Part+4+PLAY

==**Play //What I hear, I forget. What I see, I remember. What I do, I understand. -- Confucius // **== Engage your students with one of these fun applications.

Web 2.0 Awards Take some time to explore the list. Some will be interesting, others not so much, but really scout around to see what is available. Share two web 2.0 tools that you can envision yourself using and how you might utilize them

Voki is a free personalized talking avatar. After a quick registration, you will be able to customize your avatar. A wide variety of people, animals and odd characters are available. You can customize your features, accessories, background, and player and then add your recording. You may record your voice using the computer's built in microphone or use the text to speech feature. Once you've created your voki, you will be able to share it through email or embed it on your blog or wiki. This [|video tutorial] walks you through the process. Voki in Education

See how one teacher used it to remind her students of an upcoming field trip. Grade 1 News. Other applications include allowing students to create fictional characters in conjunction with writing projects, ELL and foreign language study.
 * Use it in the classroom:**

Richard Byrne will be our featured presenter at the March 18th Curriculum Day. If you haven't yet checked out his blog, please do. It contains an amazing collection of resources specifically chosen for teachers. This is the blog we follow to learn about the newest applications and technologies.



**Your Reading Life**

There are a number of tools available that allow you to track your reading, share comments and recommend books to friends. the big three in this category are Goodreads, Shelfari and Librarything. While very similar, they differ in appearance and layout. Because these are social networking tools (centered around books and reading) the best advice is to register with the site your friends use. Use it in the classroom: These sites are wonderful for sharing book recommendations with colleagues. As a staff, you can have a running conversation around what is being read. It also serves as a way for you to catalog what you read, so in 6 months when you are trying to remember the name of that great Civil War novel to read to your 5th graders, you can easily find it.

Explore! Take a look at the three book sites. Choose one, register, and record a book.