Final Thoughts on TPTE 486

Well, it's been a long, hard ride, but I've enjoyed every bit of it. I was explaining to a friend one day last week what TPTE 486 consisted of, and she said "That's a real class? It sounds like fun!" I would have to agree. This has been one of my favorite classes during my time at UT, and I have learned so much. I didn't realize when I came into this class how computer-illiterate I really was, until I saw what I could do. There are so many tools and resources out there I didn't even know existed, but now I can use them in my own classroom as a teaching tool that hopefully will add a little bit of life to my lessons. I am so excited to get started now!

Digital Story on iMovie

Piknik

Piknik is a photo editing website that requires no software where you can crop, resize, and add neat effects to your photos that you upload. You can add captions, "cartoonize" photos, or select a color scheme. You can add artistic effects, stickers, frames, and even scrapbook. It a neat way to put a unique touch on photos. This might be another neat tool for creative projects in the classroom, for example, making "Hamlet" into a cartoon? Hmm. I may try that.

Glogster

Glogster is a website, sort of like Google Blogs with a twist. A "Glog" is more of a type of poster made up of text, images, music, and video. It can be made unique to your own specifications and are a good way for students to express who they are. This would be a neat opening assignment that I could give my students to get to know them.

Storybird

Storybird is an interactive web tool where you can make your own story. This would be especially good for Elementary level students who are learning how to read, write, and putting stories together. You just create an account and choose your theme. The pictures inspire the story, which could be a plus, but also is quite limiting. Pretty neat!

Smilebox

Smilebox is an online application that lets you create slideshows, invitations, greetings, collages, scrapbooks and photo albums on your computer. You just have to create a free account, upload your pictures or videos, and pick your theme and music. There is all kinds of creative things your students could use this for on projects.

Google Forms

Google Forms is a neat little tool where you can create forms for your students, other teachers, parents, or really anybody to fill out. This would be great for surveys, questionnaires, and even quizzes for your students because it gives you a break down of answers in a chart. This would also be good for pre-tests and post-test to get a grasp on where your students stand before, during, and after units.