The reason most websites are being researched for a classroom
project is because the kids are not able to do what we want them to do. Or, we have a new project and we want to make
it more interactive or the students are looking for an easier way to finish their work.
One of the sites I want my kids to begin using is
Easybib.com. This site allows the
students to easily input the article, novel, or magazine information into the
site and it will correctly create a MLA citation that is correct and easily
inserted into the students paper. The
site does a very easy step by step process for websites, book, novels, up to 59
different specific options for a work to be cited. I cannot tell you how many times I have
needed to walk through the process and the kids just don’t want to do enough
work to get them correct. It is about
time that there is another way for them to easily and quickly make a correct
citation and put it into their paper.
On the topic of writing I have found the ultimate resource
for writing for any student. The Purdue Online Writing Lab is the pinnacle of
the formulaic and creative writing author.
The processes and procedures recommended for proper writing can be
difficult to demonstrate without proper examples and step by step
guidelines. This website gives you
everything a teacher needs to ensure the students have the best resources to
become the best writer they can be.
The aspect about this site I like the most is the visuals it
gives to really show the students what they should be doing. Not only are they able to see the proper
format of a paper but an auditory explanation of what it should be is available
as well. The challenge of walking
through every student down the pathway of a perfect paper is not possible in
the short amount of time in the classroom.
This dynamic and specific resource give the teachers more help in
teaching and the students more help with the examples and the ease of use of
the site.
On to the newest video editing site that I have explored for
my students. WeVideo.com allows students
to upload and have a dynamic and powerful editing tool to use on almost any
device.
The upload process is easy both on the computer and portable
device. The user interface is similar in
both of those work windows. I would
compare the portable device editing to that of Imovie on an apple device. The hardest part of using this type of
editing is the specificity of an edit or audio adjustment. Maybe it’s just my fat finger but getting the
clip to be exactly where I want it is always a challenge. I just may be too specific in my design for
some of my smaller movies. Not many
people look to edit clips and photos to cut exactly on the pulse and tempo of a
song. The best aspect of this editor is the green screen editing. One of the
biggest issues when teaching video construction is the locations we have to
shoot in allow the kids to be as creative as a school video. The content of their work can be so much
more. The ability to shoot in our studio
with the green screen and then allow them to place their shot anywhere lifts
the burden of the boring “brick wall”.
It is really nice to see such a powerful cloud based editing
software.
The only thing that I am concerned about is how much it is
when the free trial ends. When I have a
collection of students that rely on using professional software the cloud based
version is not applicable to those going to continue working in college in this
field. It will be great for those
students in my beginning classes as well as my English classes but is not the
answer for my Media courses.
No comments:
Post a Comment