Thing 7-Productivity
In this module, the first tool that I explored was Zamzar. It is a program where you can upload a file and it can convert the file into a different format of your choice. I simply took a word document and converted it into a mp3 format, so the document is a recording that can be played. You can just hit play, and then the document is read to you aloud. My document was a reflection I wrote about a dance concert I had seen. Here is a picture of the recording made by Zamzar playing on my computer next to the actual word document for my reflection. The file to the recording is attached below the pictures (button). I also included a screenshot of the Zamzar program online. I think Zamzar is a great tool to use in a classroom. Instead of the students reading documents by themselves, the mp3 conversion can be read aloud to them and even sent home to families. Some students or family members are better at understanding information by listening to it read aloud rather than reading it by themselves and this program is a great way to accommodate for that.
Next, I learned how to make a calendar using Google Calendar. This resource it a great online service that allows me to create and share calendars with other people. This is great for posting meetings or field trips, classroom parties or events and other happenings to keep families and other teachers on the same page. It can also be useful to share with students to show assignments from class and when they are due, as well as the activities from each day. I think it would also be a good idea to share a calendar with your administrators or other teachers to keep everyone working on the same schedule and same page. Here is a picture of a calendar I created and shared with some of my classmates.
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I then learned how to use Goo.gl, which is a URL shorten-er. If you have outrageously long URLs you can just paste them into Goo.gl and it will shorten them for you and your students. This is so helpful for research projects and sharing ideas from other websites without including a long and unnecessary URL. The first link is the full URL to a National Geographic Kids article about Tortoises and the second, shorter link is to the same article. On the Goo.gl website, you simply copy and paste the links into a search box and they will provide a shorter version of the URL.
http://kids.nationalgeographic.com/animals/deserttortoise/#desert tortoise eating.jpg
https://goo.gl/nTZjni
http://kids.nationalgeographic.com/animals/deserttortoise/#desert tortoise eating.jpg
https://goo.gl/nTZjni