Check This

One of my favorite online web 2.0 resources is checkthis.com. I love it due to it's sheer simplicity. Checkthis provides a way for students to create and share their work in a matter of minutes. It is so easy in fact, that I introduced this online tool to a kindergarten teacher last week as a resource the kids in her class might want to explore. 

Checkthis is a website/online poster creation tool that allows students to add text, upload images, create polls, and much more. No HTML knowledge is required, and the signup process couldn't be easier. The final product looks extremely professional and clean.

Checkthis would be great to use in the Social Studies classroom. Students could choose to research a famous historical figure and illustrate their life story in the first person by including diary entries, photos, and maps of that person's life and achievements. I have worked with a PE teacher who had his health classes create webpages using checkthis.com in order to demonstrate healthy choices and lifestyles. Teachers could also use this as a means to communicate classroom procedures and expectations with parents and students.

Social Studies teachers Mrs. Racer, Mrs. Steenrod, and Mrs. Ogando are in the process of planning a cross curricular research activity with the sixth grade English department. Their students will create a video pertaining to a certain topic in history. Once the video is complete, students in the sixth grade English classes will embed those videos along with their research findings on the site. Below are directions and a screencast to help you get started using this valuable resource.

• Directions for using checkthis

• Mr. McCormack's Check This Example

Check This Screencast