LetterPOP and Online Newsletter Tools

[Cyndi Danner-Kuhn]

Teachers from the Trenches: We are learning about LetterPOP (http://letterpop.com). Have you used this or some other online newsletter tool. Could you share some examples of how you use these tools?

Students: Please reflect on your experience with LetterPOP and share the link to your published project as well as the link to your website.

[Katie Bueker]

This website was very simple to use and it does look very professional. I didn't like that you couldn't expand boxes for text of pictures and you can't move things around, but those are my only complaints. I will definitely use this program again. I created a newsletter for parents and students. Check it out at:

As far as standards go, I don't have many to put down because I only created a newsletter. I made a "book club" book list. That is meeting many of the reading standards.

[Katie Bueker]

http://letterpop.com/newsletters/?id=99077-e0fa4c

For some reason the link got deleted. Here it is again.

[Julie Griffin]

I am student teaching in New York and decided to 'kill two birds with one stone' and created a 'getting to know Miss Griffin' letter that will go in the mail in the morning. Here it is:
http://letterpop.com/newsletters/?id=99078-80eb02

I didn't use a standard because I felt that it would distract from my main goal and I don't thik that the 6th graders that I will be sharing this with really care about the standards that I have to make sure that they are meeting. I have a firm foundaiton of standards and don't feel that I was missing out by not putting them in there. I would use this as a technology integration or a adaptation. I felt so-so about the site and didn't like that there was no undo button, that killed me. I wish that it would have been a little more user friendly but should get easier as I work with the program. Also, I 'll be in a 6th grade classroom and I can have them create things too!

[Kelly Giebler]

Here is my newsletter I created http://letterpop.com/people/Kelly/

I really enjoyed making this and I know that I will be using it again. It was very easy to use which is something I like. I had no problems and found that uploading images were a breeze! Everyone should know that this free site is out there!

[Robin Whelchel]

http://www.letterpop.com/newsletters/?id=99096-e94b07

This was a very cool website and I had a lot of fun making my unit letter. My standards are part of my unit letter. I would sent this home to let the parents know about special lesson like the election. I will use this in my classroom for sure and I have shared it with other teachers.

[Rusty Willis]

http://letterpop.com/newsletters/?id=99331-ff3cb2

We got an assignment this week in Social Studies methods that worked well for this assignment. We had to create a lesson on Lewis and Clark that covered state standards in all four social studies areas. I'm trying to learn from Cyndi about using other classes to fill assignments elsewhere. My newsletter is about a unit for the 5th grade. I mentioned a couple of the standards in the text of the newsletter, but all the activities adhere to the state standards.

LetterPOP was a little frustrating for me. I think I know why it's free, and it's only free to a certain extent.

I completed my newsletter, hit save, and tried to preview and publish, and it was all magically gone! I had to completely reconstruct the newsletter. I was not a happy camper.

I was also frustrated by the inability to manipulate the template at all. I had different places I would like to have added images, but if it didn't fit in with the template, it was a no go! The templates are creative and pretty, but I need to be able to change things once in a while, and with this program, I couldn't do everything I wanted to do. I've had better luck with Publisher.

In my former life in business and marketing, I made many newsletters. I like the look of LetterPOP letters, as well as the easy ability to publish the newsletter, but I think I would need more flexibility in the layout of the newsletter than LetterPOP allows

[Jenny Smith]

Rusty,
We had the same idea! I used letter pop to supplement my Lewis and Clark lesson also. Except mine is for 3rd grade. I enjoyed looking at yours, looks great!
Jenny

[Carlotta Patterson]

I found LetterPop easy to use and I liked the templates. I was able to choose the format I wanted for the second page so it suited my needs well. One of the images I downloaded from the internet is not very clear and one is. I also found that I had to be creative with my writing since you can't enlarge the text box so that everything else fits. This is the first newsletter tool I have used and I will use it again. I used my newsletter to give assignments, so the standards I listed in the forum apply to these assignments.

http://letterpop.com/newsletters/?id=99390-a4c88a

http://www.carlottajpatterson.com

[Leslie Kinsey]

This website was super simple and so much fun! I had a great time creating my newsletter. I will definitley use this tool again for future references. I'm thinking it will be easier this year when it comes to creating our Christmas letter to the family!

Here is the link to my newsletter: http://www.letterpop.com/newsletters/?id=99415-bbc7aa

[Lorena Cisneros]

http://www.letterpop.com/newsletters/Cisneros/99270/
Here is my link to the newsletter. I had fun doing this project and I do think this I will give some use, for my own personal interests. I think this is a great program to use instead of writing boring notes to parents or even to students. I didn't put the standards in my newsletter because it was basically based on what I plan to call star student of the month for my class. I will make enough of these to pass around the classroom and give one to the parents for keepsake.
This site I will come back to visit, not sure about the rest of them this one for sure.

[Amy Schroller]

I found LetterPOP fairly easy to use. It was easy to find a template and insert pictures and text. The only issues that I had with it were deleting a picture once it was inserted and I was unable to change the size and location of the picture. It was fun to make a professional looking newsletter. I chose to align my newsletter along the same line as my voicethread by using some of the same information highlighting the legendary authors Stan and Jan Berenstain.
I believe that the standards this assignment would follow would be found under the Writing Standards for third grade. The standard used is Standard 1-Writing: The student writes effectively for a variety of audiences, purposes and contexts, Benchmark 2: The student writes expository text using the writing process, Indicator 9: Writes a piece with an introduction, body, and conclusion. I am not completely sure on this but I think it may be right because under the Teaching Suggestions there is one example given in which it says, "The teacher instructs the student to select an author and/or famous person to write a report about his/her life. In this case, the author(s) written about were Stan and Jan Berenstain. The link to my newsletter is http://letterpop.com/newsletters/?id=99426-eb1e97
My guess on the Technology standard used is Standard 1c: Facilitate and Inspire Student Learning and Creativity and Standard 2a: Design and Develop Digital-Age Learning Experiences and Assessments. I never knew that there even were technology standards but it is nice that they do!

[Ashley Salmans]

http://www.letterpop.com/newsletters/?id=99462-d8fff1
This is a really neat site, and I like the fact that it is free! Of course, it would be nice if it let you do a little more, but it was very simple, and I thought there were creative templates to use. I tried using a new template that nobody had used yet. It is a little hard to see my words and the second page is very plain.
The sight words in my newsletter go with the first grade reading standard and Benchmark 3: The student expands vocabulary.
If I had students in my class create a newsletter, it would meet the Creativity and Innovation standard.

Students demonstrate creative thinking, construct knowledge, and develop innovative products and processes using technology. Students:
a. apply existing knowledge to generate new ideas, products, or processes.
b. create original works as a means of personal or group expression.
c. use models and simulations to explore complex systems and issues.
d. identify trends and forecast possibilities.