Sunday, June 9, 2013

Blog Post #4

PhotoPeach

PhotoPeach- Lauren Macon

PhotoPeach is a video tool where you can create a slideshow in three easy steps. It is used in hundreds of schools worldwide, but you do not have to be an educator to use it. Your slideshow can be shared on websites and via email. PhotoPeach is free, but you can upgrade to become a premium user for only three dollars a month, which allows you to download unlimited shows in burnable CD format, upload your own music, create unlimited photo albums, and customize the transition effects. The website states that “the combination of images, music, and text helps students learn about presentation, expression, writing, communication skills, art appreciation, and media literacy.” There are three advantages for PhotoPeach for educators. One, it is easy to create and can be easily started and stopped within class time. Second, teachers can control and manage student privacy. The slideshows can be kept private or can be shared with the parents and others in the community.Third, it is a great tool for collaborative group work. The students can answer quizzes and polls that the teacher created or the students can create their own. This is an easy tool for teachers and students to give a presentation to the class. PhotoPeach can also be used in the library, technology class, as an assessment tool, as a slideshow, international exchange between schools and much more. You can also follow other people’s accounts or view different slideshows in various categories. On WolframAplpha, Animoto, another video tool, receives 1.2 million daily views, whereas PhotoPeach receives only 92,000. PhotoPeach is a great tool to use in the classroom, or for anyone creating a slideshow. After creating my own account to experience PhotoPeach, I am looking forward to using this tool more and using it in my future classroom.

Edmodo- Melissa Canterbury

Edmodo is a social media tool similar to Facebook and Twitter for educators, students and parents to communicate with each other. After creating an account and exploring the website more, I quickly became really interested in it. At first when creating your profile, it prompts you to select "communities" or categories you are interested in. For example, Mathematics, Computer Technology, Creative Arts, Science, Social Studies, etc. Other teachers who have selected these categories as their "communities" can then post lessons or resources for other teachers to access. Edmodo is also very organized. There is a library tab where the teacher can add links and files so that students or parents can locate them anywhere. When posting, the teacher has the object to title the post, whether it be "assignment", "poll", "quiz", or an "alert". I know from using Facebook and Twitter myself that the amount of users on those two social media is rapidly increasing. After researching on WolframAplpha the "daily visitors of Twitter and Facebook", WolframAlpha reported:

Daily visitors on Facebook.com: 640 million visit/day

Daily visitors on Twitter.com: 84 million visit/day.

These numbers show just how many people use social media today. I can only predict those numbers increasing in the next couple of years. In my classroom I wish to be as connected as my students and parents as possible. With Edmodo, it allows me to be connected with my students and parents through a social media, which they are used to using in their personal lives. However, Edmodo lets me keep the personal lives separate since it is strictly for educators and their students and parents. When using this tool in my elementary classroom, I can use Edmodo to keep in touch with my students as a whole when they are outside of my classroom. I will make sure to teach the importance of social media safety. This page will also allow students to communicate with each other. The teacher can also put her friends into groups, so with parents, I will put them in their own group. This way teachers can communicate with each other about what is going on in the classroom and keep it separate from the students. Edmodo was a very interesting site and I already have teachers sharing links and lessons with me. I am looking forward to exploring this site more throughout the semester and sharing with EDM how it works and how effective I think it will be in the classroom.

Prezi- Caitlin Lankford

Prezi is an online whiteboard that converts presentations from lectures into conversations: allowing people to see, distinguish, and remember thoughts. Randy Howder, the design strategist for Prezi said on the website that, “Prezi allows us to communicate design ideas with our clients in a highly engaging and dynamic way, liberating interesting conversations from the boredom of one-way presentations.” Prezi is designed to improve organization skills and make learning more engaging! This network system, is also available for easy access to share occurring and abundant ideas! Prezi is not just used for educators, but also used by businesses, conferences, and non-profit organizations. Prices for Prezi are also a steal! For public use, Prezi is free. However, if one would like to upgrade Prezi to the “Enjoy,” the price rises to $4.92 monthly, adding up to be $59.00 annually. There is one more upgrade, called “Pro” pricing at $13.25 a month, and $159.00 annually! Although, teachers and students do receive a discount with “Enjoy” being free and “Pro” pricing at $4.92 monthly and annually, $59.00. For a comparisons found on Wolframalpha about presentation website idea prices, SlideShare starts out free, then proceeds to Silver ($19.00 a month), Gold ($49.00 a month), and Platinum (call for details). Unfortunately, Picsviewr did not have a specific amount for using the presentation tool. Prezi is such an interesting tool for not only teachers, but for anyone who is required to deliver a presentation. This tool is quite easy to use and extremely beneficial! I am excited to become familiar with Prezi and use it in EDM310, and as well as in my future classroom!

6 comments:

  1. Lauren, well done! I am excited to use PhotoPeach as well! From the sounds of it, PhotoPeach has some awesome features! I like how easy it will be to use! I also like that it can be used for group work!! I do not see that you need to make revisions! Good Job, Caitlin!

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  2. Lauren,

    I really like the PhotoPeach tool you have talked about. I am always looking for video editing tools and this sounds like a great one. However, your link does not work so be sure to go fix this!

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  3. Lauren,

    Good job introducing PhotoPeach to us. Before now I have never heard of it. I liked that you listed the advantages for us and also the pricing of the tool.

    Remember to post your section of the post first and then mine and Caitlin's after, other than that great job this week. I didn't notice any errors and as always, you are very organized with your ideas!

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  4. You need a working link! Have you used PhotoPeach/ What makes itmore useful? Or in what situations is it more useful than something else. How does it work. I could not tell from what you wrote.

    It is new to me. I need a link and a more thorough explanation of why/how it is useful other than the quotes from the site's promo piece.


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  5. Dr. Strange, my link should be working. I created my first slideshow on PhotoPeach when I was researching for this blog. To create a slideshow, you first upload any picture you would like. If you want to delete one, you simply drag it to the delete box to the right. You can change the order of the pictures as well. Second, you create a title, a description, and choose from a variety of background music provided. You can search YouTube for music by clicking on the tab titled "Search YouTube." If you upgrade to premium, you can upload your own music. Then click finish! You can go back and edit or delete any slideshow you create at any time. You can create a quiz by clicking "quiz." Then, you type in your question. Then, you type in the answers and mark the answer that is correct. The students (or whomever) clicks the answer on the slideshow and it will tell them if the answer is correct or not. I hope this helps! It is useful because it is so simple to create, edit, share, etc

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