One of the reasons (I think I talked about another in my initial post about Class Blogmeister) I created the Cardinal Ones Blog site was so that it could be a window into our classroom. I wanted the families to be able to see the ways and types of learning that their child participates in on a daily basis in our classroom. My hope is that it will create an understanding of their child's education in Grade One and that it would also create a partnership where we are both trying to support their child in their learning. 
One of the tools I use to create these "windows" is Smilebox. Smilebox is a free webservice that allows users to creatively slideshows, greeting cards and scrapbooks online and easily embed, email, print or burn them to be shared with others. You can easily add your own videos, photos or music by following the instructions. It is FREE for basic services but you can pay as you go for $3.99 to access premium options or you can buy a year membership for $39.99. After creating a few Smileboxes last year at $3.99 each, I finally bought the year membership because I was using it all the time and wanted to also use it personally.
One of the tools I use to create these "windows" is Smilebox. Smilebox is a free webservice that allows users to creatively slideshows, greeting cards and scrapbooks online and easily embed, email, print or burn them to be shared with others. You can easily add your own videos, photos or music by following the instructions. It is FREE for basic services but you can pay as you go for $3.99 to access premium options or you can buy a year membership for $39.99. After creating a few Smileboxes last year at $3.99 each, I finally bought the year membership because I was using it all the time and wanted to also use it personally. The quality is professional and the reaction from viewers is always very positive. My students enjoy participating in the selection of the format from the 100's available. You can search by format or theme making it convenient to select your type. I also receive weekly emails from Smilebox, letting me know about the newest designs and formats.
I like Smilebox because it is very easy to navigate and you can create a piece very quickly and then embed it onto your blog within minutes of it's completion. One thing that has tripped me up a few times is that when I try to load video clips, they sometimes won't load and that causes an error that shuts the entire program down. I wish it regularly saved my work so that when that happens, I am not starting from scratch.
Overall, it is one of my "go-to" programs for publishing work on our blog and I would recommend it to others. You can check out a Smilebox by visiting our blog or clicking below. This Smilebox was created last year by my students and a high school co-op student! It was about conserving energy.
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| A free picture slideshow by Smilebox |
Hi Tammy!
ReplyDeleteHow timely that you are talking about the Smilebox when we were just talking about it at the PD day.
I loved reading how you use it and the idea of giving parents (and others) a window on your classroom is a wonderful one.
It also (of course) gives us a window into the minds and thoughts of our students. How cool is that?
Thanks for sharing the Green Video. It was very fun and impressive. It is clear that these students understand this important concept and how to communicate it in a way that is both authentic and appropriate to the potential audience.
Thanks again for all of this, Tammy!
Mary
And ironically, I had posted this on my blog space and forgotten it was even there:
ReplyDeletehttp://mary-l-cunningham.blogspot.com/
Mary