Saturday

#12 (WEEK 5) Fun 'n' Games

Let's top off Fun Week with a few games and clever tools that you can use for fun or for getting attention. There are lots and lots of fun and useful web 2.0 tools, as you have now discovered.

Here's a fun tool that is not for everyone -- you either love it or not! You just never know when this little tool might come in handy. Do you have a group of websites that are your favorites? Or a set of online resources that are similar that you frequently use to answer homework or reference questions? Well, Rollyo might be the tool for you. Rollyo allows you to create your own search tool for the just the websites you know and trust. Take a look at some of these search rolls that have already been created:
WORDLE. Have you seen T-shirts and posters that have word images -- like a heart shape filled with a bunch of love-happiness-sweet words of different sizes and colors? Want to create your own word cloud? Try WORDLE. It is fun, but also is very practical. You can either enter a list of words OR copy and paste a document or paragraph. Try entering the school or district policy or mission statement and see what words "stand out" and which ones don't. It can be enlightening, for example, if words like "students" are missing but other words stand out -- see which words are largest -- they are the words most frequently used. Here is an example using wordle.net , where we've copied the words from the CSLA.net website, pasted the words into WORDLE, edited it to make it horizontal and black-white-gray in color, then saved to the gallery and captured the html to embed below. [WORDLE images require users to reference the site (wordle.net) and carry a Creative Commons license. Creative Commons License ] Below is a tiny version, but you can see which words stand out!

Wordle: CSLA homepage

Traveler IQ Challenge. Want students to get an A++ in geography? Give them the Traveler IQ Challenge. But first, try it yourself and test your knowledge of names and places! Free challenges you can play include:
» World» North America
» Europe» World Capitals
» Canada» Asia
» UNESCO Sites» Africa
» Latin America» Oceania/Australasia
» Flags of the World» Photos of the World
» USA Challenge» Amazing Race
Mini-READ Poster Image Generator. We've all seen the "Celebrity READ" posters by the American Library Association (ALA). Now ALA Graphics makes it easy to create miniature READ posters. Create one for yourself and invite others to join in on the fun. Use a digital camera for taking photos of teachers or teachers holding a favorite book. Then create a mini-READ poster for them. Students would love it too -- but be sure you have parental permission! Some librarians use this image for their school blogs.

Discovery Exercise:
  1. Explore Rollyo and create an account for yourself.

  2. Create a search roll for any subject you like. OPTIONAL: Add your searchroll to your blog using the "Create a Searchbox" tool. Select...Reference. Search The Web

  3. Create a post in your blog about your experience and link to your search roll. Can you see a potential use for tools like this?
Discovery Resources:
  • FreeRice.com -- an addicting online game that helps feed the hungry while increasing your knowledge. For each correct answer, 10 grains of rice are donated by sponsors to the United Nations World Food Program.
  • ALA Graphics. Free mini-READ posters.
Curriculum Connections:
  1. Get students thinking with WORDLE. Have students "copy" their book report, essay, music lyrics, political speech, or other classroom assignment. Then have students "paste" it into WORDLE. Ask them to review which words are largest and to discuss if those are the top words or messages that they want to emphasize. If it is their writing, does it make them want to consider editing their paper? If it is someone else's writing, such as a political speech, does a tool like WORDLE give new meaning or insight?
  2. Challenge students to Traveler IQ. Offer students your library world globe as a study tool. This game is ideal for students to increase their world view.
  3. Ask your librarian to help you create a Rollyo search tool for a particular unit of study. For example: in History class you can locate websites about castles into a Rollyo search group. In Spanish [or other language] class, countries that speak that particular language are often studied. When you send your students to search the Internet, give them the Rollyo address and let them search within the sites you’ve chosen for them.
Suggested "tags" or labels: search engines, WORDLE
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