Tool #11

There are some tools which I'm looking forward to using this year as we explore the use of technology. My students love to find new ways of publishing their art and getting it "out there." I intend to introduce them to BigHugeLabs, which will give them a chance not only of creating digital forms of their art which they can publish, but also of "slicing and dicing" what they've done and rearranging the parts into new and exciting compositions. Since BigHugeLabs also offers the possibility of creating marketable products which their parents can order (decorated with images students have created), I see this website as a winner.

For collaborative work, I see Voice Thread as one of the more thrilling options. Voice Thread is a site that will give my classes the opportunity to take a collaborative project which they've done (such as doing insect art work while simultaneously studying bugs in their current science unit), photograph the work in progress along with the finished results, lay in a narration and sound track, and then share the work with schools all over the world. We're definitely going through with this one this year.