#ITEC11

 

Between tweeting twits and Googling gadgets, Iowa Technology Education Conference was a complete success. Two days of jam-packed inspiration. It is comforting to know that there are other educators out there that want to bridge the gap between what we do and what we need to do for these 21st century learners. There were many sessions on web 2.0 applications to use in the classroom and how to make sure you are choosing the correct tool. 

A few of my students have been guinea pigs in the "Virtual Art Room". We are using some really neat sites to make art and then send it to family members via email. The kids seem to love it because it provides instant gratification (with zero mess!). 

A few of the sites we have been trying:

Wordle

Sumo Paint

   

Picasso Head

There is a lot of positive feedback. If the kids do not have an email to send their art to I provide them with a class email. That way the kids can send it to something. Each of those links take you directly to the application. For instance www.picassohead.com/create.html instead of www.picassohead.com, this ensures that the students go directly to the app instead of running into inappropriate content that can be lingering in the galleries.