session+4


 * 4.1 21st Century Vocabulary Terms**

widget - something that does something on the internet (wordle, youtube video) (a device or control - such as an application that is very useful for a particular job)

embed - to put something from another website into your website (to stick something firmly within another environment, such as sticking a video clip within a web page)

embed code - the code that allows one website to show content from another website (definition not on vocabulary.com) (the code which you will need to find on the website of origin which you will need to plug into the widget editor in order for your widget to appear on your wikispace page - often times this will be obvious on a webpage (youtube has button underneath every video which says “embed”). Other times it might be tougher to locate, being accessed through a button that says “Share” or some other variant) link - it leads the viewer to a relevant website (a connection to another program or location online, often activated by clicking on a highlighted word or icon on the screen)

URL - the address of the website (the address of a web page on the world wide web)

upload - to transfer something from my computer to the internet (for example text to crocodocs) (to transfer a file or program to a central computer - or the internet - from a smaller computer or other device)

download - to transfer something from the internet to my computer (to transfer a file or program from the internet to your own computer or other device)

search engine - a website that you can use to find information on the internet (a program that retrieves information from a large database or the internet)

Web 2.0 - the latest internet-based productivity tools (definition not on vocabulary.com)

(a use of the world wide web as a means to allow all computers to operate as both users and creators in which digital media is both produced and used collaboratively-this is in contrast to users being given information in which they only view the information, becoming much more passive in their activity)


 * 4.2 - Using Vocabulary.com**

Why might students and teachers find vocabulary.com more useful than a dictionary or glossary?

There is more information - how to pronounce the word, the etymology of the word, related words, synonyms, antonyms, lots of examples of how to use the word. The initial explanations of the words are pretty entertaining. I looked up one of the vocab words I teach - abolish - and it gave the very kid-friendly example of a student wanting to abolish the dress code at his school. The acutal definitions are in clear, simple language. The challenge part of the website helps students improve their vocabulary.

What kind of student might benefit from the use of vocabulary.com?

I think most high school students would benefit from the use of vocabulary.com. For the struggling reader the definitions are clear. There is a lot more information for more academically inclined kids who are really trying to understand the words or ambitious college-bound students who want to improve their vocabulary. I love that it has the audio of how to pronounce the word. The pronunciation guide in a paper dictionary is so difficult to use. No more trying to figure out what the upside down a sounds like! I would have loved this in high school!

I am wondering if this would be helpful to ELL students. I think it might be too much information for them. I think there might be better vocabulary resources made specifically for ELLs. I am going to do a search and add to this later.


 * 4.3 Word Sift**

How is wordsift an effective pre-reading stategy?

Like wordle, wordsift allows students to create a wordcloud of a text which highlights most important words in a text. Wordsift allows students to sort the words in different ways. It also allows students to learn more about the important words. Students can click on a word on the wordcloud, and below a bunch of google images and the visual thesaurus word web appear.

How would wordsift help students who struggle reading? Pre-viewing vocabulary is important for struggling readers. If they are familiar with some of the most frequently used words, they are less likely to mentally checkout while reading or to feel frustrated and give up.

The google images could potentially be helpful. Seeing an image might help some students to activate prior knowledge that they might not activate by just seeing a word. The one potential issue with this is that, as we know, when you search google images all kinds of images appear. Some of the images will help kids understand. Some images might confuse them or shock them. I put the text "Perils of Indifference" into wordsift. When I started clicking on the words some frightening images showed up. When I clicked on the word fight, a really graphic image of a dog fight was the first image that appeared. When I clicked on the word suffering, a starving baby appeared. So, if I was using this with kids in a pre-reading activity in a classroom setting, I could see myself having to help kids process all these disturbing images. Well, these are disturbing words about a disturbing topic.

I actually think wordsift might be interesting to use as an after reading activity to help kids with analysis. The google images might be a good way to get students to think about how the connotations of words develop mood or tone in writing. In her post, Robin D. had mentioned using wordle for this. I think wordsift might even work better than wordle for this kind of after reading activity.

The visual thesarus web again might help kids make connections between a word they don't know and a word they do know that they wouldn't necessarily make by just looking at the word and the definition. I thought this tool was visually really interesting. I loved clicking on different words and seeing the text reconfigure itself. So cool! I think kids could also use it for word choice in their own writing. The only downside, looks like this tool costs money.


 * Screenshot of Wordsift for Online Vocabulary Field Trip Text**



[|trackstar] [|webquest]
 * 4.4 Web 2.0 Vocabulary Tools**
 * online vocabulary field trip**

[|powerpoint] []
 * digital flashcards** - learning and showing understanding of vocabulary words


 * 4.5 E-Vocabulary Strategies**

How would you use the tools in your class? Do you think the tools you selected would be effective in your class?


 * Online Vocabulary Fieldtrip **

Using trackstar or webquest, I think I could create an online vocabulary fieldtrip for __Night__. I could do an online version on the KWL on the Holocaust that I normally do which will give me a sense of how much students know about the Holocaust and how familiar they are with the general vocabulary of the Holocaust. Then I could do additional vocabulary fieldtrips as we read the book. In the first chapter, there is a lot of vocabulary related to Judaism - Hasidic, Shtibl, Kabbalah, Talmud, Zohar, etc. Students always need help with this vocabulary. Then when we get to the third chapter, there are a lot of vocabulary words related to the hierarchy of power in the camps - SS officer, kommando, kapo - that confuse students. I think this would be very effective use of technology in my class. I'm excited to try to set this up!


 * Digital Flashcards **

In the E-Vocabulary article, the authors suggested using powerpoint slides to create multimedia representations of words. I could create my own frayer model template and ask students to incorporate images and video from the web to help them learn and show their understanding of vocabulary words.

I included the link to quizlet, a site that I learned about at the Pre-AP Laying the Foundation workshop that I went to last week. It is a way to make online flashcards. Students can create the flashcards with text and images (not from the entire web-just flickr). Then they can review the flashcards and play games based on the flashcards. It also has mobile phone app so they can study their vocab on their phones!

I think both of these would be fun, effective ways to teach words that I really want students to learn and incorporate into their academic vocabulary (as opposed to vocabulary that they need to understand to comprehend a text but not necessarily learn and incorporate into their vocabulary). Students could use them to study throughout the school year. It would be worth the time and effort to create them.