Table+8

=Tools and Resources U Can Use Or Not!=

= = =[|Kid's Review]= This parent-created interactive site gives students the opportunity to review books and publish those reviews. One of its main purposes is to simulate enthusiasm for reading, writing and Internet use. This educational resource was developed for students in the UK. The site is monitored by teachers for student safety.
 * __Purpose__**

The site offers many interactive components to assist children with their book reviews. The following are the main elements: • Add Review • Edit Review • Search Feature • Top Ten Reviews • Author Section • Help Feature • About Feature • Footballers [soccer players] Children age 7-14
 * __Major Features__**
 * Professional football players relay personal reading experiences from their childhood.
 * __Age Level__**

This site is very child-friendly. It has very clear directions with an attractive layout. It offers additional support with a help page and a feedback option.
 * __Ease of Use__**

Student literary benefits: • gain authorship • gain self-esteem • develop a sense of ownership • gain word-processing skills • strengthen reading and writing skills
 * __Literacy Support__**

=[|Glossary of Poetic Terms]= __**Purpose**__ The name of this site speaks for itself; the Glossary of Poetic Terms is a dictionary that explains the meanings of specific poetic terms. Probably intended for a mature audience, this site lacks any frills. Its grey textured background with standard blue text is rather serious. On it, Bob (Robert G. Shubinski) lists the meanings of some well-known as well as some rather obscure poetic terms. He offers an alphabetical listing of poetic as well as literary terms.

· Phonetic pronunciation · Range of definitions · Lots of poetic quotes · Hyperlinked keywords & cross references · Cross references · Writers’ guidelines · Google search in middle of page If you click on a hyperlink to aid in understanding a definition, you navigate in the same window away from the original page, therefore potentially losing what you were looking for in the first place Age: HS to adult (bland, mature audience) Ease of use: see navigating notes, but easy if you know what you’re looking for. Specific terms are easy to find. Quotes as advertised are not so easy to find.
 * __Major features__**:

__**Literacy Support**__ This site can support literacy by allowing students to obtain definitions of poetic terms they may encounter in their readings; thus aiding comprehension. It also links students to examples of terms contained within the definitions. In addition, the glossary offers students the opportunity to move from the known to the unknown, by allowing to see terms they do not known next to terms they may already known. In fact, Bob's lists of unknown or obscure terms are good vocabulary builders.

=[|Edublogs]= Edublogs is a tool that can develop into a resource for teachers and students. Edublog is a blog for educators. It host tens of thousands of blogs, for schools and other educational institutions. It’s a blogging platform for the community of educators. It can be used to enhance the way teachers use the web to communicate and collaborate with the community by: · posting materials and resources · hosting on line discussions · getting students to blog · sharing lessongs plans · using mutimedia
 * __Purpose__**

These methods on the web promotes literacy in the community of bloggers · user-friendly tools, i.e. spell-check, auto save, preview · spam free · create static pages · customize widgets with sidebar · special blogs are featured · includes forums · support · embed video, create pocast
 * __Major Features__**:

Grade levels 5-12

__**Ease of Use/ Design**__ Edublog is user-friendly. The user can select templates and personalize sidebars with widgets, tools and multimedia components.

__**Literacy Support**__ Edublog can support literacy because students can be involved in creating newsletters and class publications. As they blog they are practicing their writing skills. The integration of multimedia helps them to practice a variety of literacy skills.

=[|TourMaker]= The idea is that users can explore a variety of websites about a particular topic (for example, sharks) within a frame. The field trip creator annotates each site, and the user can navigate within each website and return to the original field trip using a button bar that is static in the lower corner. As a tool, it only provides the opportunity to link to various websites—it doesn’t provide any technological “bells and whistles”—there is no way to vary the frame. Like a Webquest, or list of useful websites, it does support students going beyond Google for a particular topic, and helps structure and direct an inquiry. For younger students, this product can be helpful because it can keep students from getting lost online. But the font size and button placement is not user-friendly. In addition, the premade VFTs are not age appropriate—the websites chosen use advanced vocabulary and are not particularly appealing. The frame also takes space away from the website page, which makes it less appealing to view and play on a page. This tool has been around for 10 years, and still reflects the technology of that time. It’s definitely not Web 2.0! Where Builder offers an opportunity to manipulate the design to match the audience and can offer multimedia options, VFT does not. This product could be useful, but we would choose to create a PortaPortal or WordPress webpage that provided an annotated list of resources. Even better would be a Builder or well-designed WebQuest. We would not use this site to support literacy. It may have a place in doing focused research, and can help support/scaffold students in navigating the web.
 * __Purpose__**
 * Virtual Field Trips** is a tool which provides some pre-made “virtual field trips” (VFTs) and is also a software that can be used to create these virtual field trips. (The software is $25 for a single-user license, although there is a trial option.) Virtual Field Trips is marketed as a product for K-12 audiences.
 * __Major Features__**
 * __Ease of Use and Design__**
 * __Literacy Support__**


 * Creators**: Ann-Marie, Eva, Margaret, Suzanne J-R, Melissa, Carol, Julie M, Andrea S.