Session+Four

Session 4

4.1 21st Century Vocabulary Terms
Widget- can be installed/uploaded onto a page...embeds something from another page/site a device for a particular job

Embed- to put a code onto a page that allows you to see something done elsewhere (document, wordle, etc.) to implant something

Embed code- the code that allows you to access information from another site/place

Link- redirecting the user to another place/page/etc a line of code

URL- like the numbers in an old library catalog..where the page is located address of a web page on the WWW

Upload- to move something from one place to another transfer a file or program

Download- to move something permanently to your machine transfer from a central computer to a smaller computer

Search engine- google, bing, yahoo, etc. retrieves documents, files, data from a database

Web 2.0- interactive tools

**Session 4.2 Vocabulary.com**

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

This site may be more useful in that it presents the words in a number of ways. Instead of just a definition, students and teachers can get a description of the term, examples that people can relate to, a spoken pronunciation, associations, and word histories. In particular I really liked he Holocaust example as it explained he confusion between the holocaust and the Holocaust. This would be useful for students who are studying this particular time period.


 * What type of student might benefit from the use Vocabulary.com?

This site would be useful for students who are auditory learners as they would hear the spoken word. It would also be interesting for ELL students who could see not only the definition but also a description and examples. The words being presented in so may ways would benefit a larger group of students.



Session 4.4, Using Word Sift
FREE RICE

Free Rice

VISUAL THESAURUS

Visual Thesaurus

Screenshot:



 * How is Word Sift an effective pre-reading strategy?

Students can use Word Sift much like they would use Wordle. By looking at the most commonly appearing words they can make a prediction about what the text is going to be about. The added bonus of the Word SIft is then being able to look up words that they do not already know or that they may be confused about using VisualThesaurus.
 * How would Word Sift help students who struggle reading?

Word Sift could help struggling students to identify the most important aspects of a text AND to help them with vocabulary by being able to isolate terms thats they do not know. It also provides students with visual and audio aids to help them gain a better understanding of the term.

**Session 4.5 Using E-Vocabulary Strategies**
Do you think the tools that you selected would be effective in your class? How would you use these tools in your class? Be specific so that you can share this with others in your department or school next year.

I definitely think that the Visual Thesaurus is an interesting and effective tool to use in class. I really liked how it had word parts as well as associated words for students to make visual connections. I think this would be especially helpful for students who are visual learners. I used the word "revolution" which I could definitely use in class next year. I was particularly interested in the examples that came up as well as the words parts that were around the center.

Given Definitions: Technology Terms
Widget – n. a tool on the web which takes web applications (like videos, interactive activities, marked up documents, etc.) and places that application on your personal page (for this course we’ll be using wikispaces). You can find the tool for widgets once you hit edit. The icon is on the editing toolbar and is in the shape of a little TV. http://www.wikispaces.com/Widgets

Embed – v. to put a widget into your wikispace page. Here’s a link that explains how to embed a video(we’ll be teaching you how to embed a variety of items in a later lesson, but this gives you a good idea what embedding is): http://collaborationnation.wikispaces.com/How+to+embed+a+video

Embed code – n. 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 – n. a connection made between two websites where simply clicking on a bit of (usually blue) text takes you to a relevant, yet different website or page within a website. v. To insert this bit of text into a website (like your wikispace page) so that others can get to another page or website quickly and easily)

URL: n. the internet address of any website or page you go to. Literally the Uniform Resource Locator, it allows your computer to access information from a specific location on another computer which will give you the information for that website. You’re using it right now!

Upload: n. transfer data that is put onto a website or page from your computer : to transfer data or programs, usually from a peripheral computer to a central, often remote, computer, like the server for wikispaces. You’ll be uploading lots of data to your wikispace page

Download: n. A transfer of data from another computer on to your own, for instance music that is taken from the internet and put into a media player. v. to transfer or copy data from one computer to another, or to a disk or peripheral device, or be transferred or copied in this way

Search engine: n. a website which seeks out other websites which contain relevant information based upon search parameters entered into the engine. Most popular search engines are Google and Bing

Web 2.0: n. 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.