ABCya Word Clouds 02/28/2010
 Wordle went offline this weekend as they have apparently become embroiled in a trademark violation over the use of the word 'wordle', (more details here). However, they seem to be back up and running, at least at the time of this was posted, so let's hope they can sort out their issues. In the meantime, a new word cloud tool has appeared courtesy of ABCya.com, a great interactive educational game site for children. This word cloud generator is pretty simple, but produces some great results. It could be a great way to introduce elementary students to the concept of word clouds. If you would like more ideas on how to use word clouds in the classroom, check out this article I wrote recently. Headmagnet 02/26/2010
 Headmagnet is a free online flash card maker that would let your students create their own personalized study guides, or let the teacher create flash cards that all students can access for revision at home. What makes Headmagnet different is that it records your scores as you revise and flick through the cards, and will give you a breakdown of the areas you need to study in more detail. There are even a collection of pre-made flash cards for vocabulary, social studies, math and more. A useful tool for students and teachers alike. Apps for Science and Social Studies 02/22/2010
 The latest in my series of articles about iPod apps for education has just been published. The Best Apple iPod Apps for Science and Social Studies Teachers has an eclectic mix of useful and popular apps that can be integrated into the classroom with very little effort. Check it out and see if everything that you use is on this list. Magic Studio 02/20/2010
 Magic Studio is an interesting multimedia resource for teachers to use with their students. It allows you to create drag and drops, interactive images, timelines, presentations and quizzes. Alternatively, you can search the existing library of resources created and shared by others to see if there is a ready made example of what you need. All interactives can be used full screen, so they would be great on an interactive whiteboard. Here is an example resource. Bubbabrain 02/17/2010
 I came cross bubbabrain while browsing the SmartExchange website. It is one of the most popular resources for SmartBoards, so I thought it would be worth adding to my library of resources. Bubbabrain allows you to create matching flashcards to test vocabulary, Math, Science, or whatever you want to quiz your students on. It shows the definition among a grid of vocab terms and students click on the word that matched the definition. Register for a teacher account for free and you can create your own quiz. Otherwise, have a look at what is already on the site and try some of the ready-made examples. Bubbabrain could be used K-12. Google Map Ideas 02/13/2010
 Here are a couple of useful Google Map ideas that people have set up recently. The first is a full screen weather map that uses temperature data to give you an idea of what a particular region of one part of the world might be at any one time. Useful for Social Studies or Science projects. The second idea is a Google Earth Scavenger Hunt. Insert the longitude and latitude of each given location and zoom in to see what is there. Once you find out, head back to the scavenger hunt page and match a picture to a given set of longitude and latitude locations. Did you find half an airplane, or a blue whale skeleton? Good fun for technology skills or Social Studies. It works on Google Maps as well as Google Earth. Top 10s: Apps and Document Cameras 02/08/2010
Two more top 10 lists for you to consider reading. The first is 10 Tips for Engaging Students with Document Cameras. Our school just received some, so I put this together primarily for our staff, but also published it online for anyone else that might be interested in learning more ways to use these versatile tools. The second article is another in my series of iPod Touch Apps, The Top 10 iPod Touch Apps to Use in Math Class. These are my pick of some of the better FREE apps to use on iPods at school. SmartBoard Training 02/08/2010
 If you are looking for some SmartBoard training resources for yourself or other members of staff, you can get it straight from the SMART website. This useful site has online videos that will walk you through almost all of the products in the SMART range. So whether you are using a board, document camera or the clicker, you will find help, tips and tricks here. And if you are looking for resources, don't forget SMART Exchange. WordItOut 02/07/2010
 If you are tired of Wordle because it just does not have enough customization features for you, then WordItOut may be just what you are looking for. It has similar features to Tagul, (arguably not as many though) in as far as you can change fonts, colors and the number of words displayed. You can also frame your cloud by dragging the edges so that there is no negative space. Word clouds can be private, or shared and embedded as you see fit. Here are some ideas if you want to use it in the classroom. |
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