Loading...
Reload document 
Open in new tab Melanie Strals
MEDT 8464
Using Web 2.0 Tools
Activity:
I completed this project in conjunction with seventh grade language arts
teachers. The language arts teachers wanted their students to produce a
publishable piece of writing. They wanted to focus on narrative writing, and they
wanted to work on the steps on the writing process with the piece of narrative
writing that the students selected. Having some familiarity with Tikatok, a web-
based book publishing service, I suggested the site as a way to integrate technology
into the writing process and to provide students with an opportunity to have a book
printed professionally.
Before coming to the media center, the students worked for several days in
class writing a story about an important event in their lives. The teachers worked
with the students on revising and evaluating their writing. Once each student had a
suitable draft of a story, the teacher scheduled a day to come to the media center.
During their time in the media center, I showed the students how to use
Tikatok, a website that allows students to create books. The students login to the
site, and add their text to each page of the book. The students could either illustrate
their books themselves or provide photographs that would later be scanned and
inserted into the book. The students worked on creating their books on Tikatok for
three days. The teacher scanned photographs and illustrations so that the students
could insert those images into their books.
Next, the students used class time to continue their work on the revising
process. Now that their writing was in a digital book form, the teachers assigned
partners to work together. The partners read through each other’s books and made
suggestions for changes. Tikatok also allows the teacher to see the books so that she
could make changes. During Fall Break, the teachers looked at their students’
writing to make sure that the books were appropriate for publication.
Once the books were ready for publication, the students shared their books
through Tikatok’s website so that they could view each other’s books. Students
were also offered the opportunity to bring to purchase a hardcover copy of their
book that would be professionally printed by Tikatok (the price of each book was
$15). Parents were also able to login and see their child’s book before purchasing a
printed copy.
Georgia Performance Standards:
ELA7W2. Engages readers by establishing and developing a plot, setting, and point of
view that are appropriate to the story (e.g., varied beginnings, standard plot line,
cohesive devices, and a sharpened focus).
ELA7W4. The student consistently uses the writing process to develop, revise, and
evaluate writing.
ELA7LSV2 b. Organizes information to achieve particular purposes and to appeal to the
background and interests of the audience.
About Tikatok
• The address for Tikatok is www.tikatok.com.
•
Joining and using Tikatok to create books is free.
• Members may purchase hardback or paperback versions of their books for a fee.
There are reduced prices for large orders. Regular pricing begins at $16 for
hardback books and $13 for paperbacks.
• Members may use story templates and StorySparks (idea generators), or they
may create books from scratch.
• When writing a book, members enter their text into a blank digital book.
Members may then upload photographs or scanned images of illustrations and
insert them into their books.
• The story editor offers a variety of options for customizing books, including the
option to change fonts and colors on their books.
• After completing the story, Tikatok members may share their book with selected
friends or with all members of Tikatok in the Tikatok gallery.
Report
I selected Tikatok as my Web 2.0 for this project because the teachers were
looking for a tool to help them publish their students’ work, and I had some
familiarity with Tikatok through a course I took this summer, Internet Tools,
Resources, and Issues.
Tikatok saves the school system money because this service is completely
free. Some teachers publish their students’ work by using report covers or the
school’s comb binding machine. Though these resources have minimal cost
associated with them, Tikatok is free. Students who wish to purchase a hardback
version of their book do so at their own expense, and PTSO has funds available for
students who wish to purchase a book but are financially unable to do so.
Students are impacted by the use of Tikatok because they have the
opportunity to use technology with which most are unfamiliar, which means they
are able to develop their technological literacy skills. The novelty of the technology
helps keep them engaged, and the ability for the teacher to access their work means
that they receive timely feedback on their writing. Students are also impacted by
the opportunity to make their work available to a wider public than just their
classmates.
There was no negative feedback on the use of Tikatok for this particular
project, but parents could potentially complain about the cost involved in
purchasing a copy of their child’s book. To that, I would respond that there are
funds available to students who would like to purchase a book but are not able to do
so. There is also potential for parents to worry about their children’s safety while
using a Web-based tool. In response to concern about security, I would explain that
Tikatok is a safe tool, designed for use by children. Tikatok protects members’
privacy, and students’ work is only accessible to others if they allow their work to be
published to the Tikatok gallery. Even if a child wants his/her work to be published
in the Tikatok gallery, that work is only accessible by Tikatok members, not by
anyone using the Internet. In addition, Tikatok never publishes students’ names. If
parents still had concern, I would encourage them to read Tikatok’s user agreement
and privacy policy and to explore the site.
I would encourage administration to allow use of Tikatok by directing them
to the site. Tikatok makes information about privacy and security readily available
to those who are interested. Fortunately, the technology department is agreeable to
unblocking blocked sites with an explanation of how the site is valuable to students.
This first time of using Tikatok, we ensured equity in access by doing all of
the computer work at school. Students were not expected to access to Tikatok at
home, though they may have had to do some writing at home if they did not finish at
school. If I repeat this project in the future and there is not sufficient time to allow
each child to complete the project during class time, I would ensure equity of access
by reminding the students that the media center is open late on Wednesdays and
Thursdays. In addition, students may access the computers in the media center as
early as 7:00 each morning by attending the school’s morning study program. In
addition, students may use the computers at the public library. Finally, I would
allow students to use the computers in the media center during break times or free
times in class if they needed additional time.