"Extremely intuitive and
easy to use." TECHNOWORLD
"I'm not kidding
when I say Penzu is
the most realistic recreation of paper
I've seen on the
Web." CNET
Penzu
Created by:
Brette Consolo
Michelle Douglas
Julie Gustwiller
Jaime Halka
"Penzu offers exactly such a service. It's free, easy to use, has a
clear interface and is accessible from anywhere in the world
where you can access the internet." iAFRICA
What is Penzu?
"Penzu is an online journaling resource that
allows its users to privately or publicly
journal for personal, professional, and/or
academic purpose."
(http://teachweb2.wikispaces.com/Penzu)
Educational Objectives
• Journal writing can aide in the development of oral,
speaking, and writing skills.
• Students will demonstrate writing, discussion, and
creative abilities through the use of online journal tools,
like Penzu.
• Through journal writing, students are encouraged to
appraise their own learning and achievement as well as
examine thier thoughts and feelings about what they are
learning. These will serve as a means for students to
review their learning, comprehend progress, and reflect
on their personal work ethics, values, attitudes, beliefs,
and motivations.
Educational Benefits
• Educators can review the journal writings to see if it meets
specific goals or purposes.
• Students writing can be assessed for content, creativity, and
even writing skills.
• "Students are able to express themselves through writing
without the pressure they typically have when doing
assignments" (Hopkins, 1999).
• Penzu allows for privacy or sharing, which allows students to
feel safe about their own writing.
• Penzu can be used for many years as an excellent tool to show
students progress and growth in grammar, writing, and spelling.
• This free tool can be accessed anywhere Internet is avaliable.
Positives of Penzu
• It is a free online diary and personal journal that doesn't cost
any teacher, school or student money.
• It focuses on privacy. You can keep your thoughts and ideas to
yourself and only share what you want to.
• Your ability to share is very user friendly through email or any
public link.
• No pen or paper needed; resulting in less paper to buy, and use.
• You can journal from any computer or phone with an internet
connection.
• All entries are saved at your desired privacy level and format.
• You can connect Penzu to Facebook, Twitter, Delicious, Digg, or
Stumbleupon
• Entries can be printed and are not deleted or lost.
• Photos can be posted within each entry.
(http://teachweb2.wikispaces.com/Penzu)
sam
Negatives of Penzu
• "Depending on the privacy level, not all information can be seen.
This may be a problem in the event a student may require
intervention (i.e. bullying, etc.)."
• If you don't have access to a computer and/or internet, than
this tool becomes very
limited. (http://teachweb2.wikispaces.com/Penzu)
• Students could use it at home and write inappropriate material
to friends and then it could be seen at school.
• Although you can insert images, you are unable to post videos or
active links on entries.
Lesson Ideas and Use
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Teachers
share at open house to see
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writing growth of child
store anecdotal
notes/observation notes
share ideas and entries with
other teachers in the district to
collaborate
reflect on their teaching
•
use it at professional
developments and seminars to •
take notes and share with
•
colleagues
record what they did in class
and what to follow up on
Students
respond to a writing prompt
Prompts can include:
o write a story
o answer a question
o complete a sentence
o figure out a math problem
using words
to reflect on their learning in
other classes
note-taking
class editing tool (send your
writing to a peer and have
them put comments at the
bottom)
Videos
Demogirl Tutorial
This video shows you
how to create an
entry, insert images,
share, save and
search for entries. It
also provides ideas
for using the journal.
Penzu Pro has more
customizable features.
Videos
This video shows what a
completed entry with an
image might look like.
This video shows you how to
make an entry, password to
protect your entry, and
emphasizes the importance
of remembering your
password.
Michelle's Opinions/Ideas
For inquiry and problem
based learning:
Educators:
• A tool to keep teaching ideas
and resources organized.
• A way to reflect on how
particular classes are going in
order to help all learning styles
to be met.
• Educators can use this to keep a
log of class activities and
upcoming events and then ask
for feedback and participation
from others who view the
journal entries.
For Students:
• Penzu is a great tool for
students to record their
thoughts, emotions, and
inspirations.
• This tool can be used by
students to record notes and
information during lessons or
projects.
• Penzu can be used collaboratively
with others for creative writing
activities.
• Students can create a summer
journal and include pictures of
what they did and share it in the
fall.
Michelle's Illustration of Penzu
in the classroom
Example and product
using Penzu:
Please view my lesson plan by clicking on this link:
http://www.scribd.com/doc/34790912
This is a sample Penzu entry that
would be used with the lesson
plan from previous screen.
Brette's Opinions and Ideas
Penzu is free and anyone can access it from a computer with Internet
access. This makes it an easily available tool for education. Students
can practice their keyboarding skills and securely share their work
with teachers, classmates, and family members.
Classroom Activity Ideas
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Science Notebook
Reading Log
Daily Writing Journal
Writing Workshop Stories
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Field Trip Journal
Experiment Log
Peer Editing Tool
Assignment Book
Brette's Example
Inquiry/Problem-Based Learning Lesson Plan
Julie's Opinion on Penzu
Opinion- I think Penzu is a great program for
both students and teachers. I like the fact that
it is free and can be easily accessed by all. It
was very easy for me to use and understand. It
truley allows the user to be in control of their
own ideas and opinions, and provides them with
the ability to share when wanted. I plan on using
this program with my second graders and their
parents this upcoming school year.
Julie's Ideas for Penzu
Ideas for student's use:
1. Create an ongoing book club
by writing comments and
reviews about books that
were read in class.
– Keep a journal about the
changes students see and
experience when growing
plants for science.
– Keep a journal with the
teacher as a way to get to
know each other.
Ideas for teacher's use:
1. Journal with parents about a
student's behavior,
improvements, grades, ect.
instead of keeping a paper
journal. This will prevent
the students from knowing
as well.
– Communicate back and forth
with other teachers about a
student in their classes that
they may share and may be
having troubles.
Julie's Sample Penzu Lesson
I created a lesson plan for my second grade students that would
require them to use Penzu to create and present a book report.
Please click on this link to view my lesson plan:
http://www.scribd.com/doc/34844267/Penzu-Lesson-Plan
For a sample of what a Penzu journal entry looks like, please view
the next slide.
Penzu Book Report Example
Jaime's Opinions and Ideas
I teach third grade and this tool has many benefits that can
enhance student learning and teach 21st century skills. Penzu will
give students the chance to practice using Web 2.0, keyboarding
skills, and creating their own products in writing. Students will be
able to share their writings with peers, teachers, family, and
friends.
Ideas for a 3rd grade classroom that follow 3rd grade standards:
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writing a personal narrative
journal writing
letter writing w/ responses
peer editing/revising
brainstorming
book reporting
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paragraph writing
response to literature
note-taking for reports
self-reflections on learning
creating a story with plot,
characters, setting
Jaime's Example for Teachers
As mentioned in the "Lesson Ideas and Use" slide, Penzu can be a
great learning tool for students, but it can also be a great tool
for teachers to use in their classroom.
Teachers can use Penzu to take anecdotal notes on students for
the following reasons:
1. Student is being referred to Intervention Assistance Team.
– Student in on an IEP, so the teacher can show progress,
strengths and weaknesses.
– Teacher can take observation notes on the child in the following
areas:
o interactions with peers
o learning styles
o academic weaknesses/strengths
**Go to the next page to see an
example of an anecdotal record
using Penzu
*The example below shows how a teacher can use Penzu to take
anecdotal notes on students that are struggling or going to be
referred to the Intervention Assistance Team. *
Resources
Hopkins, G. (1999). Journal Writing Every Day: Teachers Say It Really Works.
Retrieved July 22, 2010, from
http://.www.educationworld.com/a_curr/curr144shtml
Marshalwoody. (2010, June 19). Penzu.mov [Video File] Video Posted to
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cqm4fBzxs_E
Molly Mcdonald. (2008, July 24). Screencast tour of Penzu [Video File] Video posted
to http://www.web2review.com/site/2184-Penzu/videos/2081-Screencast-tourof-Penzu/
Penzulc. (2010, February 2). Penzu Pro-Quiz Demo [Video File] Video posted to
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BRaQTyV_bGQ&feature=related
Survivorboi. (2009, July 30). Online Diary/Journal 100% Secure and Private! FREE
to use! [Video File] Video posted to http://www.youtube.com/watch?
v=_tYxS0t6DZw&NR=1