|
St. Martin-in-the-Fields Episcopal School Computer Lab |
 |
Summer 2008 Book Reviews
Have you ever seen movie review shows on TV? You know, the ones where the person that saw the movie is telling you all about it and giving their opinion on whether you should go see it or not? Well now it's your turn to be the reviewer but you're not going to review movies, you're going to review your Summer Reading book!
Our Summer Reading Reviews
What is this you ask? It's something called a Voice Thread. And, what's a Voice Thread? Well, that's a little hard to explain. It's an online album with pictures or video, etc. but it's not just an album because you can comment on any of the "slides" in the album in different ways: Using your voice (if you have a microphone or you can even use your phone), using video with a webcam, using text by typing in your comment and more. If you want to see an example, you can head over to http://voicethread.com/share/409/ and watch a VoiceThread that's all about what a VoiceThreads.
Before You Start
First stop and get a parent or guardian! If you are under 13 years old, your parent or guardian has to set up the VoiceThread account in Step 2 below. If you are 13 or older, please get permission before you set up an account on your own! So make sure you have permission before you do anything!!
Step 1 - Create or Find an Avatar
Once you set up your VoiceThread account you can use a picture of some kind to identify yourself. Some people use actual pictures of themselves but for safety reasons I would not recommend that you do that. It is fun to have a picture or some kind though so here are some ideas you can use to create an avatar (that's a graphic representation of you):
- Use Paint or some other graphics program on your computer and draw a self portrait. The avatars on VoiceThread are square so keep that in mind when you are creating yours. When you save, set the file type to JPG (or JPEG). Something you draw yourself is always the BEST!
- Visit one of these sites and create an Avatar:
- http://www.buildyourwildself.com/ - Cute site from New York Zoos & Aquarium. When you finish building your Wild Self, click on I'm Done and then on Print Your Wild Self. Then right-click on the picture (I believe it's CTRL Click on a Mac) and save the picture to your hard drive. You probably want to give it a name other than the default one it will show.
- http://www.reasonablyclever.com/blockhead/
- Build yourself with virtual Legos! This one is tricky to
save because there's no right-click option. So, when you're
done:
- Press the Print Screen button (on the upper right hand side of your keyboard). This won't look like it did anything but it did.
- Open Paint and do an Edit and then a Paste. This will paste an image of your whole desktop into Paint.
- Use the Rectangle Selector and select what you want to keep and then do Image and then Crop.
- Save this and don't forget to set the file type to JPG
- http://www.doppelme.com/create/
- You can register for this site and have more options but
you do not need to register to create an avatar.
- Pick your gender and set your skin and eye color and then click on Next
- Customize you however you'd like using all the options and when done then click on I'm done
- Right click on your Doppel Me avatar and save it to your hard drive.
- http://www.planetcreation.co.uk/createpic/
- Yet another avatar creator. There's no right click
on this one either, so when you are done:
- Press the Print Screen button (on the upper right hand side of your keyboard). This won't look like it did anything but it did.
- Open Paint and do an Edit and then a Paste. This will paste an image of your whole desktop into Paint.
- Use the Rectangle Selector and select what you want to keep and then do Image and then Crop.
- Save this and don't forget to set the file type to JPG
- http://www.messdudes.com/ - Dudes & Dollz. Click on either the Dude or the Dollz and build a virtual you. When you are done, click on the Click HERE to Download! button. Select a size in the drop down - 640x480 is plenty big enough for VoiceThread but if you want to use this as wallpaper or for something else, you can download a bigger size.
So now you should have an avatar! Time to get your parent or guardian if you're under 13 or to make sure you've asked permission if you're 13 or older.
Step 2 - Set Up A Voice Thread Account
Okay, is your parent or guardian here or do you have permission to set up a VoiceThread account? If the answer is yes:
- You can register by clicking on the Sign In or Register square on the bottom of the VoiceThread above but that will make it difficult to read these directions so go to http://voicethread.com/ (this will open in a new window so you can switch back and forth to set up the account) and click on Sign In or Register on the upper right of the screen.
- A small window will pop up and at the bottom it will say Not registered yet? Register! - click on the word Register.
- The register window will pop up and you need to enter:
- Name - Okay, remember what we learned about using
your full name on the Internet? For safety reasons you
probably don't want to use your real name here - especially
your full name. So what can you do?
- You could make up a name. Do you have a screen name you use on other sites? You could use that here as long as it follows Internet Safety rules.
- You could use your parent or guardian's name if they okay that.
- You could use just your first name if that is okay with your parent or guardian - do not use your name without permission from your parent or guardian.
- You could set up an account that will let us at St. Martin's know who you are but not the rest of the world. How you ask? Set up something like: StM+Grade+Initials so if you were John Doe going in to 4th Grade, your name would be StM4JD.
- Email - This has to be a valid email in case you forget your password or in case you need to be notified of something. If you are under 13 this should be your parent or guardian's email. You will have to enter the email address twice to make sure you entered it correctly.
- Password - Make up a password that is easy for you to remember but not easy for others to guess. And don't forget, don't share your passwords with anyone other than your parents or guardians. You will have to enter your password twice to make sure you entered it correctly.
- Click on the Register button.
- Name - Okay, remember what we learned about using
your full name on the Internet? For safety reasons you
probably don't want to use your real name here - especially
your full name. So what can you do?
- Now you are registered but you have another small window and
that one is asking you to add a picture. This is where you will
add your avatar:
- Click on Upload It and you'll get a window to find your picture
- Find your picture on your hard drive and double click it to upload
- Move or resize the cropping tool until you have an avatar that you like and then click on the Save button.
Congratulations you now have a VoiceThread account set up and you're ready to comment!
Step 3 - Adding Your Review
If it's easier for you, you can open our Summer Reading Reviews in another window rather than trying to comment on the VoiceThread above. Before you add your review you should think about what it's going to be. Here are some things to think about and maybe even write down or type before you add your review:
- Did you like the book you read?
- Why did you like it or why didn't you like it?
- Do you think other kids your age would like it? Why or why not?
- What was your favorite part of the book?
- Was there anything you didn't like about the book?
- If you were the author would you have changed the ending? Why or why not?
Okay so now you know what you want to say, so how do you say it?
- Make sure you are signed in to VoiceThread and you should be unless you specifically signed out. If you aren't signed in then click on the Sign In or Register square on the bottom of the VoiceThread and enter the email address and password you set up.
- Now use the big arrow keys under the picture to find the slide for your book.
- Click on the comment button and then select how you want to
comment:
- If you have a microphone hooked up to your computer, you can click on the record button and actually use your voice to add your review. You might be asked if it's okay to use the microphone - be sure to okay that or your microphone won't work. After you're done with your review be sure to click on the save button.
- If you don't have a microphone, click on the text button and then type in your review. This is where it could be helpful to have typed your review up before because then you can just copy and paste it here. When you're done, click on the save button.
- You can see or listen to your review by clicking on your avatar. If you want to redo it, you can click on the trash can and it will delete your review and you can re-record or re-type it.
That's it! Your review is now complete. Note: All reviews will have to be approved before they can be seen and/or heard by other people. You will be able to see all approved reviews and your review even if it's not approved yet but your friends won't see or hear yours until I approve it.
Thanks!
Back to Computer Lab
St. Martin-in-the-Fields Episcopal School
7136 Winnetka Avenue
Winnetka, CA 91306
Phone: (818) 340-5144 Fax: (818) 340-5882
E-mail: stmartinsschool@aol.com