Thing #2: Glogster, Word Thread, and Bookr

Loved all three of these, and they have great promise in the classroom.
At first I wasn't crazy about Glogster because it just looked like an online way of making the traditional movie poster book report. Ack! Then I realized I can use that application to have kids focus on themes in their books with links to other books with similar themes. Use it for mood or setting, all sorts of ideas. I used my Friday classes to do nonfiction, but we can work in some technology on those days and have the kids work on these projects.
Word Thread would be awesome for social studies, especially if the teacher is using History Alive. Students could be turned loose to scour the web for pictures of cultural elements, geographic features, every day life in whatever place they're studying, then they can post their comments proving that they understand the concept. Then, they can send them to people around the world and get their comments. It's a very easy way to get lots of feedback on one thought. Great stuff. For reading, I could use images to get students to see inferences in pictures or explain the mood of scene.
Bookr would be fun if the students have the time to re-inact books. I think they would love staging shots and doing costumes. I could just see them doing Bluford Bookr books.