Letia Cooper, Instructional Technology Specialist, BCSD

Letia Cooper, Instructional Technology Specialist, BCSD www.techwithtia.wikispaces.com


THE FOLLOWING INFORMATION WAS GATHERED USING VARIOUS TECHNOLOGY BLOGS AND

WEBSITES.

iLearn Technology

Free Technology 4 Teachers

Educational Freeware

Teacher’s First

Tech With Tia


Into The Book• This website is a great to use with students in grades K-4.

Eight strategies are used to improve reading comprehension on this site….Visualizing, Inferring, Summarizing and Synthesizing, Making Connections and Using Prior Knowledge. An easy to create login allows students to create simple logins that save their work.

• • How to Integrate: Students are able to drag a picture into

the skill they need to work on. A short video describes how the section works, student then follow the directions to complete the activities.

• Why: • • Into the book increases student comprehension skills in

eight categories. The learning is interactive and can be saved by the student. Students can print or email their work for assessment and sharing.

• • It teaches your standards!• http://reading.ecb.org/student/index.html

http://reading.ecb.org/student/index.html


Spelling Connections• This site features a variety of grade-

level appropriate games and activities to help your child become a successful speller.

• All games and activities relate to the grade-level, unit, and word lists being used in the classroom.

• Online games are designed to build vocabulary, develop proofreading abilities, and improve speed and fluency in spelling.

• Teachers may assign a username and password in order to monitor your child's progress.

http://www.spellingconnectionsonline.com/


Writing Fun• Don't be fooled by the title of Writing Fun. Yes,

it is fun, but it's anything but a frivolous site. Jenny Eather has created an informative, easy to navigate site which offers students the opportunity to see for themselves how graphic organizers can be helpful to the writing process. She offers multiple examples of how to use each type of organizer, shows where this type of writing is typically used in real-life situations, and then, best of all, provides online writing prompts to guide students, step by step, through the process.

• • And when I say step by step, I mean that. She

literally walks students through the processes with clearly paced, easy to follow steps.

• • If parents are seeking writing help for their kids

at home, this might be a good one to show them.

• )

http://www.writingfun.com/writingfun2010.html


LITERACTIVE• Literactive is an interactive reading tool for

students in grades PreK-1st. Literactive uses a variety of practices to build a students reading skills levl by level. This site is free to use and includes a numerous lessons that can be downloaded. This is a FREE program, you just have to register. The interactive stories and games help student to learn how to read. Students will enjoy the nursery rhymes which can be read aloud and include other activities such as alphabet awareness, letter sounds, short vowels, CVC word blending, initial blends, long vowels and many more phonic activities. Try out the new sections for guided reading in kindergarten, spanish for guided reading, e-book stories and e-poetry. Don't forget to download the activities and worksheets for your students.

http://www.literactive.com/


GRAMMAR NINJA

• Grammar Ninja is a fun game for students to play as they develop a working knowledge of the parts of speech. Grammar Ninja has three levels for students to work through. Answer questions correctly, and the game continues , give the wrong answer and the words explode.

• Use as a review after teaching a language arts lesson.

http://www.kwarp.com/favicon.ico


QUIZLET• This online tool allows you or your students to enter vocabulary terms

and definitions to create electronic flashcards and quizzes to enhance word study in any language or a content area. Students may choose to create electronic tests, or the networking page allows them to interact and learn with other users who have the same words. Teacher or students can create groups to share word lists.

• Join the site (free). Membership asks for an email, but a "pretend" email address also works. Email allows you to notify others that you want to share a word list or activity with them, however. If your school does not permit student email accounts, use a mythical account and KEEP A LIST of students usernames (non identifying) and passwords. They WILL forget them!

How to use this? Content and English teachers may set up their personal network of users. Learning support teachers will want their students to create their own quizlet sets and help learn them in the process! Teachers may create your own sets of words, or let students do the work for themselves and each other. Use the interactive white board for quick flashcard or electronic testing using your sets. Foreign language and ESL/ELL teachers will find many word sets already built and ready to use at this site. Helping students study for the SAT vocabulary test?


TEST TUTORhttp://www.harcourtschool.com/activity/test_tutor/build19/

• Test Tutor is a great skill-building resource. The home page shows assessments for Grades 1-6. Grade One has just four skill levels, while the rest typically have twelve or more.

• • Each skill level focuses upon a specific

reading skill (author's purpose, cause and effect, summarizing, sequencing, etc.). The level begins with a description of that skill and why it's important. Students then read a passage and answer multiple choice questions. I like using this site because both incorrect and correct answers provide students feedback.

http://www.harcourtschool.com/activity/test_tutor/build19/





READ WRITE THINK• Read Write Think is the premiere site for interactive, student-

friendly tools. Sponsored by the IRA (International Reading Association) and the NCTE (National Council for the Teachers of English), this site features dozens of Student Materials (my students call them writing machines) which prompt students to enter original ideas in order to accomplish a writing task. (Recently redesigned and organized, the site is now even simpler to navigate and use).

• • In addition, the site features hundreds of teacher-developed

lessons (searchable by skill category and grade) which make use of these writing machines. At your fingertips, then, are your writing plans for the next few months!

• • If you're in the market for writing ideas, just browsing the

machines and the lessons will inspire you. And if you're a newer teacher looking for ways to integrate technology into your language arts program, this is where to begin. Whereas most other sites mentioned below are designed to give the student inspiration, this one is designed to give the teacher inspiration (and then it delivers the tools to make the lesson happen).

http://www.readwritethink.org/


SPELLING CITY• Here is a great website for

helping your students with spelling. Just create a word list and students can practice at school or home. The program pronounces the word and says it in a sentence for the student. Play games with the word list or even download a handwriting worksheet. Students can also access the link from home. Here is the link to the site. It's FREE, just register and start creating your spelling list today!

http://www.spellingcity.com/

http://www.spellingcity.com/


STORYBIRD• Story Bird is a creative writing site for students.

Illustrations are provided. Professional illustrators have uploaded a number of gorgeous images in widely varying styles which will help writers become inspired. It seems that the site makes money when users choose to order hard cover prints of their creations, which in turn earns the illustrators some dough. It also serves as a nice showcase for illustrators who would want their work to be seen by larger audiences. I personally have no problem with either concept!

It's worth a look, because in the case of reluctant writers the images might provide some incentive to write. The finished results are quite impressive as well.

http://storybird.com/


WORDLE

Possible uses? creating title slides and program coversbrainstorming ideasdesigning "me" poems (based upon interests)summarizing thoughts from a collaborative sessionturning random ideas into artcrafting "found poetry" using original words or text selections (for example, several paragraphs from a novel can be entered, insignificant words can be marked for deletion, and the remaining key words will be formed into a word cloud)I recently used the app to create custom Valentines for my students. The site offers a gallery of completed projects which might to spark your imagination.

Wordle is an online app for generating "word clouds" from any text that you provide. The clouds give greater prominence to words that appear more frequently in the source text (in other words, they make 'em bigger). The resulting images can be tweaked with varying colors, fonts, and layouts, and then used as you like. Some additional tips:Cluster your words in a Word document first so that you can easily spell check and save them. The site did not save them. Some additional notes: The more times you repeat a word, the larger it will appear. Words you would like to stay linked must be connected with a tilde (that shift character that appears to the far left on the number row and looks like this ~). So "role model" would need to be "role~model." The tilde will disappear in the final project. Once your project appears, using the Randomize button lets you see many possibilities you may not have considered. If you want a certain word (say your largest) to use a specific color from the palette that you're using, go to the Color tab and choose Recolor. That will switch which words use each color, without changing the palette, font, shape, etc. To save, you must print as a PDF, or easier, click on FNand PrtScrn. This saves the whole screen as a screen shot which can be pasted and cropped to be used

elsewhere. (Click Cfnthen Prt Scrn. Nothing will appear to have happened, but when you right click in a Word doc or Power Point slide, you'll be able to paste the entire screen shot there. Then use the Crop feature from your Picture tools to trim to size).

http://www.wordle.net/


STORYLINE• StoryLine Online • Read Aloud Experiences for the 21st

Century• This popular site features members of the

Screen Actors Guild Foundation reading picture books aloud. In my opinion, there's nothing better than a live reading with a real book, but this is the next best thing! Really talented folks like James Earl Jones, Elijah Wood, CCH Pounder, Robert Guillame, Amanda Bynes, and Melissa Gilbert share some of the greatest picture books of recent years, such as Wilfrid Gordon McDonald Partridge, The Night I Followed the Dog, My Rotten Redheaded Older Brother, A Bad Case of the Stripes, and Enemy Pie. Check out StoryLine Online for yourself!

http://storylineonline.com/

http://storylineonline.com/


FOSSWEB• Foss web offers the best inquiry-based

science curriculum on the web. Science Activities are divided into three sections. K-2, 3-6 and middle school. Click on an interactive and get ready for an interactive experience. Each interactive has a media section which includes images, movies, audio stories, library and websites on the topic. The vocabulary section includes spanish glossary and science story glossary. Ask a scientist includes many answers to student questions. There is also a parent and students section. Some sections contain a database that teaches students about the topic.

http://fossweb.com/favicon.ico


Cool Science for Curious Kids• For Kids: This site offers answers to

numerous questions students may have. The site is fun and interactive and helps kids to appreciate science.

• For Teachers: This database contains a wide range of resources—from lesson plans and detailed curricula to tutorials, animations and laboratory exercises—for educators at all levels. You can search these resources by topic, type, or target audience. Use the links at the right to browse the collection, or use the resource finder above.

http://www.hhmi.org/coolscience/forkids


How Stuff Works?• Ever wanted to know why

earthquakes happen? How CD burners work? What the sun is made of? These questions, and many others related to computers/electronics, automobiles, science, entertainment, and people, are all answered at this award-winning web site. Simply type a query into the search window or peruse the topics by category. Extras include free newsletters, surveys, and printable versions of all answers.

•

http://www.howstuffworks.com/


Web Elements Periodic Table

• This interactive website provides a detailed description of the periodic table elements. Listen to audio or video on the element. Extensive details on each element follow. This is a great website for students to learn more about the uses and functions of these elements on earth.

http://webelements.com/


Exploratorium

• The Exploratorium is one of the best online museum in the nation. Filled with interactive activities for students such as the science of gardening, the science of sports, and hands-on activities that can be completed during and after-school.

http://exploratorium.com/


CRICKWEB

• Crickweb contains a variety of interactive science resources for grades 1 and 2(Key Stage1 &2). These science resources are great for use with an interactive whiteboard.

http://www.crickweb.co.uk/


• The Bugscope project provides free interactive access to a scanning electron microscope (SEM) so that students anywhere in the world can explore the microscopic world of insects. This educational outreach program from the Beckman Institute's Imaging Technology Group at the University of Illinois supports K-16 classrooms worldwide.

• • Bugscope allows teachers everywhere to provide students

with the opportunity to become microscopists themselves—the kids propose experiments, explore insect specimens at high-magnification, and discuss what they see with our scientists—all from a regular web browser over a standard broadband internet connection.

http://bugscope.beckman.illinois.edu/


COOL COSMOS

• Learn about infrared light through fun games, cool movies, images, and more. Classroom activities and a Spanish-language version of the site are also available. You'll need the free Flash plug-in to access the Flash version of the site. HTML version also available.

http://coolcosmos.ipac.caltech.edu/


The Science Spot

• Developed by a science & health teacher this site is a good resource for teachers. You will find science trivia, lesson plans, project ideas, puzzles and more!

http://www.sciencespot.net/


• Create your own biography timeline and map, add your ancestors and view them on a historical map. Interactive Maps, Timelines, Videos, Geocoded Photos, and Museum Artifacts await you on WorldHistory.com

http://www.worldhistory.com/img/icon.png


Social Studies Skill Tutor• Social Studies Skills Tutor is an great way to integrate

social studies, language arts and technology. Students and Teachers can use the skills tutor in any United States History class to activate prior knowledge and review learned material, while addressing various language arts standards such as identifying the main idea, sequencing, drawing inferences and conclusions and recognizing bias. These are just a few of the skills they offer.

• Geography teachers will enjoy the using cartographers tools section that shows student how to read a map and measure distance. Each section has 2 levels, each with a learn, practice and apply area. In the learn area students are taught how the skills. In the practice section they get to practice what they've just learned. A special skill steps button allows the student to review skills before they answer. Once completed they are now ready to apply what they've learned. Prentice Hall has created a great tool that will surely improve student achievement in both language arts and social studies!

http://www.phschool.com/curriculum_support/ss_skills_tutor/content/pop.html


• This site contains a wealth of information such as primary source documents, multicultural audio, lesson plans and resource guides. Student may complete inquiry investigations, create exhibits, view movies and e-lectures on various topics. This is a great site for teachers and students of history.

http://www.digitalhistory.uh.edu/


HISTORY MYSTERY

• Join Carlotta as she works to solve history’s greatest mysteries. Select a subject, get a clue, investigate using library and internet resources, choose your answer and see if you’ve solved the mystery!

http://teacher.scholastic.com/histmyst

http://teacher.scholastic.com/histmyst


Edsitement

• Edsitement is created and maintained by the National Endowment for the Arts. This site contains links to an abundance of historical information and provides the teacher with lesson plans and internet resources to make history interesting.


Calculation Nation• Calculation Nation is a great website that challenges

students mathematical skills. There are numerous games on calculation nation that will promote critical thinking skills in mathematics. The games are competitive in nature which make it exciting for today's 21st century learner. Square Off, Factor Dazzle, Fraction Feud and Times Square.

• • • • • Factor Dazzle for example allows students to find all the

factors of a number to earn points. Then students, choose a number for which your opponent must find the factors.

• • • • • These games are available for students of all ages but

they are geared toward middle and high school ages. Try it using the guest pass or just create a user name and password.

http://calculationnation.nctm.org/


A Maths Dictionary For Kids

• amathsdictionaryforkids.com by Jenny Eather is a great site. This interactive dictionary contains thousands of math terms. Click on a term and an explanation will be given that easy easy to understand for all learners. Try out the multiplication area for multiplication practice. This would be a great site for students to use at home. Use this site on the interactive white board to help explain math concepts more clearly.

http://amathsdictionaryforkids.com/

http://www.amathsdictionaryforkids.com/favicon.ico


Math Live

• Math Live is a wonderful site that offers tons of videos based on various Math topics. Students of all age will love these videos. Teachers should use these videos to help student to master various math objectives.

http://www.learnalberta.ca/content/me5l/html/Math5.html

http://www.learnalberta.ca/favicon.ico


Timez attack• Timez Attack is a great free software application which

helps students to master their multiplication tables. This program is very similar to a video games that children play on a daily basis. The basic version of the program is free. Teachers or parents will need to download the software.

Students enter a secret cqavern and they have to navigate their way through a maze which features locked doors and passageways. At each obstacle they encounter a times table, which must be answered. Once the answer is correct, the door opens and a monster appears with times tables that students must answer or they lose a life. The monster is not violent, so it is acceptable for kids.

• I would recommend this program for student in grades 3-8 who need greater assistance and a fun way to learn multiplication tables. Try Timez Attack today.


• What is Glogster Edu? Glogster Edu provides educators with a creative and dynamic, and innovative digital outlet for capturing learner’s excitement for online creations, keeps learners engaged in course content, and makes teaching and learning more fun. Glogster Edu is a private and safe program and is monitored by teachers. Teachers have full control of all their students’ activities. Glogster Edu can be use to integrate a variety of subjects including math, science, history, art, photography, music and more. Use a Glog as a way to differentiate instruction and as a form of alternative assessment. –Glogster Edu

• Glogster is a free tool! No registration is required for your free virtual classroom. Each student can have their own Glog. There will be a premium feature in the near future! Teachers and students can easily upload text, video clips, audio files and images. The editor makes it easy to change colors, effects, zoom and delete items. Video can be uploaded from School Tube and Teacher tube for use in a Glog. Glogs can be saved and published. Glogsters’ privacy settings allow students to share their work or keep it private. Search for Glogs by category and comment on them.

• CLASSROOM INTEGRATION• Glogster allows students to create multimedia posters on a variety of subjects. • For example, students could research an important figure in history like President John F. Kennedy and add

pictures, and audio and video of his speech. • Famous composer poster could be created with a music clip of the musician’s composition (think Beethoven). • ABCD Alphabet Glog• Teacher Storyboard • Alexander Graham Bell• Five Themes of Geography: Australia• Science experiments and projects could be shared in a step by step method using Glogster. • Posters of student work could be presented at an art show or music concert.• Create a poster summarizing key content for a unit of study.

http://sunrise651.edu.glogster.com/ABCD---ENGLISH-ALPHABET/?w1

http://glogsteredu.edu.glogster.com/EDU-Video-Storyboard/?w1

http://balmoral.edu.glogster.com/glog-4883/?w1

http://tstreet.edu.glogster.com/five-themes-australia/?w1

http://cnx.org/content/m32202/latest


Recipes to Good Writing

• It does just what the title suggests: gives you some pointers on how to write different types of texts. Use the measuring spoons for help. Click the cards to explore that subject.

http://farr-integratingit.net/favicon.ico


timetoast

• Create timelines of related events and share them anywhere on the web for free. Hovering over events on the time line enlarges them. Create your own or browse many of the timelines already created on the site to use. Browse many great examples from such categories as Music, Science, Film, Politics, Biography, and Art and Culture.

• In the Classroom: • Skills required: If you only plan to VIEW timelines, no extra

skills are needed at all! If you plan to comment or add a timeline, you must register. Easily create an account with a username, password, and email (students over 13 only.) Activation through email is required. Students must have individual accounts (email required). Check your school policies about accessing/sharing student email on school computers. You may want to create your own Gmail account with up to 20 subaccounts for each group of students (by code name or number) within your classes.

http://www.timetoast.com/


Edmodo

• Secure and trusted environment

• Social learning for classrooms

• Share ideas, files & assignments

• Mobile access and messaging

http://www.edmodo.com/


• You can easily create awards for your students at Certificate Street. The awards download as .pdf files with text boxes for you to customize with your name, the nameof the student and in some cases a place to embellish the content of the award.

• When printed in color they are suitable for framing and the site frequently adds new templates. Certificate Street is easily navigated and totally free to use.

http://www.certificatestreet.com/favicon.ico


Bubbl.us

• B is also for brainstorming with BubblUs. Use this free, online

• mind mapper when brainstorming with students or colleagues.

• Use the service to create diagrams or flow charts.

• http://bubbl.us/

http://bubbl.us/


EtherPad• E is for EtherPad, which allows online• document collaboration. Have you ever• had the need to work on a document with• several people at a time? The site

TypeWith.Me• allows you to create a simple online

document• which can be edited by as many as sixteen• people at once. The best part is naming the• document. Simply type

http://typewith.me/xxx• (where xxx is your desired title) and your

document is created.• Invite people to edit the page by sharing the

URL with them. Use• TypeWith.Me for faculty meeting and

professional development• session shared notes.

http://ietherpad.com/


Freeology

• G is for Graphic Organizers. Check out

• Freeology for an extensive collection of

• graphic organizers and other printable

• teacher tools. Download and print, or

• better yet, print them to Windows Journal

• and project them

http://freeology.com/


Kerpoof• K is for Kerpoof! Kerpoof is an online• multimedia content generator that is kid• friendly. Kids can create drawings, greeting• cards and even movies. Kerpoof is great for• starting stories, especially when discussing• story elements such as setting. Be sure to• check out the Kerpoof Teacher Guide,• because it gives very clear directions about• how to use the individual tools. It also gives• lesson plan ideas and suggests great uses• for the tool. Kerpoof is owned by Disney,• but remains free and commercial free.• There are paid for options which you can• use to unlock certain features, but the free• version is quite good. http://kerpoof.com

http://www.kerpoof.com/


xtranormal• X is for Xtranormal. Click, drag and

type to• make animated movies. Choose from

historical• and fictional characters. This site will

get your• creative juices flowing and stretch

your• Student’s higher level thinking. They

will have• so much fun writing scripts and

directing the• animated films they won’t realize

they are• learning, thinking and planning.

http://www.xtranormal.com/favicon.ico


zamzar

• Z is for Zamzar, the free file conversion

• tool. If you have a file in one format and

• need it in another, this is the utility for

• you. It is a good way to be sure you have

• your online videos backed up offline.

http://zamzar.com/


Twiducate is a Free online social networking site controlled by teahers. Twiducate allows teachers and students, to share ideas, thoughts, collaborate, post discussions, deadlines and homework. Teachers can create surveys for students and keep parents informed of daily projects.

Twiducate requires registration and a simple code created by you for your students.

http://twiducate.com/


• Xp Math is a good place to find math games, math videos, math worksheets, and math e-books. The games section of XP Math offers games for basic arithmetic, algebra, geometry, and probability.

• Students can create an account on XP Math and you can keep track of your scores.

http://www.xpmath.com/forums/arcade.php

http://www.xpmath.com/


http://www.xpmath.com/


• provide educators and trainers with easy-to- assemble educational games in a technology- enhanced environment to support key learning points. The site demonstrates the creative use of popular game shows and other familiar games to reinforce learning.

Educators and trainers can select and download those PowerPoint games that support your learning objectives and are compatible with the technology capabilities of your learning environment. We hope you enjoy the site and we welcome your feedback.

http://facstaff.uww.edu/jonesd/games



Vector kids

• Vector Kids has great math activities that students will love! If students love arcade games they will love this site.

http://www.vectorkids.com/



Playing history• There are tons of free historical

games, interactives and simulations on the web. Playing history aggregates info on these resources in a simple, searchable database making it easy to find, rate, and review historical games. There are currently 130 games.

•One of the most popular games rated on the site is "Do I Have A Right", which explores the Bill of Rights in the context of operating and growing a Constitutional law firm from obscure to distinguished status.

http://www.ourcourts.org/flashgames/dihar/index.html



•Fling the Teacher is a website containing 68 history quiz games. All of the quizzes have at least fifteen questions and a few of the games have more than 100 questions. The average is 30-45 questions per quiz. Prior to starting each quiz game students can create their own custom game character.

http://www.schoolhistory.co.uk/games/fling/

http://www.schoolhistory.co.uk/games/fling


Foto Flexer

Foto Flexer

http://fotoflexer.com/app/uploadLoader.php




• MightyBook.com is a website that helps children learn to read with stories, songs, jokes, games, and more. This site is very easy to navigate, and the bright colors and adorable characters make it appealing to small children. There are 50 free activities on the home page that can be accessed without registering. If you are interested in registering, a variety of subscription plans are offered which would give you access to over 500 stories and activities.

http://www.mightybook.com/

http://www.schoolhistory.co.uk/games/fling

http://www.mightybook.com/


Founded in 2007, Storybook Anytime is an interactive entertainment company focused on creating family-friendly casual and social games. We develop immersive experiences with educational nuances that are fun to play online with your friends and family."Reef Life", is a fully immersive underwater world and social game. As you play, you make a life for yourself on the reef while working your way up to becoming a whale. You can customize your fish and decorate its fish bowl to show off your distinct personality. The experience can be shared with your friends as you help each other care for your fish and enjoy the hidden treasures of the reef. Our flagship product, "Sam's Interactive Reader," is an Adobe® Air™ application that introduces the fun of reading and learning to children ages 3-9. The product allows full access to our online library of originally written and illustrated children's stories as well as activities and games. As an added feature, you can find most of our stories in both English and Spanish.

Sam's Interactive Reader and all of its content can be used for free in your school, classroom, or public library. To get started, you simply need to fill out our registration form. Once you are approved, download and install Sam's Interactive Reader to your school or public library machines, and you will be able to download all of our online store content for free— not just some of it, but all of it! It's really that simple. Read more about our School Program and get started using Sam's Interactive Reader in your classroom today!

http://becomeawhale.com/

http://www.storybookanytime.com/products/for-kids/sams-interactive-reader.php

http://www.storybookanytime.com/products/for-kids/online-store.php



http://www.storybookanytime.com/schools/school-program.php

http://www.storybookanytime.com/schools/school-program.php

http://www.storybookanytime.com/



• Lit2Go is a free online collection of stories and poems in Mp3 (audiobook) format. You can:

• Download the files to your Mp3 player and listen on the go,

• Listen to the Mp3 files on your computer,

• View the text on a webpage and read along as you listen,

• Print out the stories and poems to make your own book.

http://etc.usf.edu/lit2go/


http://etc.usf.edu/lit2go


Tar heel reader• Children, teenagers, and adults need

books to be able to learn to read and getting accessible books to them is the goal of the Tar Heel Reader. This open source library of books that are switch accessible, talking, internet accessible, and downloadable will grow exponentially due to the terrific job Gary Bishop

• You have multiple options for accessing the books:

• on the web • download the PowerPoint File • Open Office Impress File • Flash File • Speech can be enabled or disabled.

http://gb-cs.cs.unc.edu/TarHeelReader/

http://wwwx.cs.unc.edu/~gb/wp/blog/

http://tarheelreader.org/



I know that.com

http://www.iknowthat.com/



blabberize• TeachersFirst Edge Entry: for moderately adventurous technology users. Blabberize is a photo editing tool

that creates talking animations from a photo or other image. Search ready-made blabbers or create new ones. There are some real treasures among the ready-mades, some of which you can use as examples for your students. Here is an example created by the TeachersFirst Edge team: In the Classroom: Skills needed: You need a microphone in or on your computer for easiest recording. We recommend watching (and showing the entire class?) the introduction blab on the home page. It is a riot! To create blabs, you will need to be able to upload photographs or save then upload images from safe and legal sources. Once you know which pictures you are going to use, the rest is as easy as following the onscreen instructions. You will need to “allow” access to your computer’s microphone and/or a microphone you attach to the computer. Recording by phone also works. Browse a few examples first to get ideas on how to make a mouth on your photo to move and “talk.” Get started right away by choosing a photo and following prompts (arrows) below telling you what to do next. You have 30 seconds to narrate your photo. When you complete the blab, click SAVE. You will be prompted to create an account on the spot. You will also have the options to mark your blab “mature” or “private” (not shown on the “latest” pages and other public areas). Completed Blabs can be shared via email or embedded in another web page, blog, or wiki. See an embedded example below. Users unfamiliar with copy/pasting embed code can simple share by the URL of the blab's page.

Safety/security concerns: Registration requires email, You may want to use a single, whole-class account you create with your “extra” email account or establish student accounts using your own Gmail account with up to 20 subaccounts for each group of students (by code name or number) within your classes. This will make it easier to monitor student activity. Here is a blog post that tells how. No email confirmation is required for this Blabberize membership to work. Be sure to spell out consequences of inappropriate use/content of blabs. Since Blabberize is a public site, avoid allowing students to “browse” blabs. They may discover blabs not appropriate for the classroom. Blab creators are asked to mark their creations “mature” if they could be objectionable, but the only enforcement of this is by users clicking “I object!” Have students enter the site through the “Make” page link provided in this review to steer clear of the “latest” blabs. You may want your students to make their blabs “private” so they do not show on the public areas, depending on school policies.

Possible uses: The possibilities are only limited by your imagination. Blab the homework directions on your teacher web page. Ask your students to create blabs for all sorts of reasons. Use photos or digital drawings to “blab”! Have students draw in a paint program, save the file, and then make it “speak.” Spice up research projects about historic figures or important scientists. Have literary characters tell about themselves. Create entire conversation sequences of blabs between people in world language or ESL/ELL classes (with students speaking in the language, of course), then embed them in a wiki. Have speech/language students make blabs to practice articulation and document progress over time. Promote oral reading fluency with student-read blabs. Create book “commercials.” Have students blab what the author may have been thinking as he/she wrote a poem or literary selection or as an artist painted. Blab politicians’ major platform planks during campaigns for current events. Blab the steps to math problem solving. Even primary students can make an animal blab about his habitat if you set up the blab as a center. Make visual vocabulary/terminology sentences with an appropriate character using the term in context (a beaker explaining how it is different from a flask?) Students could also take pictures of themselves doing a lab and then blab the pictures to explain the concepts. This would be a great first day project (introducing yourself and breaking the ice). Share the class blabs on your class web page or wiki! Give directions to your class (for when a substitute is there). Use at back to school night to show your humorous side to the parents.

http://kimcofino.com/blog/2007/10/18/sign-me-up-the-elementary-email-solution-linked-gmail-accounts/



Big IQ Kids

http://www.bigiqkids.com/



Game goo• The Gaming Goo learning website presents

educational activities where young children can find fun and exciting games that teach important skills they will need in school.

• • • http://www.earobics.com/gamegoo/gooey.html • At a very early age, even as young as infancy, reading

books is the most important aspect of developing strong early learning skills. However, as infants age into toddlerhood, the attention span and stimulation demands of that young mind starts to mature.

• • Starting as young as three years old, young children

consume information as quickly as a sponge absorbs water. Before the age of computers and the Internet, preschool teachers and parents relied on educational toys to foster and develop early learning skills. However, once the Internet became prevalent, the opportunity for even more effective learning games quickly developed into very valuable online learning resources like the Game Goo website.

http://www.earobics.com/gamegoo/gooey.html





Math moves u• Let math move YOU through different areas of math practice!

Choose an animal character and customize the color of the collar, fur, and tail. Choose your grade range prior to play. Other options include saving your character to begin or registering to create a locker for extra benefits, including access to new characters and monitoring of your progress. . Use the arrows on the keyboard to move along to different math problems. Areas vary by age level, but examples include Music (Pythagorean Pavilion), Sports, Fashion and feature facts, quizzes, polls, flashcards, or a game that can be accessed for learning opportunities. Facts have links that allow students to connect to more knowledge. Tutorial help is available with the quizzes. Background music which is lively can also be turned off for better concentration. Enter Math Moves University for worksheet practice on many math topics downloaded as a pdf document. A math dictionary is also available. Clicking on the navigation along the top can also take you to various areas.

Opportunities to register pop up during play but are not required at this site. If you choose to have your students register, please be aware of your district’s requirements and acceptable use policy for using student user names, passwords, and emails. This site requires Flash and adobe acrobat. Get both from the TeachersFirst Toolbox page. In the Classroom: Differentiate your math instruction easily! Use as assigned, independent study for students as needed. Use as a class resource on an interactive whiteboard or projector. Have students work collaboratively in groups to achieve the answers. Assign areas as homework practice; if computers aren’t available at home, print off the worksheets for homework practice.

http://www.teachersfirst.com/tools.cfm

http://www.teachersfirst.com/tools.cfm

http://www.mathmovesu.com/



Find free interactives in Math, Logic, and Language Arts using this colorful site. Choose your grade level (K-6) and then your specific topic. Some examples of topics include: Time and Money, Problem Solving, Reading and Comprehension, Range, Mean, Median, and Mode, Grammar, Literature, and countless others. Find help in the homework help section along the right side of the site. You may also do a more generalized search by using the links for “Popular,” “Math,” or “Language Arts.” Many of the activities have been created by other sites or educators (you may even notice some familiar characters, such as Big Bird). Some activities may have ads appearing beside them. Students should be advised to ignore these ads. In the Classroom: Share this site on your interactive whiteboard or projector. Make it a kinesthetic “center” for students to explore using your interactive whiteboard. Use these activities to strengthen skills, provide practice, and identify weaknesses. For example, use math games that teach graphing, analyzing, and counting. There is a wide variety of topics here, so be sure to peruse this site before your new unit or lesson! Using examples on this site, students can create their own homework help using a wiki, blog, or other site to help others. Allow students to “rate” the games using stars or smiley faces and comment on how the game helps them learn. Play a variety of word and other language arts games. Be sure to list this link on your class website or wiki for students to access both in and out of the classroom.

http://www.gameclassroom.com/

http://www.gameclassroom.com/


My Story Maker is a tool that helps kids write their own stories. Add characters and objects to the storyboard, and click them to add actions. A basic story will be automatically written, and the students can then embellish the text with adjectives and other descriptive words. http://www.carnegielibrary.org/kids/mystorymaker/ When the story is finished, you can print it or link to a PDF version of the book. You will find a variety of characters to add to your story, including a scientist, a mermaid, a ghost, a dragon, a dinosaur, a robot and many, many more. Settings include a desert, a sea, the moon, a forest, a room and more. My Story Maker was created by Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh. No registration or download is required to use My Story Maker - just click and start writing your story straight away! A fun and interactive way to improve children's writing skills!

http://www.carnegielibrary.org/kids/mystorymaker/

http://www.carnegielibrary.org/kids/storymaker

http://www.carnegielibrary.org/kids/storymaker


On the free website sfskids.org, kids can learn about musical notation, tempo, rythm and much more. The can also find out more about instruments of the orchestra: string, woodwinds, brass and percussion. http://www.sfskids.org The music lab lets children experiment with music. For example, in the Harmony Viewer, you can try out the same piece of music with different harmonies, and hear the difference. In the Instrumentation activity, you can try out how the music sounds if you change what instrument plays what part. This is a great set of free musical lessons for children! The site was created by the San Francisco Symphony.

http://www.sfskids.org/

http://www.sfkids.org/

http://www.sfkids.org/


Purpose games.comPurpose Games is a free service that allows users to create custom games, share games, and play games. There are two styles of games that you can create and play on Purpose Games. The simpler of the two styles is a fairly basic multiple choice game. The other style uses images and maps on which players have to name the places represented by placemarks on the image or map. For an example, try this game about the skeletal system. Purpose Games gives game creators the option to make their games public or private. If you select the private option, only the people to whom you send invitations will be able to play your game.If you found this post useful, please consider subscribing to Free Technology for Teachers via email or RSS.

http://www.purposegames.com/

http://www.purposegames.com/

http://www.purposegames.com/game/1009

http://purposegames.com/

http://feeds.feedburner.com/freetech4teachers/cGEY

http://freetech4teachers.com/




Child’s Play• Childsplay is a suite of educational games for young children

(approximately between 3 and 10 years old). Just like Gcompris, it is both freeware and open source, and is available for Linux as well as for Windows.

• • • http://childsplay.sourceforge.net/ • Download page (version 0.85):• http://sourceforge.net/project/showfiles.php?group_id=6596

6&package_id=200493

• Childsplay is multilingual and runs in English, French, Danish, German, Spanish, Catalan, Italian, Slovenian, Swedish and Hebrew. The graphics are a bit rough, but after all, it is free! :)

• • The following games are included:• • - A memory game• - A sound memory game• - An old-fashioned pong-game.• - An falling letters game• - A game where you hear a sound and have to click on the

corresponding letter.• - A game where you match a sound to an animal.• - A game where you practise writing simple words.• - A game where you find letters in a maze.

http://www.educational-freeware.com/freeware/gcompris.aspx

http://childsplay.sourceforge.net/

http://sourceforge.net/project/showfiles.php?group_id=65966&package_id=200493

http://sourceforge.net/project/showfiles.php?group_id=65966&package_id=200493

http://schoolsplay.wikidot.com/website:childsplay



Learning Vocabulary Can Be Fun

• Vocabulary.co.il is a great vocabulary builder. This word game website is a fun way to build English vocabulary.

• Vocabulary is Fun is a leading vocabulary website worldwide with the best flash online word games. The vocabulary games include an online word search, an online crossword puzzle, and hangman online (our version is called HangMouse). Users choose the vocabulary list that the online word game will use in the word game. The vocabulary games are popular for use on smart boards for word games to build vocabulary skills in classrooms.

• Many people build their English vocabulary through a blend of methods -- by taking English classes, reading books, watching movies in English, and studying English with English language software. Playing word and vocabulary games is a valuable part of learning English. There are thousands of vocabulary words in our vocabulary lists.

• Vocabulary.co.il is a fun educational website dedicated to helping you build reading, phonics, or English language skills. We offer Free Online Word Games which are specifically designed to build vocabulary skills and to motivate people to learn through fun practice in spelling, phonics, and vocabulary.

• If you are applying to American universities, you will probably have to take the Test of English as a Foreign Language, or TOEFL test. Most American colleges, as well as schools in England, Canada, Ireland, Australia and New Zealand require all non-native English speakers to take the TOEFL exam, and a high score can be critical to admission. Vocabulary.co.il can also help build vocabulary skills for other high-stakes, vocabulary-rich exams such as the GRE, the SAT, and PSAT.



Jing

http://www.jingproject.com/



• Create your own one to three panel comic strips or --even better- have your students create them using this simple online tool. The libraries include many cartoon figures, voice bubbles, and more. You can also upload your own photos using the Imaginr(or pieces from them) and create your own characters using the Traitr. For a longer story, make a TOONBOOK instead of a single TOONDOO strip. See a sample made by our techno-savvy editors in just a few minutes. The "published" products can be shared online with the world, shared with a limited audience (probably the safest for students), or kept completely private (visible only to you when logged in).

• In the Classroom: Skills needed: Register(free). Registration asks for an email address, but abc@123 works just fine. There is no email validation process. Log right in. Play with the "Create Your Own" tools to make a TOONDOO or TOONBOOK, including locating characters, resizing, re-ordering, entering text, etc. IF you are feeling adventurous, try upload an image to include. When you are ready, publish the product, publicly by sharing the URL or to opt for a limited audience.

Potential safety concerns: If you are having students create their own TOONDOOS, you will want to prohibit their accessing the links to "popular" TOONDOOS and others available to the public, since the site is open for anyone's idea of "funny" content. Our editors did not see anything objectionable, but you never know.

How can you use this in the classroom? Once you have laid the ground rules, have students create strips with characters explaining a science concept. Or show the steps in a process or procedure, such as the water cycle. Older students can create political satire cartoons. If you have students work from your account, you can provide the "raw materials" of some digital pictures for them to make cartoon explanations of lab safety procedures or nature species. Even little ones can write sentences. Have them work with a partner---and LIMIT their choices to 3 character options so they do not keep changing their minds!

http://www.toondoo.com/toondoo/View.toon?param=37329


http://www.toondoo.com/


• ProProfs Brain Games allows you to build interactive crossword puzzles, jigsaw puzzles, word searches, hangman games, and sliding puzzle games. The games you create can be embedded into your blog or shared via email, Twitter, Facebook, or Myspace. If you don't want to take the time to create your own game, you can browse the gallery of games. All of the games in gallery can be embedded into your blog.

http://www.proprofs.com/games/

http://www.proprofs.com/games/

http://www.proprofs.com/games/create-game/


http://www.proprofs.com/


Quizinator

http://www.freewebs.com/quizinator



Math Trainer

http://www.mathsisfun.com/numbers/math-trainer-multiply.html



Big Huge Labs

• What it is: Big Huge Labs: Magazine is an online magazine cover creator. Students can create custom magazine covers from photos on Flickr or photos uploaded from the computer.

• How to integrate Big Huge Labs: Magazine into the classroom: This would be a great tie-in to a persuasive writing unit. Discuss with students why magazine covers need to be persuasive. Students can create a custom cover for a multitude of projects. This might be a fun Mother’s day/Father’s day gift as well!

• Tips: Set up a class Flickr account and link to Big Huge Labs for easy access for your students.

http://bighugelabs.com/flickr/magazine.php



http://bighugelabs.com/



Audio Owl• Audio Owl is a great website featuring tons of children's books for

download. The books can be downloaded in mp3 or from Itunes as a podcast. The reading is clear and easy to understand. Some of world's greatest stories are here for free. Alice in Wonderland, Grimm's Fairy Tales, Dorothy and the Wizard of Oz, Black Beauty, Hans Christen Andersen Fairy Tales, A Christmas Carol, Anne of Green Gables, Pollyana, West African Folk Tales, Uncle Remus, Peter Pan, Jabberwocky, A Little Princess, Huckleberry Finn, Doctor DoLittle and Mother Goose Tales are just some of the great literature available for download. There are also great books available for teens and young adults.

• Students who do not like reading will enjoy listening to the audio book. Audio books are supplement the teacher and parents ability to read the book. Audio books also help student improve their reading fluency.

• In the ClassroomUse these titles in class by having student read along with the text if it is available.

• Have them draw pictures to depict the scenes and then create a slide show using the audio and their drawings.

• Pair the Ipod with the free downloadable text on an Ipod and follow along.

• Use as a reading center for students and have them follow along with the book.

• If you have mp3 or Ipods available send them home with the audio and printed copy of the book.

• Play one section of audio as a teaser (introduction) to the book. This will motivate students to read the book.

• • Students who do not like reading will enjoy listening to the audio book

http://www.audioowl.com/



Easy Test Maker• EasyTestMaker is a FREE online test

generator to help you create your tests. With Easy Test Maker you can create multiple-choice, fill-in-the-blank, matching, short answer and true and false questions all on the same test. You can also insert instructions and divide your test into multiple sections.

• EasyTestMaker automatically generates alternate versions entirely randomized and master answer sheets with a single click! Just click the "Generate Alternate Versions" or "Print Answer Sheet" link when you are done creating your test. It's that easy!



Literacy center

http://www.literacycenter.net/lessonview_en.php


Free Clip Art by Phillip Martin

• Free Clip Art by Phillip Martin is an extensive collection of clipart. All the clipart is free to use in the classroom, in newsletters or presentations. As long as the use is for non-profit, it may be downloaded and used free of charge. Categories included in the site are Language Arts, Science, Social Sciences, Holidays, School, A to Z, and More. Each of the above categories has countless sub-categories within them. No registration is necessary and the site is extremely simple to navigate. Of course you will want to model and require ethical use of these resources by giving credit to the source of clips in a small note or text box on your projects. There are some unobtrusive advertisements at the site. 10652

• In the Classroom: • This site is great if you need some clever clipart to jazz up

student handouts, classroom bulletin boards or PowerPoint/Keynote presentations. There is also web clipart that you can use for your blog, class webpage, or wiki. Interested in learning more about wikis? Check out the Teacher’s First Wiki Walk-Through reviewed here. When using the clipart be sure to download to your computer first before inserting into an application. Copying it directly from the web site puts a black background behind your image. Have students use this site in science class (or other classes to explain concepts and create colorful projects. Have students create a Voicethread reviewed here to narrate a picture and describe what they have learned.

http://www.teachersfirst.com/single.cfm?id=7237


http://www.phillipmartin.info/clipart/homepage.htm



• This site provides an interactive game designed to help students read rulers starting with whole number increments and leading up to sixteenths. 10666

• In the Classroom: • Introduce this site and avoid

confusion by playing the game several times on your interactive whiteboard or projector. Then, have students explore the activity independently or with a partner. Be sure to include this site on your class web page for students to access both in and out of class for further practice.

http://www.rsinnovative.com/rulergame


http://www.rsinnovative.com/rulergame


Curious Corner• What student could resist matching sounds to

characters in a painting, searching for hidden animals in illustrations, matching shapes to a drawing or creating their own curious collections? Students will make personal connections to art as they work through unique interactive art activities: story time, match up, and play with art. The parent and educator resources include tips for looking at art together, engaging follow up activities, podcasts, video clips, and lesson plans. Don’t miss this site! 10299

• In the Classroom: • This colorful website will appeal to lower elementary

students immediately, but its activities are stimulating for older students as well. Share this site on your interactive whiteboard. Have pairs of students explore the site together and create multimedia presentations to share with the class. You could create a class wiki for students to share their thoughts on the podcasts, video clips, or artwork. Not comfortable with wikis? Have no wiki worries – check out the Teacher’s First Wiki Walk-Through reviewed here. Another idea, have students create online books demonstrating their new knowledge using a site such as Bookemon, reviewed here.



http://www.artic.edu/aic/education/CC



• Time-for-Time - Grades 0 - 5 - permalink • This is a resource for teachers, students and

anyone that wants to learn about time. Students will find interactive games, quizzes and a telling time practice clock. Teachers can access lesson plans, a class clock, and worksheets. There is also a brief history of clocks, links to world clocks, information about time zones, and more. Students must be able to count to 60 to use the various activities. 10773

• In the Classroom: • Use the class teaching clock on your interactive

whiteboard or projector to help students learn about both analog and digital clocks through its interactive features. At a computer learning center allow students to take the online quizzes. List this link on your class website for students to access both in and out of the classroom. Have cooperative learning groups demonstrate their understanding by creating interactive online posters ("glogs") using Glogster EDU, reviewed here.

http://www.teachersfirst.com/getsource.cfm?id=10773


http://www.time-for-time.com/favicon.ico



Learning today

• http://www.teachersfirst.com/getsource.cfm?id=10731

http://www.ourdocuments.gov/index.php?flash=true&



Our Documents.gov• http://ourdocuments.gov/index.php?flash=true • This site offers teachers and students the opportunity to explore

documents of a 100 milestones in American history. The documents chronicle United States history from 1776 to 1965: Lee Resolution, Treaty of Paris, Federalist Papers Bill of Rights, Missouri Compromise, Monroe Doctrine, Plessy v. Ferguson, Surrender of Japan, Marshall Plan, Brown v. Board of Education, and many more. The neat part about all the documents is that it shows the entire original document (it can be enlarged and zoomed in on) and then offers information about the document below. Now your students can experience primary sources with explanations.

• • There is a link called “Tools for Educators” that has a downloadable

teacher sourcebook. (Although it’s the 2004 edition, only the first part of the sourcebook is about a competition for the year 2005.) The book has resources, how to use the documents, lesson plans, follow up activities, printouts, etc. Although the site is slightly dated, it includes some real gems. The site also offers ideas for librarians, classroom integration tips, and photos and downloadable posters. 4711

• In the Classroom: • Although this site has links for integrating the material for the classroom,

teachers could also create a blog site which students can post their thoughts about a milestone document for discussion. A bingo game could be created based on the 100 Milestone documents. Don’t let the age group deter you from doing this –students of all ages love a good game of bingo – especially with a prize incentive!

• • Why not assign individual documents to cooperative learning groups to

investigate, read, and create a multimedia presentation to share with the class. Have students create online posters on paper or do it together as a class using a tool such as Project Poster (reviewed here or PicLits (reviewed here.



http://www.ourdocuments.gov/index.php?flash=true&



i-board player

• iBoard Player - Grades 0 - 2 - permalink • IBoard Player is a resource for highly visual and

interactive materials to use on interactive whiteboard in the early primary grades. Subjects included are math, literacy, science, history and geography. Specific topics include matching, an abacus, addition, sequencing, sentence structure, phonics, nutrition, circuits, the human body, and countless others. Resources can be used independently by students or in the classroom by the teacher. Suggestions for classroom use are included with each of the activities. Be aware that the site is British, so spelling and word choices may not be what American students are familiar with! 10903

• In the Classroom: • Share iBoard Player on your interactive whiteboard.

Create learning centers for your students at computer clusters. These sites work well for individual enrichment and investigation. List this site on your class website for students to explore both in and out of the classroom.



http://tes.iboard.co.uk/favicon.ico



webspiration• TeachersFirst Edge entry: for the moderately adventurous technology user.

Research shows that graphic organizers promote strong thinking skills and comprehension for all ages. Webspiration is a FREE online tool for creating graphic organizers. It is made and maintained by the creators of Inspiration software, which is purchasable software. Individuals or groups can create the organizers. Your students are certain to enjoy this tool and be forced to THINK in the process. You can "publish" the organizers on the web, download to a word document, or print-- all for free. Check out the sample created by the TF team here. 10741

• In the Classroom: • Skills needed: join the Webspiration site (free); play with the tools and toolbars to

create organizers; use toolbars to collaborate, publish, or print diagrams. Creating the organizers is of easy to medium difficulty depending upon how elaborate you desire your organizer to be and whether you are familiar with Inspiration software. Note: collaborators need individual email accounts to gain access. If your students do NOT have permission to access personal email, create a free teacher Gmail account to use for memberships. If you plan to have students register individually, you may want to create your own Gmail account with up to 20 subaccounts for each group of students (by code name or number) within your classes. Here is a blog post that tells how to set up GMail subaccounts to use for any online membership service. This would also be a great tool for group projects in YOUR grad classes!

• • Safety Issues: Note that maps that are shared can be seen by the public, but not

altered. You specify members who may collaborate and make alterations. • • Possible Uses: The class can create organizers together, such as in a brainstorming

session on an interactive whiteboard or projector. Or you can assign students to "map" out a chapter or story or assign groups to create study guides using this tool. Use this site for literature activities, research projects, social studies, or science topics. Use this site to create family trees or food pyramids in family and consumer science. Have students collaborate together (online) to create group mind maps or review charts before tests on a given subject. Have students organize any concepts you study; color-code concepts to show what they understand, wonder, and question; map out a story, plotline, or plan for the future; map out a step-by-step process (life cycle)

http://www.mywebspiration.com/view/339555a19cf0

http://www.mywebspiration.com/



• Story Jumper helps you write and illustrate stories in just seven steps-- then share them online. Begin by selecting a story format and accompanying graphic. Manipulate the text and add other items to the picture that forms with each addition to the story. You also change the background and upload photos. Add original drawings, as well. When finished with a particular scene, go on to the next page by clicking the arrow. In order to save and share stories online, writers must complete a free registration. Although there is an option to buy the finished story in print format, this is not necessary to use the site. 10885

• In the Classroom: • Although the sentences and graphics available appear juvenile, the

fact that writers can delete the text and add their own original text, photos, and drawings makes this site flexible enough to use with older students, as well. This activity would work well for individual or pairs of students in a lab or on laptops. Ask your students to visit the site and create an online book with their original writings, drawings, and photos. ESL and ELL students will be able to use the site easily, and will learn appropriate sentence structure and add to their vocabulary by selecting new items to put into the graphic. Older students can also create “little buddy” books for younger students to read and share.

• For similar resources, click the appropriate keyword: online story writing | smrbest |

http://www.teachersfirst.com/20/tchr-keyword.cfm?keyword=online%20story%20writing&lower=2&upper=8

http://www.teachersfirst.com/20/tchr-keyword.cfm?keyword=%20smrbest&lower=2&upper=8

http://www.storyjumper.com/


http://www.storyjumper.com/


• Teacher's First Edge Review: for moderately adventurous technology users. This animation tool will help create a slide show with pizzazz. Add personal sounds, videos, and other media to create the next level of slide show for you classes. This tool is great for PC-based schools without access to other free video or multimedia creation software. The limitation of this site is the free portion limits enhanced slide shows to be only thirty seconds in length. However, a typical thirty second video requires twelve images which is a reasonable number for projects with middle and high school level students. The education version has some advantages: Use Animoto with all students simultaneously in class. Download created videos and share among other students in the class. There is also an upcoming feature of an Animoto application for iPhones. Here is a sample Animoto created by our review team: 10388

• In the Classroom: • Skills needed: Sign up and request an educator account. Wait a few days for your verification email

to arrive. Create a new account and enter the classroom code from the email in the promo/referral code box in the sign up form. Provide the classroom code to your students (13 and over) as they register for an account, as well. Do this to allow all your students access to Animoto at the same time. Redeem the class code for 6 months of educator access. Time run out? Simply renew for a new educator account.

• • Users need basic understanding of how to upload pictures, videos, and other media, especially for a

user who wants to add their own content. You may also use stock images and media available through the site. (Our sample is made primarily of stock images.) To create a show, simply click on the create button and follow the onscreen instructions. If adding personal images and video, the program will allow searching through files. Add music from site bank or from personal music sources (copyright-free, of course). Finalize the video with the last click and view your video. It can then be shared easily from the codes or export tools provided.

• • Safety/Security Concerns: Note that students under 13 are not able to create their own accounts.

Students must have individual accounts (email required). Check your school policies about accessing/sharing student email on school computers. You may want to create your own Gmail account with up to 20 subaccounts for each group of students (by code name or number) within your classes. Here is a blog post that tells how. Samples provided on the website are fairly generic and safe to view by students. Students can log into social networking sites for photo sharing if it is allowed at your district. Once the iPhone application is available, monitor students closely with careful attention to the schools acceptable use and electronic device policies. Be sure that videos created in an educator account are kept private among those in the class. Manage the students' activity on animoto while students continue to have their own account.

• • Possible uses: Use this site to make commercials, science fair previews, and animated shorts in any

content area. Have students make "advertisements" for an organism or a literary character. Make a travel commercial for a country being studied or for cultural sites in a world language class. Be sure to share the presentations on your projector or interactive whiteboard.

http://mscofino.edublogs.org/2007/10/18/sign-me-upthe-elementary-email-solution-linked-gmail-accounts/

http://animoto.com/?gclid=CPfpn7mtt6ICFRYhnAod_FUl5Q


http://animoto.com/?gclid=CPfpn7mtt6ICFRYhnAod_FUl5Q


• Study Stack is one of the better review game creation tools that I've tried. Study Stack allows teachers and students to create flashcards, crossword puzzles, matching games, word searches, and other classic study games for any subject area. You can create a game using any type of numerical or text data. Once you're data is in your account, you can use that data to create multiple games. For example I used the same US Civil War information to create flashcards and a matching game. All of these games can be shared via email or embedded into your blog or website.

http://www.studystack.com/





childtopia• This site offers a variety of children's stories that

children can listen to while they watch scenes or graphics corresponding to the story. Besides the stories, there are both listening and reading comprehension sections for each story. Both the audio and the text are available. As the story is being read, the words are highlighted on the page. Also available is the full screen option for the story. The reading comprehension questions use both aural and text format and also use an interesting illustration to capture the reader/listener's attention. Stories and all activities are also available in Spanish, Catalan, French, and other languages. There are some advertisements on the side. Select the full screen option to avoid them. In the Classroom: Have students try out this site on individual computers, with head phones, or let them listen in pairs. Before they go to the questions, ask them to list the questions the site might ask them after they have seen the model of one story. Share this link on your class web page, wiki, and/or in a parent newsletter. Share the site with special language teachers at the elementary level.

• http://www.childtopia.com/index.php?module=home&func=coce&myidioma=eng&idphpx=listen-reading-comprehension

http://www.childtopia.com/index.php?module=home&func=coce&myidioma=eng&idphpx=listen-reading-comprehension





Telescopic Text• What it is: Telescopic Text is a very simple website

that could be very handy in the language arts classroom. The site starts off with a very simple sentence: I made tea. Each time you click on a word, the sentence expands adding adjectives, adverbs, and makes the sentence more interesting.

• How to integrate Telescopic Text into the classroom: Use Telescopic Text to teach your students about creative, descriptive writing and how to improve writing with descriptive words. Compare and contrast what students knew about the sentence “I made tea.” at the beginning and how each addition of words helped them understand more about the original statement. This can be done as a whole class using an interactive whiteboard or a computer with a projector. Students can take turns clicking on words to expand the statement with discussion after each addition. This is a great exercise to use before writing. Have the students write their own simple sentence and expand it into a story with the addition of descriptive words.

• • Tips: The highlighted words are those that can be

expanded by clicking.

http://www.telescopictext.com/write

http://www.telescopictext.com/





VOCABULARY.COM

http://www.vocabulary.com/



TOY THEATER• Toytheater.com is an interactive website for kids with lots

of activites. For example, you will find the Animation Station, where children can draw their own animated drawings, and the Composer, where kids compose and play their own music.

• http://www.toytheater.com • There are four different fun music games where you can

create your own masterpiece: Composer, Piano Puppet, Drum Beats and Music Maker.

• The most interesting activity in the Art section is perhaps the Animation Station, where children can doodle up to 22 different frames and play them as a short animation. There is also an art activity, "Matisse's Pieces" where you can create your own Matisse style painting.

• The Math section includes a math quiz, math flashcards, and a game to learn to tell time using both digital and analog clocks. There are also some fun games for kids just beginning to learn math, for example More Less Monster and a pretty How Many game where you grow flowers.

http://www.toytheater.com/


http://www.toytheater.com/music.php

http://www.toytheater.com/art.php

http://www.toytheater.com/animation-station.php

http://www.toytheater.com/clock.php




• Welcome to Novlet! • Novlet is a web application designed

to support collaborative writing of non-linear stories in any language. With Novlet you will be able to read stories written by other users, create your own ones, and choose the plot you like most from several alternatives.

• Novlet stories are divided in passages, text sections usually made of a few paragraphs: users can continue stories or add alternative storylines by creating their passages after existing ones. The only limit is your fantasy.

http://www.novlet.com/localization/languages

http://www.novlet.com/favicon.ico


http://www.novlet.com/


Password Bird• What it is: Password Bird is an extremelly simple website, but one

that I love to use with my elementary students. Password Bird helps students create a password using a few easy to answer questions. Students enter a name that is special to them, a word that is special to them, and date that is special to them. Password Bird takes these and turns it into a randomly generated password. The ideas is that the password generated will be something easy for students to remember but hard for others to guess.

• • How to integrate Password Bird into the classroom: In my

computer classroom I hear the words “I don’t know what my password should be” a lot. Password Bird is the perfect place to send these kids. It helps them create a password quickly that should be fairly easy for them to remember. Sometimes Password Bird generates great passwords, and sometimes the passwords are not as strong. I have used Password Bird to generate passwords that we then dissect and decide if it is a strong password or not.

• • Tips: Not every password generated on Password Bird will be a

strong password, usually this is due to the words that the students chose that make it a weak password. Use the opportunity to discuss what makes it a particularly strong or weak password.

http://passwordbird.com/











• iPlay Math Games - Grades 0 - 12 - permalink • This website has a comprehensive collection of

printable math games for all grade levels. Some require common items such as dice and playing cards. Activities are organized by grade level and skills. A wide variety of math skills include: addition, subtraction, multiplication, division, fractions, decimals and percents, algebra and long division, measurement, graphing and exponents, problem solving, geometry, probability, logic and reasoning, numeration, counting and patterns. 10597

• In the Classroom: • This site will give you a bevy of activity options

for your students to try in the classroom to support their learning. Use these activities to plan a Math Night for parents, homework help, embed a link in your classroom website, or send out as an attachment with electronic class newsletters.



http://iplaymathgames.com/



The Period table of videos

• If I had access to the Periodic Table of Videos when I was going through chemistry, my understanding would have exponentially increased! This site literally looks like a periodic table, when a student clicks on one of the elements, a video opens up that explains the element. So neat! The site was created by the University of Nottingham, who is continually updating the videos with the latest and greatest experiments and explanations. There is a section with extra videos, a collection of science bloopers that are entertaining.

• • How to integrate The Periodic Table of Videos into the

classroom: The Periodic Table of Videos is a great way to introduce the elements to students. I remember spending hours memorizing the Periodic Table but never really understood the properties of the elements. This site will help your students get a grasp on exactly what the different elements do. This is also a great way to bring those elements into your room that aren’t practical or readily available. Use this with your chemistry classes in the computer lab setting or with a projector.

• • Tips: The Features section has some extra videos on topics

such as experiments and noble gases. •

http://www.periodicvideos.com/index.htm



http://www.periodicvideos.com/rss_feed.xml



• What it is: Pic Lits is a really neat creative writing site that provides pictures and a word bank for students to create a enriched sentence or sentences about the picture. “The object is to put the right words in the right place and the right order to capture the essence, story, and meaning of the picture.” Students can choose to only drag words from the word bank to create their sentence or compose a sentence freestyle.

• • How to integrate Pic Lits into the classroom: Pic Lits is a great

way to get students to think creatively and critically about writing. Students can choose any picture and then use the word list to create a sentence. Pic Lits is complete with punctuation and any word can be capatalized. Students can use Pic Lits individually on computers, as a whole class with a projector, or as a creative writing center in the one or two computer classroom. When using Pic Lits as a class, choose a picture for the day and have students write their sentences on paper using words from the word bank. Take turns sharing to hear the combination of words and the different meanings that students gathered from the picture. This is a great writing exercise to use in your classroom every day! Here in Colorado, we often have indoor recesses for bad weather. Use Pic Lits with an interactive whiteboard and invite your cooped up students to choose pictures and create sentences.

• • Tips: Students can sign up for a free account and save each Pic Lit

they create. At the end of the year, each student can create a book of their Pic Lits to take home for creative inspiration.

http://www.piclits.com/compose_dragdrop.aspx






























• What it is: Myths and Legends is an awesome, free, online digital story telling website. I heard about the website through @kjarrett. The story creator lets students combine pictures that they compose with clip art or images that they upload, sound, and words to create a digital story. The stories can be saved, printed, and shared. Students can record themselves reading the story aloud and even add video! The website is pretty comprehensive as far as online digital storytelling tools go, I am impressed!

• • How to integrate Myths and Legends into the classroom:

Myths and Legends is a great way to get your students interested and eager to write. The digital story telling format gives students a unique opportunity to express themselves creatively. Many of your reluctant writers will jump at the chance to create a story in this manner because it doesn’t “feel” like writing. They don’t get stuck looking at that blank piece of paper and feeling overwhelmed by the task ahead of them. I have found that students write more, and the quality of work is better when they create digital stories that are shared later with the whole class. In the one or two computer classroom you can set up a digital storytelling writing center that students can work at, in the lab setting whole classes can create at the same time, and as a whole class with an interactive whiteboard or projector, the entire class can create a story together.

• • Tips: Each student should sign up and register for a free account so

that they can save their work. As a teacher you can also sign up for a school account where you can login and review all of your students work online.

http://myths.e2bn.org/index.php

http://twitter.com/kjarrett

http://twitter.com/kjarrett



http://myths.e2bn.org/story_creator


http://myths.e2bn.org/story_creator


ology• What it is: Ology is an outstanding free website from the

American Museum of Natural History where students can learn about archaeology, astronomy, biodiversity, earth, Einstein, genetics, marine biology, water, and paleontology. The site is user friendly for kids and has an attractive interface that students will enjoy. Each subject has polls, inside stories on the subject, experiments, book lists of related books, interactive games and activities, “make it” ideas, interviews, a snapshot of scientists at work, and more.

• • How to integrate Ology into the classroom: I like to uses

sites like Ology for scavenger hunts. I give students a list of facts that I want them to find while exploring the website and have them take part in a virtual scavenger hunt following the clues. Activities like this build research skills. This is a great site for using in any science class. The online reading is wonderful and the suggestion for books related to the subject is a nice addition. Students can explore the site during science and share what they learn with the class. The experiments and make it ideas would be fun to learn about and create as a class. Ology is an excellent addition to any science class!

• • Tips: Does your school hold an annual science fair? Share this

site with parents for suggestion of science experiments and as a launching point.

http://www.amnh.org/ology/




http://www.amnh.org/ology



Museum box• What it is: Museum Box is a website that I heard about through a tweet

on Twitter a few weeks ago that is really impressing me today (that is saying a lot since today is MacWorld and they are announcing big things!). Museum Box is based on the work of Thomas Clarkson who collected items in a box to help him in his argument for the abolition of slavery. He collected items in a box to demonstrate to others the fine craftsmanship and abilities of the African culture. He used his box as a sort of travelling museum to aid him in his debate. The Museum Box website provides a place for students to collect information and arguments in a virtual museum box of their own. They can collect items to provide a description or add to an argument of a historical event, place, or time period. Students can add images, text, sounds, video, external links, etc. to each compartment of the box helping them form their own virtual museum. The Museum Box can be shared as a presentation, saved, or printed. After a box has been created, students can view one anothers boxes and leave comments about the box. You really have to check this one out! So neat for history and literature classes!

• • How to integrate Museum Box into the classroom: Use Museum Box as a

medium for students to learn about and collect information about a historical event, person, or time period. Because students can upload their own content to Museum Box, you might also have them create a box all about them. This would be a great way for students to get to know each other at the beginning of the year. Museum box is a neat way to share information about geography, students can make a box all about a place including items in their box that are unique to that place. The ability to incorporate text, sounds, images, video, and uploaded items makes Museum Box especially impressive! After students have created boxes, spend time viewing other’s boxes and leaving comments about the box. This is kind of like a science fair atmosphere for history, geography, and literature. Yet another tool I wish I had in school!

http://museumbox.e2bn.org/index.php









http://museumbox.e2bn.org/



• What it is: Share Tabs is a simple, but very neat, website that allows you to share several links with one web address. Teachers can enter a list of websites they want students to visit into Share Tabs. After entering the links, you create one Share Tabs URL that will open all of the links as separate tabs in a web browser. So cool!

• • How to integrate Share Tabs into the classroom: Share Tabs is an awesome way to save time in

the classroom when using multiple websites. Instead of waiting for kids to type in several URL’s to get to the days activities, they type in one URL and share tabs does all the work. I know in my classroom, I don’t want to spend 15 min typing in web addresses. I would rather that students have that time to spend on the web activities. Share Tabs is perfect in the computer lab setting or any time that you want students to visit multiple websites for a lesson. Use Share Tabs for virtual field trips through cyber space without spending time creating a webquest. Share Tabs also makes sharing sites with colleauges a snap. As you are finding resources for a lesson, put them into Share Tabs and send one link. Your colleagues will thank you!

• • Tips: Use Share Tabs on Twitter instead of updating 5 times with each separate URL you are

exploring, update once with a Share Tabs link!•

http://www.sharetabs.com/











http://museumbox.e2bn.org/



Number Nut• If you are looking for math information, stay on this

site. You can start by choosing one of the math topics we cover.

NumberNut.com offers hree big sections on the site: BASIC MATH:Shapes & Colors, Numbers & Counting, Addition, Subtraction, Multiplication, and Division.

ADVANCED MATH:Fractions, Decimals, Percentages, Estimation & Rounding, Ratios, and Money.

This site offers an introduction to mathematics and its variety of topics. It's not just for kids, it's for everyone (even if you aren't a number nut). If you're still not sure what to click, try our site map that will show you all of the topics we cover. If you surf the site and get lost in all of the information, use the search function on the side of the pages.

http://www.numbernut.com/basic/symbol_intro.shtml

http://www.numbernut.com/basic/number_intro.shtml

http://www.numbernut.com/basic/add_intro.shtml

http://www.numbernut.com/basic/sub_intro.shtml

http://www.numbernut.com/basic/mult_intro.shtml

http://www.numbernut.com/basic/div_intro.shtml

http://www.numbernut.com/advanced/fraction_intro.shtml

http://www.numbernut.com/advanced/decimal_intro.shtml

http://www.numbernut.com/advanced/percent_intro.shtml

http://www.numbernut.com/advanced/estimate_intro.shtml

http://www.numbernut.com/advanced/ratio_intro.shtml

http://www.numbernut.com/advanced/money_intro.shtml

http://www.numbernut.com/map.html

http://www.numbernut.com/



Cyber Chase

http://pbskids.org/cyberchase



Learning Clip• For those of you that haven’t discovered

Learning Clip, the site comprehensively covers the new Primary Framework for Mathematics Year 3 and has just started to also cover Year 4, via online activities, known as ‘clips’.

• Each of the clips are introduced by Triangle Man (which the kids love!) so they have an idea of what they will be covering, plus, there is also a plenary video to summarise the activity.

• Having previously written a feature on Learning Clip for Promethean Planet, I personally love the clips - they’re bright, very engaging, and pedagogically sound. Even though they are aimed at the UK curriculum, I know from US teachers’ comments in the forum that they have still found the clips useful. After all, maths is maths!

• If you have an Activote set - then you will also find that the online activites can be made to respond to the responses from your class!

• -promethean planet blog.

http://www.prometheanplanet.com/uk/staged/server/show/nav.5573

http://www.learningclip.co.uk/




• Eduweb develops award-winning digital learning games and interactives about art, history, science and technology.

•Our mission is to create exciting and effective learning experiences that hit the sweet spot where learning theory, digital technology, and fun meet.


http://www.csitheexperience.org/

http://www.csitheexperience.org/


http://www.storycove.com/



Magic grade• Magic Grade is a new service that is simply

magical! Magic Grade takes the tedium out of grading essays. Here's how it works, students create their essays just as they always do using any word processing platform of their choice. When they've completed their essays, they simply upload their essays to your classroom Magic Grade account. Magic Grade then analyzes the essays based on the criteria you've outlined in your account preferences and assigns each essay a grade. This should revolutionize the way we grade essays.

Applications for EducationMagic Grade will give teachers their nights and weekends back while providing students with nearly instant feedback about their writing.

(www.freetech4teachers.com)

http://freetech4teachers.com/

http://www.freetech4teachers.com/
