All the stuff out there

My students have used Kidspiration many times before especially for mind maps or concept maps. I have to admit that I have never thought of using this application as a presentation tool. Thanks for sharing the article Patricia.
There are so many options for software out there that I think sometimes it becomes a bit overwhelming. Somebody said in an earlier post words to the effect, "why can't we all agree on on platform?". Sometimes I feel the same about software. Teachers are bombarded with all different applications that as soon as they become comfortable with one application their computers get a new OS which won't support it anymore or 5 new products have come out to replace it. I have never been a big fan of being told what to do but, if we have a standard curriculum and reporting system in the province is it crazy to think that a standard software image for schools is unrealistic?

New Version of Keynote

In response to David's post

I looked at the new version of Keynote on the Apple site. It looks great!!! I watched the demo of the move feature and I agree with you David it's a hit. I like the fact that they have also added the ability to create narration within Keynote itself. At the moment I have the 2.0.2 version and I'm looking forward to upgrading soon. Trouble is that all the Macs at the school run the older version as well so until they catch up I won't be able to use the new bells and whistles for class presentations.

Comics and Keynote

Creating comics with speech bubbles and imported digital images is a fun way to create a presentation for sure!!!. Students can take it that extra step by adding their own sound track to the presentation as special effects. Another neat idea might be to use the ComicLife Software to produce your comic (eBook) and then import it into the presentation software this way you can take advantage of the best of both worlds (ComicLife's grahics and fonts and Keynote's presentation functionality). I played around with this earlier and found that the easiest way was to create the comic and export it directly into iPhoto the import the image into Keynote. I thought the final product turned out pretty well.

Peer Editing Presentations

Having students Peer Edit their presentations is a must as they are often the best critics when it comes to "you are using too much animation" or "I couldn't understand your presentation because your slides were moving too fast". One of the great things about peer editing/critique of presentations is that the computer lab provides an ideal space to manage and control the activity from a teachers perspective. In the third term I do a presentation project with my grade 5's (topics vary). They spend about a month putting together a presentation that is about 5 to 8 slides long. As we near the end of the month I usually have about a couple of Peer Critiquing Sessions. During this time I have the students run their presentations on a loop and go on a gallery walk around the other computers. They take with them a pencil and stickie notes. As they watch a presentation students are encourage to provide positive and specific feedback by writing on the stickie note and putting on the computer. I usually give them about 20 minutes and have the rule that a maximum of 2 people can be watching a particular presentation at one time. Works pretty well and of course the session creates a fair bit of discussion about visual presentation as well as content.

Where is the line??

Like with many pieces of technology today, the intended uses for hardware or software applications do not always follow the straight and narrow. Mark makes an interesting point about camera phones being used as a way to document and perhaps even prevent bullying. On the other hand the camera phone can be the tool in the bullying behaviour itself. A quick surf of You Tube will present any number of fights and incidents of bullying of students or teachers that have been posted not to prevent the act but rather to promote it.
The concept of MySpace or Facebook started out simply enough as a way to connect with others. Now privacy issues and people with nefarious intent prise the waves.
I think it is difficult to keep up with how technology is being used and to have a common set of rules and responsibilities which govern how technology is to be used. Take for instance the case going on at the moment concerning the Ryerson student who is facing expulsion for having an online study group through Facebook. Seems to me the student is doing exactly what university students have been doing for years, except now they are doing it electronically.

eBook Online Library of sorts

I took a quick look around this site, you are right Michael there is a lot to filter through. There is however quite a bit of really neat stuff. Good links to ideas for lessons around classroom theatre, good variety of text for all ages. I think most people could find several useful links to use themselves or to pass along to colleagues and parents.

http://drscavanaugh.org/ebooks/libraries/ebook_libraries.htm

Free-Ware/Not so free applications

Great site Keethai, thanks for sharing!! I could see using this site with younger students as a way of introducing them to creating their own comics. I agree with Michael that it does have some limitations. For a fee site it is a great site. Might also want to think in terms of using this site as a warm upto using ComicLife. Students could also do a comparison between free-ware applications and those that are licensed. With all the talk of Google suites and other all access applications, having students compare functionality and reliability of free vs pay for application would be interesting.