I was so excited to explore 100 Essential Web 2.0 Tools for Teachers. I swear, a computer geek like me can spend WAY too many hours sifting through these fabulous tools. While it is easy to get wrapped up in such fun gizmos, I always have the educational applications winding around my brain. As an English teacher, I found a lot of fabulous resources for my curriculum. The tough part was focusing in on something that would work with my Action Research Project. With pop culture in mind, I was so pleased to discover Xtra Normal. One can create animated movies with ease. Simply type in your dialogue and use your mouse to choose simple backdrops and characters.
Where does the pop culture come into play? Historical figures and Sarah Palin are available characters. More simply, I can find the likeness of a popular person/character and name it appropriately. Of course, the dialogue can be suited to meet whatever I may need. The whole idea behind using pop culture to teach literary concepts is to engage students through different means. Xtra Normal has a format that will appeal to student interest. I generate the content, and it is easily modified. Even more exciting, is the prospect of allowing students to turn their work into movies. All the basics are covered: presence, modification, user-generated content, and social participation. I can’t wait to get started!
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