2. Most Useful Tool The tool that I found to be most useful was the image editing tool, Picasa3. I just recently started using it this year to put my pictures online, however I never used the photo editing portion of it until this course. I really like how user friendly it is to edit images through this program and how it keeps the editing simple. This a tool that I will definitely be using on a regular basis.
3. Successes I feel very successful with the work I completed for this course! It was exciting to edit images for the first time and to find it simple and enjoyable. I also thought that the voice thread was interesting and something that my students would truly enjoy doing for some of their projects.
4. Challenges I experienced a little bit of a challenge with Windows Movie Maker. I wanted to upload music from a different website, but couldn’t figure out how to do that, so had to just use generic music from my computer. Also, I had some trouble when it came time to publish the completed video to YouTube. I had to try several times before it actually worked. So, this was slightly frustrating, but I am happy that it did work out in the end.
5. Online Learning I really enjoy online learning! I love how I can work at my own pace and on my own time. The Moodle site is very easy to navigate and all of the resources and tutorials that Rich posts make the learning experience less stressful. This is my third online course with Rich and I look forward to more!
6. Image editing These are the pictures that I edited using Picasa3. I found it very user friendly and love that it uploads right to my online Picasa album! Edited Images of My Puppy - Gracie
7. Voice Thread I thought that this was a fantastic tool to use in the classroom! (Love the “23 Interesting Ways to Use” slides.) I used VoiceThread to show pictures of my 6th graders graduation. I’ll then post this on my classroom blog for the students to enjoy. I will use this with my students for projects this upcoming year. VoiceThread - 6th Grade Graduation
8. Animoto I absolutely love Animoto! It is so user friendly, creates beautiful videos, and has a clean and professional feel to it. I know my students will love it and can use it for projects in my classroom! I did an Animoto video of some pictures from my best friend’s wedding. Animoto - Donna’s Wedding
9. Windows Movie Maker I like how Windows Movie Maker makes creating a video very easy. I enjoyed choosing the transitions I wanted, how long the pictures would stay on the screen, and fitting music to my pictures. The final product comes out really nice and I can see how this would be a program my students would find valuable. I made one for my best friend’s bachelorette party. WMM – Donna’s Bachelorette Scavenger Hunt