BP#17_20091119_Ben's Blog Comments

I went searching for lesson plans involving science and Flickr. I was sort of shocked to see that there really wasn't any. I did find that teachers are using Flickr to supplement dissections and use images found on Flickr to put into quizzes. I found many lesson plans geared toward language arts and Flickr. I am really excited to surf through Flickr and find images that can be related to the science classroom.

Patrick's Comment
Wow Ben, you are a pioneer! Ben way to be proactive, you are fountain of great ideas. Your students are so fortunate to have such an imaginative teacher. Keep up the good work! Ben in case you want to know, I failed your heart artery test.

BP#16_20091119_Erin's Blog Comments

Erin, what a great find you have in Blogmeister. I think blogging is rapidly becoming a mainstay of education and specific pursuits but I also think that you have shown that blogging can even be much more. The only question I have about Blogmeister is about the security levels it has to protect such beautiful children; do you know what the blog offers?

BP#15_20091119_Karen's Blog Comments

After viewing so many Web 2.0 tools that my head is spinning there are some that stand out from the crowd, I found Aviary to be one of those tools. It offers something that speaks to the creative and collaborative that students find interesting and engaging. It sparks the intrinsic motivations that need to be present for students to embrace life long learning.
Take a look at the short video I have prepared and see if there is something in Aviary for you.
Youtube Video

Patrick's Comment
Karen, I love Aviary products! You have struck a gold mine with this site. Karen I work daily with theses type of softwares and what Aviary has to offer is a lot better than most of the software our district employs and pays top dollar to use. I love your voice and delivery style, you are pleasant yet straight forward, compelling yet laid back.

BP#14_20091115_Coleen's Blog Post

Coleen great job, I love your passion and the passion that you have for what you do and how you want to see what you love change for the better. This may sound a little corny but your words are still reverberating in my head, they have challenged me to mull over changes in my own area of instruction. Coleen thanks for your insights and thoughtful considerations.

PB#13_20081115_Plotbot Commercial

BP#12_20091114_Web 2.0 Plotbot

Web 2.0 Tools
Plotbot

Plotbot is a powerful full-featured Web 2.0 tool for script writing. The reviews on Plotbot were extremely positive, emphasizing Plotbot as a very good script-writing tool for both beginners and experienced writers.
First of all, Plotbot is a stand-alone script-writing tool that formats scripts into industry standards. Plotbot can also take scripts written in word processing programs like Microsoft Word to convert and format scripts into industry standard scripts.
Plotbot is also a collaboration site where screenwriters can invite other screenwriters to edit, write or even add ideas to an existing script, which to my knowledge is the only scriptwriting software that offers this feature. Changes made in the script are tracked with a color-coding system that assigns a color to each of the invited screenwriter’s changes. Changes in the script can always be undone using the revert tab changing the script back to it’s original state.
There are a couple of really brief overviews or tutorials on Youtube but Plot is a very straightforward program that is as simple as using a word processor. Signing up for Plotbot is easy, all you need is a screen name, an email account and a password. When you get your Plotbot account you have the choice of diving into your project or use the option of taking a basic step-by-step tutorial.
Plotbot is all based on the Internet and there is no downloading to your computer. The site is free to use and with the ability to collaborate with others this could be a powerful tool for students working together to develop a script. Plotbot is a Web 2.0 tool for student screenwriters and filmmakers that want to share and work collaboratively.


Reference:

Plotbot, (2009) Retrieved November 14, 2009, from website: http://www.plotbot.com/

Phillips, C (2006) Plotbot collaborative screenwriting, Retrieved November 14, 2009, from

website: http://underdog.typepad.com/wandering_outloud_/2006/06/plotbot_collabo.html

(2009) [Plotbot logo] Retrieved November 14, 2009, from Plotbot website:

http://www.plotbot.com/

BP#11_20091108_Web 2.0 Tool Vimeo

Web 2.0 Tools
Vimeo

Vimeo bills itself as a respectful online community of creative people who are passionate about sharing the videos they make and providing the best tools for the highest quality video in the universe. If you haven’t guessed it by now Vimeo is an online video hosting site much akin to Youtube in both feature category tags and channels but that is where the comparisons seem to stop. Vimeo really is a respectful online community of video makers, as the site is not inundated with all of the America’s Funniest Video/Jackass type videos. There were a few of those videos on the site but not anywhere near the numbers found on Youtube. What I did find on Vimeo were some wonderful channels, groups, categories and projects, all of these features enhance the experience of Vimeo. The channels seem much the same as Youtube channels with great tutorials like editing with Adobe and one that particularly caught my eye called Reading Writing Web, the content was based on social media and its use. The one area that really stood out to me was the project area. The project area is an area where video makers can take a challenge and make a video with specific parameters and post them for adjudication. There is also a forum area for talking over video making, receiving advice on particular aspects of filmmaking or to have technical questions answered. One more area in the project tab that I thought was outstanding was the collaboration area where filmmakers can collaborate on anything video and students could come together globally to put together a video project.
As a hosting site Vimeo does show a lot of promise, it doesn’t seem to have a lot of the Youtube issues that most school districts would find offensive but it does still have some which may disqualify it for school use. Video hosting for educational purposes could be an invaluable tool for students to utilize to have their work displayed and critiqued as well as to view other students work and offer up critiques of their own.

References

Vimeo, (2009). Retrieved November 8, 2009, from Vimeo website: http://vimeo.com/

Quape9, (2009) [Vimeo logo] Retrieved November 8, 2009, from iconspedia website:

http://www.iconspedia.com/icon/vimeo-logo-4371.html