Wednesday, December 21, 2011

Morton Subotnick's Creating Music

A very easy and fun way to let your students play with sound. Morton Subotnick's Creating Music:

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Tuesday, November 22, 2011

Pinterest / Home

Another really nice curation tool. this one allows you to gather topics and "pin" them to a board. It is very visual (what isn't on the web) and my daughter uses it to gather crafting and baby websites. You name your boards, there is a little applet you add to your browser and yo can then "pin" sites that relate to your board onto that board. I love webcuration, it is an extension of the social bookmarking apps I have used for a long time. I like this because of the visual aspects.

Pinterest / Home:

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Popplet | Collect, curate and share your ideas, inspirations, and projects!

I have been looking at a lot of web based curation tools recently. They have many different uses and work in a lot of different ways. This one works much like Glogster and Inspiration combined. It is a really nice way to gather and present resources and information. There is also an iPad app for Popplet

Popplet | Collect, curate and share your ideas, inspirations, and projects!:

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Friday, November 18, 2011

UsefulCharts.com | Quick & Easy Study Charts

Another interesting and fun site. Charts detailing all kinds of information. These could be used to help students visualize a concept, they could be used to relay information but mostly they could be used to start and advance a discussion. The charts cover a number of topics and would make a great beginning point for a research project or debate! (Thanks to Larry Ferlazzo!)

UsefulCharts.com | Quick & Easy Study Charts:

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Thursday, November 17, 2011

7 Free Tools for Creating Your Own Fonts

This is just fun, create your own font and use it. I mean how cool is that!!! 7 Free Tools for Creating Your Own Fonts:

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Tuesday, November 8, 2011

Nik's Learning Technology Blog: 10 Tools for Increasing Engagement in Online Courses

With the increase in the number of online offerings for learning, and the dubious quality of many of them, I thought this was a timely blog. I am familiar with online learning, having taken many courses that way, and I can tell you some of them were not very engaging and took a great deal of effort to stay involved. Learning in those conditions is difficult at best.

This seems like a good place for online teachers and content providers to begin to explore ways to make the courses more engaging and by doing that provide a more educationally rich experience!

Nik's Learning Technology Blog: 10 Tools for Increasing Engagement in Online Courses:

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Monday, November 7, 2011

A GeekyMomma's Blog: Bullying's Everlasting Scars

Everyone worries about bullying but it is very difficult to make children see the effects of their actions. This seemed like a really great activity to bring home the long term affects of bullying.

A GeekyMomma's Blog: Bullying's Everlasting Scars:

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Friday, November 4, 2011

APPitic - 1,300+ EDUapps

This site has a directory of apps for education by the Apple Distinguished Educators. There are a large number of apps here that have been tested already.APPitic - 1,300+ EDUapps:

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Reading Bear - learn to read for free!

I have only played with this a little but it does look like a good place to take early readers. It introduces phonics principles and helps to teach vocabulary.Reading Bear - learn to read for free!:

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Free Technology for Teachers: Typing Adventure - A Fun Little Typing Game

Here is a new keyboarding site from Free technology for Teachers. It is a quick game that lets them practice.Free Technology for Teachers: Typing Adventure - A Fun Little Typing Game:

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Thursday, November 3, 2011

iLearn Technology » Blog Archive » Word Dynamo: Vocabulary made fun

This blog from iLearn Technology introduces a website called Word Dynamo. It explains the purpose of the site and how it can be used in the classroom really well. Do take a look Work Dynamo is a great way to help your students develop their vocabulary skills in a fun way!

iLearn Technology » Blog Archive » Word Dynamo: Vocabulary made fun:

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Wednesday, November 2, 2011

The Anatomy Of An Infographic: 5 Steps To Create A Powerful Visual | SpyreStudios

Since I posted already about creating infographics I thought I would post this article about the parts of an infographic. The Anatomy Of An Infographic: 5 Steps To Create A Powerful Visual | SpyreStudios:

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Also if you look at some of my earlier blogs you will find a post about a blog from Langwitches with info about using infographics as a tool with students. I wanted to include it here again in case someone is interested in looking into this further.

Creating Infographics with Students

Infographics & Data Visualizations - Visual.ly

I am reading a lot about infographics lately. Some of them are really easy to read and understand and some are not but it does seem like a really cool way to not only present info to students and to help them present data. I am still working on the basics of learning to make an infographic, this sort of thing is not my strong suit. This site features lots of infographics already created and allows you to create your own. I found this from Edgalaxy, which is a great blog to follow. If you want to know more about creating one just search Google, you will find a wealth of information to help you. This site is a great place to see what can be done!

Infographics & Data Visualizations - Visual.ly:

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Monday, October 31, 2011

Free Online Graph Paper / Plain

Print out your own graph paper. This site features several different types of graph paper with a number of settings to let you customize the graph paper to fit your needs.
Free Online Graph Paper / Plain:

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MakeMeZombie.com - Turn Yourself into a Zombie for Halloween

I wish I had found this before, I got it from Larry Ferlazzo's blog and it is so much fun!!! Give it a try. No, it is not in any way educational but fun can be a good thing too.

MakeMeZombie.com - Turn Yourself into a Zombie for Halloween:

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Tuesday, October 25, 2011

BioDigital Human: Explore the Body in 3D!

This is such a cool site! You can look at a 3D image of the human body systems. Turn the systems on and off so you can view them alone or with the other systems. You can click on any part of the system to see more information about it including common conditions that affect that part. Very interactive!
BioDigital Human: Explore the Body in 3D!:

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Tuesday, October 11, 2011

teachers's Channel - YouTube

My teachers want YouTube, they hate that it is blocked and want to be able to access it with their students. We can set them up to bypass our filter on their own laptops but there is no way the district is going to unblock YouTube for students. Evidently YouTube is developing an education section to their site that can be unblocked by schools filters and allow access to some the education videos available. Take a look here as a start (it was blocked by my filter, you will need to make sure that it is listed in your schools filter as a site that is unblocked.) teachers's Channel - YouTube:

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Friday, September 30, 2011

Free Technology for Teachers: 7 Good Screen Capture Tools for Teachers

I love screen capture tools, especially free ones! This is a great way to demonstrate how to do something to your students or colleagues!

Youngzine | News and more for the Young

This looks really great, it is a news site for elementary students. Lots of different articles on a variety of topics. Give it a try.

Friday, September 23, 2011

BBC Dimensions: How Many Really?

How Many Really and How Many Really from BBC are a great way to show students what some of the numbers mean. It does link to Facebook and Twitter which are blocked in many schools but if you can the site will show how the numbers relate to people you know.

Thursday, September 15, 2011

Free Technology for Teachers: 12 Useful YouTube Accessories for Teachers and Students

I love this blog, I find some of the best resources here. Youtube is blocked in our school. There are some great resources here to help my teachers show some of the great videos they find on YouTube!

WatchKnowLearn - Free Educational Videos for K-12 Students

Great list of online videos. Many topics, help students with tutoring, if they have missed a lesson, or just to enhance your own lessons!

Free online teleprompter.

Simple tool but really nice. Online teleprompter! Help students with recorded presentations or even presentations in front of the class. Free online teleprompter.:

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iPads in the Classroom

Starting to use iPads in your school? Many schools purchase them without a really clear idea of what they are trying to accomplish with them. A clear plan for use is essential for a successful implementation of any technology in the classroom. Take a look at Kathy Schrock's site for iPads. Lots of ideas and great links to help you plan for your schools iPad implementation!

Friday, September 9, 2011

400 Free Teaching Teamplates for Microsoft Office - HOME - Edgalaxy: Where Education and Technology Meet.

Great stuff from Microsoft for education!

Make your own Digital fashcards - HOME - Edgalaxy: Where Education and Technology Meet.

I may have blogged about this before, if so it bears repeating. This blog explains how you can use the Silverlight web app to create them. You can find a deck already made or make your own.

Creating Infographics with Students | Langwitches Blog

I have seen a lot lately about infographics and this is a really good blog explaining what they are and why you would want to use them in your classroom. I love Langwitches, it is a blog that provides a lot of great information and resources.

Tuesday, September 6, 2011

Thinking Blocks - Model and Solve Math Word Problems

Really nice modeling for Word problems. Helps students break down thinking so they can see the relationships between the numbers.

Friday, September 2, 2011

Friday, August 19, 2011

DROPitTOme - Securely receive files from anyone to your Dropbox

I don't know how many of you use Dropbox but I love it. If you haven't tried it do take a look. I use that now instead of a flash drive. Okay, I washed 3 or 4 flash drives before I realized that maybe it was not a good answer for me to transport files. Then I found Dropbox. That has made my life so much easier!


Once you have that then you need this. It gives you a link so that students or others can put files in your Dropbox without being able to see what you have in it! What a great addition to an already really good feature!

SPENT

Try this game with your high school students. They take a job working at or just above minimum wage and are met with common expenses through the month. See if they can get through the whole month with any money or if they run out before it is up.

Top 100 little-known sites Everyone should know about | The Best Article Every day

There are some great sites here. There are free online courses from MIT, video tutorials, conversion sites and just about anything you could think of. This is a really fun list to go through, it has some silly things and some very serious ones. I think there is something for just about everyone. Not for youngsters although adults may find things to use with them. Take some time and explore, it is worth the effort to click through many of these sites.

Thursday, August 18, 2011

Free Website Builder for Teachers - EducatorPages.com™ Teacher Websites

Take a look at this resource for creating your own page. One of my teachers used it this summer and found it simple to use.

Friday, July 22, 2011

Upgrade your KWL Chart to the 21st Century | Langwitches Blog

Want to make your KWL chart more 21st century? This blog from Langwiches explains two different approaches to this. Upgrade your KWL Chart to the 21st Century | Langwitches Blog

Pegby: Peg it up, Move it Around, Get it Done.

Need a peg board handy? Want to post notes during a meeting to save and compare ideas. Just need a place to post and view all of the great thoughts everyone is sharing. Take a look at Pegby. It is online, free and easy to sign up for.

: PBS LearningMedia

PBS has always had great resources for educators, this is a link to a site full of learning medea. There are over 14,000 resources tied to national standards for teachers to access. You can download them, save them and then use them with your students. It is free to sign up so take a look at this great resource!

Wednesday, June 15, 2011

BBC - GCSE Bitesize - Games index

I love BBC, they have the best games for students! You do have to watch the language a bit, sometimes words are used or spelled differently and the accent can cause US students slight problems but any of that is more than made up with the quality of the activities here. This is another BBC game site for your students. Games for English, Math and Science, just click the one you want.

BBC - GCSE Bitesize - Games index

Then there is this pick your own adventure site from BBC.  This one is primary take a look.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/primaryhistory/indus_valley/

Monday, June 13, 2011

Okay, 2nd post today, this is also from iLearn Technology, it is a Free Online game site with interactive activities for PreK - 1st grade.  The games are engaging and fun, it would be a great site to share with parents for home practice.  

Web 2.0 Library

I just found this through iLearn Technology, a really awesome blog for resources.  Anyway this has lots of great Web 2.0 sites you can check out and explore for your classroom.  For those of you who are off now for summer or other break this would  be a great time to find some new tools to use with your students.  Those of you  not on a break, it presents a great chance to try these out with your students now!  In fact you can let others know about what you find!!!

http://www.hccweb2.org/web2/

Thursday, May 26, 2011

Confessions of a Cookbook Queen: Etna/Denning Arkansas Tornado

This is not a link for educators, not an educational posting but I am from MO and my mom's family is originally from Arkansas and I just love this part of the country. Joplin (where i went to middle school) has been in the news and I know there have been huge outpourings of assistance, they need it but this blog is about very small communities and they will not necessarily get news coverage. I have huddled with my kids during tornado warnings with the town sirens blaring. It is so scary! If you can find it in your heart to donate $5 to these communities that would be awesome. Think what a difference all of the people who share this great internet can make!!

Free Technology for Teachers: Making Videos on the Web - Updated for 2011

Okay, Free Technology for Teachers is making a major appearance today! I really needed to feature this blog because of the tools and the ebook. Video making has always been a really great way to engage students. Even in the long ago dark ages when I was in middle school we used video to present and idea about current events and we were so into it. At that time we could not even approach the creativity today's students have. We could use a piece of video and add audio over it with a record player. We could do a limited amount with the tools available and even then it was very engaging. Using video to help students present ideas an opinions often gives them added motivation to express themselves. It is a lot of work but with the tools presented in blogs like the one featured here you can help your students become film makers and free yourself up from reading endless essays!!!

Free Technology for Teachers: Stop Blaming the Technology

This was an interesting post by Richard Byrne in his Free Technology for Teachers blog. With all of the content out there and all of the people blogging I suppose this goes on all the time. I try to attibute everything I get but I know that I am a bit lax in this area. After reading this blog I will work more diligently to be sure that I give credit where it is due. I don't use an autoblogger, I usually write whatever is in my blog myself linking to the blog or site I want to feature. But I often get these sites from all of these wonderful bloggers, Richard Byrne being one, and don't always remember to say hey, this came from...
I would hope that none of us directly copy or claim anyone else's writing. Now the way I write I don't think I have a huge problem!

Free Audio Books - Download an audio book in mp3 or iPod format today!

From iLearn Technology - Download free audio books. Lots of classic literature for students to download and listen to. Free Audio Books - Download an audio book in mp3 or iPod format today!

Thursday, May 19, 2011

The Innovative Educator: Sites for Using iPads in Education

Blog post from The Innovative Educator with a number of sites for using the iPad. If your school is starting to use these or already have them it pays to check out these resources so you get the best use of these devices that you can.

Math Games - from Mangahigh.com

Register for free math games. Includes analysis and assessment to progress monitor individual students.

Tuesday, May 17, 2011

Home | JOG THE WEB

This is a new tool I just found, it allows you to create and share what they call a WebBook. You use your own content, web pages, videos, graphics to create a website with page turning to move you through the lesson or experience. Very nice tool for teachers to help students move through a project. You can find the resources you want students to use, move them through the material in an orderly manner. This is very cool!

Monday, May 16, 2011

High School iPad Apps

A lot of apps blogs focus on elementary programs, this blog is all about high school. There is a lot here if you are planning on using iPads in your high school.

teachwithyouripad - home

New to iPads? Want to know what the heck to do with this thing? This is a nice little wiki that can help answer some of the questions you may have, help you get it set up and begin to use your iPad. I know I love mine but there was a lot here for me to learn. teachwithyouripad - home

iPad Apps: How can you learn to organize yourself, be productive and not forget what you need to do everyday?

Apps to help you be more productive. What I like about these is they are useful for both students and teachers and everyone else. Using your iPad as an input device to help you remember and organize!! iPad Apps: How can you learn to organize yourself, be productive and not forget what you need to do everyday?

Apps Lists

Lots of great apps to explore!

QUICK and EASY – Photo Albums in PowerPoint!

Use PowerPoint to create a photo album! QUICK and EASY – Photo Albums in PowerPoint!

Technology Fridge: The Fridge's Weekly Bookmarks (weekly)

Thinking about iPads in your school? Take a look at some of the links here, lots of apps that can be used in education. This BTW is just the tip of the iceberg. There are so many good blogs out there now featuring iPads and the ways they can be used in education, just search and ye shall find!

Tuesday, May 10, 2011

Science on the Simpsons

Thanks to Larry Ferlazzo for sharing this site. Videos from the Simpsons TV show help students learn science concepts. The videos cannot be streamed, they must be downloaded. These are funny and educational, who would have thought you could learn science from the Simpsons!!!

Monday, May 9, 2011

p2pu | Learning for everyone, by everyone, about almost anything

Wow, lots of free courses for programming in a variety of languages!!! If you are curious, feel you would benefit from more programming knowledge then these sites could help you get started. These are not the only sites but they are really good so do take a look.





I can't believe all the free resources, no there will be no face to face instructor to help you but there are so many people on the web to help you solve the problems you come up against, just do a google search and you will certainly find an answer to your problem.


Online Reading Tests | Reading Worksheets

I found this reading resource from Edugalaxy - a really good educators blog. You can have your students take online quizzes for reading and then they can print out their results, or not if you are trying to save a tree or two. The quizzes are graded automatically which is great for you. This resource is completely free! Take a look and give it a try!

Saturday, May 7, 2011

Official Google Blog: Google moms share tech tips for your family

Great ideas and tips for moms, and teachers to use many of the features Google offers to document and share events and special occasions!

Monday, May 2, 2011

f | The Official Google Blog ★ 1

this is a blog about the Yad Vashem holocaust collection that Google has helped to facilitate with its technology.

f | The Official Google Blog ★ 1

The Financial Literacy Toolkit

This blog is a really great financial blog and this particular entry would be a really good one to share with high school students who are beginning to learn about money. Not all of the items here will be useful but many of them are!

Thursday, April 28, 2011

Storynory Free Audio Stories For Kids

What a fun site, you can download audio files of the stories posted here. There are a variety of stories available.

Tuesday, April 26, 2011

Free Technology for Teachers: Google Tutorials

Are you curious about Google for Educators, want to learn more. Take a look at this great blog at free Technology for Teachers. There are a number of tutorials that can help explain the tools available and how you can use them in your educational environment!

Monday, April 25, 2011

iPads for Learning - Getting Started

Thinking about buying iPads for your school? Take a look at this beginners book posted on the web. Lucy Gray spends a lot of time searching for great technology resources and she has focused on iPads recently so I knew this had to be a good resource when I saw it listed in her Apple of My Eye blog post.  She also included a couple of other links that might be useful, a resource to help you find apps and a list of apps she has found useful.  I am including those links here also.

iPads for Learning - Getting Started

New Google Custom Search Engine and handouts

Tuesday, April 19, 2011

Homepage | Livebrush & the Livebrush Project

I had to post about this software if only because it was so much fun to play with. It allows you to create graphics using a variety of different brushes. I am sure that in the hands of a real artist this would produce wonderful graphics, I am not an artist but I still had a wonderful time using the tools. Art teachers and other crafty types take a look because you will I am sure find some great uses in art curriculum for this tool

Monday, April 18, 2011

BBC - Dimensions

What a neat site, you can look at the impact of many events by using a map. the maps have overlays to show the impact of floods, man made disasters, the depths of the ocean, and many other interesting maps. Take a look and explore your own zip code! BBC - Dimensions

Monday, April 11, 2011

Create Screencast! | Screencast-O-Matic - Free online screen recorder for instant screen capture video sharing.

Use this great online tool to create your own screen casts for instruction. Get 15 minutes with the free version and then download your file to share.

Home » You Are What You Read

A site for students to share the books they are reading and what they think of them. This is a Social Networking site set up by Scholastic that allows your students to network about books with other students in a safe environment. Home » You Are What You Read

GO2WEB20 Blog: The Best Free 22 Educational iPad Apps for Kids

Check out this blog of free education iPad apps for children. Aps for 1-2 up to 6-7 year olds. GO2WEB20 Blog: The Best Free 22 Educational iPad Apps for Kids

Friday, April 8, 2011

How Much Data is That? (Infographic)

How Much Data is That? (Infographic) Wonder what those MB and GB and on and on mean, what by the way is a Yottabyte? Check out this infographic and find out! Great tool for a computer science teacher.

Petfundango | Lesson Plans

Petfundango | Lesson Plans Do you have a classroom pet? This site has lesson plans available so you can incorporate that pet into your curriculum!!

Wednesday, March 23, 2011

Flubaroo Overview - Welcome to Flubaroo

Hate grading papers, or are you trying to develop a paperless classroom? Take a look at this website created by a teacher. It allows you to use the Google Forms part of Google Docs to create your quiz and then when you install this add on it will grade your papers for you. No need to pass out papers, no need to sit and mark them. (Also from A Whole New Diane)Flubaroo Overview - Welcome to Flubaroo

If you don't follow Diane's blog it is linked here on this blog under the blogs I follow so take a look! The resources are great!

Zunal WebQuest Maker

Zunal WebQuest Maker From A Whole New Diane, here is a website that lets you create webquests for free! Give it a try or explore the webquests that have already been created. You may find one that is just perfect for your curriculum!!!

Monday, March 21, 2011

Knoword | Expand your vocabulary!

Test your vocabulary, you are given the first letter of the word and the definition, guess the word correctly and you get more time!

How to Cite an Online Image | eHow.com

Citing is becoming more complicated given all of the resources we can now use to write and present. eHow explains so many things and this is one more example of that. Take a look!

Turn Your iPad 1 or 2 into an Interactive Whiteboard (Practical Practice)

I don't know if this will work or not, we are still in the talking phase of getting iPads in my school but if this does work how cool would that be!!! I do have an iPad at home, maybe I will use my own and check it out. If any of you out there try this please let me know how it worked for you. IWBs are quite expensive and not going to be a reality for my school in the near future.

TeachingBooks.net | Book Readings

Listen to authors read, explore a wide variety of author websites and read book guides, you can do all of this a more with Teaching books. Take a look at this engaging website for all ages. TeachingBooks.net | Book Readings

Wednesday, February 16, 2011

Little Bird Tales - Home

A great tool for writing and digital storytelling for younger students. Students can upload their artwork and then record their stories. Would be fun for a class room project or for individual stories to share with family and friends. this site is free!

Little Bird Tales - Home: "- Sent using Google Toolbar"

Monday, January 24, 2011

Science Monster

Science Monster Fun lessons with activities to help reinforce your science lessons! Plants, Chemistry, Physics, the Solar System and more are available.

New Sims - PhET Simulations

New Sims - PhET Simulations Interactive Science simulations for the University of Colorado at boulder (thnx Lucy Gray)

Science Explorer

Science Explorer :Lots of fun, hands on, science activities for students of all ages.

Friday, January 14, 2011

Elmwood Technology

This is the blog of a teacher I work with, he has some really great links here for 1 - 6 grades. There are links for almost all curriculum topics.

Elmwood Technology: "- Sent using Google Toolbar"

Computer Kiddos Wiki / Scratch Animals on the move

For those of you who use Scratch or those who would like to. If you have never heard of Scratch then you need to look here. MIT created this great software to teach students about programming and it does that and so much more. Lots of great how tos, videos and activities for teaching scratch to your students. This program is a great way to teach those higher order thinking skills. Scratch encourages thinking, planning and problem solving skills. This can also be used to reinforce science and math learning. Great tool for geometry!!! It is actually great fun to play with for adults too!

Computer Kiddos Wiki / Scratch Animals on the move: "- Sent using Google Toolbar"