Speechable

=Speechable= Speechable is an online photo workspace that allows it's users to upload and download modified images, giving the images speech bubbles and quotes.

__**Resources links and/or class examples**__ [|Gallery] [|Main]

__**Strengths** __
o Uploading personal photos orURLs / Websites
 * FREE
 * Photos can be taken from anywhere by
 * Allows students to be creative with the word bubbles and captions
 * International settings allows students to write in different languages
 * Created images can be shared via
 * Email
 * Saving
 * Posting to blogs, bookmarks, social networking sites, i.e.:
 * Facebook
 * <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; letter-spacing: 0.35pt;">Digg
 * <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; letter-spacing: 0.35pt;">Delicious
 * <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; letter-spacing: 0.35pt;">Stumbleupon
 * <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; letter-spacing: 0.35pt;">Furl
 * <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; letter-spacing: 0.35pt;">Can be timely to current events and popular culture

__<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; letter-spacing: 0.35pt;">Weaknesses __

 * <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; letter-spacing: 0.35pt;">The filters are minimal, therefore inappropriate material can be viewed or created very easily
 * <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; letter-spacing: 0.35pt;">The gallery of photos are not organized into genres/categories, thus all materials are placed together
 * <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; letter-spacing: 0.35pt;">Registration and email is required
 * <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; letter-spacing: 0.35pt;">Other users can modify your work

__Opportunities__
<span style="color: black; font-family: Symbol; letter-spacing: 0.35pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol; msobidifontfamily: Symbol; msofareastfontfamily: Symbol; msolist: Ignore;">· <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; letter-spacing: 0.35pt;">Excellent way to access foreign language lessons through sentence development <span style="color: black; font-family: Symbol; letter-spacing: 0.35pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol; msobidifontfamily: Symbol; msofareastfontfamily: Symbol; msolist: Ignore;">· <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; letter-spacing: 0.35pt;">Students can post their creations to their projects and online resources <span style="color: black; font-family: Symbol; letter-spacing: 0.35pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol; msobidifontfamily: Symbol; msofareastfontfamily: Symbol; msolist: Ignore;">· <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; letter-spacing: 0.35pt;">Can be used with a variety of grade levels and courses <span style="color: black; font-family: Symbol; letter-spacing: 0.35pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol; msobidifontfamily: Symbol; msofareastfontfamily: Symbol; msolist: Ignore;">· <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; letter-spacing: 0.35pt;">Can be used as a cross curricular (i.e. English and Social studies classes can work together on the same project, etc.) This 2.0 tool allows you to upload\download pictures and create speech bubbles in them. The edited photographs are then published on the internet. As a subscriber (which is free) you can go in and re-caption someone else’s work or create your own. Some of the interesting possibilities this tool has in the classroom are it can publish in different languages. Meaning this tool could be used in a Spanish class as a way to assess students’ content abilities in writing. It could also be used to discuss current events in history class. Or in a language arts class it could be used to create a storyboard. You can then publish your students’ work to various social sites and blogs. The opportunity to publish, share and collaborate on students’ work is really good.

<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; letter-spacing: 0.35pt;">__Threats__
<span style="color: black; font-family: Symbol; letter-spacing: 0.35pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol; msobidifontfamily: Symbol; msofareastfontfamily: Symbol; msolist: Ignore;">· <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; letter-spacing: 0.35pt;">Inappropriate material can be viewed or created very easily

The down side of this tool is the inappropriate content shared and expressed. I perused through the gallery and didn’t even reach page four when this content was seen. The inappropriate content ranges from tasteless text to naked women! Not cool for school at all. However, you are allowed to flag photos for inappropriate content (which I did). Unfortunately there is a lot. So much that I feel I would not be using this in my classroom for fear of what I may stumble upon. Each time you enter the gallery page you are shown people’s edited photos in a different order. Therefore you can’t gauge when inappropriate material is coming up; if you were to give your students a tour of this 2.0 tool through the use of the gallery.

<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; letter-spacing: 0.35pt;">**Ideas for the classroom**
<span style="color: black; font-family: Symbol; letter-spacing: 0.35pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol; msobidifontfamily: Symbol; msofareastfontfamily: Symbol; msolist: Ignore;">· <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; letter-spacing: 0.35pt;">Through simple application, it is a great way to teach <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Courier New'; letter-spacing: 0.35pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Courier New'; msofareastfontfamily: 'Courier New'; msolist: Ignore;">o <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; letter-spacing: 0.35pt;">Humor / Satire <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Courier New'; letter-spacing: 0.35pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Courier New'; msofareastfontfamily: 'Courier New'; msolist: Ignore;">o <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; letter-spacing: 0.35pt;">Sentence development/grammar <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Courier New'; letter-spacing: 0.35pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Courier New'; msofareastfontfamily: 'Courier New'; msolist: Ignore;">o <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; letter-spacing: 0.35pt;">Rhetorical devices <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Courier New'; letter-spacing: 0.35pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Courier New'; msofareastfontfamily: 'Courier New'; msolist: Ignore;">o <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; letter-spacing: 0.35pt;">History <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Courier New'; letter-spacing: 0.35pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Courier New'; msofareastfontfamily: 'Courier New'; msolist: Ignore;">o <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; letter-spacing: 0.35pt;">Foreign Language <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Courier New'; letter-spacing: 0.35pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Courier New'; msofareastfontfamily: 'Courier New'; msolist: Ignore;">o <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; letter-spacing: 0.35pt;">Elements of Plot <span style="color: black; font-family: Symbol; letter-spacing: 0.35pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol; msobidifontfamily: Symbol; msofareastfontfamily: Symbol; msolist: Ignore;">· <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; letter-spacing: 0.35pt;">Students can develop a comic book/photo graphic novel by taking a series of photos and creating word bubbles for each frame/photo

<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';"> = =
 * __<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">Example __**