Resources for Creating "Web Trips"


Imagine that you have a collection of websites that you want your students to visit.   There are many ways to get the links to students rather than having them type in each one individually.  You could create a Schoolwires webpage of your links or you could use one of these web resources.
 Stich.It- http://stich.it/
Stich.it is a service that lets you “stich” almost anything together on the Internet. That means that you can quickly and seamlessly create a slideshow-like experience that can include Web pages, video, music, photos and more. You can even add annotations to each page.  Use this to give your students a task for each site.  All you need are links!
 Fav7- http://fav7.com/
Fav7 is a service that creates a single page for up to 7 URLs.  You just enter the addresses you want your students to visit and the site gives you a single, short URL to a landing page with screenshots of each URL.
Jog the Web (Education Edition)- http://www.jogeduc.com/

Jog the Web is a web-based tool that allows you to create a synchronous guide to a series of web sites. Its step by step approach of taking viewers through web sites allows the author to annotate and ask guiding questions for each page. Give it a try and start creating your own Jogs.
For more information about Jog the Web-  http://teacherchallenge.edublogs.org/2011/05/17/free-tools-challenge-25-using-jog-the-web-in-the-247-classroom/

 Have you already used one of these sites in your classroom?  Be sure to let us know how it worked in the comments below.  

Hopper



Hopper is a super easy way to get text, links, photos or files from your desktop computer to an iDevice. This would be a great way to get information to student iPads quickly and easily. Simply create an account with any email address, paste the desired data to your "bin" and then access your bin on any other computer or iDevice.  

 Here's how to get started:
1.  Go to http://gethopper.com and create an account.  For those of you using iPads in your classroom, use your iPad set's email address and create a password that you can give to your students.
2.  Once you're logged in, either copy/paste or drag/drop text, links, files or pictures to your "bin".
3.  Students then go to http://gethopper.com and login to the class account.  Students will see any text or files that you have pasted in your bin and can access or save them to their device.

Wonderopolis



Wonderopolis, a part of the Thinkfinity community, is an amazing resource for getting kids to think.  Each day the site posts a question for students to ponder.  Some recent wonderings include... 

"What time would you travel to?"
"How much rain can a cloud hold?"
"If blood is red, why are veins blue?"

 Click on the Wonder of the day for more information and further questions.  Each one has the same sections:
  •  a short introductory video
  • "Have you ever wondered..." with more questions on the topic
  • "Did you know?" with short tidbits of information about the topic
  • "Try it Out" with interactive resources for learning more about the topic
  • "Wonder words to know and use" with key vocabulary for the topic
  • "Still wondering?" for enrichment information and activities
This site could be a great bell ringer activity each day or, since all the previous Wonders are archived and searchable, it is also an excellent resource for introducing a new topic in class.  

For example, if you're starting a unit on... 
Read this great blog post about a first grade class that uses Wonderopolis every week.  Very cool!  http://ipadsatburley.blogspot.com/2012/03/big-day-for-big-learning-active-agents.html

 Try it out today at http://wonderopolis.org.  Be sure to leave us a comment if you've used Wonderopolis in your classroom or if you find a good "Wonder" that your colleagues can use!