Creative+Software+on+websites

=Creative Software Websites=
 * With current budget cuts in education. New software is not always an option. The websites listed below are free ways for students to create interesting presentations. **

[|www.myfakewall.com]
 * This website allows for students to create reports using to format of Facebook or Myspace. Students can use the website to create a profile about a historical figure that they researched. See the website for simple instructions. Most students will understand how to use the website because they are already familiar with www.facebook.com or www.myspace.com**




 * [|www.wordle.net]**
 * Wordle.net is a fantastic site to create word splashes or word clouds. Word splashes can be used by the teacher to introduce new vocabulary or by students to show understanding of topics using short phrases or single vocabulary words.The program is very easy to use. Just type in the vocabulary or ideas that you want to illustrate and wordle.net will create the image for you. **

= = =Replacement Ideas=
 * Wordle.net and myfakewall.com allow for students to use creative technology to show that they understand concepts. Myfakewall.com can be used when students are researching an important historical person. Student can create a profile showing their understanding of the person. Then students can chat with other students in the class as if they were the historical figure.**

= = =Reseach=
 * I use wordle.net in many ways in my classroom. My favorite way is to ask an open ended question and have students call out their answers. I type in their answers as fast as they call them out. This serves the "K" as a modified form of a KWL. It is a fantastic pre-assessment to see what the class already knows about a topic. When students call out words more than once the word gets larger creating a visual of concepts that more students already know. Students can also use wordle.net to create a mind map. Another idea for using wordle.net is to have students type a paragraph for a paper. Then students an copy the paragraph into wordle.net. Students can get a visual representation of the main points of their paper by looking at the words that appear the largest. **
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 * This link is from a website at introduces www.fakewall.com. The comments from teachers listed at the bottom validate it effectiveness in the classroom. By reading the teacher comments, you can also get a wide variety of options of how to use this technology in your classroom.**


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 * This link has an article about the relevance for using wordle.net in the classroom. The article focuses on teachers using creative ways to promote students understanding and motivation. The article also suggests a variety of ways to use the website in the classroom.**


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 * This is a fantastic article to justify the use of creative technology as a tool for differentiation in the classroom. Using creative technology allows for students to show they understand the content in new and exciting ways. These technologies also allow a variety of learning styles to be addressed leading to a more comprehensive learning activity.This article also many other free websites to promote student creativity.**