Easy website creation!

Wix has proven to be a fantastic resource for me. Wix is a website that allows you to create free and very customizable web pages. The simplicity and quickness of the site is one of its best features. The tools are easy to use and much of the creation utilizes drag and drop customization. This website creator is great for teachers who want to make a quick WebQuest or website and it is also great for teachers who want a stand alone site for all of their classroom information. Following is the link to Wix if you want to try it out: Wix. If you want to view one of my examples check out this WebQuest on  populations that I created for a 7th grade geography class: Population WebQuest.

Bring animation to the classroom!

A lot of people have probably heard about Xtranormal, a fun program used to create animations and stories. A lot of you probably have not heard as much about Go Animate or Voki. I believe these programs are more user friendly and more suited for education. These tools can be used to teach material, act out important concepts and information, or to grab students' attention. Go Animate is a story creator that has a lot to offer. You can pick characters, scenes, voices, and motions to portray content. The following link is an example of one of my Go Animate creations I used to get students excited about the Caspian Sea region: Mr. D Go Animate example. Voki works much like Go Animate except that there are not as many options. Voki is basically a stationary scene that allows the character in it to talk and provide information. You can change the background and character type, but you can not create stories. The following link is an example of one of my Voki creations: Mr. D Voki example.

Vuvox

Here is something new that a lot of people do not know about. Try Vuvox, an interactive and motion based tool that you can use for explaining, presenting, or talking about material in class. It moves in a belt type fashion, perfect for presenting material in chronological order or in a story based format. In the following example, I created one that went along with the class reading on Russian culture: Mr. D Vuvox example.

Tired of Powerpoint?

For those of you out there who have about had it with Powerpoint or who really want to try something else, there are alternatives out there. Powerpoint has its place in education, this is true, but why not try something new and fun. There are several Web. 2.0 replacements for Powerpoint out there. These programs give you a fresh new way of presenting and teaching material to students. Rather than just going through slides you can instead inspire the students with interactive pictures, maps, and videos with Glogster Edu. This web tool allows the teacher to use an interactive poster platform to move through the information and create interactive discussions and activities with the students. The following link is an example of one of my Glogster creations: Mr. D Glogster Example.  Another fun presentation tool is Prezi. This is a zooming tool that allows you to jump around an open canvas of information. In the canvas you can put links, pictures, videos, and text. The following link is an example of one of my Prezi creations: Mr. D Prezi Example.