentences and match visual images with the sentences they created. <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; overflow: hidden;">Was it useful? Yes <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; overflow: hidden;">Why or why not? This site helps inspire the creative writing process. Many times a writer might be going through "writer's block" or just stuck in his or her thought process; seeing images lined up with their own sentences might offer fresh ideas. This is also very helpful for visual learners.

<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; overflow: hidden;">7. Class Tools - [] <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; overflow: hidden;">Did you have to sign up for it? No <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; overflow: hidden;">What is the purpose of the tool? The user enters text where indicated and text is turned into a "book" that the reader can flip through. <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; overflow: hidden;">Was it useful? Yes <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; overflow: hidden;">Why or why not? Instead of students having to hand in a paper they can enter information into an online book to be read. This can break up the "norm" of writing only papers, especially when students are writing about something personal; this tool can make it more special to them.

<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; overflow: hidden;">8. Tip of My Tongue - [] <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; overflow: hidden;">Did you have to sign up for it? No <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; overflow: hidden;">What is the purpose of the tool? The user is able to attempt to find a word that he or she cannot recall using parts of the word, letters, or word meaning. Or all three! <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; overflow: hidden;">Was it useful? Yes <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; overflow: hidden;">Why or why not? As a person who loses my train of thought every once in a while or forgets what I'm "trying to say," I find this tool extremely helpful for anyone. This tool brings to fruition every feeble attempt to remember any part of the word or find other words that will equate to the word you are trying to think of.

<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; overflow: hidden;">9. Lexipedia - [] <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; overflow: hidden;">Did you have to sign up for it? No <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; overflow: hidden;">What is the purpose of the tool? Anyone can go onto this website and enter a word. Upon entering the word a map of nouns, verbs, adjectives, etc. pops up in relation to that word. For every single word included in the map there is a definition and example of how it is used in a sentence or phrase. <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; overflow: hidden;">Was it useful? Yes <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; overflow: hidden;">Why or why not? This is yet another tool that can generate inspiration or help a person try to find a specific word or meaning of a word so he or she can use it. I find this would be especially helpful to incorporate in vocabulary lessons in an English class.

<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; overflow: hidden;">10. Confusing Words - [|www.confusingwords.com] <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; overflow: hidden;">Did you have to sign up for it? No <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; overflow: hidden;">What is the purpose of the tool? This site provides clarification for many words that are often interchanged or confused, especially homonyms. <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; overflow: hidden;">Was it useful? Yes <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; overflow: hidden;">Why or why not? This website provides much needed clarification for some of the most mixed up and misinterpretted words ever. The "affect/effect" or "there/they're/their" dilemnas are now solved with use of this website! It can be used by anyone; however, as an English teacher this, again, is helpful for the writing process and vocabulary, especially when teaching homonyms.