Week 4 and Tech Explorations 11-14

PowerPoint was our main focus for this week and how it can be used effectively in the classroom.  Having seen powerpoints in the corporate world and feeling, ‘great, another one’, shows that in some cases, the ‘triple P’ is prevalent.  I know how to set them up, however, the sites showed as a reminder of the pitfalls and the assets that powerpoint can provide. Things like: offering accommodations for a variety of learning styles, allowing for reflection of the creator-so to edit later and keep perfecting, and the ability to print out for students when absent were things that I liked having brought to my attention.  The reminder of ‘if your presentation shows all your verbage, email it’, was awesome!  It shows that the presentation should be an addition, not the final. 

Math facts as a powerpoint presentation would be something I would love.  It seems to be an issue with my little ones at home.  I would like to create an additional piece that would add to their learning of the concepts and then would be able to be used as a review tool.  It could be sent home for extra practice.

So, part of our assignment this week was to create a PowerPoint and then present to your students or any school-age child.  Since I don't have my classroom yet, my children had to be my students.  It looks like I might have a chance at presenting the math facts powerpoint.  So, I went ahead with creating the multiplication facts of 8.  I had my 10yr old go over this presentation after completion.  I liked having the quickness or slowness of the pages, so as to increase speed or concentrate, as well as the simplicity of the pages.  However, my son stated that due to him learning better by listening, he asked if I could had the audio to presentation to offer both visual and audio.  I am thinking that this is my new challenge.

TED-

TED is a non profit that is devoted to ‘Ideas Worth Spreading’.  The website www.TED.com allows access to so many ideas and is categorized by the style of the thoughts.  For example, there are multiple thoughts under the heading ‘courageous’ or ‘funny’.

I took a look at three different ones.  One was by Sue Austin who used her wheelchair to go underwater.  She spoke of the limitations that she allowed herself to internalize from others’ perspective and how she had to overcome them.  The video of her underwater was amazing.  It brought to life a whole variety of emotion with the visual.  The second one that I watched was by Lemn Sissay and being a child of the state.  He discussed the background, feelings and events of being a foster child.  The ‘family’ definition to him as well as how perceptions are to others.  The third one was from Sir Ken Robinson.  He spoke of creativity and education.  He spoke about how we are educating children for a world that we can’t even grasp what it will look like when they are adults.  He spoke in depth about adding more creativity in the classroom and allowing each student to shine.  I loved the quote “if you aren’t prepared to be wrong, you won’t come up with anything original”. 

I can see using these 15-20 minute videos to encourage and inspire students to push through stigmas.  If you can partner it with actually allowing the concepts shown into your classroom, it will be seen as ‘actions speak louder than words’ and bring the whole experience to the students.

Another classmate reviewed several videos that would be awesome tools at the middle school level.  Things like self image, how to be a leader, and the role that a true hero should play.  I found that each educator can find so many resources out there that can reach different aspects of a student. 

Technology Explorations #11

ComicLife    http://comiclife.com

iSpeech   http://www.ispeech.org

1.	Describe what you learned from exploring this resource.  Be thorough in your response.
	ComicLife looks to be something my own child would LOVE to work on.  It definitely puts the ‘fun’ into an assignment.  It seems to be a great platform for a variety of skill levels in writing.  Probably the most ‘wow’ factor in the technology explorations so far, when it comes to a student creative piece.  The software is available for Mac, Windows and touch screen devices. …………….. iSpeech is another form of text to speech.  From what I looked at, it seems to be more directed to mobile devices.  Examples of where/when you would use iSpeech:  cell phone, ipad, car, caller id announcer, alarm controlling on/off.  Talking websites, podcasts and e-learning are other avenues as well.
2.	How could you use this resource in a school setting?  It does not matter if it is in your field or level, you need to understand how the resource might be used in educational settings.
	“Key benefits of using comics in education       - A great visual Representation of Knowledge - Presents what is essential - Easier to remember a visual graphic containing key information - Engaging through thinking, creating and writing. - Perfect avenue for writing dialogue - Incites students with low interest in writing - Helps organization through storytelling and storyboarding - Using visual images convey meaning to a story or topic - Develops creative and higher level thought processes - Develops composition techniques through visual-verbal connections - Enriches reading, writing, and thinking - Serves as and assessment and evaluation tool - Sequencing promotes understanding”  …..per the ComicLife website ……………………………. iSpeech could be used as a resource for students.  There was an informational piece regarding an autistic child who was able to use the program by writing on a device and it translating to audio.  It was a great communication tool.  Due to the fact that the program offers podcasts, that would be a nice offering as well to the classroom.
3.	Would you recommend this resource to other educators? Like/Dislike; Ease of use, fee or not, and so forth.  Why or Why not?
	ComicLife is inexpensive at $19.95 for a single license and seems quite easy to use.  I can see how a few pieces of classwork that could be utilized with this program. ……………… iSpeech wouldn’t be one I would recommend at first.  I believe there are other text to speech offerings that would be less expensive to offer.  Pricing of 10,000 credits (words) for $200 was where it started.

Technology Explorations #12

Voice Thread     http://voicethread.com

 http://voicethread4education.wikispaces.com

1.	Describe what you learned from exploring this resource.  Be thorough in your response.
	Voice Thread is an awesome multimedia slideshow that allows communication, collaboration and connection.  The download allows uploading of images, documents and video along with the ability to add comments via voice, text &/or audio file.  There is no software needed to install.  It is just a simple download that uses Adobe Flash.  ……………. Voice Thread wiki is a great teaching avenue to the Voice Thread option.  It is a great tool in learning more about what Voice Thread actually is with examples of how to use it.  Directions were even given on how to download to your computer to get started.
2.	How could you use this resource in a school setting?  It does not matter if it is in your field or level, you need to understand how the resource might be used in educational settings.
	I can see Voice Thread being a great teaching tool in the classroom, whether your students are elementary or high school.  Presenting of a new topic would be a great way to offer students a way to work in a group effort in researching and then putting together a presentation via VoiceThread.  This avenue would allow for the more shy students to actually get their information in, without feeling stressed about having to be too vocal.  ……………………………………. The Voice Thread wiki is probably even more of a resource than the actual site.  Just the contact information from various educators alone offer vast options for collaboration.  Having examples of best practices, options and examples….even more amazing!!
3.	Would you recommend this resource to other educators? Like/Dislike; Ease of use, fee or not, and so forth.  Why or Why not?
	Voice Thread and the Voice Thread wiki would be recommended sites for me.  Probably the wiki first for ease of explanation and then on to the actual site to get started.  There is a small fee associated with the Voice Thread.  For a single educator the fee is $79/year or $15/month.  This offers yourself and 50 student accounts at one time.  You can add more users for a small per/student fee.

Technology Explorations #13

Storybird      http://storybird.com/

Scribblar       http://www.scribblar.com

1.	Describe what you learned from exploring this resource.  Be thorough in your response.
	Storybird is a great creative way of storytelling.  This is a site that can get the student’s creative juices flowing.  The site allows for creating, discovering, learning, connecting, selling and relaxing.  It is a ‘make, read and share visual stories’ site.  All stories are child appropriate and in English.  There are guidelines to follow and will be deleted if not appropriate.  This site offers the students a way to be creative with their drawings and bring them to life in a story as well as having students reading new and creative pieces.  Printing completed stories is also an option from this site.  How awesome would that be for a student.  It would be a great way to show off a portfolio.  Followings for set authors are an option as well, as are social media (blog &/or twitter). ………………………………. Scribblar is an amazing whiteboard tool!  The site labels it as ‘simple, effective online collaboration’.  After looking at this site, I realized that if it is not what my children have at school, it is very similar.  It is basically a virtual whiteboard!!  Real time and a multi user whiteboard.  Although I have only actually seen it used in an actual classroom setting, the demos show it being used by the multi users allowing people to be all over.  The site allows for a room to be set up and then various users can add their own piece to it, for example:  images, text, artwork, brainstorming.  The program has audio, can be used in all browsers and if you have skype, you also have visual.  Pretty amazing! It is as simple as signing up and creating a room to get started.
2.	How could you use this resource in a school setting?  It does not matter if it is in your field or level, you need to understand how the resource might be used in educational settings.
	The Scribblar can be used in K-12 classrooms everywhere.  Having the students incorporate their thinking alongside the teacher is awesome!  …………………….. The Storybird would be a great way to excite those students to get their creative juices flowing.  They can be visual storytellers.  This can combine the arts with reading and writing!! A total win win with our non traditional learners.
3.	Would you recommend this resource to other educators? Like/Dislike; Ease of use, fee or not, and so forth.  Why or Why not?
	Recommending the Scribblar is a no brainer.  There is no cost, it’s easy to use for the teacher as well as the students and could be used daily.  ………………………… Storybird would be a great recommendation, especially when working on certain writing pieces.  A simple sign up is free, however if you want to do the ‘extras’, then a membership can be purchased.  The paid membership allows for custom covers, personalized profiles, unique hearts, unlimited downloads and accelerated moderation.  Managing students, assignments, etc can be an option for a professional pack as well.  Typically 1month- $9, 6months-$39 and 12months-$59.  Printing the books created is also an option for a varied fees (page count, hard or soft bound, etc).

Technology Explorations #14

Xtranormal   http://www.xtranormal.com

Virtual Manipulatives   http://nlvm.usu.edu

1.	Describe what you learned from exploring this resource.  Be thorough in your response.
	Xtranormal is a very cool innovative way to allow our students to pump up their stories and make them come alive.  Xtranormal is a way to tell their story through 3D animated movies.  It allows for total creativity.  The site offers packages for a school setting as well as individual and professional.  The alternative option of text to speech was pretty cool as well.  This site reminded me of one of the videos we watched in an earlier lesson, regarding IBM and virtual conferencing.  How awesome to offer classes to allow their creativity to flow and set them up for success in their professional world.  …………………….. Virtual Manipulatives is part of the Utah State University.  The site offers a free trial for Windows and Mac users.  It is a way to offer various math manipulatives to allow exploration and grasping of a concept visually.  The various math pieces covered were number operations, algebra, geometry, measurement, probability and more.  The program set the various math concepts up, within a grade level, so to be sure to cover at the appropriate levels.  This is a download for your computer and offers a way to have your math lesson objectives, with your lesson plans, assessment methods and suggestions for various activities to aid your students in understanding.  The entire piece coincides with the NCTM standards.
2.	How could you use this resource in a school setting?  It does not matter if it is in your field or level, you need to understand how the resource might be used in educational settings.
	The Xtranormal site allows for a teacher to set up assignments with detail instructions as well as due dates, on the left side of the screen.  The student can sign in to access his assignments and start to work.  This allows for an exceptional opportunity for the information to be taught and then the students given the freedom to create within their own settings.  It adds more depth than just placing a pencil to paper.  …………………………………… Virtual Manipulatives could be used in any K-12 math classroom.  The ability to view lesson plans that already have the standards at heart seems more efficient.  The ability to allow students more opportunities to visually put math together is always a plus.  It is one way to access all manipulatives at a lower cost than purchasing multiple at a store.
3.	Would you recommend this resource to other educators? Like/Dislike; Ease of use, fee or not, and so forth.  Why or Why not?
	Depending on the budget, the Xtranormal site could be a great resource.  The company offers 3 levels of pricing.  The basic is free, educator is $10 + .50 for students/month and the professional is $50/month.  Using this source in the classroom, I would definitely recommend purchasing the educator over the basic, due to the safety.  The educator package ensures ‘kid friendly’.  Other examples had language and inappropriate content.  It seemed pretty easy to start and access. ……………………………… Virtual Manipulatives does cost, however it depends on what the school’s budget is for this type of opportunity.  The cost ranges from $39.95 for an individual up to $1199.95 for a large school.  At the individual one-time price, it might be worth it, if you can’t get total school buy in.  There is a free trial offer, so I think it would definitely be worth the trial to see how you could use this daily.  The ability to sync all your instruction and hands on learning together with multiple math concepts seems to be a win-win.

Week 3 and Tech Explorations 7-10

What has this week held that was different than last?  We moved thru the spreadsheet world  last week and into the word processing and desktop publishing this week.  With each week, I realize that there is SO much out there in the technology world, that the options and offerings to our students are  limitless.  It just takes some exploration to see how it can be useful.

Going back to spreadsheets for a little bit. Personally, we use the Microsoft Excel program in our home.  Our typical use is for tax purposes.  My husband and I both have our own businesses that we need to keep track of expenditures as well as gains.  This allows for filing taxes a lot easier.  I also use excel to keep track of my customers.  This program allows for me to have their contact information, as well as knowing when they last ordered, etc.  I know that there is so much more to do with excel from an accounting standpoint, however I have not had to venture too far into that arena.

I have to say, that the biggest thing that I took away from learning in regards to spreadsheets, is the capabilities of teaching math to students and allowing the imagery to come to life on the screen.  I would have NEVER thought that would be an option.  I found this on the "EXCEL-lent Middle School Math Lessons" website. 

We also watched a video about the today's classroom (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dGCJ46vyR9o) and what all the students have to know, stay on top of and what they are doing.  It was enlightening and yet mind boggling all at the same time.  It was basically a 19th century classroom setting, in which each student held up a large white cardstock with writing in black.  Each student had something different written on theirs,  for example: "multitasker" and another said "because I have to be."  It basically shows how if we teach in the 19th Century, we are doing a grave injustice to our students.  Things like being in debt after graduation, bubbled tests not being a help in succeeding, how much time they spend online-whether reading, searching or communicating, and jobs they will have upon graduation don't even exist today.  Percentages of time spent on line, in class, sleep, etc were also shown.  "Why use technology?"  After these past two weeks of exploration, my question would be "Why would you NOT use technology?" We still need to start with the basics and lay the foundation for our students, however we need to be aware that technology is a way of life and another avenue for our children to not only learn, but need to learn.  It can be as simple as video games promoting their math skills to creating a whole exploration of a topic and presenting to a class their findings thru a web-based presenter.

Visual Imagery, oh my!

Why is an image so important and what makes it appealing? Close your eyes.  When I say the name Mona Lisa, what do you see?  A farmer with his field?  Of course not.  You see a portrait of a lady with long hair, in a dark dress with her hands crossed and somewhat of a slight smile. It is a picture that you know.  iMindmap and other mapping sites, talk about word association as well as placing a picture with it for connection.  The saying "A picture is worth a 1000 words." It has to do with connections.

The image above has to do with how we can use visuals.  I don't have a classroom yet, so I thought I would show how I've used a combination of words and pictures to communicate.  This is a sample of a flier I would have sent out for my Thirty-One business. I have to say, that before this class, I would and did, cut and paste and do all kinds of crazy things to make this final document.  After seeing our task of remaking one of our documents to be converted to jpeg, was a challenge.  I never realized just how simple this task was!!  I was able to work within the paint aspect already on my computer.  Of course, after learning about wikis, I was able to pull up a wiki site to explain how to convert my document. The main image in this piece has to do with an organized office. Being that this has to do with organization, I felt this picture was appropriate. 

Technology Explorations #7

Assistive Technologies  www.gpat.org

Zoho   http://www.zoho.com

1.	Describe what you learned from exploring this resource.  Be thorough in your response.
	GPAT offered quite an insight into assistive technologies.  GPAT stands for Georgia Project for Assistive Technologies and is a part of the Georgia Department of Education.  Their focus: “assistive technology in learning”.  Their mission: “to improve student achievement, productivity, independence and inclusion by enhancing educator knowledge of assistive technology and increasing student access to appropriate assistive technology devices and services.”  The site gives definitions of what an assistive technology device is and more. When I typically think of the term, I think of stand alone talking machines.  This site shows that software and hardware are also AT in addition to the standard stand alone devices.  I found the Dolphin Easy Reader Software on this site to be very interesting.  It can be downloaded for a student that has a disability of one of the following: blindness, low vision, dyslexia or print disabilities.  .......................................................... Zoho changes the whole game.  It is a new look at a system that I thought would never happen.  Microsoft has been ‘it’.  Zoho is an online “seamless collaboration” offered to not only individuals, but businesses & corporations.  It is an online database application that has three areas of concentration: 1)productivity 2)business and 3)collaboration.  The site seems to combine the word processor, desktop publisher and database, all into one. The productivity side offers: notetaker, spreadsheets, presentation tools and a word processor. The business aspect offers the ability to create newsletters as well as email marketing.  The collaboration portion offers document security with users available to access at the same time from anywhere.  A collaborative website & wiki are offer and an online forum software plus web meetings.  Access to it all can be from home, office or mobile device.
2.	How could you use this resource in a school, setting?  It does not matter if it is in your field or level, you need to understand how the resource might be used in educational settings.
	GPAT is a great way to learn more about the different AT devices out there.  There are quite a few tabs on the right side of the page that allow for further learning.  Power point slides are available as well as worksheets to work thru. When working on a student’s IEP, the site offers a lot of information to help you in this writing process to be able to offer the students the best education possible. I found the IEP portion to be extremely helpful.  ........................................................ I was a little taken back at first at how Zoho’s online program could be a resource in a school setting.  After diving in and seeing the productivity side of it added to the collaboration, I can see where teachers across the board could access documents to better teach and assist their students.  Within one school system of multiple schools, documents can be retrieved virtually.  I could see an awesome community within the technology piece being on one page for a school system.  With IEP’s, testing and meetings, the task portion might be of an advantage as well, since there are typically multiple providers to these events.
3.	Would you recommend this resource to other educators? Like/Dislike; Ease of use, fee or not, and so forth.  Why or Why not?
	I would most definitely recommend this GPAT resource to others.  My favorite piece was how to best help a child that needs an ATD, when writing their IEP.  It is very easy to review and is a free site, with additional free software downloads to students/teachers within the Georgia area.   ................................ I don’t know if I would be ready to switch completely over just yet to Zoho, however it might be a great trial start if an educator was looking to try a more efficient approach and trying to get all their resources under one umbrella.  The cost for a personal use is free.  Pricing starts to increase once packages are chosen and more features are added.  Even at a cost, it seemed to be a small monthly fee (ie: $3/month for some services).

 

Technology Exploration #8

Online Tools for Teachers  http://www.4teachers.org/tools/

Dimio   http://dimio.altervista.org/eng/

1.	Describe what you learned from exploring this resource.  Be thorough in your response.
	4Teachers.org is an amazing site for teachers.  It is a great resource tool for not only lesson plans, rubrics and quizzes, but staying up to date on the latest technology and connecting it all to our state standards of education.  I love all the tools that are on the right side of the site.  With each click was a new area to explore.  To the left offered video of the latest things for teachers and the links towards the top of the site, were areas that could also be explored for more specifics.  To start with, the tools on the right side of the site.  I looked at Arcademic Skill Builders.  This tool was various video games that allowed the student to play by himself/herself or with multiple players.  While it allows the student to strengthen their learning, it also gives feedback to the teacher, so that the weaker areas as well as the stronger areas are exposed.  The games could be geared toward a certain subject as well as grade appropriate.  Within each one there was even a speed choice.  This as well as steered back to the standards. Another tool that I looked at was the Classroom Architect.  Who would have thought?!  I know that each classroom is different and there is not wrong or right way to set up a classroom, however I have seen some dysfunctional rooms.  Crowded, not a good flow, etc make for a very busy classroom.  I liked the way that you could move the furniture around and see how the flow of the room could/would look.  Taking into consideration that the students will be moving in, out and around the room and that there will be group sessions, one on one time and stations, just to list a few, it is a busy place and structure is key. The classroom needs to be a warm comfortable environment that facilitates their learning.  The link ‘educators resource’ caught my eye as well, so I had to click.  Once there, it was an amazing array of special education tools.  Taking individual disabilities and showing resources on how to unlock the knowledge thru the use of technology.  Last but certainly not least was a video clip talking about the 21st century classroom.  There seems to be many professional development topics for every teacher. …………………………………………………. Dimio is a stand alone free software service called D-Software.  It appears to be a start up software, created by Dimitrios Coutsoumbas.  D-Software has 3 different offerings.  D-Speech, D-Shutdown and D-Synchronize.  DSpeech is a text to speech program.  D-Shutdown which can shut down and wake up your PC.  D-Synchronize has the capability to synchronize two or more files.
2.	How could you use this resource in a school setting?  It does not matter if it is in your field or level, you need to understand how the resource might be used in educational settings.
	4Teachers.org is amazing!  This resource I can see using on a daily basis.  With the actual games/lessons that can be used with the students to continually learning as a teacher, keeping up to date on the latest and greatest.  The standards integrated into the lessons, games and quizzes, so that you are working cohesively instead of on your own.  This site allows for differentiation. ……………………………………………. The Dimio site has step by step instructions on how to download the software, so to accomplish the goal you choose, whether you download one or all three.  All three could be advantageous to a classroom.  Text to speech would be great for the auditory learner.  The wake up option could be nice to have, so that the computers could be on timers, ready to go for the students at a set time.  The synchronizing could be nice as well.  There are so many programs running that any way to merge and be efficient could be a great tool.
3.	Would you recommend this resource to other educators? Like/Dislike; Ease of use, fee or not, and so forth.  Why or Why not?
	4Teachers.org would have to be my number one pick to recommend.  I would have to say it has been the easiest to maneuver and offers so much to the teachers, students and parents.  It appears that at one time the tools had a subscription, however they are free at this time.  ………………….. I don’t know that I would recommend the resource Dimio.  It might be a great tool, but my comfort level of the site itself being secure was lacking.  Mr. Coutsoumbas states that the software is free, however does give an option for donations via paypal.

 

Technology Exploration #9

Full Measure      http://fullmeasure.co.uk/powertalk/

1.	Describe what you learned from exploring this resource.  Be thorough in your response.
	Full Measure is a site that offers a program called PowerTalk.  Power Talk is an assistive technology for a powerpoint presentation.
2.	How could you use this resource in a school setting?  It does not matter if it is in your field or level, you need to understand how the resource might be used in educational settings.
	I can see various students using this program for presentation purposes, where they can write and put together a presentation, however can’t speak the information.  This would be a great tool to non-verbal students, as well as those that struggle with speaking.
3.	Would you recommend this resource to other educators? Like/Dislike; Ease of use, fee or not, and so forth.  Why or Why not?
	I don’t know that you would use this program every day, however it would be a great resource to have on hand.  The price is right, at free.  If you can offer a free product that could generate a student’s work into audio, it could be a great blessing.

Technology Exploration #10

WebQuest  http://www.webquest.org

ReadtheWords  http://readthewords.com

1.	Describe what you learned from exploring this resource.  Be thorough in your response.
	WebQuest is an ‘inquiry-oriented lesson format’.  There are six essential parts to a webquest: introduction, task, process, evaluation, conclusion and credits.  The ‘task’ states what the student is supposed to do.  The ‘process’ gives the steps needed to accomplish with resources needed.  The ‘evaluation’ will let the student know the set standards or guidelines for the project. The ‘conclusion’ is the reflection time.  The WebQuest site offers tutorials on how to set one up, as well as ones already completed to review.  They are lessons within lessons.  The site also offers more resources on support.  I also learned that a webquest has to have certain parts for it to be considered a true webquest.  Things like:  “wrapped around a doable and interesting task that is ideally a scaled down version of things adults do as citizens or workers”, “requires higher level thinking” and “good use of the web”. ………………………………………………. ReadtheWord is a web-based service that offers text to speech capabilities.  The mission of the company is “To create an easy to use platform, that allows for alternative methods to process written information.”  The company began in the beginning of 2008, trying to assist students with learning disabilities. Auditory learning & processing was their target.  The service allows for text to be converted to a recording.  There are 15 different voices to accommodate, and the capability to have ‘parts’ of the story read by their own character. Once a text has been converted, it can be saved on your computer and played multiple times.  MP3 players and ipods can easily down the information for more convenience.  The pieces can not be distributed once produced, however it can be embedded in a reading on a website or blog.
2.	How could you use this resource in a school setting?  It does not matter if it is in your field or level, you need to understand how the resource might be used in educational settings.
	WebQuest is kind of a big deal when it comes to resources in a school setting.  Although this doesn’t need to be the main focus, it is a great way to stretch your students.  It encourages out of the box thinking, while strengthening their technology skills and making them independent learners.  Problem solving as well as creativity could also be reached by having this type of learning.  More than likely this would not be done with younger elementary students. ………………………………….. ReadtheWord would be a great resource in a school setting.  Converting text to a recording for vocab words, editing and retaining are just a few options.  Some of the testimonials spoke about higher test scores due to the students being able to listen to the vocabulary words repetitively.  Another one talked about being able to keep up with new materials for the teacher to keep up with.  Recording the new information, offered flexibility on listening.  This could take total advantage of down time, where you wouldn’t be able to read, but could listen.  A student talked about editing.  When she was typing her papers, she could then have them converted and played back.  She was able to pick up on things from hearing the words spoken, that she wouldn’t have from just proofreading it, allowing her to make corrections to her paper.
3.	Would you recommend this resource to other educators? Like/Dislike; Ease of use, fee or not, and so forth.  Why or Why not?
	WebQuest seemed to be a great place to show where to start as well as how, why, etc.  There are fees involved with Webquests, so depending on your classroom funds, you might have to be creative in what you offer.  ……………………………. ReadtheWords seemed fairly easy to maneuver from a standpoint of just working thru the site, to the editorials on how to actually convert a document.  You do need to sign up for an account, however it is a free based service.  This would definitely be an option.