The Journey of Tool #8

I know, I know... Before you get excited let me explain why we have jumped off the beaten path and skipped Tool #7. I realized that #7 would take quite a bit of time so we will come back to it at a later date (promise) so we can keep the momentum going! Plus Tool #8 is something I already use and know about! As a theatre teacher I use video clips often to show examples of good, and sometimes bad, work! It is also a way that I can show examples of productions and techniques that we don't have access to at school! One unit that I show video in is my puppetry unit. I like to show examples of different types of puppets from around the world. I have never used Hulu before, but I was able to find a clip from Sesame Street that I can use. I also found Sesame Street clips on You Tube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h5lx_gsjm10. The next clip is about Shadow Puppets. It shows them in use as well as how they are made. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S-1j_PntB1g Both are useful as puppet examples, but I like that one uses actor's voices and the other only uses music. I also like the kids to come in with examples from sites that they can share with the class!

The Journey of Tool #6 or Wiki World

Last weekend I went for MYP IB training and actually saw my first Wiki. Our teacher uses them and shared her site with us so that we could get and share ideas with her. I like to do small group projects with my classes, particularly my upper level history units. I can see how using wikis would aid the kids in collaborating their work and ideas with each other, particularly when not in my class. I believe that one of my groups last year actually did this on their own but I didn't understand at the time what they were doing. Nice to finally catch up!! I can also see this being useful in sharing with other theatre teachers around the district. Since I work alone at WAIS it would be nice to be able to work with other theatre teachers again a little more often than our district meetings!

The Journey of Tool #5

So we begin today's journey with the realization that our days are, quite literally, numbered... We really need to get moving down this Tool Road, so into the brink my friends. Tool #5 started as most of the tools have and ended up being quite fruitful! It deals with posting websites on a list for all to see. I actually really like the idea. I find that I am having to post more and more websites for my students to use for research and this is a great way for me to actually organize the sites into managable bites. I signed up for an account with Delicious.com and started searching for websites in the theatre area. I found several, but the two that I saved were http://www.TheatreHistory.com, a site for research, and http://www.monologuearchive.com, a really exciting find! This is a database of monologues broken down into various catagories. I know I will use this site on a regular basis! I realized that what makes this work is good tagging. I tried to use words that were logical and meaningful to me including acting, monologue, theatre history, and research. This is one tool that I can see myself using on a regular basis for both myself and my kids!

Tool #4 - A Google Journey

So today our journey takes us into Googleville (or Googlevania for those of you who are still into the vampire thing). I have used Google! I love Google! I use it to search for things on the net and for images! I have never used Google Doc or Google Reader. I get the Google Doc theory, and I can see using it, particularly with other teachers. I often send schedules out and need other people to confirm. This would allow those other people to make corrections on the spot. Cool! For reader I have set up the blogs I am following at http://www.google.com/reader/view/?hl=en&tab=wy&safe=on#stream/user%2F17562827974264453090%2Fstate%2Fcom.blogger%2Fblogger-following. I would like my kids to use this to follow blogs about theatre on a regular basis so they know what is going on in the theatre community!

The Journey of Tool #3

So I have found the Tool #3 Journey to be quite taxing... I liked looking at all the different sites where you can do picture stuff, but I found the uploading process difficult. Lets see if I have it this time! The first picture is from Image Chef. I can see using it to grab the class' attention with a new word or idea. I can also see them using it to spice up their own projects or essays.

The second image is from Comic Strip Generator. While I used it as a fun poke at Shakespeare, I can see the kids using it in their work or as possible storyboards for their scripts. I can really see my middle school kids having fun with this site!

In case anyone doing the 11 Tools is following my blog, I highly recommend saving the pictures to your computer then putting them onto your blog!! That is the only way I finally finished this leg of the journey!! Whew!